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William Kowalski
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Somewhere South of Here: A Novel Kindle Edition

by William Kowalski (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 83 ratings
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I'd wondered about my mother all my life -- what she looked like, how she smelled and sounded and acted. Lately this wondering had grown to encompass a curiosity about the kind of people she herself came from, because they were my family, too, after all, even though I knew nothing about them. I'd no idea whether they were loud or soft-spoken, funny or boring, preferred chocolate to vanilla, if they liked movies over books or the other way around. I wondered whether any of them had ever done anything magnificent in their lives, or if they were the kind of folks who were satisfied with just getting by. These things were important -- knowing them would help me to know myself, and the only way that would happen was if I went and looked for her.

With all his possessions on his motorcycle, Billy Mann sets off on a cross-country odyssey from New York to Santa Fe in search of a mother who deserted him long ago. What Billy discovers, however, is a life rich with possibility -- the chance for love, friendship, and, finally, a family to call his own.

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  1. Print length
    308 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    HarperCollins e-books
  5. Publication date
    May 28, 2009
  6. File size
    936 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Kowalski made a good impression with his sentimental first novel, Eddie's Bastard, and continues the story here as he takes hero Billy Mann out to Santa Fe on his motorbike to see if he can trace the mother who gave him away as a baby to be raised by his grandfather. There is no one left in Billy's life except Mildred, his grandfather's elderly companion, who acts like a widow in the wake of his death, and so Billy, now an aspiring writer, feels stifled in his upstate New York hometown. Once in Santa Fe, he meets a sinister Latino neighbor who tells him the girl working at the local cantina may be his sister; through her, Billy finds his mother, dying slowly of cancer in a hospital miles away. He nurses her faithfully in her closing days without ever telling her who he is, starts an affair with Consuelo, a Mexican-born former trapeze artist who is now a singer, quarrels with her, then goes back home and helps Mildred fight off efforts to close down a shelter for unwed mothers she has started in the family's old house. In the end, who should come back, repentant and pregnant, but Consuelo ("`I love you, Beelee.' `I love you, too,' I said. `I know that,' she said.") If all this sounds a little artless, it is. Kowalski has a relaxed, easygoing style, and one or two touching moments shine, but Billy is so utterly without affect, and the other characters are sketched so loosely, that the narrative feels severely underpopulated. This book suffers from a bad case of second-novel syndrome. Agent, Anne Hawkins. 10-city author tour.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Kowalski continues the story of Billy Mann, whose unconventional childhood was chronicled in Eddie's Bastard (1999). That novel concerned Billy's coming to terms with his dead father's family and their legacy of failed opportunities. Now, with his beloved grandfather dead, Billy sets out to find the mother who abandoned him, traveling from upstate New York to Santa Fe, her last known address. What he finds there are the remnants of several more dysfunctional families, his own and those of his girlfriend, a Latina singer and former circus performer who talks to angels. Kowalski's work should appeal to readers who like John Irving. Both writers are old-fashioned storytellers who favor incident-rich plots driven by idiosyncratic characters. Similar to the heroes of Hotel New Hampshire and Cider House Rules,Billy is an intelligent innocent whose wanderings bring him in contact with a host of odd, wounded, usually tenderhearted souls. There is an inescapable sentimentality at the root of all this that will seem cloying to some, moving to others, but on the whole, it is hard to resist the feel-good mood that Kowalski creates. Bill Ott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B002BD2V1K
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperCollins e-books; Reprint edition (May 28, 2009)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 28, 2009
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 936 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 308 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 83 ratings

About the author

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William Kowalski

William Kowalski

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William Kowalski is the best-selling, award-winning author of seven novels and seven Rapid Reads (shorter works for beginning adult readers of English). His first novel, EDDIE'S BASTARD, won the 1999 Rosenstein Award, the 2001 Ama-Boeke Prize, and occupied the #5 spot on the Times of London bestseller list. His fifth novel, THE HUNDRED HEARTS, won the 2014 Thomas H. Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award. He has been nominated three times for the Ontario Library Association's Golden Oak Award. His books have been translated into fifteen languages.

He is also the founder of My Writing Network (https://mywriting.network), an organization dedicated to providing free websites and community support to emerging authors of all types and backgrounds.

You can visit him online at https://williamkowalski.com.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
83 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

sarahsgr8
5.0 out of 5 stars I love this book
Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2020
Verified Purchase
I have loved this book for a long time. I had to repurchase it because I lost the physical copy. I love the journey this book takes you on. There is some great discoveries and life lessons. I recommend reading
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bibliophile
4.0 out of 5 stars All in all it was very good but, I liked the first novel (Eddie's Bastard) ...
Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2016
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All in all it was very good but, I liked the first novel (Eddie's Bastard) so much that this one didn't quite have the same allure. That said, it was an excellent read and I would definitely recommend it.
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mk
3.0 out of 5 stars Could have been better
Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2012
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If you have read Eddie's bastard then i would understand the desire to read this one. But it is disappointing, I'm sorry to say because one would expect the same flair as in the previous book. The only thing this book does is give closure.
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stephen
5.0 out of 5 stars Just as good as the first book
Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2013
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Another good read with some new characters. He leaves you hanging at the end a bit. Maybe this will lead to another book. Quirky interesting characters developed in a very readable style make this a good read.
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Judith C Hall
4.0 out of 5 stars an enjoyable read...
Reviewed in the United States on October 28, 2014
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Thank goodness there was a sequel to "Eddie's Bastard". It was an enjoyable read. Not being a voracious reader or a literary critic I was quite satisfied with the storyline. I can even hope for another book chronicling he life of Billie Mann.
One person found this helpful
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Becky Steman
5.0 out of 5 stars Good
Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2018
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Good. Diff
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Rosalyn Lawton
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting continuation of Eddie's life search.
Reviewed in the United States on December 15, 2013
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Well written. I liked it, but since I read "Eddie's Bastard" immediately preceding it, (which I could not put down), it was difficult to give it as high a rating.
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rachel p canan
5.0 out of 5 stars Somewhere South of Here
Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2012
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Very good story. I enjoyed it a lot. I will read more by this writer. It was just about perfect.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Marina
5.0 out of 5 stars A great book.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 14, 2019
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Great Service. A really enjoyable book!
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Joyce F.
4.0 out of 5 stars Before you read Somewhere South of Here, you need to read Eddie's Bastard first.
Reviewed in Australia on September 6, 2020
Verified Purchase
Not as good as his first novel Eddie's Bastard.
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Torpedoz
5.0 out of 5 stars très bonne suite !!!
Reviewed in France on August 27, 2011
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J'avais lu la première partie, et j'attendais cette suite avec impatience. Je n'ai pas été déçue ! On retrouve Bill quelques années plus tard et on suit ses aventures avec plaisir.
One person found this helpful
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Chris M
4.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughly enjoyed this book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 13, 2015
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Thoroughly enjoyed this book; easy reading, a very pleasant protangonist. Not as 'deep' as 'Eddie's Bastard', but an excellent sequel.
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Zab66
4.0 out of 5 stars A good read!
Reviewed in France on March 29, 2012
Verified Purchase
A follow up to Eddie's Bastard with a happy end. Not as dense, not as rich but pleasantly entertaining! I've started "the good neighbor".
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