Brian Kimberling

Rather than a linear story, Snapper by Brian Kimberling is a delightful assortment of the main character’s thoughts, opinions and reminiscences. These entertaining tidbits range from the Ku Klux Klan to smoking banana peels, his one night in jail to the girlfriend that strays all too often. Nathan Lochmueller earns his money by doing field studies of birds in Southern Indiana. He is marking time until he decides what he is going to do with his life, but he is approaching his late 20’s and needs to make some decisions.

Clever, insightful and funny, I really enjoyed Snapper with it’s assortment of unusual characters, the humorous situations and, above all, the author’s wonderful writing. Whether he is writing about the lush woodlands and the songbirds that inhabit them, or his odd-ball acquaintances and the strange things that they do, the words paint a vivid picture.

Although at times the book appears a little choppy and the main character a little too self-involved, I found the author’s love/hate relationship with the state of Indiana along with his wry sense of humor made this book of observations a fun one.… (meer)

SNAPPER (2013) was Brian Kimberling's first novel, and it's a darn good one. Found a copy at an AAUW book sale shortly after I'd read his second novel, new this year, GOULASH - also a great read. Of course, I "snapped" it up.

SNAPPER is a drawn-out coming of age story, told by Nathan Lochmueller, growing up in Evansville, Indiana, with a close group of friends. Time gets spent skipping stones at "stripper pits," smoking banana peel, rooming with a dope dealer, smashing parking meters and going to jail, talking of books and poetry, and a LOT of beer consumption, among other things. This laid back growing up tale continues through college at IU in Bloomington and for years beyond when Nathan works as an ornithology field researcher, crawling about in the mud and climbing trees to observe habits of rare songbirds. The story gets told in a baker's dozen of short vignette-chapters, going from his middle class childhood well into his thirties, when - I think - Nathan finally achieves a hard-won sort of maturity, marries and has a son.

There is also a years-long love affair with brainy but flighty Lola, and a "deafening" injury which ends his birdman days, although, after a long period of healing and unemployment, Nathan finds work out of state at a "hawk hospital."

If all of this sounds weird, well it is, but it's also hilariously funny and profoundly moving at times, as well as a love-hate story of the narrator's feelings for Indiana. I am quite sure too that the term "autobiographical fiction" is apt here.

Kimberling is an extremely talented young writer whose career I will watch with great interest. I enjoyed the neck outa this book. Oh, and if you're wondering about the title, it's from a chapter where a large snapping turtle "de-thumbs" Nathan's best friend.

Where was I? Oh yeah, my highest recommendation. Bravo, Brian. Keep writing.

- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER… (meer)