Fling!

WOMEN'S FICTION/MAGICAL REALISM:  “Fling!” starts at the turn of the twentieth-century Scotland with Bubbles' birth. It then immediately jumps to Canada, then moves rapidly to Mexico. Bubbles is a lively character with her own personal mythology. Her grandfather told anyone who would listen that she danced off a painting. Her daughter, Feather, came the old-fashioned way, which could be the reason there is a chasm between them. The middle-aged Feather constantly feels upstaged by her mother. Now, fate arrives enclosed in a letter informing Bubbles that her long-dead mother’s ashes are in Mexico City. The trip could be the yarn that finally knits the two of them together, or it could serve as a wedge driving the two of them farther apart. 

Ms. Mackenzie does a wonderful creating the irrepressible Bubbles! The ninety-year-old matriarch not only says what she thinks, but also acts on it, whether it is eating with gusto, dancing, or seducing men young enough to be her grandson! Her colorful remembrances and internal dialogues should delight readers.

Feather, her daughter, is a harder character to embrace. She considers herself a self-styled hippie, but often her behavior tends to be more rigid and conservative with her concerns about money, her mother’s mental stability, and control. The author highlights the contrast between who Feather thinks she is and who she really is.

The reader tags along as the duo make their way south enjoying the sun, liquid-eyed hunks, and life. “Fling!” is a self-discovery road trip, and an enjoyable read reminding the reader to chase rainbows while on the right side of the soil.

Morgan Stamm