Saturday 17 May 2014

Amish fiction

Wanda Brunstetter is familiar with the Amish community although she is not a part of it.  She has written a ton of Amish literature- adult fiction (series or stand-alone), novellas, cookbooks, devotionals, photography, children's books.
Her fiction series centre on Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
I just returned from that area and was very interested to see one of Wanda's books made into a stage musical.
My reaction- bizarre!
The plot is bizarre- Emma Yoder, a widow, decides to offer quilting lessons.  She gets six replies- three men and three women!  The men are: a widower with a baby, a biker fresh from jail, and an angry hen-pecked husband.  The women are: a disillusioned minister's wife, a sulky, goth teenager, and a bossy wife.
The presentation is bizarre!
They constantly break out into song, with Emma joining in on all the dance moves!  Bizarre!
Also, they added a scene about the war.  The young father was a school teacher in the book, but in the play he was a soldier.  So there were weird flashbacks.  Very unsettling and unnecessary to the plot.
The Amish are peace-loving and that addition was bizarre!
I love the Amish and feel that they are an important and wonderful  part of Pennsylvania.  I was trying to decide if this musical was making fun of the Amish.  It was unsettling!  Bizarre!
My daughter, a quilter, did not like the book - too far-fetched.  I thought it was-bizarre!
Wanda's books are all simple, easy-to-read, with God solving everyone's problems before the final page.
I prefer the real stories of the Amish.  There are many road-side stands run by Amish people in Lancaster county, and they are often willing to engage in conversation.  I admire them greatly.

Wanda Brustetter has a great following.  Amish fiction is becoming extremely popular.  Many women are  entering this field, with names like Amy, Cindy, Linda, Laura, Suzanne, Tricia, Jody, Beth.  No men!
My favourite and perhaps one of the 'originals' is Beverly Lewis.  She has written over 80 books.
The cast of "half-Stitched"

The musical is called "Half-Stitched" and is presented in a bare basement room, with folding chairs, in Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania.

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