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Joanne Bodin, Ph.D.,is a retired teacher of the gifted in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Her novel, WALKING FISH, won the 2011 New Mexico Book Awards in gay/lesbian fiction and placed as Finalist in three other categories. It
also won the International Book Awards and placed as Finaist in the USA Book Awards. Her book of poetry, PIGGYBACKED, a tribute to her late grandfather, also a poet, contains some of her watercolor paintings. She has had her poetry published in the Fixed and Free Poetry Anthology, the La Llorona Poetry Anthology, and the Desert Sun Runner. She is vice president of the New Mexico State Poetry Society, and a past board member of Southwest Writers. She teaches writing classes in Albuquerque and is working on another novel, a psychological thriller about the esoteric world of orchids. Visit her website for updated information. www.walkingfishnovel.com
Reviewed by Stephanie Dagg for Readers' Favorite
"Walking Fish" by Joanne Bodin is gritty yet touching contemporary fiction. Artist Talia, a nonconformist by any standards, has had a difficult life. Losing custody of her daughter Sophie when she was five following an unpleasant divorce, Talia has been shut out of her child's life. The reason - Talia is gay. She has since found happiness with her partner Renie and expression in her art but her heart aches for her daughter. A family crisis erupts involving Renie’s grandson Joshua. He is a talented musician sadly suffering from manic depression and suddenly Talia realizes that she thinks she knows why. She knew a man twenty years ago very like Joshua. Could there be a connection? In investigating this possible link, Talia has to dig up elements of her own past which prove to be both painful but cathartic. Helping to confront Renie’s family problems helps her finally deal with her own.
This is a very interesting, complex, challenging story. But it is not difficult to read. The author has an easy, flowing style that belies the sometimes difficult content. Talia is a sympathetic character whose choices we might find unconventional but we respect that she had and still has the courage to make them. The walking fish analogy comes from the fact that people need to adapt to survive as Talia has done. She has had to move out of the natural element for most other women of conventional family life to find her own way of living. It is ultimately a very inspiring book.
