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Each Vagabond By Name

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For residents of Shelk, a sleepy Pennsylvania town lying along a vein of the Appalachian Mountains, life has always been a series of unchallenged routines and circulating gossip. But when a group of teenage runaways settles in the hills and begins to invade their homes and lives, lines become drawn between those residents seeking to insulate themselves from the outside world and those reaching for more.

Caught in the middle of this clash is Zaccariah Ramsy, a bar owner whose quiet life is threatened by his newfound loyalty to JT, a streetwise runaway who begins to visit his bar, and the re-emergence of the tragic story of his former love, Stella Vale, whose daughter was abducted as an infant fifteen years prior. As tensions between the townspeople and the newcomers rise, Ramsy must decide which side he will choose.

A piercing tale of isolation, redemption, and belonging, Each Vagabond By Name is a powerful exploration of the intricacies of small town life by a commanding new literary voice.

255 pages, Paperback

First published May 18, 2016

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About the author

Margo Orlando Littell

2 books106 followers
I grew up in a small southwestern Pennsylvania town where crumbling mansions are all that remain of the coal-and-coke wealth from the early twentieth century, when the town led the United States in millionaires per capita. Now, nearly half the population lives at or below the poverty level, and haunting, once-splendid buildings in the old downtown can be purchased for a song. After fifteen years of living in New York City, Barcelona, and Northern California, I've settled down in northern New Jersey with my husband and two little girls. Still, southwestern Pennsylvania never seems too far away. Though I haven’t lived there since I was eighteen, it’s the place that inspires almost all my fiction.

I started writing obsessively as soon as I learned to write, in a Cabbage Patch diary I filled with critical minutia like “We get to have pop at Grandma’s.” Thousands of journal pages followed, and then, eventually, poetry. I was serious about my efforts, and in high school I attended the Pennsylvania School for the Arts. It’s funny how bits from the far past sometimes resurface: a poem I heard during my poetry classes that summer--over twenty years ago now--wound up becoming the epigraph of Each Vagabond By Name.

I began writing short stories at the University of Dayton and went on to receive an MFA from Columbia, where I taught undergraduate composition and wrote a collection of novellas. After a few years working as an editor in New York City, I sold nearly everything I owned, quit my job, and followed my boyfriend to Spain--and then to California and then back to Brooklyn. Somewhere in all that, we got married and had kids. Life took over for a while, freelance editing and professional resume writing and house buying and child rearing, but in 2011 I turned one of my novellas into a full-length novel that would become Each Vagabond By Name.

I’m driven to write about characters who are rooted to a place and who, even if they succeed at leaving, feel pulled toward home for one reason or another. I find inspiration in odd rummage-sale finds, visits to my hometown, and newspaper articles that give a glimpse of quiet struggles and preoccupations that are just to the side of the expected thing. My home--the Boo Radley house on an otherwise beautiful tree-lined street--is filled with decommissioned library card catalogs and oil portraits of strangers.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews
Profile Image for Angela M .
1,378 reviews2,136 followers
June 29, 2016
This wonderful debut novel opens with this poem by Bliss Carmen (1861-1929) , a Canadian poet:

A Vagabond Song

There is something in the autumn that is native to my blood --
Touch of manner, hint of mood;
And my heart is like a rhyme,
With the yellow and the purple and the crimson keeping time.

The scarlet of the maples can shake me like a cry
Of bugles going by.
And my lonely spirit thrills
To see the frosty asters like a smoke upon the hills.

There is something in October sets the gypsy blood astir;
We must rise and follow her,
When from every hill of flame
She calls and calls each vagabond by name.


I was hesitant at first. I wasn't sure if I really wanted to read this book because from the beginning there was this feeling of dread that things were not going to bode well for the people in this small, desolate feeling town in Pennsylvania. But I kept thinking of the poem above that opens this story and there was something about it , so beautiful, that made me read on . But then , it wasn't just the poem that held me, but the stories of those broken by loss , and just how sad and lonely they felt as outsiders in this place .

It's the lives of Ramsy , a Vietnam vet , owner of a shabby bar and Stella his former love interest, who comes to his bar most nights to drink wine that are at the center of the novel. Both have lost infant children taken away by the other parent. Their stories are different yet they share this loss and handle it in different ways as Ramsy's adult daughter finds him and Stella continues to look for her baby who is fifteen by now . The bar is also a haven for some other people of the town that help to reflect a stagnant atmosphere not just of the bar but the town.

The home robberies begin and it becomes obvious that a band of "gypsies", mostly runaway kids, led by a malicious man , have camped on the outskirts of town. While its anger and fear and ultimately a desire for retaliation that is stirred up in most people of the town , Ramsy and Stella each have their reasons for wanting to help two of the runway teenagers. We come to know more about Ramsy's and Stella's pasts as the confrontation between the townspeople and the "gypsies" escalates.

Ultimately, it was a story that spoke about coping with indescribable loss, what belonging really means and how to find a way forward. One of the things I love about reading a debut novel , is the chance to be introduced to a writer whose work I will look forward to beyond the book at hand , and this is definitely the case with Littell.

Thanks to University of New Orleans Press and NetGalley.
Profile Image for Diane Barnes.
1,495 reviews447 followers
April 8, 2021
This was a fantastic first novel by an author who knows how to create living, breathing characters, both male and female, young and old, and make the reader care about them. Lonely people set apart from the community by a lot of different factors, who want to belong but just can't seem to make it happen. Shelk is a forsaken little town that has no redeeming features, except Ramsy's bar, where a lot of locals convene nightly just to make connections with each other. Most of the action and plot development happen in this bar, and Ramsy will capture your heart, because he is that rare creature, a good man, intelligent and caring enough to see beyond prejudice and suspicion.

I will be checking out Littell's second novel The Distance Between Four Points, because I was mightily impressed by this one. She seems to be the real deal in Appalachian authors.
Profile Image for Sandra.
203 reviews103 followers
May 25, 2016
"They both lived day in, day out, in a place they’d never truly belonged."

Zaccariah Ramsy is this lonesome fella in a godforsaken village, living among the locals but not really belonging. His only concerns are his bar and Stella, the other one detached from the community. Both Zaccariah and Stella have loved and lost, and both harbor this inner darkness because of it.
"He wanted to find something different, some- thing that would make him care about staying alive, and he wanted to be alone as he searched."

The quiet village life gets disturbed by a group of runaways invading the town and wreaking havoc by breaking and entering homes. As the community wants revenge, Zaccariah and Stella find themselves in the middle of this disorder, having to chose sides when they bond with several of these youngsters.

What mostly got to me, was the moodiness and darkness of this story. You could feel the intense and profound loneliness of the two main characters, the overpowering emptiness of their lives. Seeking each other out only enforces that feeling.
"In his chest rose up a kind of longing he’d never felt before. It wasn’t sadness, or regret. It wasn’t even love. Instead it felt like homesickness for a place he couldn’t quite name, a place he might not have ever been."

As the reader, you commiserate with the community, feeling their rage when their belongings are stolen or damaged. But how far is one willing to go in defending their home? When violence starts to take over, you start to doubt your choice. Besides, aren't the runaways only driven by the need for survival?

Well done, Margo Orlando Littell! This is a strong and wonderful debut and I can't wait to read more of your writings.


Review copy supplied by publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a rating and/or review.
Profile Image for Cheri.
2,033 reviews2,875 followers
April 23, 2016

“It was an ordinary fall until the gypsies came...”

Shelk, Pennsylvania is a small mining town in Pennsylvania lying along the Appalachian Mountains, the kind of town where everyone knows everyone else, and nothing much changes. Daily life is a series of routines, and listening to the ever-present gossip. The atmosphere in Shelk changes when a group of runaways, mostly teenagers, put down roots – however temporary they may be – in the hills nearby. Things begin to go missing, houses are broken into, and the safety the residents had become so accustomed to now seems very fragile. Who to blame? A vigilante mentality envelopes the town, with a few residents who reach out trying to help, but who may also have other motivations.

Ramsy owns a small bar where the locals tend to congregate, and Stella, Ramsy’s former object of limited affection, reappears one night at Ramsy’s bar after these “gypsies” appear. Ramsy and Stella each have their own story of heartbreak, Ramsy’s daughter has been out of his life for many years, and Stella’s daughter disappeared when she an infant. Ramsy and Stella each befriend one of the wandering teens, which brings about an increasingly suspicious and hostile attitude toward them by the townspeople.

Each Vagabond by Name is a wonderful tale of finding your way out of darkness and finding where you belong.


Release Date: 1 June 2016

Many thanks to University of New Orleans Press, NetGalley and especially to Margo Orlando Littell for providing me with an advanced copy of Each Vagabond by Name to read.

4/23/2016

Available for Pre-Order Now: If you pre-order through UNO Press directly you’ll get a 20% discount on order directly from UNO Press. Per Margo Orlando Littell’s website, the first 50 readers who order from UNO Press will receive a signed and custom-designed bookplate directly from her which will be sent in a hand-lined envelope featuring Vagabond’s artwork.
Profile Image for Wyndy.
220 reviews99 followers
April 7, 2021
3.5 stars.

Loneliness, loss, grief and worry. The hopeless and the hopeful. Those who leave and those who stay. This is not a happy story although there are beautiful moments of kindness and contentment. Rather, this is a deep and often melancholy examination of the histories and motivations of two people, one a single-eyed Vietnam vet and bar owner named Ramsy and the other a former waitress, wife, mother and current town librarian named Stella, both tied to a small, depressing Appalachian coal mining town called Shelk in the mountains of western Pennsylvania. Both have suffered unimaginable loss.

“They both lived day in, day out, in a place they’d never truly belonged.”

We get to know these two characters perhaps better than we really want to at times and through their stories meet the longtime townsfolk of Shelk and the members of a traveling band of “gypsies,” young runaways who reluctantly pillage and frighten local residents to appease their greedy, heartless leader. There comes an inevitable climax when all parties involved take matters into their own hands.

This novel begins with a sense of foreboding and sadness that never really lets up, but I have no regrets about my time spent in this small corner of Appalachia. I met two people here that I deeply admired and won’t soon forget, and a couple of goodhearted kids I wanted to adopt. Not bad for a debut novel and enough to convince me to read her second book.
Profile Image for Ariel .
262 reviews13 followers
July 3, 2016
There is something in the autumn that is native to my blood-
Touch of manner, hint of mood;
And my heart is like a rhyme,
With the yellow and the purple and the crimson keeping time.
- A Vagabond Song by Bliss Carman


With a deeply atmospheric epigraph, Margo Orlando Littell slips the reader gently amongst the fallen leaves and burnished early October hues of a small, sleepy Pennsylvania town named Shelk. 'Nestled in coal-poor mountains that held nothing but white pines, eastern hemlocks, and American beeches,' Shelk is a place of routine, of safety, for its residents. However, long time roots are about to be shaken as a one-eyed man sees a hint of hope lingering in the fall skies and strangers arrive in the mountains.

Told from the perspective of Zaccariah Ramsy, the owner of a log cabin turned bar hidden in the Shelk mountains, Each Vagabond is a novel tenderly wrought. It speaks throughout of roots and the desire to belong to something, to some place, and to someone and stirs the human need for such in its readers.

With a sweeping, slow pace that builds into a torrent of both action and emotion, Littell's debut novel is a skilled piece that has inspired me to keep an eye out for future projects. While there were parts that were a little too prolonged for my preference and some confusing bits that had me doubling back a page or so to double check the backstory of a character (something that might be fixed in the published edition as this was an ARC), Littell completely demolished me with her apt portrayal of loss, longing, and personal discovery.

There are a lot of writers who can write about loss; it's part of the human experience and, at some point or another, we all have something to drawn from in that area. However, I've found that writers that can write about different kinds of loss from a truly empathetic and nuanced perspective are far fewer in number. I tend to marvel at such authors, at the depth they're able to draw from and the shape and context that they're then able to provide their characters.

Each Vagabond is a beautiful piece and I would recommend it for anyone that is looking for a read that will submerge them in its build and its characters.

I'd like to thank NetGalley and the University of New Orleans Press for the opportunity to read an ARC of this title.

Also, I'm very grateful to Margo Orlando Littell for sending me a beautiful signed bookplate. The bookplates are offered to the first 50 people that respond on UNO Press.

description
[Instagram post on @Thewoman_reading; the art on the bookplate and inside the envelope is lovely.]
Profile Image for Claudia.
Author 1 book17 followers
April 18, 2016
At night, Each Vagabond by Name pulled me out of my own inner world completely. I spent my psycho-emotional time with Ramsy, in the crumbling town of Shelk, Pennsylvania. Ramsy, a one-eyed Vietnam veteran, spends his nights manning his bar, which is a way for him to interact with the people of Shelk without giving any part of himself away. Although he has an inner darkness that permeates the narrative beautifully, we also know that Ramsy wants to matter to someone, wants someone to matter to him, wants to move beyond this 'stuck' place of his, but his habits and patterns, and the scars of his own tragedies, have always kept him from the vulnerability necessary to forge emotional bonds.

His longtime attraction to Stella, who is marked by her own tragedy, is anchored in the palest gleam of hope that she offers some redemption for him. Ramsy is drawn to her because of her pain, her acceptance of it, but also because of the optimism that she has not lost, despite the pain. Stella has a strange kind of power that doesn't look like power at first glance.

When the gypsies arrive in Shelk, the break-ins begin, and the townspeople are robbed of their money and trinkets, artifacts of love and connection to each other. As Ramsy's and Stella's stories unfold, the gypsies become increasingly bold, and their violence pushes the people of Shelk toward vigilanteism. What complicates the story is that Ramsy and Stella have empathy toward the gypsies, recognizing a part of themselves in two of the younger vagabonds. They are faced to make a difficult choice about allegiance, and through it, find the courage to move past their own heartbreaks.

This review is based upon an Advance Review Copy.
Profile Image for Laura.
864 reviews316 followers
April 14, 2021
Worn out, sad, lonely characters living in a “has been” town, with very little to offer to those still left. Those left are then terrorized by outsiders. The people of the town are already experiencing heartache either by self-infliction or by those near to them. The last thing they need is unwanted hostility from a group wandering into their community to take what they can and will. Heavy book. Well written, first novel with a few things that I questioned but not enough to lower my 4 star rating.
Profile Image for Chelsea.
139 reviews10 followers
February 26, 2017
This is Margo Orlando Littell’s debut novel, and wow, it looks like she was made for this! The beginning would be considered by many a bit boring. After all, Littell is setting the context, the town’s way of thinking and the protagonist’s introduction. As for me, I like when an author describes a quiet village’s way of life, especially when he/she does it well. It sets a peaceful pace, perfect for a lazy day. Even when villagers describe the crimes, it’s told in gossips and rants, just like you’d expect from a little town.

The main protagonist is Ramsy. You get the feeling that he’s a “go with the flow” type of man; he doesn’t really have any purpose, doesn’t have anything he’s really attached to, doesn’t care much (except for Stella). For real, he’s too detached for my own liking, the kind of gruff old man who speaks in one-word answers. As for the other protagonist, Stella, she’s haunted by a loss, and that’s her drive. You’d think she would be weak, and fragile, but she’s a quiet force. It’s subtle, but it’s there. Both of them have lived through things that wrecked them and marked them forever. It’s amazing how sometimes we’re reminded of that by the way the author focuses on certain details of their life and thoughts that make you go “Oh! I didn’t think of it that way, but it does make sense.” The loss, and loneliness, and did I say loss??? are crazily well described. Oh, the loss, here. It was incredible. It’s totally relatable, but not in the way of feelings and thoughts, but more like in the needs and life experience.

The two protagonists aren’t necessarily amiable, they have more of a secondary-character personality than a main-character personality. They have a part to play in the plot, but they’re more like observers to the events unfolding around them. The spotlight, in my opinion, was put on the gypsies. The introduction to the runaways, the “gypsies”, is deliberately slow. Each chapter starts with one of their thefts, in the thief’s point of view. They are not named, are anonymous, are stripped of their identity, but what they do sometimes and how they think give them back what their lack of name brings : humanity. You suddenly remember, in the midst of what they’re doing, that they are, after all, teenagers, runaways. I easily got attached to them.

The story is kind of dull, because the main character himself is dull, so it rubs off on the reader. But Littell has that way to present an overtone, a raw truth, in a nice and aesthetic turn of phrase. And your heart tightens just a bit more, because your imagination will understand everything she’s implying.

Both sides of the fight (citizens vs runaways) are well defended by Littell; the way I saw it, there weren’t really good and bad guys. You’d think the runaways would be the bad guys, because of the thefts, but just how far a normal man from a normal family would go to keep his safety will make you think otherwise. Having a character who feels like an outcast (Ramsy) paid off well, because we get the point of view of both sides. It’s a very good read about outcasts, actually, because it depicts what they can bring to a community, but not in the usual “outcasts are exceptional and they learn to love themselves, and that love will bring peace to everyone around them” way. It’s really what they can bring to their community, the real, useful addition.

All in all, The writing was very good, BUT, for me, it’s strictly a lazy day read, or else it’s kind of boring. As a 19-year-old girl, it’s not the kind of story I could directly relate to, but I imagine some people could, those who went through the hardships the characters went through. It’s a deep story of loss and belonging and loneliness, definitely what the summary suggests.

** Note : In my mind, JT looked like Jesus in The Walking Dead hahahahahah
Profile Image for Tina .
577 reviews39 followers
April 26, 2021
I believe the authors intent was to create a character driven novel about desperate people living in a desperate environment. While she did that, somewhat, I didn’t feel that the characters, with the exception of Ramsy had any real life to them. If you are going to write about desperation, I expect to feel the gloom and darkness in my bones. There is no grit to this novel. It lacks emotion where emotion is due. There is lawlessness in an era when somebody would call law enforcement. Deaths are glossed over and there is no lamenting the departed that get taken out along the way. There is a lack of substance and scene building. Conflict that should be rife with emotion is just mentioned and rolled over.

This is a strange review for me. I can give credit for the building of the character, Ramsy, who is really the soul of the book. In the same breath, I feel let down that the other characters needed some work. Even Stella, tragic as she was, needed something I can quite put my finger on. The substance and content that would have made this book really good is just missing. No meat on the bones.

So, 2.5 stars rounded to 3 stars for the character Ramsy and good story concept that, sadly, failed to deliver.
635 reviews30 followers
May 9, 2016
Ramsy scrapes a living from a rundown bar in Skelk, a remote town in Pennsylvania. He lost an eye in a bar brawl when he was serving in Vietnam. He didn’t share in the upbringing of his daughter Liza because her mother walked out on him with the baby, but Liza, now married, has made contact with him and he’s seriously thinking about shutting the bar and moving to live with her. But he’s finding the decision to leave difficult to take.

He lives a detached life, serving the local men in the bar but not feeling as if he belongs. His closest friend is Stella whose baby mysteriously disappeared when very young: she believes baby Lucy may have been stolen by gypsies. Ramsy and Stella are sad people, haunted by past losses. When a group of thieves arrive, set up camp in the mountains nearby and start breaking into peoples’ homes and stealing, Ramsy and Stella both find themselves drawn into wanting to help the young people who have been groomed to steal by the leader of the gang. They are people of great humanity, sensitive to the plight of outsiders. Their actions set them even further apart from the townsfolk with dramatic consequences.

This is a fascinating story about isolation and loneliness, about people damaged by loss and by random events; and about the difficulty of reaching out and of being accepted, even by sympathetic well-meaning people. The small town atmosphere is skilfully drawn, as is the deep sadness of the protagonists, although the story ends on a very positive note. The book is cleverly structured: each chapter begins with a brief vignette of a burglary carried out by one of the gang, giving a sense of their life on the edge and their thieving art. While the other characters surrounding them are sketched in in little detail, this gives Ramsy and Stella extra depth. And some of the writing is so vivid that I found myself returning to reread passages. Highly recommended, I look forward to reading other books by this author..

(thanks to Netgalley for my copy)
Profile Image for Abram Himelstein.
15 reviews2 followers
April 23, 2016
This book made me read like I was a younger person- unable to work or parent until I had finished the book. Midway through I was worried because there was so much tension that I felt sure the author would not be able to resolve it all in a satisfying way. I needn't have worried. An exquisite first novel.
Profile Image for Eric.
Author 6 books101 followers
October 9, 2016
A quietly plotted, tender, moving book. Reminiscent of Robinson's Housekeeping--and I don't throw Robinson comparisons around.
Profile Image for Coleen (The Book Ramblings).
213 reviews67 followers
October 14, 2016
You know those novels that bring you into their world, and when the story is finished, you feel like a piece of you is behind in that world? That is what this novel did to me. I don’t typically give books five stars because it has to be a book that makes an everlasting impact; one that I will be talking about for years to come–this book is one. It is one of those that you begin reading, and you do not leave that world until you are finished in the wee hours of the morning. This book has left me in such a haze while I continue to think about the setting, characters, and story in itself.

Each Vagabond by Name is exquisite, simply put. Margo Orlando Littell has crafted such a stunning debut novel about isolation, loneliness, survival, and coping. There is self discovery within the story, and finding your way through dark times. It’s a slow pace through the build up, but it is so beautifully written with emotion, grit, and honesty that you get lost in the world and become a part of the story in your mind. I thought the characters and world-building were complex, and constructed in such a brilliant, realistic way. I highly recommend reading it, and I am looking forward to the author’s future work.
Profile Image for Martha.
357 reviews34 followers
July 14, 2016
(Thank you to NetGalley for the review copy!)

In his chest rose up a kind of longing he’d never felt before. It wasn’t sadness, or regret. It wasn’t even love. Instead it felt like homesickness for a place he couldn’t quite name, a place he might not have ever been.


Four and a half stars. Every once in a while I pick up an unassuming little volume that ends up absolutely amazing me. Each Vagabond By Name is definitely one of those books. It unfolds in such lyrical fashion, gently unrolling the histories of the townspeople of Shelk, that it's hard to believe it's a debut novel. You almost feel like this has to be one of those situations where an established author uses a pen name to fool the masses into buying their book with no preconceived notions, only to unmask themselves later to much fanfare when the book turns out to be a huge hit.

Ramsy feels so alive in these pages that it's hard to believe you can't tuck the book under your arm, walk down the street, and pull up a bar stool while he pours you a drink. The characters here feel raw and they feel real: the townspeople who are desperate to protect what little they have, and yet turn their need for protection into something violent; the travelers who are trying to survive, yet are willing to steal and harm in the process. In the middle is Ramsy, uprooted all his life even as he's tied to the bar, not certain of where he belongs or even if such a place exists. I opened this book expecting to only read a chapter or two but ended up glued to it right through the final page.

I honestly started to get worried in the last chapters because I thought the author might not resolve all the storylines or, worse, might leave us with something trite. But she didn't, and I couldn't be happier with the end result. I look forward to reading many more of Littell's books in the future!
Profile Image for Tabitha Vohn.
Author 9 books110 followers
October 18, 2016
Thank God for indie publishers and authors who aren't afraid to be original!

Each Vagabond by Name highlights the lives of Ramsey and Stella, two middle-aged inhabitants of the secluded, "unchanged by time" town of Shelk who are forced to face their demons when a band of transients ("gypsies") set up camp in the mountains above the town, and a string of robberies ignite slumbering ghosts and prejudices.

Where to even begin with what I loved about this novel! The haunting vignettes which give the reader a robber's-eye view of the homes which are invaded are poignant to say the least. The way in which Ramsey's and Stella's stories are unfolded in a quietly observant way, much as the characters deal with conflict. I loved that so much was expressed in what we not said, but in the gestures and actions of the characters. Or the look into the lives of these transients, shrouded in mystery, and I wanted to know more, and I wanted an entire novel to be written from their perspective, continuing their story.

This is a novel that stays with you in the best of ways! Favorite fictional read of 2016 by a longshot!
Profile Image for Lisa.
309 reviews162 followers
December 21, 2016
Is it possible for a book to be both quiet and explosive all at once? If so, this author has managed to do it. I went into this book pretty blind, which is what I tend to do with a lot of books. I enjoy the story more that way without having any expectations. Each Vagabond by Name was published by Uno Press and I was thrilled they sent a copy my way for an honest review. It's not often that I can say that I loved a book from beginning to end but this one I did. This is about a small quiet town full of people that trust each other and know every one by their first name. Our main character is Ramsy, who runs the local tavern and serves the locals on a nightly basis. The peacefulness of this town is soon destroyed when a group of gypsies start looting people's houses and terrifying the townsfolk and what ensues afterward when anger and revenge start to tear their ugly heads. This story is about loss, heartbreak, rage, losing hope and finding it again, forgiveness and compassion. I encourage everyone to pick up this book if you enjoy quiet but passionately written stories. This is definitely an author I want to check out more of in the future.
Profile Image for Mandy.
3,482 reviews318 followers
February 16, 2018
It’s such a shame that mine is the first review on Amazon UK as I guess that means this wonderful book isn’t being widely read here – and it most definitely deserves to be. A small working–class town in Pennsylvania is disrupted by the arrival of a band of travellers, or gypsies as the townsfolk call them, who set up camp in some local caves and start to prey on the town by breaking in to the houses and stealing whatever they can. Feelings begin to run high and tension mounts as the inhabitants decide what to do about it. But not everyone is against the gypsies. Vietnam vet Ramsy also feels like an outsider and is reluctantly drawn into feeling some sympathy for what he sees as just “kids”. Then his friend Stella, who is still grieving for the loss of her baby 15 years before, also has her sympathies aroused when she discovers a young girl with her small baby amongst the band. This is a beautifully written and heart-rending story of loss and grief, of inarticulateness, of being an outsider longing for connection and inclusion, and perhaps of redemption. I loved this book and read it almost at one sitting. A haunting and moving tale of lost souls.
Profile Image for Ariel (BookHermit).
59 reviews21 followers
October 18, 2016
3.5 Interesting, well-developed characters, solid structure but a wee bit slow and a little predictable. Realistic portrayal of small town life but is perhaps very rooted in its setting (Pennsylvania) and a certain American worldview. A meditation on grief, loss and longing that isn't maudlin or melodramatic. I'm not sure if I would have read it if I hadn't won it in the Next Best Book Club giveaway but I'm glad I did and I would recommend it readers who favour robust characters over action for action's sake. Good fall read. The author really captures the season and makes it part of the story.
Profile Image for Giovanna Fernandes.
9 reviews4 followers
September 8, 2016
This was one of the best books I've read in a long time - and I read a lot. The characters were so well constructed and interesting, you feel like they are alive and you don't want to leave them anytime soon. I kept thinking of them days after I was done with the book.
At the same time, the story plot is very original and keeps you interested in learning what will happen. I'd recommend this book to anyone looking for a good read this summer!
Profile Image for Sandy Littell.
28 reviews13 followers
September 30, 2016
I picked up this book and couldn't put it down. I was immediately drawn in by the mysterious activity, the plot, the feeling that I "knew" the characters; that I cared about them. I didn't want it to end. Beautifully written. "Each Vagabond by Name" is a debut novel by an author I plan to keep an eye on!
2,253 reviews48 followers
October 5, 2016
This is such a beautifully written novel amazingly a first novel.I was drawn in to the town the inhabitants &the feeling of fear brought on by gypsies invading the town robbing homes&robbing the town of its sense of safety.Also the feeling of loss the sadness that surrounds individuals in the town.I couldn't put this novel down&twill be recommending it to my friends.
Profile Image for Bear.
196 reviews20 followers
July 20, 2016
*Recieved a free copy from Goodreads Giveaways*
The cover is soo pretty. Can't wait til it arrives.

Pleasantly surprised by both the complexity of the story and its in depth characters. My only complaint is that there wasn't more to read. ;-;
101 reviews2 followers
October 11, 2016
Beautiful story with really strong character development. Received this through NBBC and can't wait for the discussion with the author next week!
October 26, 2017
It's easy to immediately immerse myself in Littell's literary style. She draws fully formed characters without drowning the reader in every detail of the moment. Here's a taste of the types of passages you'll find. This one was a personal favorite. (Don't worry, there's no spoilers.):

"When the sun lightened the rooms, he stopped cleaning. He opened the front door to let in the fresh, cold air, and made coffee. He sat at his table and sipped it while it was near-boiling. The heat burned his tongue. His eye watered, and he sipped again. The pale pre-morning light lapping at the sky made him feel old and even more alone. There were no night-sounds now, just the slam of someone's car door. It was that slam that did it, that slam that sounded like every other slamming door he'd ever heard in his life. Maybe Liza was right - maybe it was time he left. He could do exactly this - sitting and sipping - anywhere in the world."

The main characters tackle issues of a changing local landscape and fear of newcomers. Yet, the real genius of the novel is that it captures the zeitgeist of our current times without any of the details you'd find in reality to mire the story in politics.
Profile Image for Rose Ann.
16 reviews
December 26, 2017
I absolutely loved this book. Margo nailed the characters and it was warm, interesting, compelling, and true to life. The story held me from start to finish and may I add, I loved the ending, Margo, if you are reading this review please keep writing. You have a great talent. I read a lot and I rarely rate a book a 5 but this book deserves it. I expect to hear your name again and am promoting your book through book clubs and online. It would make a wonderful movie and hope it is noticed by filmmakers.
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