NEWS?
It has been some time since we've updated this site and we apologize profusely for the error of our ways but Ms. Stern has been working diligently to get her newest novel completed... and we're happy to say she's very close to her completion date. This may not explain our laxness but it does give us a chance to let you know that her much anticipated second novel is on its way!
We have also been busy promoting a new anthology, "Canadian Voices" in which Ms. Stern has a featured short story titled; "Barefoot in Beverly Hills."
Added to all of that, there have been numerous TV and personal appearances, lectures and readings as well as the many presentation skills workshops she leads around the city.
It has been a busy time and promises to get even busier.
We'll try and keep you more currently updated in the future.
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what's it all about?
News & Reviews on The Water Buffalo
| Water Buffalo Reveals A Gazelle! |
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 REVIEW |
By Frederick Rocque »
Love hurts. And it shows as author Reva Leah Stern takes readers on a voyage of discovery into Rachel Morganstein’s (Krup) world of cherished memories, milestone moments, the dark side of humour and yes, pain!Rachel’s scream for help begins with her desperate attempt to escape the sinking feeling of helplessness in abject rejection. She sets out contemplating four options to what she considers her only solution – suicide. Right from the start, Stern begins gently weaving in flashes of dark humour that punctuate the drama as the pages flow along.
In The Water Buffalo That Shed Her Girdle, Stern steers Rachel’s footsteps page-by-painstaking-page away from her present depressed state. Her touching narrative courses through Rachel’s life – her childhood to her rather eventful growing years, then as a young adult, and later to her travels from Ontario to Los Angeles, California.
The milestone moments include her relocation from the Town of Prescott, on the historic St. Lawrence river to Cabbagetown, on to the east side of downtown Toronto, a memorable first date with Harvey ‘Spinner’ Krup, her future husband. It’s also an encounter with Harvey’s image of the ‘water buffalo’. The image stays with Rachel all through the years, along with memories marking the celebration of a wedding notably as ‘a revelation in the ordinary’ which is further highlighted by the groom going missing at their wedding dance.
But it was an idyllic life with Harvey in the early years, and this arm of the Krup family is blessed with four beautiful children – an equal number of guys and dolls. The family revels in great summers at their two-storey wood-framed cottage at Balsam Beach in Southern Ontario. Here Rachel spent her glory days as Entertainment Director of Balsam Beach, while their cottage quickly became the hub of a bohemian art world.
Stern also gives expression to the humorous side of Rachel’s married life: the couple is young, daring and sexually charged, but sometimes finds that the foreplay includes watching Harvey clip his toenails in bed.
After 15 years of marriage, the Krup honeymoon is overshadowed by dark clouds of discontent and Harvey’s fascination with Cabala. Thus begins the War of the Krups.
In the 236-page novel, Stern breathes life into Rachel’s agony, capturing her bitter and emotionally crippling divorce. She paints vivid word pictures of a mother’s struggle as a single parent and the moments leading up to her mind-numbing rejection by her son. Her 23-year-old redheaded superhero ‘baby’ son Aaron, excludes and expunges Rachel from his life as he prepares for his wedding – motherless! This singular event leaves Rachel mentally dehydrated.
As the pages of her turmoil unfold, Rachel slowly finds herself in control of her life, emerging as it were from the shadow of the water buffalo. It’s the Gitte Neshuma, good and pure soul returning to the land of love and a new life as her innocent little angel Gabriel helps Saftah (Grandma) Rachel shed her girdle and uncover a gazelle.
Along with this new phase comes realization of the eternal truth in the dance of life. Love hurts. And love heals! |
 The Water Buffalo That Shed Her Girdle
by Reva Leah Stern
Published by BookLand Press
Reviewed by Colleen McKie
When Rachel's youngest son plans to get married, it should be the happiest time of her life. Instead she finds herself depressed and confused.
She wasn't invited to the wedding and she's not 100% sure why. As it gets closer and closer to Aaron's wedding Rachel finds herself musing over her life in an attempt to discover what went wrong with her relationship with her son.
Even though The Water Buffalo That Shed Her Girdle weaves back and forth through Rachel's life, the novel was very easy to follow. Rachel's story was humorous and heart wrenching at the same time and quite often I forgot that I was reading a piece of fiction.
I was pleasantly surprised at how addictive this book was and I finished it in two days. Stern's writing style is very unobtrusive and she quite often lets the readers feel the topsy turvy roller coaster that is Rachel's life. Events are well described and detailed but the reader is allowed to come to his or her own emotional conclusion.
The Water Buffalo That Shed Her Girdle is Reva Leah Stern's first novel and I am definitely looking forward to reading more from this Canadian author.
For more information onThe Water Buffalo That Shed Her Girdle please visit the publisher'swebsite.
MORE WELCOME NEWS...
... "The Water Buffalo That Shed her Girdle" was the novel of choice at the "Collingwood Reads" event in December.
It was highly recommended & defended by Rhonda Ronson of Page & Turner Books and it was up against some powerful competition... but it won!
... Pages Bookstore in Prescott, Ontario sold out of their stock of Water Buffalo copies
after a successful signing event with the author. She returned the following summer for another successful appearance.
... Chapters/Indigo at Bayview Village had a huge run on sales of "The Water Buffalo That Shed Her Girdle"
After an overwhelmingly successful day of readings by the author, she returned to Bayview a couple of months later for another memorable event followed by a welcome return engagement onValentine's Day.
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WEN'S ANNUAL AUTHORS SHOWCASE
The Showcase was a huge success surpassing all of our expectations.
The music was sexy, the food almost exotic, the bar very, very wet.
All the attendees seemed to revel in the celebration of authors, books and conversation.
The media was there, including BRAVO... and even they seemed quite taken with the entire evening.
There were sales, discussions, networking, celebrities and socializing.
It was a delightful event... and it was free. Could it be any better?
Watch for it next year when I am certain it will be even bigger and filled with surprises.
With this important inaugural event, the Writers & Editors Network (WEN) has engraved that name on the socio/cultural map of this city.
Watch for Mary-Ellen Koroscil the marketing genius behind this creative concept to bring about many new and exciting ventures for Canadian authors in the future.
TBA
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REVA STERN: WOMAN OF THE DAY
Submitted by Celia Love
Reva Leah Stern (The Water Buffalo That Shed Her Girdle) was selected as Woman of the Day by Women's Post
Ms. Stern has been a
successful theatre director, writer and casting director who now works primarily as a writer/novelist and story editor.
From Women's
Post:
Reva Stern is a woman
for all seasons. Her qualifications and experience underline her abilities in
the field of theatre and more recently as an accomplished author of her first
novel, "The Water Buffalo That Shed Her Girdle" published by BookLand Press.
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The only reason
for being a writer,
a storyteller, is that
you just can't help it.
You have to do it.
- F. Paul Wilson
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