Ever since I read Okimoto's The Love Ceiling, I've been anticipating another wonderful novel from her. That's why I was thrilled to win Walter's Muse in the contest on Margot's Joyfully Retired blog.

This new story is everything I had expected and more. Okimoto's main character, Maggie, is a retired elementary school librarian. She lives on Vashon Island in Puget Sound where she expected to have a calm summer alone while taking stock of her life and deciding what kind of future she would like to pursue. Calm is anything but what her summer actually becomes.

First there is a huge windstorm in which her neighbor, Walter, is injured. He's a children's book writer and he lives with his dog, Bill Bailey, who will only come when Walter sings the old song, "Won't you come home, Bill Bailey?" When Walter must go to the hospital, Bill Bailey becomes a problem for Maggie to deal with.

Then there is Maggie's ditzy little sister, the drama queen, who has just separated from the latest in a series of millionaires she has married. She comes to Maggie bringing a Siamese cat that Maggie detests from the beginning. But on the other hand there are her friends. Martha Jane, a ninety-something wise and funny lady, and Howie and Mark, a gay couple. And when her world gets to be too much, Maggie goes kayaking alone to sort things out.

I love Maggie. She's intelligent and feisty and caring. She's patient when Martha Jane forgets things, and she doesn't hesitate to plunge right in to help someone. I've found dogs always know who to trust, and Bill Bailey loves Maggie too. Maggie butts up against serious issues in this story. There are light moments for sure, but the issues she confronts are life-changing ones. In other words, lots of meat but leavened with humor. In all, a very satisfying story.

I do hope you'll read this one. I recommend Jean Davies Okimoto wholeheartedly. ( )

There are some books that just give that bit of a tingly feeling inside when you start to read them. That feeling that signals that what you are about to read requires several items: a warm blanket, a cup of tea, rain pattering against the window and lots and lots of time to invest.

That's the feeling I got when I cracked open Walter's Muse. I was immediately drawn into a world with mature adults, mystery, intrigue, lure, and promise and I loved it so very much.

The characters in this book were incredible. From the very first instant I was introduced to Walter I felt as if I wanted - no, needed to know more. I needed to know even about his dog! That's some intriguing character writing there.

I did have a few issues with the book (namely pacing issues) but overall, I thought it was a solid, good comfort read and one that I enjoyed very much. It did what I ask of books - let me escape my crazy, stressful world and go somewhere that came alive for me. ( )

This was a great story to read. The characters are so well fleshed out, you are sure to identify with at least one of them. Maggie has retired from her school librarian job and moved to Vashon Island. She wants to relax, kayak and be left alone. She grew up feeling neglected most of her life. She shares the island with a group of interesting characters. Howie and Mark are a couple who are more than willing to help anyone. They provide fresh produce from their garden. Miss Martha is 91 years old and full of wisdom, as well as a fantastic outlook on life and aging. Then there is Walter. Walter is a well known children’s author and former alcoholic. He is a cranky man who wants nothing more than to be left alone to write.

The book opens with a storm. The high winds have caused Walter to fall from a ladder. Maggie who has a history with Walter finds him and gets him help. He asks that she take care of his dog Bill Bailey. While she is handling all of this her sister decides to drop in with some news. Maggie throughout the book grows and learns to stand up for herself. She is full of flaws which made her so believable. She is a person who likes to snoop through other peoples’ things. She admits feeling guilty about it, yet she justifies her reasons for doing it. She and Walter are both people who change throughout the book. It is not one of those books where you find a quick romance or answer to a problem. The relationship develops gradually so that it is believable. I identified with Maggie. Looking at her was like looking at my former self. I’ve had to fight for years not to be my family’s doormat. I love Martha’s bits of wisdom. Even though she is forgetting things more and more she continues to keep a very positive outlook.

I enjoyed the book so much I want to recommend it to everyone. I am glad I was given the opportunity ( )

There's a plethora of novels about the life and loves of young women but there's less available out there for older women. I don't know if it's a function of the audience wanting to read about the green and untried, if it's because that's what research shows will sell best, or because bildungsroman is the traditional narrative trope but there's a lot to be said for the stories of people who have some experience of life under their belt. Okimoto's lovely novel of love at a later age is one of these gentle books that tell the tale of such a couple of lives.

The novel opens with a summer storm blowing through Vashon Island, WA and retired children's librarian Maggie hearing something unusual in between generator noise and the gusting wind. It turns out to be her curmudgeonly neighbor's dog howling because his master is trapped under debris having suffered a small stroke. Maggie goes to his rescue and finds herself becoming more and more enmeshed in Walter's life, again. She and Walter, who is a famous, rather reclusive children's author, have a history together and it's not a pretty one.

Maggie is a good-hearted character who has found herself a place in the small, rather earthy community of Vashon Island and she is taking the summer, the first one of her retirement, to decide what she wants out of life. Taking care of Walter and his devoted mutt Bill Bailey are not in her plans. But she can't just abandon him to his solitude either. Meanwhile, Maggie's younger sister, a needy sort of person who is rarely without a man, is in the throes of another divorce from yet another wealthy husband and she has decided that she should be closer to her only family, arriving on Maggie's doorstep and selfishly (or perhaps just self-centeredly) adding to the caretaking burden Maggie is already under.

Walter, when he suffers his small stroke, is in the midst of another book, which Maggie, an inveterate snooper (she charmingly admits to her vices, small as they are) has started reading. She loves it but her snooping also tells her that it won't be easy for Walter to publish this novel because of the climate of children's publishing. And so Maggie steps up to help Walter keep momentum, to shepherd him through his charming tale. As she types his manuscript, she and Walter develop a relationship and face the history that they have together.

This is a tale of friendship and love, facing mortality and the worth of human connection. The characters are delightful, engaging, and fully formed and it is a pleasure to follow them as they discover not only their own worths but also the worth of others close to them. There are no big explosions here, just the drama of everyday living while aging but that makes for a surprisingly good and pleasing read. Second chances are the stuff of life as long as a person has the courage to keep living it and ultimately Maggie and Walter and all those around them show readers that simple courage. ( )