Virgin of the Rodeo

August 2, 1993
The search for a delinquent father drives Texas writer Bird's ( The Mommy Club ; The Boyfriend School ) waggish and wonderful novel about the Southwest rodeo circuit out of the chute and into the winners' circle. Ample-hipped, 29-year-old Sonja (for Sonja Henie) Gets knows that she's the product of a fling her tiny German-born mom Tinka had in Frankfurt in 1964 with a traveling Native American rope-twirler, who hasn't been heard from since. Sporting her multi-ethnic outfits and renaming herself Son Hozro (Navajo for ``harmony with nature''), the heroine haunts the rodeos looking for dad. When geriatric Tinka picks a doddery new mate, Son wraps up her pest-control business and hits the road with determination. She meets trick-roper Prairie James, a horny, manipulative has-been whose pompous macho attitudes Son ably punctures with plentiful feminist sass and voluble wit. When Prairie hints he might locate her parent, Son pays her own way as Prairie's fast-talking announcer on their bumpy odyssey, a partnership rife with roughhousing. The reader is treated to an insider's tour of the rodeo, including the women's, blacks' and gays' version of this bit of vibrant Americana. Bird equips Son with her own gift of twirly high-flying palaver that is as flamboyant, skillful and fun to behold as a loop-spinner's lariat. Author tour.

Get ready for a rip-roaring ride through a rodeo circuit. Characters and personalities abound. Sarah Bird tells the story of Sonja "Son Hasrow" Getz and her search for her lost father. Narrator Laural Merlington performs the most amazing feats of vocalization, from Southern and Texan twangs and steely Detroit accents, to lisps from missing teeth. The only thing missing is horse sounds! With the vocal acrobatics there's no doubt which character is talking. Add to this the story's adaptability to audio, and you have a real winner. So buckle on your seat belts and get ready for a wonderful ride. M.B.K. Winner of AUDIOFILE Earphones Award (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine