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The Woodpecker Menace
The Key Peninsula floats quietly through time in Puget Sound but exists more like an island in the hearts of her residents. Descendants of the first peoples and pioneers mingle with newcomers washed ashore from distant cities in these stories of small town life in a community too small to have a town. Young homeowners grapple with the depredations of heartsick woodpeckers. Anarchist loggers nail indignant poems to roadside trees. Shamanic gardeners work to heal a damaged world one lawn at a time. Deceptively simple stories with deep feeling.
- GenresShort Stories
150 pages, Paperback
First published February 14, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
May 6, 2013
Ted Olinger intimately knows the power of language.
Beautifully written, combining the flowing prose of 19th century European classics, the rolling yet accurate descriptions of 20th century southern writers, and the intelligent humor of contemporary columnists, Olinger’s collection of stories The Woodpecker Menace will warm your heart before breaking it, will make you smile, laugh out loud, and then cry. You don’t want to miss this trip.
The volume, illustrated by Tweed Meyer, consists of ten personal essays depicting life on the Key Peninsula, in Puget Sound, Washington, where the residents are as quirky as the street names, and where the narrator lives with his young family among eccentric neighbors, peculiar contractors - whose antics border on the bizarre -, and true friends. The descriptions are rich with sensory details, the characters could not be more authentic, and the dialogues are genuine.
Once you pick up Olinger’s book, your choices are limited. Either you dismiss it as too provincial or too personal, or you drink his words up as if they were a glass of rich, aged wine, and pack your stuff to move to Puget Sound. The first person narration and some of the topics might not provide connections for all readers, but the elegance of the language balances the final reading experience out. Every sentence has an image that captures your attention or imagination. The imagery lulls you, lights up the sky, or punches you in the gut. No matter what mood you are in, your senses are alive after reading only one paragraph. Even the most ordinary topic transforms into a universal scheme because of the author’s exceptional mastery of the written word. Olinger uses language like other people use music: to lift you, make you fly, then bring you down, sometimes in a crash. After reading a couple of the stories, you want to know more about the Key Peninsula, have a neighbor who, on his way to your house, drinks half the wine he is supposed to give you as a present, have a poet or good witch to help you with your garden, and make friends with the fixtures of the local bar.
For those who find it difficult to categorize either the genre or message of the collection, here’s a word of advice: when you sit, dumbfounded, after reading a chapter, page, or line, you know you have an exceptional book in your hands, whether you connect to the topic or not. That was my experience with Olinger’s book. I had the urge to turn the page and read on, yet I felt the need to linger and process the page I had just read. Only outstanding literature provides this ambivalent conflict in the reader.
I wish I could see the world through Olinger’s tinted glasses; they are not at all pink, but they make life seem much rosier and so much more exciting.
Hedi Harrington
For Independent Professional Book Reviewers
www.bookreviewers.org
April 8, 2013
Beautifully written, combining the flowing prose of 19th century European classics, the rolling yet accurate descriptions of 20th century southern writers, and the intelligent humor of contemporary columnists, Olinger’s collection of stories The Woodpecker Menace will warm your heart before breaking it, will make you smile, laugh out loud, and then cry. You don’t want to miss this trip.
The volume, illustrated by Tweed Meyer, consists of ten personal essays depicting life on the Key Peninsula, in Puget Sound, Washington, where the residents are as quirky as the street names, and where the narrator lives with his young family among eccentric neighbors, peculiar contractors - whose antics border on the bizarre -, and true friends. The descriptions are rich with sensory details, the characters could not be more authentic, and the dialogues are genuine.
Once you pick up Olinger’s book, your choices are limited. Either you dismiss it as too provincial or too personal, or you drink his words up as if they were a glass of rich, aged wine, and pack your stuff to move to Puget Sound. The first person narration and some of the topics might not provide connections for all readers, but the elegance of the language balances the final reading experience out. Every sentence has an image that captures your attention or imagination. The imagery lulls you, lights up the sky, or punches you in the gut. No matter what mood you are in, your senses are alive after reading only one paragraph. Even the most ordinary topic transforms into a universal scheme because of the author’s exceptional mastery of the written word. Olinger uses language like other people use music: to lift you, make you fly, then bring you down, sometimes in a crash. After reading a couple of the stories, you want to know more about the Key Peninsula, have a neighbor who, on his way to your house, drinks half the wine he is supposed to give you as a present, have a poet or good witch to help you with your garden, and make friends with the fixtures of the local bar.
For those who find it difficult to categorize either the genre or message of the collection, here’s a word of advice: when you sit, dumbfounded, after reading a chapter, page, or line, you know you have an exceptional book in your hands, whether you connect to the topic or not. That was my experience with Olinger’s book. I had the urge to turn the page and read on, yet I felt the need to linger and process the page I had just read. Only outstanding literature provides this ambivalent conflict in the reader.
I wish I could see the world through Olinger’s tinted glasses; they are not at all pink, but they make life seem much rosier and so much more exciting.
Hedi Harrington
For Independent Professional Book Reviewers
www.bookreviewers.org
April 8, 2013
October 21, 2013
I won this book through a goodreads giveaway. Ted Olinger has written an absolutely charming read. All the short stories kept me interested and I finished the book very quickly. I'm from Missouri and this book did a great job of transporting me to The Key Peninsula. My favorites were "The Woodpecker Menance", "Saving a Bee", and "The Saltwater We Know". If you're looking for a delightful and lovely read to take you away for just a bit, then I highly recommend this book.
November 1, 2013
This book was a gift: literally and figuratively. The author's short stories were the perfect method for telling tales with language that often had the reader explode into a teary eyed, gasping with laughter response like bowling pins scattering when a strike is scored. While each short story stands alone it also contributes its threads to the fabric of a much more complete cloth. The last story is the whole cloth revealed for the reader. Thank you for this gift!
February 20, 2015
It is a rare book these days that makes me laugh out loud. Even more rare to find one that brings tears to my eyes, and stays in my thoughts for days. But Ted Olinger's fine book of short stories has managed to do both. He writes of his life on Washington state's Key Peninsula at the bottom of Puget Sound, describing unique neighbors, from ruthless woodpeckers to “shamanic gardners,” with such a light deft touch of phrasing, such wry observation and compassionate insight that he repeatedly took my breath away. Indeed there is a kindness that comes through in all his stories, a concern for others whatever his level of exasperation. The collection builds from sweet humor to a final story of flayed honesty, about the a beloved mother now gone. I would strongly recommend this book of short stories for anyone who wants to learn more about this corner of the world, or who just wants to indulge in some outstanding short literature.
October 21, 2014
I. What I Think that You May Find Helpful, Dear Reader
In no particular order:
A) This collection by Ted Olinger is literary and as highbrow as you like, without taking itself too seriously at all or becoming inaccessible to would-be readers.
Example of highbrow credential: 2013 National Indie Excellence Award finalist for short stories ;)
B) If you're looking to experiment with a new writer, or just foray into the short story as a genre, this is an excellent idiosyncratic choice. It's not at all forgettable, and I think the final piece, King Tide is worth reading the whole book (and more) for its own merit.
Check it out! BTW, I came across this collection when I found it and won it as a prize in the GoodReads Giveaways.
In no particular order:
A) This collection by Ted Olinger is literary and as highbrow as you like, without taking itself too seriously at all or becoming inaccessible to would-be readers.
Example of highbrow credential: 2013 National Indie Excellence Award finalist for short stories ;)
B) If you're looking to experiment with a new writer, or just foray into the short story as a genre, this is an excellent idiosyncratic choice. It's not at all forgettable, and I think the final piece, King Tide is worth reading the whole book (and more) for its own merit.
Check it out! BTW, I came across this collection when I found it and won it as a prize in the GoodReads Giveaways.
September 2, 2013
In this wonderful collection of stories, Ted Olinger brings to life the trials, foibles but most of all the deep love of a family man living on an island in Puget Sound. His work is filled with humour, pitch-perfect images and heart breaking moments of realization. The stories all too relatable everyday events reveal truths about the deceptively simple moments of our lives. And, just as the author writes about how certain other books have the quality of being read "over and over but finding new journeys to the same ending each time", the tales in "The Woodpecker Menace" are so rich and nuanced they are already calling me back to discover the new journeys within them.
November 13, 2014
I received a copy of this book from the Goodreads giveaways.
Really enjoyed this book! It surprised me in how good a read it was. The language is beautiful and really gives the stories life. Some of the stories even made me laugh.
Thank you Ted for the copy!
Really enjoyed this book! It surprised me in how good a read it was. The language is beautiful and really gives the stories life. Some of the stories even made me laugh.
Thank you Ted for the copy!
August 13, 2018
A collection of short stories of the authors life on Key Peninsula a lovely lighthearted read.
December 14, 2013
Fom Kirkus Reviews:
In this debut collection of short stories, Olinger uses wit and warmth to weave a picture of rural life that is both charming and moving.
This collection loosely follows the life of a family on Washington State’s Key Peninsula, an “accidentally unseparated island nation,” in Puget Sound. Much like the roads on the peninsula, the stories meander, but all are linked. In the titular tale, a determined woodpecker drives a family to the brink of insanity and back again; in others, a self-styled anarchist and “survivalist logger” leaves anti-establishment poems around the peninsula, and two men take a midnight boat ride to scrape seaweed off an ancient rock carving partially submerged in the ocean. Children catch insects and are corralled into T-ball practice, and they often require tutoring. Olinger’s wry sense of humor is used to great effect; in “Into the Brainforest,” for instance, he writes: “The first time I tried to find an elementary school on the Key Peninsula, as an eager volunteer tutor, I was given directions that led me to a fish hatchery. It was an easy mistake.” Even in the more humorous stories, however, no one is reduced to a caricature. The stories are brief but populated with memorable sights, smells and people, from nature-worshipping gardeners to enigmatic fishermen and their slippery salmon. The Key Peninsula is painted so evocatively that it's almost a character itself—wet, dirty and beautiful in its solitude. Olinger draws from his life on the peninsula to create a collection that is humorous and, at times, heartbreaking, particularly when it takes a darker turn and contemplates the struggles in a marriage after the death of a family member. His spare style, complemented by black-and-white drawings from artist Tweed Meyer, is lovely to read, and although a few of the too-short stories may leave readers wanting more, the collection as a whole is deeply satisfying.
A delightful, low-key yet memorable collection.
www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews
In this debut collection of short stories, Olinger uses wit and warmth to weave a picture of rural life that is both charming and moving.
This collection loosely follows the life of a family on Washington State’s Key Peninsula, an “accidentally unseparated island nation,” in Puget Sound. Much like the roads on the peninsula, the stories meander, but all are linked. In the titular tale, a determined woodpecker drives a family to the brink of insanity and back again; in others, a self-styled anarchist and “survivalist logger” leaves anti-establishment poems around the peninsula, and two men take a midnight boat ride to scrape seaweed off an ancient rock carving partially submerged in the ocean. Children catch insects and are corralled into T-ball practice, and they often require tutoring. Olinger’s wry sense of humor is used to great effect; in “Into the Brainforest,” for instance, he writes: “The first time I tried to find an elementary school on the Key Peninsula, as an eager volunteer tutor, I was given directions that led me to a fish hatchery. It was an easy mistake.” Even in the more humorous stories, however, no one is reduced to a caricature. The stories are brief but populated with memorable sights, smells and people, from nature-worshipping gardeners to enigmatic fishermen and their slippery salmon. The Key Peninsula is painted so evocatively that it's almost a character itself—wet, dirty and beautiful in its solitude. Olinger draws from his life on the peninsula to create a collection that is humorous and, at times, heartbreaking, particularly when it takes a darker turn and contemplates the struggles in a marriage after the death of a family member. His spare style, complemented by black-and-white drawings from artist Tweed Meyer, is lovely to read, and although a few of the too-short stories may leave readers wanting more, the collection as a whole is deeply satisfying.
A delightful, low-key yet memorable collection.
www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews
March 15, 2014
When I got my chance to read Ted Olinger’s The Woodpecker Menace I was at jury duty in NYC -- and amongst all the bureaucracy and talk of service to country I was able to lose myself in his remote island world a world away from my own vainglorious, bustling island. It's a beautiful, mournful, funny, soulful book. Olinger’s restraint is extraordinary and, for me, one of the deepest pleasures of the book. He gives us whimsy without ever being twee. It's a profoundly emotional book. But he never commits the cardinal sin of sentimentality. It's pure and uncluttered.
I never knew what was coming next and I was happy to follow where he led. Moments stay with me like images from poems. I still see "someone's arm" reaching for a butterfly, the deceased poet-neighbour laid out in his Cossack hat with pad and sharpened pencil, a dead bee hidden in a hand, the bottle at the bottom of the sea. Salmon swimming across the road. Complicated family: the accusation of an elderly mother; a young son like a wild colt galloping through the book; a sympathetic but enigmatic wife – seen in glimpses. Always the wry, compassionate voice of the author. As I got to the last chapters, or rather stories, I had to wonder why Olinger decided not to call this a novel. Because, honestly, I think it may actually be a novel.
I never knew what was coming next and I was happy to follow where he led. Moments stay with me like images from poems. I still see "someone's arm" reaching for a butterfly, the deceased poet-neighbour laid out in his Cossack hat with pad and sharpened pencil, a dead bee hidden in a hand, the bottle at the bottom of the sea. Salmon swimming across the road. Complicated family: the accusation of an elderly mother; a young son like a wild colt galloping through the book; a sympathetic but enigmatic wife – seen in glimpses. Always the wry, compassionate voice of the author. As I got to the last chapters, or rather stories, I had to wonder why Olinger decided not to call this a novel. Because, honestly, I think it may actually be a novel.
October 15, 2013
The Woodpecker Menace was a good compilation of short stories, the authors description of Key Peninsula was spot on. The stories did get confusing at times, but you eventually figured it out. Well worth the read especially if you know the KP area. I won this book in a Goodreads First Reads giveaway.
May 9, 2015
Would love to read and review the book having won it in the Goodreads giveaway. - but nothing has arrived to date!
July 30, 2015
A nice collection of short stories that take you to the locale they are set in. I won a copy of this as part of the Goodreads First Reads program.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews