Staggerford - Hardcover

Finding out that Ballantine published this book was a very nice surprise for me. I first read Jon Hassler's Staggerford when I was a sophomore or a junior in high school. I'm not totally sure which. Talking about this book with a friend was one of the first conversations I ever had when I thought, "Wow, she gets it too!" I've read just about all of his novels since. No one captures the small town subtleties - the quirks and the quiet dignity - with as much warmth as Jon Hassler. My friend eventually moved to Minneapolis and has seen the author about a dozen times. I don't think she moved to Minnesota just to stalk Mr. Hassler, but it is a nice plus for her. Working in the office, I've read his books before they've been published and seen the comments from his editor and his letters as the manuscript become a final novel. I've never actually spoken to him though which, in a way, I like. You see, I love all of his books but when I think of Jon Hassler, I picture the warm, quiet, intelligent gentleman and slightly awkward and anxious observer- that is Miles Pruitt, the hero of Staggerford. I'm sure it's not accurate - what author is just like his protagonist? - but I like thinking of him just like that.
-S. Gutierrez, Assistant editor

Jon Hassler was born in Minneapolis in 1933. He received degrees from St. John’s University in Minnesota, where he was an English teacher and writer-in-residence, and from the University of North Dakota. The author of many widely acclaimed novels—Staggerford, Simon’s Night, The Love Hunter, A Green Journey, Grand Opening, North of Hope, Dear James, Rookery Blues, Dean’s List, The Staggerford Flood, The Staggerford Murders, and The New Woman—Mr. Hassler passed away in March 2008.