And so, Evelyn, heroine of the story, dies peacefully in the first sentence of Pontoon. But death doesn’t keep her from turning life in Lake Wobegon upside down. Evelyn may have appeared to be an 82 year old who went to quilt circle and church. But once her husband died, Evelyn really came into her own. She traveled with her secret lover Raoul, questioned her beliefs, and cultivated her independence. Evelyn’s unconventional last wishes (no burial, no hymns, no service) set the whole town on its ear.

It’s trademark Lake Wobegon humor–absurd, a little dark, but deeply compassionate toward human nature.