If You Ever Meet a Weasel

Book excerpt: In the 1800s, the lives of persons in the entertaining industry, specifically theater, were often as dramatic as the characters lives in some plays by Samuel Beckett, Anton Chekhov, Henrik Ibsen, William Inge, Arthur Miller, Thornton Wilder and Tennessee Williams. If You Ever Meet a Weasel by Belinda MacGruder is one such dramatic story. Historical fiction, this novel details the lives of theatre people who travel from Europe to the New World. This novels main character must tolerate her fathers traditional attitudes toward marriage. She must accept the separation from her European friends when she moves to the New World. Of course, New World customs are different from European customs. As such, this novels female, main character must learn New World customs while retaining the Old World ones. Natural and manmade tragedies afflict most, if not all, of the characters in If You Ever Meet a Weasel. Highly unusual events occur. Personality conflicts vie with conflicts of interests. A famous American war disrupts the lives of some of the characters. Travel to and from the European continent stresses relationships and relatives. However, this novel contains more than tragedies, conflicts and turmoil. Tender moments occur between spouses. Understanding develops among friends. Between employers and employees, friendships emerge to last lifetimes. In dialogs and expositions, the author references historical dates and events. For the readers, these historical events emphasize characters personalities, create empathy, explain difficulties and inspire imagination. This novels timeline ends in the 21st century. From beginning to end, readers will read about various transportation methods: horse-drawn carriages; steam-powered, ocean liners; taxis and train travel. If You Ever Meet a Weasel is an insightful, but fictional, literary experience into theatrical lives.