Book Review: Red Clover

Red Clover. Florence Osmund. CreateSpace Independent Publishing: February 22, 2014, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 248 pages.

Reviewed by Ray Paul.

Lee Winekoop is the youngest member of a wealthy, suburban, Chicago family. He is consumed by how different he is from his two older brothers—Nelson and Bennett—in terms of looks, abilities, and interests. While his brothers are comfortable with the parental demands required to maintain a wealthy lifestyle, Lee is constantly in therapy to remake him into a young person comfortable with his surroundings. In the eyes of his demanding father, a son should have an interest in making money and playing and following team sports, neither of which appealed to Lee. However, by the time Lee had left home and had some university experiences under his belt, he found that his choice of study was horticulture and specifically the genetic modification of plants for medical research.

In addition, his sport of choice was karate. Both choices further distanced him from his family, When an uncle he had never met died and left him a substantial inheritance, including a large parcel of farmland, Lee had the means to separate himself from his family, work in an area that held his interest, and associate with people who enhanced him and furthered his self-esteem. For the reader with a rooting interest in Lee, the trip is certainly worthwhile.

There are many wonderful facets to this story. First, the characters are all well-rounded. They can be weak at one moment and strong at another, overbearing in one setting and accommodating at a different time. Lee, the hero character, has his flaws, while most of the less worthy characters still have their redeeming qualities, and all except one, who I hated all the way through the book.

Another strength of the book is that it takes place in a number of settings: lavish homes in large cities, lake homes in upscale resort areas, farms, small town bars, research laboratories, police station cells, and court rooms. A pleasant surprise for me was the inclusion of a number of references to places in my hometown of Rockford, Illinois, and a number of surrounding small towns of which I'm familiar.

Technically, the author's descriptions are concise and clear and her dialog is realistic though lacking in attribution at times, which on occasion made it difficult for me to know who was talking. That being said, in my opinion, Florence Osmund has written a wonderfully detailed story about a man overcoming his upbringing and becoming his own man. The finished product, both the man and the story, are exemplary.