Cabbage Requiem

by R. L. Paul, Vin Libassi (Illustrator)

Overview

George Konert’s once rich life is ending on a bitter note. He is estranged from his friends and neighbors, his wife is dead and his two daughters are distant and have not produced the grandchildren he longs for. A glut of cabbage from his garden becomes the catalyst that transforms him from an aging curmudgeon who has given up on life, into an engaging and often hilarious man. Cabbage Requiem is the story of George’s resurrection.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940013601376
Publisher:	Helm Publishing
Publication date:	06/17/2011
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	364
File size:	677 KB

About the Author

Raymond L. Paul was born in St. Louis, Missouri on February 25, 1936, and has been a resident of Rockford, Illinois since he was four. At West Rockford High School he was a top student, three-sport star and an All-State football player. He attended the University of Wisconsin on a football scholarship, majored in insurance and finance and graduated after four years with a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree.
Immediately following graduation in 1958, he passed up an opportunity to play minor league baseball in the Dodger farm system choosing instead to marry his college sweetheart and begin a career with Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company. Forty-six years later, he is still inordinately in love with Jo Marie and proud of his ongoing relationship with Mass Mutual.
Nine years ago Ray finally reached a comfortable stage where the demands on his time and energy were diminished. Their older daughters had moved away and started families of their own, and he and Jo Marie had weathered the crisis of losing their youngest daughter to meningitis. With his golf scores soaring and time on his hands, he needed a new challenge. Two college writing classes and a couple of workshops later, he had found a new avocation. With the first click of the keyboard, he began writing himself into retirement.
In the past five years, Ray has written Cabbage Requiem and approximately forty short stories. Twenty-two of his short fiction pieces have been published in a variety of literary and commercial magazines, such as Potpouuri, AIM Magazine, and The Acorn.He has finished a second novel.

Editorial Reviews

Author R L Paul has crafted a character on a journey of renewal in the poignant and amusing tradition of characters created by established writers such as Jan Karon and Clyde Edgerton. George's story proves to all of us that there's power in the simple things we do for our neighbors. Even a head of cabbage given as a gift
at the right moment can change a life forever. George's foibles-including the hint of mystery about his life that he finds unfolding...-make me smile.

Christine DeSmet,

The author of Cabbage Requiem - R. L. Paul - has created such wonderful unforgettable characters. Readers’ hearts will be silently gathered by George Konert, who sheds tears from a lonely existence, who longs for the simple pleasures in life— a flourishing vegetable garden, seeing his busy daughters, and having the love of grandchildren to warm him through the long winter season.Cabbage Requiem is enjoyable reading at its very best.

Dakota Wind

George Konert is a widow; his entire life now is his garden and he is beginning to hate even that. Life itself is holding no meaning and his future holds no promise of happiness. George Konert is merely existing in a world of gray. George has children, but their lives do not include him. He is lonely, discouraged and disillusioned with all life has to offer. Something has to change. In doing this small act of kindness an entire new existence opens up for George. A story well worth your time.

Shirley Johnson