Walter G. Klimczak
News & Reviews
May 8th, 2005
Monroe the
backdrop for romance, time travel
by Mitchell Uscher
For the Times Herald-Record
mtprod@aol.com
The beauty of Orange County plays a big part in "Falling in
the Garden," a first novel by Walter G. Klimczak.
Much of the book is set in the Sugar Loaf and Monroe areas.
Klimczak grew up in Monroe, and his mother still lives there.
In this unique tome that blends romance and time travel,
Klimczak describes the woods of the Hudson Valley. He writes,
"We were fortunate enough to live on the green shore of a vast
expanse of woods. Cradled in the Hudson Valley of New York
State, these woods pulsed and retreated as waves against the
grandeur of the Catskill Mountains. Many housing developments
had sprung up over the years, but there still remained an
unfathomable expanse of forest in nearly every direction."
In the course of the story, the main character, Michael
Sullivan, meets a mysterious woman named Ashley Haddow in a
forest area called "The Meadow."
As the pair get to know each other, Sullivan finds out more
about Ashley – and Monroe – during a conversation. Klimczak
writes:
"I asked her where she lived. 'Oh, just the middle of
nowhere. A town no one has ever heard of called Monroe. I
shouldn't really say no one, but we're definitely far away from
civilization. Please tell me you don't live in Monroe, too.'
"'I do, but I never thought of it as the middle of nowhere.
We have lots of things to do; we're only 20 minutes from the new
movie theater in Middletown, plus there's the Woodbury Commons a
few miles down Route 17.'
"'Woodbury Commons? You must live in a different Monroe,
Michael.'
"It was so strange to hear her say my name. I said, 'It's the
Monroe in Orange County, New York.'
"'But it can't be. I've never heard of the Woodbury Commons.
I have heard of Route 17, though. We've used it a few times when
we drove to the city to pick my dad up.'
Even the Times Herald-Record makes it into Klimczak's story.
He writes: "I discovered (with a twinge of shock) a
particular date. Beneath 'The Times Herald Record' was the date
Oct. 17th 1998."
Klimczak started writing stories when he was 10 and wrote a
novel at age 16. He says he has always wanted to write about his
hometown. "Falling in the Garden" is the first in what Klimczak
calls his "Time-Front Trilogy." His next book, "This Place
Only," is in the process of being completed and he plans to
follow that up with a tome tentatively titled "Yesterday and
Tomorrow."
"I wrote 'Falling in the Garden' after my first son was born,
revisiting the most magical time and place in my youth," he
said. "I've had a lot of positive feedback on the book and am
now working on a second and third novel that will continue the
story."
Klimczak now lives in Atlanta with his wife, Eileen, and two
children. A graduate of the University of Georgia with a degree
in English, Klimczak has had his stories published in Maine
Review and Frost Heaves Magazine. He teaches while continuing to
write books.
* * *
"Falling in the Garden" is published by iUniverse ($9.95).
"Wordsmiths We Know" is a forum for books written by
people with ties to the mid-Hudson, or about our communities.
June 30th, 2006
Falling in the Garden by Walter G. Klimczak
Review by
Kirkus Discoveries
Review Date: JUNE 30, 2006
Publisher:iUniverse (83 pp.)
Price (paperback): $9.95
Publication Date: March 2004
ISBN (paperback): 0-595-31277-2
In a novella of time-travel adventures and the power of the
imagination, 14-year-old Michael Sullivan struggles to fend off
loneliness after his best friend Joe moves away. The duo had
been inseparable, exploring the woods near their neighborhood,
creating maps of the trails they discovered and imagining
fantastical science-fiction stories together. After Joe’s
departure, Michael sets out to continue their work mapping the
woods, bringing along a walkie-talkie he discovered at his
grandmother’s house. While resting in a glen near his house, a
favorite spot affectionately known as The Meadow (and, later,
The Garden), he discovers that his walkie-talkie miraculously
gives him the power to speak with 14-year-old Ashley, who lived
in the exact same geographical location some 53 years in the
past. As they seek to unravel the mystery that allows them to
communicate, the two become fast friends and, soon after,
develop deeper feelings. They speak every day, and Michael makes
it his mission to find a way to bring them together. In his
search for clues, he breaks into the spooky, abandoned house in
his neighborhood where Ashley’s friend Sarah once lived. What
begins as a magical miracle soon becomes a tale of futuristic
science involving time travel and alternate dimensions. The
author’s touch is light, keeping the (pseudo)scientific
explanations to a minimum while holding in the foreground
Michael’s insatiable thirst for discovery and his budding
feelings of adolescent romance. The story is also tightly
plotted, with the mystery building quickly and smoothly. Even
though the ending is a bit unsatisfying, the enjoyable journey
takes precedence over the rationale behind the occurrences.
The best kind of science fiction: The science sows the seeds,
but the story grows the garden.
Septermber 19th, 2008
FALLING
IN THE GARDEN by Walter G. Klimczak
Category: Science Fiction
Age Recommendation: Grades 9+
Release Date: 3/3/04
Publisher: iUniverse
Reviewed by: Marta Morrison
Rating: 5 Stars
FALLING IN THE GARDEN is a love story between two young teens that live fifty years apart. Michael lives in the year 1999 and Ashley lives in the year 1946.
Somehow,
Michael and Ashley can communicate with each other, first by
radio and slowly by just being in a certain meadow by each
other's houses. They are haunted by each other and, ruled only
by communication, not by seeing or being physically near each
other, they fall deeply in love.
The rest of the story is the reason why they can communicate and
how it affects them then and into the future.
I loved the language that Mr. Klimczak uses and the way we get
into Michael's head. Michael is a boy that I would love to meet.
He has had a lot of sorrow in his life but he hasn't let it eat
away at him. He lost both his sister and father in a car
accident a few years before this story starts, and his best
friend has recently moved away, but this doesn't stop Michael
from exploring and being very loving and decent to his mother
and grandmother. He loves to read and write. He writes exciting
stories of adventure and of science fiction. He has many layers,
which makes him a great character.
This was a short book but very exciting. I thought it was a
great story that made me think long after I had finished reading
it.
© 2008 Autumn Harbor Press