My dad’s last name is Querer. What kind of last name is that? In Spanish, querer means to want or to love. My dad says it’s a Scottish name, Kerr, but that one of his ancestors believed that there were too many Kerrs in the area, and he felt he was truly special – not at all like the bland, stolid Kerrs in his district. His first choice was to change the spelling to Cur. But it had unfortunate additional meanings – one of which (a badly behaved dog of indifferent parentage) was already thought to reflect his character. So, he went from Kerr to Querer, landing only briefly on Cur – but it was enough to soak up some of the attributes, namely that of being a compulsive barker. Consequently, over the years, I’ve tried to muzzle myself. I’ve largely failed. *************
Tinguely Querer, geologist, properties assessor, and corporate merger specialist, travels in her own quirky space, resulting in unexpected encounters. Tinguely records her thoughts in a journal, and the reader travels through her journeys, both mental and physical. She works with her father as she builds her own life, and surfs life’s boom-bust cycles always on the edge of profound revelation or extreme denial. ********
The Adventures of Tinguely Querer is a fast-paced, funny, poetic, metaphysical, metafictional romp. It is right up this reader’s alley and I think it will be a treat for any lover of smart, playful, meaningful fiction. It is about myth, destiny and cows. And the author’s illustrations for her beguiling text are charming and add a certain dazzle to the narrative. They may remind the reader of Kurt Vonnegut’s playful illustrations for Breakfast of Champions, or the whimsical drawings of Thurber. Nash may at times seem like a female Vonnegut (one chapter here is called Vonnegut Radio, ) or perhaps Tom Robbins, but she is also unique and full of her own personal bravura and mojo. This modern, hip trip of a novel will delight you and stay with you long after you finish reading it. Tinguely herself may seem a real friend by book’s end and she may have you waiting impatiently for what Susan Smith Nash does next.
–Corey Mesler, author of Following Richard Brautigan
