How Clarissa Burden Learned to Fly    by Connie May Fowler Order:  USA  Can Grand Central, 2011 (2010) Hardcover, Softcover, e-Book Read an Excerpt     Reviewed by Bob Walch Late in this novel the central character goes ballistic. An indifferent husband, bad case of writer's block and a number of other problems have reached the boiling point, sending this writer over the top. When her husband criticizes, her she explodes. 'I'll tell you what's stupid,' responds Clarissa Burden when her husband tells her she is stupid. 'Your paintings are stupid. Your sculptures are stupid. Your meaningless, gibberish-filled films are stupid. Your photographs are stupid. Your bimbo models are stupid. The way you treat me is worse than stupid.' How Clarissa's life reached this tipping point is the subject of this slightly whimsical story set in Florida's Northern Panhandle. The thirty-something heroine awakens on the summer solstice and, facing her own discontent and a ghost's righteous need for truth, sets out on a twenty-four hour journey of self-discovery that changes her life forever. What transpires is as humorous as it is life changing, since Clarissa realizes she'll have to do the unthinkable if she is going to fix her own life and assist the family of spirits who come to rely on her to set their lives in order. Yes, this is tale is a bit bizarre, but it is also fun. Have you ever encountered a ghost fly who has a crush on a living person? I thought not! But he's just one of the zany characters that make this novel so entertaining and fun to read. Even if you aren't into ghosts, I think you'll discover they fit right in with Clarissa's singular story! Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Contemporary books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews