Buffalo Gal

I have had the chance to read Laura Pedersen's fiction work so I was expecting a well written, enjoyable story with her latest book, the autobiographical Buffalo Gal. It met all my expectations and so much more.  She was able to take me back to a time and place I knew well but had forgotten. It is one many of us will find familiar whether we are from Buffalo or not.

Buffalo Gal is a bitter sweet but very funny look at growing up in the suburbs of Buffalo New York in the 1970s.  Pedersen lives with her parents in a traditional two parent household but her up bringing was anything but traditional. Her parents were unique, hands off parents who let her raise herself, make her own decisions and create her own experiences. Luckily, she was good at all three from a very early age.

It is Pedersen's gift to be able to draw the reader into her world, the world of Buffalo New York in the early 70s. It is a time and place I know well having grown up there myself during that time. I can attest to the accuracy of her portrayal of the city and the era. But she is able to draw everyone into her story, to place it within the context of what was happening around America, around the world. Buffalo was such a microcosm of what was occurring  in many places. But Pedersen's childhood was also one of a kind which brings a closeness to the story, a personal slant on one girl's place in a big, crazy world. Pedersen is able to seamlessly go from the big picture to the small and personal, interweaving them to form a montage of the times.

And, above all, this book is laugh out loud funny.  Pedersen infuses the book with humor and a wonderful take on the world in which she grew up. Her excellence in writing allows her to infuse deep humor without slapstick and with out taking away from or demeaning a life, a place and a time