Van Gogh Cafe by Cynthia Rylant

I enjoy reading fantasy, but I think science fiction is more my cup of tea. I had a lot of trouble believing what I was reading in Van Gogh Cafe. In science fiction, I can be drawn into an alternative reality and can be convinced of almost anything. But, with Van Gogh Cafe I read each chapter and tried to figure out an explanation for each magical event. With each chapter, the magic was harder and harder to explain away. But, I just couldn't believe it.

In The Van Gogh Cafe, a man and his daughter run a cafe where magic is known to happen. While there are many incidental characters in the story, the daughter is the one who senses the magic and waits to see how each magical event will turn out.

I did try to consider how each magical event helped the people in Flowers. I especially liked how the possom helped everyone to get along. I had a sense that while each magical event, like with the possom, was meant to help one character in particular, many people benefited from the magic. The possom helped the man go make an animal shelter, the poetry helped the boy find his cat.

I would have liked to know more about the characters that were affected-- the boy or the man or the star. However, the flat characters and short vignettes fit with the setting. In a cafe near a major highway, I'm sure the owners know many locals but don't really know much about them. In addition, the owners probably meet many new faces and do little more than serve them food and see them on their way. Even Clara, the girl, had little characterization. I have no idea what she looks like, what she likes to do (other than work at the cafe), who her friends are, or what kind of a person she is. I missed getting to know the characters in the book.

This is not a book I enjoyed or would recommend to others.