performing in dozens of shows from Oregon to Maine. After founding and running a professional Equity theater for seven years, Classon earned her MBA and began working in international business. She also holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of New Mexico and has written a memoir and over six hundred columns.
In her 600-word weekly column, The Postscript, Classon writes about the transformative power of optimism and how to find the extraordinary in the ordinary. She champions the idea that it's never too late to reinvent our lives in unexpected and fulfilling ways. She performs a live show based on her writing—with lots of sequins. With her husband, Peter, and former street cat Felix, Classon splits her time between St. Paul, Minnesota, and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
Her debut novel is Loon Point.
Recently I asked Classon about what she was reading. Her reply:
At this moment, I don’t dare start to read another thing because I am smack dab in the middle of Abraham Verghese’s latest astonishing yarn, The Covenant of Water. I will have the privilege of hearing him speak at the writers’ conference in San Miguel de Allende in February, and I’ve had this book sitting onVisit Carrie Classon's website.the shelf for a while because I’ve read all his previous books and he is one of my favorite writers. So why, you may well wonder, has it taken me until 2026 to read this book that came out in 2023?
The answer is simple: 715 pages! There, I’ve said it. I am a writer who hesitates before starting books this long. I’m not sure at what page count my internal hesitation kicks in, but is before 715, I know that.
And, of course, this book is utterly worth the investment of time (and the possibility my legs may fall asleep from having it rest in my lap). This truly epic novel brings us from the year 1900 and tells of the southern Indian “Thomasian” Christians living there through three tumultuous and defining generations. There are no minor characters in Verghese. Every encounter is, at the very least, a masterly sketch of an unforgettable person who could easily walk off with the story for a few pages—and frequently does. It is a book to savor, with almost unbearable moments of loss because Verghese does not spare us the pain of watching good people suffer and make mistakes.
Every book of his has left me feeling richer and humbled—and convinced I will never attempt to write 715 pages.
The Page 69 Test: Loon Point.
--Marshal Zeringue
Posts
