Having been born and raised in a small town in Iowa, there was much I could relate to in this novel. The funeral customs, hot and humid summer weather, family feuds over farmland and scandalous family secrets all felt so familiar. Though the basic story takes place over the course of one week, the reader is also taken back in history to learn important back stories. The author certainly included some unexpected twists and turns. Thanks to NetGalley and Greenleaf Book Group Press for a copy to read and review.

The title doesn't give a hint as to what you will encounter when you start reading. After his wife dies unexpectedly, Sonny is involved in the funeral rites any small town expects. But after t hat, he doesn't know how to continue living the life they had lead without her. The book creates lots of opportunities for the reader to reflect on his life' and relationships. lots of fodder for discussions

Not for me, this one. I usually love a family saga, especially one set in small town America, and this indeed started off promisingly, but after a while it got just too bogged down in unnecessary detail – the houses, the furniture, the actions of the characters. Sometimes it felt I was being presented with endless lists. It was also too diffuse in its focus with too many extraneous characters. The narrative was thus constantly being slowed down and the whole book would have benefited by some serious editing. Could not finish.

Onansburg, Iowa tells the story of Sonny and opens with with the funeral of Polly, his wife. Most of the action occurs within a week or two of her death so on one level the book is about grief.
Given the title of the book, one would expect the town to play a greater role in the novel. I did not find that to be the case. The small town was the backdrop, but it could have been any small midwestern town. The people are much more important in the story than the town.
One of the hurdles that Sonny must face is the fact that his brother-in-laws want to know about the will of their sister and whether she had left her shares of the family farm to him. By mutual family agreement, the shares were to be retained by the family. Although not clearly spelled out in the novel, it appears Polly instead gave the shares to Sonny.
Polly's death also brings up old family memories in Sonny's mind and his personal past resurfaces. There are flashbacks that introduce us to Sonny's grandparents and parents. We learn over the course of reading the book bits and pieces of who Sonny really is and some of what happened to him in the past. Again, we are left with more questions than answers.
My biggest criticism of the book is that several threads in my mind are left unresolved. We learn a lot about the people but not the whole story. Too much is left unsaid or not made clear.
I did enjoy reading the book and recommend it to all lovers of novels.