Imagine that there are American MIAs who chose to remain missing after the Vietnam War. Imagine that there is a family in which four generations of strong, alluring women have shared a mysterious connection to an outlandish figure from Japanese folklore.
The author of "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" assembles a series of seemingly non-integratable components -- American deserters from Vietnam, generations of women absorbed by Japanese folklore, circuses -- into a satisfying love story.