Reader's Circle- A Boston Regional Library System Initiative

A Pair of Memoirs

2008-12-23T20:55:00.003-05:00

Dough by Mort Zachter

Mort Zachter tells the story of his uncles and their Manhattan bread shop in the 40s and 50s. At the same time, in the 1990's, an adult Mort discovers that one of his uncles had been saving all of his money and his fortune had amassed into the millions. Zachter bounces back and forth, telling the story of his childhood, living in a leaky Brooklyn tenement, while his mother helped out at the bakery without getting paid. When the adult Zachter discovers his uncle's fortune, a part of him becomes resentful. He'd struggled through college and grad school with no financial assistance, and his parents lived a life of minimal means, taking care of the two uncles as they grew older. Zachter explores the secrets kept by families during times very different from today. Ultimately, Dough is an homage to Mort's mother, a strong-willed, patient woman for whom family bonds meant everything.

The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy by Robert Leleux

Robert Leleux's mother was also a strong-willed woman, one who was a little more outgoing and colorful than Helen Zachter. In The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy Leleux transforms his life as a teenager, who along with his mother must deal with the fact that his father has left the family for another woman, into a novel populated by smart-tongued Texans. Being deserted by his father also meant that Robert and Mother had to get accustomed to living a life with a lot less money. They are forced to move into a much smaller living space, and every penny Mother is able to scrounge up ends up going toward wigs, makeovers and plastic surgeries, all with the goal of finding another husband. Of course, while Mother pursues her destiny, Robert falls into his during preparations for the school mucsical. When Michael is enlisted to help teach Robert to dance, the two fall almost instantly in love... a romance that has continued to this day. The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy reads like a Southern Potboiler, and somewhere deep within the rim-shot sharp lines lies Robert's fairty-tale coming-of-age story.

Jonathan Santlofer combines art with writing in his latest mystery

2008-10-23T09:43:00.004-04:00

In The Murder Notebook, Jonathan Santlofer's second mystery featuring police sketch artist Nate Rodriguez, is a fascinating exploration into a tragic circumstance that reaches into the lives of both perpetrators and victims of a series of murders and suicides. Nate is assigned to a task force to solve a series of unsettling crimes, and using his skill as a sketch artist and his dogged determination to uncover the truth, finds himself embroiled in a complicated case that no one seems to want him to solve. Rodriguez is also plagued by the death of his police officer father years ago, and a new romantic relationship with Terri Russo, his fellow police officer and head of the task force. As Rodriguez gets closer to the answers, he begins to uncover something so massive that even the federal government gets involved.

Santlofer has written a dark, literary thriller. An artist himself, the book is liberally sprinkled with Rodriguez' sketches, truly bringing the work of the sketch artist to life. While central character Nate Rodriguez is a little bit to intense to be thoroughly likable, Santlofer keeps him grounded with the wonderful supporting characters around him. This is a book you can really sink your teeth into.

McKillip Works Her Magic Again

2008-10-14T10:07:00.003-04:00

Full disclosure: Patricia A. McKillip is one of my favorite writers of all time. She can turn a phrase in such a way to make the phone book a work of literary art. Her books all revolve around magic and the fantastic, and in her latest novel, The Bell at Sealey Head, she grounds her magic in a tiny village overlooking the ocean, and a family manor whose inhabitants are enchanted by a old and powerful spell.

Judd Cauley runs the Inn at Sealey Head, and when the mysterious traveler Ridley Dow, becomes his first visitor for quite some time, he does everything he can to keep him happy. Dow is intrigued by the goings-on at Aislinn House, a fading manor, home to the dying Lady Eglantyne and her dwindling retinue. Emma, one Aislinn's housekeeper's has been opening doors and spying another world, and one Princess Ysabo since she was a child. It is this world that Dow is searching for... hopefully to break a spell laid upon it by his ancestor. Meanwhile, Gwyneth Blair is writing a tale... a tale about Sealey Head and the bell that rings every day as the sun slips beneath the waves. This is not a bell that exists in their world, but where it actually tolls is a mystery that many would like to solve.

McKillip once again shows her mastery of fantasy, magic, and romance. The characters in this novel live ordinary lives, but McKillip makes them wondrous. When the magic is uncovered, the splendor and danger are magnified, but it is the ordinariness... the humanity of her characters that are truly magical.

Marilynne Robinson's Writes Another Award-worthy Novel

2008-09-30T06:56:00.003-04:00

Robinson was evidently still interested in the small, Iowa town of Gilead, about which she wrote and won a Pulitzer Prize in her previous novel. In Home she returns to that quiet town and focuses on a different family that previously played a supporting role. Glory Boughton youngest in the family, is in her late thirties when she returns to Gilead to care for her aging father Robert. There is a sense that she is fleeing something, but she does not confide anything in her father, a retired preacher. The two have managed a routine that involves Glory caring of the house, making meals, and watching over her ailing father, when suddenly their home is disrupted by the return of Jack, the quintessential prodigal son. Charismatic and problematic, Jack has been incommunicado for twenty years, and despite the trials that he has brought upon the family, nothing pleases Robert than to see his son return home. Glory, on the other hand, is uncertain. She was very young when Jack first left and with his return comes a resigned defeat that is so unlike the vibrant young man she remembers. The two spend a little time performing an awkward dance of acquaintance, but eventually their shared secrets and a lack of judgment on Glory's part allows them to develop a closeness that neither have encountered before.

With Home, Robinson returns to the wistful longing and sadness that so beautifully pervaded her first masterful novel, Housekeeping. Home also gives her another complex and surprising woman to write. Glory is a character I could read another novel about. Filled with contradictions, yet so true and so beautiful. She is the moral center of the book who grounds her mercurial brother and without realizing it, does what he asks and saves his soul.

Mary Jane Clark Knows Her Way Around a Thriller!

2008-09-28T14:37:00.002-04:00

In Mary Jane Clark's latest thriller, It Only Takes a Moment, the author tackles that most terrifying of parental situations, the kidnapped child. Eliza Blake is the talk show host of the popular KEY News morning show. She is a successful career woman whose is beloved by her viewers. She leads a very public life, as does, by extension, her seven-year-old daughter, Janie. When Janie and her nanny go missing one day, all of Eliza's worst fears come to the surface... and to make things even more difficult, she must face the horror that her daughter has been kidnapped in front of the eyes of a news-conditioned public.

Fortunately, while the FBI search desperately for clues in Janie's disappearance, Eliza is able to rely on the Sunrise Suspense Society. Made up of her closest friends and colleagues -- brilliant producer Annabelle Murphy, cameraman extraordinaire B.J. D'Elia, and psychiatrist Dr. Margo Gonzalez -- the Sunrise Suspense Society mobilize to uncover clues sometimes overlooked by the FBI.

Clark is an economical writer, keeping chapters short and direct. It Only Takes a Moment is certainly a page-turner, with twists and turns a-plenty. Clark also keeps things interesting by following stories that may or may not have to do with the kidnapping. I was certainly taken by surprise by the neat twist ending. For this character-driven fiction lover, I found Clark's latest to be a little plot-heavy at the expense of character development, but for many, this will be a thriller that can not be put down.

2008-09-05T06:53:00.002-04:00

Brrr, the Cowardly Lion. is the protagonist in A Lion Among Men, Gregory Maguire's third installment of "The Wicked Years." After offering up an alternate, heroic take on Elphaba, the erstwhile Wicked With of the West in Wicked, then exploring the identity of Liir, Elphaba's rumoured son in Son of a Witch, Gregory returns to a well-known popular figure, who is his hands shares more with Elphaba than you might expect. Like his one-time green nemesis, Brrr is an extremely complex character, not one you might think would make a very good hero to a story upon first reflection. In many ways you would be right: while Elphaba's story was surprising in its heroism, Brrr's story tends to move in the other direction.

Obstensibly on a mission for the powers-that-be in the Emerald City, Brrr is seeking out any who had connections with Elphaba, and more importantly, the Grimmerie, Elphaba's magical spellbook. He finds Mother Yackle, and ancient crone who seems to defy death, but who has lived on the fringes of Elphaba's life. Before Yackle will share any of her knowledge with Brrr however, she demands that he share with her his life story. Grudgingly, and not always intentionally, he reveals a life spent searching, fleeing, and often being held responsible for circumstances he has had the bad luck to peripherally involved with. His sobriquet, "The Cowardly Lion" follows him and gives shape to his reputation. As more of his person is revealed, we are alternately moved by his plight and disappointed with his choices, but perhaps the whole point of this novel is to find Brrr redemption?

One review I read thought A Lion Among Men was book that felt like one long set-up for the next installment. I certainly did not feel that. Brrr's story is worth telling in its own right, but the final segment does weave itself into the Wicked mythos that Gregory is building so wonderfully, that a follow-up novel, should there be one, would certainly be high on my reading list.

An introduction to Carlotta Carlylse

2008-08-16T16:49:00.001-04:00

I'm starting to enjoy the mystery genre more and more. The more mystery writers I meet, the more mysteries I tend to read. I just thoroughly enjoyed the latest Caroltta Carlysle mystery by Linda Barnes, Lie Down with the Devil. Barnes masterfully launches into a complex, page-turning plot that is clearly in th e middle of Carlysle's story, and she weaves plenty of backstory into the narrative, naturally, seamlessly, and without making anything seem awkward or expository. I quickly understood Carlysle's character and the very complex situation she was in, even as her latest case unfolded.

In Lie Down with the Devil Carlotta takes a simple case where a distraught young woman needs her fiancee followed to prove his fidelity. The case goes horribly awry, and the client ends up dead... and not who she said she was. Not only that, but the case seems tied into Carlotta's personal life, as her fiancee, tied to the mafia, and hiding out abroad ends up connected to the murdered young woman. Barnes does a terrific job weaving the drama of Carlotta's personal life with the particulars of the case giving us a solid, traditional detective novel mixed with a nice bit of personal drama. I look forward to reading more from Linda Barnes.

Bujold's series gets better with each installment

2008-08-09T04:33:00.004-04:00

Passage is the third volume in Lois McMaster Bujold's romantic fantasy The Sharing Knife. It continues the story of Dag, a Lakewalker and Faun, a farmer who defy convention by marrying thus earning the suspicion and enmity of most Lakewalkers and farmers. In the second volume, Legacy, the couple tried to make a go of it with the Lakewalkers, in Dag's former camp. In addition to almost losing his life destroying a particularly powerful Malice, Dag and his new farmer wife are not accepted in the camp, and decide to leave. In addition to the lack of acceptance, Dag has found a new purpose. The Malice he killed in Legacy would never have grown so powerful had farmers known more about them, and if they had gone to the Lakewalkers for assistance. Lack of trust and knowledge prevented this from happening, and Dag has decided to start a one-man crusade to educate farmers about the ways of Lakewalkers so that the two are able to live in more productive harmony.

This mission leads Dag and Faun back to Faun's home, where they pick-up Faun's brother Whit. After practicing his diplomatic mission somewhat successfully on Faun's family, the trio head downriver toward the sea. Dag quickly finds out that his mission will not be so easily accepted everywhere, especially by the Lakewalkers he encounter. Yet as Dag and Faun's company begins to expand, including both farmers and Lakewalkers, hope begins to bloom. If only they can survive the mysterious threat downriver that is causing good men and women, both Lakewalker and farmer, to disappear.

Bujold continues to deepen the characters of Dag and Faun, particularly with the latter, whose role in this tale is beginning to grow more complex. By serving as both a beacon and an anchor for Dag, Faun illustrates how important such a seemingly passive role truly is. The supporting characters in Passage are lots of fun as well, with Whit gaining a little maturity as he sees his younger sister out in the real world. Berry, their flatboat's Captain, shows Faun a bold, aggressive strength that she had rarely seen in farmer women. Remo and Barr, a young pair of Lakewalkers who slowly become converts to Dag's mission, and the rest of their ragtag crew provide variety and story fodder making Passage an entertaining and satisfying read.

Insightful and Realisitic Look at Family Dysfunction

2008-08-08T05:23:00.002-04:00

Jennifer Haigh's The Condition draws a portrait of an emotionally reserved family that has spent years holding each other apart. It begins in 1976 during the annual summer vacation on Cape Cod, when the McKotch patriarch Frank notices that his 13-year-old daughter Gwen still hasn't reached puberty while her younger cousin has. The resulting medical exploration and discovery that Gwen suffers from Turner's Syndrome, a condition that will keep her in the body of a little girl, tears Frank and his wife Paulette apart and sets a course for their three children away from them. Oldest brother Billy is successful and emotionally distant. The details of his private life are a mystery to all but Gwen. Gwen's life is even more shrouded in the unknown as she refuses to discuss her personal life with anyone. Youngest brother Scott wastes his teen education on pot-smoking and finds himself in a soul-killing job and a bad marriage.

As the inevitable reunion of family draws near, Haigh explores a family dysfunction that is powerfully real, avoiding soap operaish craziness for behavior that many of us have probably seen in our own families. She does a terrific job at keeping her characters three-dimensional and complex, as seen both through the eyes of various family members and as they truly are. Frank is given particular care, as superficially painted as a sex-crazed pursuer of younger women by his wife, when in fact, while he has an appreciation for beautiful women, it is his wife whom he wants the most.

While Gwen's medical syndrome is "the condition" that each individual family member seems to use to excuse their chosen life path, Haigh does a wonderful job at going beyond the medical and into the emotional, looking deeply into each family member's heart and revealing hidden truths. If you read one book on family dysfunction this year, make sure it's Jennifer Haigh's The Condition.

Is Father/Son Film Club a Good Substitute for Formal Education?

2008-08-03T16:41:00.003-04:00

In Canadian former film critic/television host David Gilmour compelling memoir, The Film Club, the author makes an arrangement with his fifteen-year-old son Jesse, stating that he can drop out of high school as long as he watches three films a week with his dad (and does not do drugs.) Gilmour could see the writing on the wall as far as his son was concerned, and graduating high school just wasn't in his future. He didn't have any formal lectures or high-faluting syllabus in mind, just took advantage of the situation to introduce his son to a series of films as wide-ranging as The 400 Blows to Basic Instinct.

Over the course of three-plus years, the father and son share conversations on a wide range of subjects, and gradually, Jesse develops an entire language around discussing film that many adult film lovers never attain. Could there be a future for Jesse in film criticism? Perhaps, but by the end of the book, it seems that Jesse is striving for a career as part of a rap/hip hop duo. There is a curious lack of consequence in Gilmour's recounting of these years, and a rather heavy importance placed on young Jesse's incipient romantic life. Gilmour's memoir is highly readable and well written. The observations he makes about life as related to movies are interesting and sometimes nicely wrought. Still, there's a discomforting sense of privilege steeped in this tale, and a nearly alamring telescoing of viewpoint. Besides an occasional mention of his wife, and a slightly more frequent mention of his ex-wife (and Jesse's mother) the book lacks any other perspectives. In fact, I was quite surprised to read in the author's note that Gilmour had a grown daughter! While many might enjoy this readable memoir, there are a few things that turned me off so I can't really recommend it.

Brad Metlzer's The Book of Lies explores some literary truths has made a convert out of me

2008-07-28T15:55:00.004-04:00

As I've said before, I'm not a fan of thrillers. Not that they're not fun to read on occasion, and can be very well-plotted, but for me, good novels are all about characterization, and if there was ever a genre that sacrificed characterization for plot, it's the thriller. But when I met the charming and witty Brad Meltzer (pictured below, right) at BookExpo America this past May and told him that, he said I should read his forthcoming novel, The Book of Lies, and that I would like it. Well, he was right, and the way it reeled me in so surreptitiously, I was hooked before I realized it.

It's an ambitious synopsis: The Book of Lies explores the world's first murder, that of Abel by his brother Cain, and draws a connection with Justin Siegel, the creator of Superman, whose father was gunned down when Justin was a little boy. If only Justin's father was invulnerable to bullets, think of how his life would have turned out differently? The central character in this novel is Cal, a fallen FBI agent who now spends days with his partner Roosevelt, helping out the homeless in Florida. When they come across an apparent vagrant that turns out to be Cal's long-estranged father, his life turns upside-down and he ends up on a wild race staying just second ahead of a relentless pursuit from both sides of the law. On the one side is a ruthless killer, marked with the brand of Cain, wearing the uniform of a policeman, who will stop at nothing to obtain that which Cal is hunting for. On the other side is Naomi, an FBI agent who mistakenly thinks Cal killed her partner. All Cal has going for him is his father, whom he doesn't trust, and Serena, a new age yoga instructor who may or may not be sleeping with his father. That and his own wits and training, and a healthy does of curiosity.

As the tension winds up and the chase gets hotter, Meltzer taut plot keeps thing humming, but in the end, it is the surprising emotional denouement that really touched me. In the end, The Book of Lies is about family, and the way we tell stories. It all unfolds like magic in the hands of a master craftsman. You were right, Brad, I'm a convert.

Russian Thriller Filled with Complex Characters

2008-07-17T18:37:00.003-04:00

Brent Ghelfi writes thrillers set in modern-day Russia. They are hyper-violent, in-your-face, complicated tales set against a massive political power that is still finding its legs after the fall of communism. And Brent knows what he's talking about. At a recent publisher's lunch, Brent regaled the visiting authors with tales of post-communist Russia and the political players there that you just know will one day end up in his series about Volk, a former Chechen soldier, now a hardened, ruthless agent for The General.

I'm not a fan of thrillers generally, but I do appreciate good writing and intricate plots, and Volk's Game, the first in Ghelfi's series, has both of those. He's also created some pretty complex characters, which is always appreciated. Volk could almost be a caricature, but his twisted and horrific past, and his carefully hidden compassion provide him depth and empathy, even when he's torturing those who would hurt him and his loved ones. It's with Volk's beloved Valya that Ghelfi really scored. Barely into her twenties, Valya was also a victim of the Chechen skirmishes, including rape, beatings, torture, and ultimately a forging into the lithe, beautiful and deadly assassin that she has become. She and Volk are quite a pair, but it's not an easy or natural pairing, and given the intrigues they face there are a plethora of obstacles in their way. I suspect that one day Ghelfi will focus a book on Valya, and that will be one I want to read.

In the opening pages of Volk's Game, Volk is asked what he knows about art, and the answer is not much. By the end of the novel, Volk knows a great deal more, and he's lost a lot because of it. It's a powerful story, and even though I was getting impatient with all of the reversals and intrigues about three-quarters of the way through, I can tell a good thriller when I read one.

Francine Prose's Goldengrove a powerful coming-of-age tale

2008-07-03T09:24:00.002-04:00

Francine Prose's forthcoming novel Goldengrove, coming out in September, is a poignant coming-of-age tale about a thirteen-year-old girl whose family endures a terrible tragedy, and the summer they spend they almost unravel. Nico's family lives in Upstate New York on the shores of an idyllic lake. Her older sister Margaret is the star of the family, with a lovely voice and a possible career as a singer in her future. She is poised and beautiful, with the adoration of everyone, including her younger sister Nico. The two watch old movies, imitating the actors, and sharing secrets. Aaron, Margaret's artist boyfriend, is not accepted by her parents, so Nico covers for her older sister so the two can be together.

As tragedy strikes at the beginning of the summer, Nico finds herself drowning in misery, unable to pull herself out of it, and she is not alone. Prose skillfully shows how the entire family copes with grief all the while keeping the focus sharply on Nico. With a few neat nods to old movies, particularly one Hitchcock film, Goldengrove is a wonderful read that is both literary and readable.

Neil Gaiman's THE GRAVEYARD BOOK is another winner

2008-06-28T08:22:00.003-04:00

The Graveyard Book is Neil Gaiman's latest work for children coming out in September. Now I don't remember what it was like to be 10 or 11, but his man in his forties loved this novel. No one writes books with appeal to all ages as well as Neil Gaiman. Borrowing a concept from Kipling's The Jungle Book, which tells the story of an orphan raised in the jungle, The Graveyard Book features a toddler who wanders out of the house and into the graveyard after his family is brutally murdered, and is raised by the spirits and others beings who live there.

Young Bod (short for Nobody) is adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Owens, a kindly couple who died childless, and watched over by Silas, a mysterious and powerful being who is neither alive nor dead. Bod learns the secrets of the graveyard, and things no living beings know. As he grows up, he begins to encounter the living from time to time, and a curiosity is sparked. All the while, Jack, the man who murdered his family, is hoping to correct his failure by finding and finishing of Bod as well.

Gaiman populates The Graveyard Book with all the sorts of mystical and fantastic creatures he is known for. Silas' wonderful, Eastern European substitute guardian Miss Luprescu is surely my favorite, but from ghouls to witches and other denizens of the dead, there is something to astound and capture everyone's imagination. Watch for this one when it's published in September.

Elizabeth Haydon's The Thief Queen's Daughter

2008-06-15T11:55:00.003-04:00

The Thief Queen's Daughter is part two of Elizabeth Haydon's series for young adults, The Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme. Ven isn't human, he's a Nain, age 50 (about 15 in human years) and he's just recently gotten the job of Royal Reporter for King Vandemere. His first mission is to head into the Gated City to discover the origin's of a mysterious artifact given the king by his father. The trouble is, the Gated City is ruled by the mysterious Thief Queen, and entering the city sometimes means never getting out again.

When Ven and his friends find themselves trapped in the Gated City, they just rely on their wits, their insatiable curiosity, and their hidden skills to survive... and get that information for the king. Elizabeth Haydon keeps things moving, and continues the fine development of her young cast of characters. Ven is slowly becoming a young man, and his supporting cast grows more interesting as their adventures continue. One character in particular has some of their mysteries revealed making them more fascinating than ever. Fantasy series have to work really hard to keep me engaged nowadays, and I'm pleased to say that Haydon's The Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme has me hook, line and sinker.

Jonathan Barnes' The Somnambulist

2008-06-15T11:42:00.005-04:00

The Somnambulist is the debut novel from British author Jonathan Barnes. Set in Victorian England, The Somnambulist is a melange of styles: the detective novel, historical fiction, occult thriller, dark fantasy. When a string of bizarre murders take place in 19th century London, Edward Moon, fading stage magician and detective, and his mysterious, silent sidekick known only as The Somnambulist, find themselves energized once again. For the first third of the book, Barnes creates a masterful and creepy atmosphere involving secret societies, traveling freak-shows, and the various social strata of historic London.

As the mysteries begin to unfold, leading to even more tightly-coiled mysteries (including the central one re-creating the apocalyptic prophecies of poet/philosopher Samuel Taylor Coleridge) Barnes starts to lose control of his lovely creation. In fact, halfway through the novel, I suddenly felt I was reading a satire or parody of the far superior work I had been reading 25 pages previous. Barnes manages to regain some control of the fantastic plot as he nears the conclusion, but a late-added element, almost a deus ex machina, threatens to tear it all down again. Ultimately striving for a Neil Gaimanesque dark fantasy, The Somnambulist misses more than it hits, but judging from the first third of this tale, there's some real talent there.

Peter Cameron's Andorra

2008-06-15T11:28:00.002-04:00

As I was packing for BEA in Los Angeles, I realized that I needed another paperback book to bring on the plane because I was going to be finished with the book I was reading soon. I grabbed Peter Cameron's 1997 novel Andorra; it was a novel I'd owned for years and had been meaning to read but never got around to it. I admire Cameron's work, and Andorra may be one of his best.

Alexander Fox is a man who is seeking refuge from his past. He travels to the remote principality of Andorra on the overnight train and decides to make it his new home... a fresh start, as it were. He immediately befriends the sad but personable Ricky Dent and her dog Dino; followed by her husband, also named Ricky. He is also drawn into the social circle of the wealthy Quay family with two beautiful but troubled daughters. It seems Andorra is a community of secrets, and the much sought after Alexander becomes entangled among them. When he falls under suspicion of murder, he finds himself once again seeking to seek refuge from a life that has risen up around him.

Cameron has created a marvelous batch of eccentric characters around whom sadness seems to hover like a vapor. There are moments of brilliant honesty even as secrets are kept close to the heart, and moments of sublime revelation. Andorra makes an already sparkling body of work including The Weekend, The City of My Final Destination and Someday This Pain will be Useful to You shine even brighter.

Luck can be good or bad in Margot Livesey's new novel

2008-06-14T13:21:00.003-04:00

Margot Livesey explores a friendship between two women, and how luck, or fate, can impact your life in the powerful and finely crafted novel The House on Fortune Street. Abigail was moved around by her parents every few months. The only sense of responsibility she has felt was when she stayed with her grandparents from time to time. As a teenager, her parents cut her loose, and she supported herself by working in order to finish her high school education. In college, Abigail meets Dara, who had her own eventful upbringing. When Dara was young, her father left home somewhat inexplicably, despite a superficially happy marriage. Dara and Abigail develop a strong bond that continues into adulthood.

While Abigail's experiences result in a capable, self-sufficient, if a little distrustful woman, Dara searches for a storybook romance and is continually disappointed by life. The men in their lives, Dara's father, and Abigail's boyfriend, provide depth and context to the women's stories, and Livesey tells it in four parts, each featuring a different character's perspective. It's absorbing and compelling like a paint-by-number image slowly being filled in. Livesey has a strong sense of place (the book takes place in London, Edinburgh, and across the British countryside) and character, and weaves a powerfully emotional story as well. For adult drama, Livesey is master.

Starbuck's Helps Garth Stein's Third Novel Become an Unqualified Hit!

2008-06-11T21:30:00.004-04:00

Apparently Garth Stein's The Art of Racing in the Rain was purchased in a very public auction with several publishers bidding for the rights to publish it. Why Garth's first agent scoffed when first presented with the manuscript is beyond me. Apparently the fact that this novel is told from the point-of-view of a dog was what kept the agent in question from supporting the book. Seems like a bad business to me... especially in retrospect. The Art of Racing in the Rain is a well-written, tear-jerker that explores family dynamics, spirtuality, and the unconditional love that exists between man and his pet dog... it's got all the elements of a hit! And now, thanks to some clever marketing by HarperCollins, and a push from Starbucks, it is!

The Art of Racing in the Rain tells the story of Enzo. He's an old dog who has lived a long full life. By watching a television documentary, he has learned that after a dog has lived enough lives, he moves on to becoming a man. Enzo is convinced that this will be his last life as a dog, and he's looking forward to it. He lives with Denny, who splits his time between his wife and daughter, and his professional race car driving career. When Denny's wife Eve starts her struggle with cancer, the family begins its inevitable and tragic decline. The trials that Denny and Enzo endure as a devastating custody battle begins are likened to the danger of racing in the rain. When the track or road is wet, there is less margin for error. Denny is adept at racing in the rain, and he must use every bit of his skill to survive the traps and tricks his life throws at him.

Garth writes the family relationships and the emotional scenes nicely, which is why so many people respond to the novel and why people are calling it a tear-jerker. While Enzo and Denny are bonded, my favorite part of the book was the way Enzo's relationship with Eve develops. It's tentative at first, yet grows into some of the most powerful moments in the novel. Where The Art of Racing in the Rain goes astray for me, was the philosophical ruminations on race car driving, which just didn't interest me, and an unfortunate epilogue that I felt was unnecessary. Still, it's a strong read, and one that I would recommend to anyone.

(at right: Sharon (left) and Bobby (right) of HarperCollins, flank Garth Stein, author of The Art of Racing in the Rain. The three claim they are siblings.)

German novelist;s English language debut isn't quite perfect

2008-06-04T12:21:00.004-04:00

The Perfect Waiter is German author Alain Claude Sulzer's first novel to be translated into English. It's a sweeping novel that focuses on a man who is forced to come to terms with the memory of his lost love. Erneste is the perfect waiter. Thirty years ago, while working as a waiter at a grand hotel in Switzerland, Erneste met Jakob and he was immediately captivated by the handsome, bold new hire. The two entered into a passionate love affair, but Erneste's heart was broken when a year later, Jakob fled to America with a wealthy, married man.

Now it is the late 60's and Erneste receives a letter from a man he hasn't heard from in thirty years, being asked a favor that awakens feelings long buried. Still the perfect waiter, Erneste must decide whether he can allow these emotions to return in order to find some sort of closure in his regimented life.

A Perfect Waiter is an enjoyable and quick read. There is a lot of restraint on display, and plenty of control just waiting to snap. Sulzer and his translator John Brownjohn do a great job with language to convey the conflicting desires simmering just under the surface of these characters.

Elizabeth Bear Spins a Complicated SF Tale

2008-06-04T12:03:00.002-04:00

Elizabeth Bear's latest science fiction novel, Dust, is a grand space adventure where angels and ghosts of computers work together, or sometimes at cross-purposes, to keep a society in existence. A massive spacecraft carries the remnants of a dying civilization to a new home; or it would be if it wasn't stranded. Subsequent generations have adapted to life on a spaceship through genetically-altering themselves in various ways. Now the sun they are orbiting is about to expire, and their civilization is once again threatened. To survive, the ships artificial mind, now splintered into dozens of separate personalities, must merge again, against their will, and they have no qualms in using various members of the living as pawns to gain power. Through this all, young Rien, a handmaid in a feudal society, is just trying to survive, and when she discovers that the mutilated "angel," Ser Percival, who she is assigned to care for, is her half-sister, she find herself in the untenable position of betraying her cruel ruler and rescuing her captor. As Rien comes of age, she also find herself a key player in this conflict to save her race.

Bear is adept at writing big, complex sci fi sagas such as this. She also ignores convention with regard to sexuality and relationships, having her characters love come in varied forms. Bear is clearly talented, but some of she may be mixing in a few too many elements, cluttering her story to the point of distraction. The powerful ending may lead many to the eventual sequel.

Medwed's Latest Satisfies

2008-06-04T11:54:00.003-04:00

It's been a while since my last review, but I'm back, and hopefully we'll be seeing some new contributors around here soon as I encourage all those reading librarians to send in their reviews! Now it's time for some catch up.

Mameve Medwed is the author of five novels, including Mail, and last year's Massachusetts Book Awards Fiction Honors title, How Elizabeth Barrett Browning Saved My Life. Now Medwed is back, and tackling some difficult mother-in-law issues in Of Men and Their Mothers. Maisie Grey is divorced from her husband, but she can never fully disentangle herself from her horrific mother-in-law, matriarch of the Pollock chicken pot pie empire, because of her teenage son Tommy. When Tommy's grandmother finds something suspicious among his belongings, she can't help but stick her nose into his upbringing, much to Maisie's dismay. On top of that, Maisie must deal with her business, Factotum, Inc. where she helps out those in need, and her first employee, a young mother at odds with the child welfare system. Add to that a new potential man in her life, and things get just a trifle complicated.

Medwed writes with clarity and humor, and even as Maisie's life seems to falling apart around her, we never worry too much, because things always seem to work out for the best in a Medwed novel. But what makes her work so satisfying is that those happy endings are never cheap or unearned. Maisie works hard for her happy life, and we can do naught but cheer her on when she makes it. Of Men and Their Mothers would make a great vacation read, so pick it up before you head out this summer.

The Sweet Hereafter is Powerful Examination of the Human Spirit

2008-03-15T08:46:00.003-04:00

Atom Egoyan's film adaptation of The Sweet Hereafter is one of my favorite films, so I thought the time had come to read the novel by Russell Banks. Like Egoyan's film, the novel is a powerful examination of a community that undergoes an horrific tragedy, and how certain individuals cope with it. When a bus bearing a load of school children in Upstate New York runs off the side of the road into a frozen river, killing most of the riders, the town flounders. Some look for someone to blame, others become numbed by their own grief. Two survivors, the bus driver who is miraculously unhurt, and a high school cheerleader who is now paralyzed from the waist down, find their lives irrevocably altered to such a state that they in turn end up irrevocably altering the town again.

It's hard for me to talk about the book without referring to the film because the latter had such an impact on me. Egoyan was extremely faithful to the novel in his adaptation, using great chunks of dialogue and narration word-for-wrod in the movie. One of the two major changes he made was the addition of a "Pied Piper" storyline that added a poetic analogy to the disappearance of the town's children and the rage personified by the lawyer who comes seeking to represent the bereaved parents. The other change was the elimination of the entire final scene which in the book is vital and extremely powerful, but in the film is not necessary. It would totally change the film's focus and the end result from which is hinted at well enough as is. I'm pleased to find that this is one case where both the book and the film stand up as works of art.

The Return of Scott Heim

2008-02-21T07:18:00.004-05:00

Scott Heim writes about difficult subjects. In his debut novel, Mysterious Skin, Scott tackled the sexual abuse of children. We Disappear, his first novel in over ten years, looks at child abductions and the death of a parent. With its raw honesty and thoughtful prose, Heim doesn't flinch from the ugliness of his characters, but by exploring them so thoroughly, he exposes their beauty.

In this novel, Donna is dying of cancer, yet her obsession with abducted children seems to be growing more intense. Her son Scott returns to his Kansas hometown from New York City addicted to meth, but concerned for his mother growing obsession. While he is there, he slowly uncovers secrets of his mother's past that cast a whole new light on their lives as a family. It's intense, it's beautifully written, and it's powerfully moving. Just about everything you want a novel to be.

Delightful Fantasy Series for Teens Begins Here!

2008-02-16T16:44:00.002-05:00

Elizabeth Haydon's The Floating Island is the first volume in the series The Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme. Our protagonist, Ven, is not human, but rather Nain, a long-lived race that tends to live underground and work with the earth. Ven's family is a bit of an oddity as their trade is ship construction, and most Nain fear water. Ven himself is an oddity among his family members. At fifty years old, an age when he was long overdue, he has yet to sprout a beard. He also possesses a singularly unique drive to explore the world where most Nain are more than content to stick very close to home.

After barely surviving a pirate attack while on an inspection tour on his father's latest contracted ship, Ven finds himself drifting alone at sea in the middle of the nights. It seems that Ven has been blessed with a bit of good luck though, by the presence of an albatross that keeps appearing in his life. Through a series of fantastic events, Ven is rescued, and befriends the Captain of a trade ship and his crew. The Captain shows Ven many wondrous things, not the least of which is the mysterious Floating Island that mysteriously appears for a very few, special people. But while Ven encounters compassionate people and amazing wonders, he makes enemies as well, simply because of who and what he is, and those enemies have their own plans in store for him.

Haydon has created a magical world that will be both familiar and unique to readers of fantasy. Ven Polypheme is an endearing protagonist, with his insatiable curiosity and good-hearted nature, and his supporting cast is delightfully varied. I'm looking forward to reading more of Ven's journals.

A Tiny Gem from Doubleday

2008-02-16T16:26:00.003-05:00

CS Richarson's The End of the Alphabet is lovely and sad portrait of a British husband and wife, happy and in love in the middle-years of their lives, when Ambrose Zephyr is told that he has thirty days left to live. Together Ambrose and his wife Zappora (Zipper) Ashkenazi embark on a journey to destinations they have most loved or most longed to visit... in alphabetical order. But their journey is more of a journey through their loving relationship, so real, complete with imperfections, but conveyed to the reader with Richardson's gentle and musical prose. There are moments of emotional frustration alongside sublime beauty. One side journey to the Old Jewry where we meet Mr. Umtata, Ambrose's longtime tailor, is resplendent in its joy and poignancy.

The End of the Alphabet is a quick read, but one that will leave you in that place of deep literary satisfaction. Take a moment and devour this tiny gem.

French Translation Tackles Sex and Meteorology

2008-01-08T11:34:00.000-05:00

Translated from the French, Stéphane Audeguy's The Theory of Clouds is a sensual look at clouds, both historically and imaginatively. A Japanese fashion designer in Paris, survivor of the big mushroom cloud in Hiroshima, has become a collector of literature related to clouds. His knowledge of the history of meteorology is extensive. When he hires a young librarian, Virginie Latour, to help him catalog his collection, she is surprised when during her first several shifts, he simply tells her stories from those histories. Eventually she begins to work on the collection, but their time together is often punctuated by more stories and revelations about man's curiosity about clouds and the weather. As Virginie becomes more involved in her patron's quest for knowledge, she travels to London to try and obtain The Abercrombie Protocol, one of the most notorious, coveted, unpublished works on clouds. What she uncovers in London reveals a complex story that ranges from the aborigines in Australia, through the South Pacific, to Polynesian brothels. As the ever-changing skyscape of clouds can sometimes suggest sensual forms, so too is the history of meteorology peppered with surprising carnal quests.

Audeguy has a gift for storytelling, even through his characters. His story is imaginative and complex touching on a variety of subjects, and creating an interesting modern yet somehow timeless woman in Virginie. Filled with what I can only presume is fact-based histories, The Theory of Clouds was a rewarding read for this once cloud-fascinated reader.

A story of class, race and family in Boston

2008-01-05T23:01:00.000-05:00

Ann Patchett's Run is a wonderfully written modern tale of race, class and family set in Boston. In fact, the main characters live in my old South End neighborhood a few blocks from where I used to live. Bernard Doyle, a former mayor of Boston, lost his wife Bernadette at an early age. They had given birth to a single son, Sullivan, then adopted Teddy and Tip, a pair of African American brothers several years later. Now Teddy and Tip are in college, and Sullivan has been estranged from his family living in Africa. On a snowy winter night, a freak accident connects the Doyle family to a poor African American woman and her daughter in a way that will change all of their lives in 24 hours.

Patchett has spun a gentle tale that touches on some important issues. Her characters are good people who make mistakes. As the pages turn, I was really rooting for them. I wanted everything to work out for them all. As is often the case with life, not everything works out perfectly, but Run tells a satisfyingly positive story. Patchett uses the cities of Boston and Cambridge effectively as the story's backdrop, both from a geographical and cultural perspective. She is a talented writer whose work is definitely worth a look.

Tom Perrotta Tackles Religion

2007-12-07T11:47:00.001-05:00

With The Abstinence Teacher, popular author Tom Perrotta tackles the issue of religion, particularly the evangelical type, in a setting where it's not usually expected: the liberal-minded northeast. Ruth teaches sex education in the town high school, and things have started getting a little strange. A strange conservative waves has reared its head in the town, and the curriculum is being changed to teach abstinence rather than education and birth control. Ruth's younger daughter plays soccer, and her coach, Tim Mason, is a former drug addict who turned his life around by accepting Jesus into his heart. Now he is active in the Tabernacle, an evangelical Christian church that doesn't approve of Ruth's teaching style. When Ruth catches Tim leading the girls on the soccer team in prayer, she lashes back with unexpected results.

Perrotta tries very hard not to take sides, presenting most of the principle characters as three-dimensional with passions and doubts both; particularly Tim. Still, he can't help but paint some of the religious views as extreme (not that they aren't). My problem was I was much more interested in Ruth's character, and when the focus shifted to Tim, I found the book less compelling. Strangely, despite the time spent developing Tim's character, I found him to be rather tiresome and predictable. This was my first of Perrotta's books to read, and his trademark humor was also lacking. I think I will go back and read one of his earlier works like Election or Joe College.

Douglas Coupland's Voice of a Generation

2007-12-03T10:55:00.000-05:00

Douglas Coupland made history with his first novel, Generation X, where he wrote with the definitive voice of a generation. Now eighteen years later he continues to refine that generation's voice with his eleventh novel, The Gum Thief. Roger is a divorced, middle-aged, Staples employee whose life has lost direction and meaning. Through a journal sequestered in the Staples break room, he begins a written correspondence with Bethany, his twenty-something co-worker in the final phases of her goth phase. The two spark a strange connection where they are able to confess their deepest thoughts without the masks and filters they employ in their face-to-face encounters with the world. Roger is also writing a novel called Glove Pond, a timeless, yet modern-day "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" that is not-so-loosely based on his life populated by the people around him. As Roger and Bethany watch their lives unfold in a parallel track to the characters in Glove Pond, their bond strengthens, providing Roger with a much-needed anchor in his unsettled life.

Coupland writes with humor and honesty, in a voice that could certainly represent that of the aging generation he first wrote about in 1991. As characters of different generations, Roger and Bethany are representative of the lives of many people today, both young and middle-aged, just trying to succeed, be happy and find their places in life.

The Sharing Knife: Volume Two - Legacy

2007-12-02T11:46:00.000-05:00

Prolific science fiction writer Lois McMaster Bujold returns with the second volume of The Sharing Knife, a fantasy/romance series that began with Beguilement. In Legacy, our protagonists Fawn Bluefield, a farmer, and Dag Redwing Hickory, a Lakewalker, have survived Fawn's family to marry, and now must return to Dag's family who are even less thrilled about the prospect of a farmer/Lakewalker union. Even as Dag's community is deciding what is to be done with this flagrant act of disregard to their culture, a particularly horrific magical malice attack emerges to the north, and Dag must lead a troop of Lakewalkers out to destroy it. Left alone in Dag's village, Fawn tries to mend ways with Dag's mother and brother and comes up against a stone wall of resistance. Instead, she follows the mysterious bond between her and her husband to help Dag survive his encounter with the malice and return home.

Bujold has created a winning pair with Fawn and Dag, each so different from the other, yet the love they share is well drawn and believable, despite their age and cultural differences. I'm not sure where she will be taking them in volume three, but I'm sure it will be quite a ride.

Serbian Author Creates a Mosaic Novel

2007-11-13T16:19:00.000-05:00

Serbian author Zoran Živković has written a delightful novella, or perhaps it's a collection of short stories, called Steps Through the Mist: a Mosaic Novel. Each of the five stories focuses on a woman who is struggling with life, death and time. Each encounters a gray mist where time seems to stop, or allows people to move through it. The stories are all discrete, but they are linked thematically perhaps telling the universal story of a single woman. Živković kicks things off with "Disorder in the Head," where a strict teacher at an all-girls' boarding school has the girls report on their dreams, priding herself on the fact that she can tell when the girls are making things up, or worse, intentionally trying to deceive her. But when she calls a group of girls on just this, another girl claims to have been with them in their dreams and insists they are telling the truth. The teacher is forced to face her own reality by refusing to believe. In "Line on the Palm," a fortune teller must choose between her own reputation and the life of a visitor who wants to commit suicide. Živković has a lovely, fanciful way of writing, and the stories move by swiftly in this slender volume. Brimming with originality and style, Steps Through the Mist is worth a read for those looking for something different.

Hero Covers All Bases

2007-10-15T12:28:00.000-04:00

As a long-time comic book reader, I am fascinated with the fact that superheroes have truly entered the zeitgeist of popular culture as evidenced by the success of superhero comic-based movies and television series. Now there seems to be a run on 'serious' novels set in the super-heroic world of comics. (See my recent review of Austin Grossman's Soon I Will Be Invincible.) Perry Moore's new novel, Hero, follows along this path but takes it even further, yielding a complex, finely crafted, heroes-saving-the-world, story, the likes of with you rarely find in comics.

Hero focuses on the complicated coming-of-age of Thom Creed. This teen-aged basketball star has several burdens to carry. Not only is he gay, but he's recently discovered that he has super powers. His father, Hal, was once a famous superhero in his own right, until a tragic accident left thousands dead, Hal horribly disfigured and disgraced, and led to the disappearance of Thom's mother. When he is approached by the League, a beloved team of superheroes who routinely save the world, it's just one more thing he has to keep from his father. Add to that his unrequited crush on Uberman, the strange rivalry he has developed with his classmate Goran, and the fact that someone is murdering members of the League, and it's almost more than Thom can handle. Moore however handles things remarkably well, keeping the plot moving forward in a natural and believable way (within the context of a superhero milieu), developing the characters in realistic yet surprising ways, and instilling this fantastic story with very real emotions.

Great for adults and young adults alike, Hero stretches beyond categories and succeeds roundly. This is the type of involving, well-written, thought-provoking story that actually used to appear in comics in the 1970's and 80's. It's too bad comics have moved away from such high-level storytelling, but thankfully it seems to have crossed over into another medium.

Eli Gottlieb Explores Friendship and the Destruction of a Marriage

2007-10-14T20:59:00.000-04:00

Eli Gottlieb's second novel, Now You See Him, is a finely written examination of the way our closest childhood friend can impact our lives. When Nick's friend Rob murders his girlfriend then ends up dead himself, Nick finds himself overwhelmed with grief and embarks on a reevaluation of his life. Lucy, Nick's wife of ten years is having trouble understanding his inability to move on, and when Rob's younger sister Brenda, also an old flame of Nick's, comes back into his life, Lucy has had enough. While Rob's impact on Nick's life is at the core of this novel, Now You See Him is also a film about the disintegration of a marriage.

While Gottlieb is certainly a skilled writer, his deft prose illuminates these characters inner lives, and he successfully crafts a compelling novel revolving around a fairly unsympathetic protagonist, his plotting skills are not to my liking. Halfway through the novel, he introduces my least favorite soap-opera twist which was a major disappointment, and there is a startling twist at the conclusion that isn't all that shocking. Overall, Now You See Him is worth the read if you're a fan of finely written drama if you don't mind some soapsuds.

Canadian Author Weaves Fragmented Portrait of Troubled Adolescence.

2007-10-09T11:48:00.000-04:00

I was drawn to read Maureen Medved's The Tracey Fragments after seeing Bruce McDonald's amazing film adaptation starring the incomparable Ellen Page. Medved's novel about a teenaged girl fragmenting perilously close to madness is powerful stuff, and it's nice to see much of the meat of the story in the original novel. While McDonald's inventive use of of editing, split screens, and music elevate the novel into an ambitious and succesful movie (again, partially thanks to the amazing performance from Page as the title character), the core story is entirely Medved's.

Tracey Berkowitz is a fifteen-year-old girl living in remote, impoverished area in Canada. Her parents are remote and a bit mad, her younger brother thinks he is a dog, her boyfriend is an MTV-style rockstar, and her psychiatrist, while possibly her only ally, is a terrifyingly, cold bitch. All of this according to Tracey, who is the amazingly unreliable narrator of her own life. When little brother Sonny disappears into a blizzard one night while tenuously under Tracey's care, she boards the city bus to find him. In fact, as the book unfolds, Tracey is sitting in the back of the bus, naked except for the plastic, flowered shower-curtain wrapped around her tiny frame. She proceeds to tell her story in episodic pieces that often contradict themselves but gradually reveal the truth of this young girl's life. Picked on mercilessly at school, a source of eternal disappointment at home, sexually attacked and finally terrorized while wandering the streets in search of her brother, Tracey retreats into her own mind and the colorful world she creates.

Medved's novel is an illuminating tale of adolesence at its most cruel and difficult. I recommend this novel, and even moreso, the movie that it spawned (if it is ever released in the United States.

Peter Cameron Scores with a Coming of Age Novel for Teens

2007-09-22T10:01:00.000-04:00

Peter Cameron is not an overly prolific author, but I do savor each of his works when they are published. His latest novel, Someday this pain will be useful to you, is an elegant coming-of-age tale about 18-year-old James. Living in Manhattan, disdainful of people his age, enamored of the idea of buying a big house in the midwest, James Sveck has a wry, if immature sense of humor and an annoying propensity to focus on correct grammar when engaged in conversation.

James parents aren't completely equipped to help James navigate this tricky transition from high school to college. His mother has just returned from Vegas after her third marriage... without her husband. His father is concerned that when James orders something pasta instead of steak in the executive cafeteria he comes across as faggy. When James runs away from a school trip to DC, he ends up seeing a psychiatrist, who he challenges at every turn, but in a refreshing turn, is unable to outwit. James has also got a crush on the man who works with him at his mother's gallery, but when a case of poor judgment alienates him, he is left with only his aging grandmother, who he adores, to turn to for solace.

Cameron has created a unique, teen voice in Someday this pain will be useful to you, one that rings true, and is able to balance the many portraits of suburban and rural voices of youth in literature. His prose is economical and graceful, and his resolution satisfying without answering all of life's questions.

Austin Grossman Does Superheroes Right

2007-09-16T16:19:00.001-04:00

With the success of such movies as SPIDER-MAN, BATMAN, and THE X-MEN, and television shows such as "Heroes" and "So You Want To Be a Superhero," it's no surprise that an influx of novels about superheroes has appeared, much to this comic book geek's delight. The first of the genre that I have embraced is Austin Grossman's Soon I Will Be Invincible. Grossman is clearly familiar with the superhero world in comics, and he uses that world as the setting for his novel. There are two points-of-view in Invincible, bouncing back and forth between the villainous Dr. Impossible, and the newest member of the crime-stopping Champions, Fatale.

Grossman does a great job getting into Dr. Impossible's head. After coming so close to conquering the world so many times, sent to prison, escaping, and repeating the cycle again and again, it's interesting to see what motivates this super-genius to keep going. It seems that super-villainy is just hard-wired into his head. He's got one more idea up his sleeve, and when the opportunity presents itself, he does the expected: busts our of prison, rebuilds his weapons and tries to take over the world.

Having disbanded a few years ago, the Champions come together again due to the mysterious disappearance of the best and brightest of their members, CoreFire. He was the most powerful of them all, unbeatable and charismatic, so when he seems to be missing for real, the Champions, Blackwolf - the Ultimate Crimefighter; Damsel - First Lady of Power; Elphin - Warrior Princess; Feral - Savage Street Fighter; Mister Mystic - Man of Mystery; and Rainbow Triumph - Teen Idol with an Attitude, feel duty bound to reunite and solve the mystery. To their ranks, they add a couple of newcomers; Lily, a mysterious, superpowered outcast from the future, and Fatale - the Next Generation of Warfare. It's understandable that Grossman choses Fatale to be the readers' entry into the superhero world. She's new to the game, having received her powers after a freak accident destroyed most of her body and being transformed by new technology into a cyborg agent. Fatale is thrust into the glamorous world of the superhero elite all the while feeling she must constantly prove herself just to stand among them.

While the book is an entertaining read, and I do recommend it, I think the problem with using Fatale as one of our narrators is that when the finale arrives, and she is not a part of it, the reader is left on the outside looking in, when it would have been nice to have our point of view in the midst of the action. It's like being sidelined for the big finish, and it's a little distracting. Still, Grossman's world is certainly representative of our own if it were populated by men and women with extraordinary powers.

Dark Fantasy for Young Adults by Neil Gaiman

2007-08-26T21:34:00.000-04:00

My reading theme for vacation last week was catching up with books being adapted into films. Neil Gaiman's dark fantasy for youth is called Coraline, and it tells the tale of a girl who stumbles upon a terrifying nightmare world right next to her own in the last couple of weeks of summer vacation. Think back to your childhood; think back on your summer vacation. For many, the last couple of weeks in August herald a transition time. The summer is starting to get a little boring, and while your mind was once occupied with exploring, playing, dreaming, now thoughts turn excitedly toward school. Such is the case with Coraline. Her parents don't have time to keep her entertained, and while the eccentric tenants who live in the other parts of her building provide curious diversions, they aren't quite enough. One day Coraline discovers that the door in the study which usually opens to a blank brick wall now opens to a long, dark tunnel. What else is there to do in the dog days of summer but explore the tunnel?

What Coraline finds is a strange world where her other-mother and other-father live. The eccentric tenants are represented as well, as is the aloof, black cat that lives out in the yard. The people are interesting, but a little off-kilter, and instead of eyes, black buttons stare unblinkingly form their faces. For the better part of a day, Coraline enjoys exploring this new, strange world, but when it comes time to leave, Gaiman's fable takes a decidedly dark turn. In the days leading up to school, Coraline must fight for her soul, the souls of the children who have come before her and the lives and souls of her parents.

Gaiman spins a tale reminiscent of the fairy tales of youth. There is something safe and comforting about them even as the plucky heroine faces chilling and very-real danger. Here's hoping Coraline makes for a good film-adaptation, and the visuals will surely have a huge impact on its success. The book, however, is terrific, and a quick read as well. Highly recommended.

Preparing for the Film Release

2007-08-17T12:32:00.000-04:00

José Saragamo's Blindness was the winner of the 1998 Nobel Prize for Literature. As the inhabitants of an unnamed city go blind one by one, the very fabric of society begins to decay until it is transformed into an animalistic morass of survival. That is the premise of Saramago's intensely powerful and challenging novel. The core of the story revolves around seven people, among the first to go blind, along with a doctor's wife who for some reason never loses her sight, but keeps this fact hidden from all save her husband.

Saramago explores how the removal of sight causes the destruction of the social structure. Even before the entire community goes blind, the government, fearing (rightly) an epidemic, quarantine all the blind under inhumane conditions. Yet as the worst of human society emerges, so too does compassion and cooperation, as we follow the seven main characters and watch as they form their own family to insure their survival.

Blindness is not a beach-reading novel that you can flip through in a day. It require concentration and reflection. Saramago pulls the reader into some pretty horrific situations as some of the downtrodden take advantage of others. With the character of the doctor's wife, the sole sighted person in a city filled with the blind, Saramago creates a character both helpless and with great responsibility to those around her. It's an insightful allegory to our world today.

I decided to read Blindness after finding out that it has been adapted for the screen. The screenwriter, director and cast are all top-notch in the independent film world and I'm looking forward to seeing it. It's sure to be a harrowing experience.

Engrossing Fantasy of the Highest Caliber

2007-08-03T06:45:00.000-04:00

Whenever I am going to meet an author I try to read some of their work beforehand. At ALA this year I attended a dinner with Jeff VanderMeer, and on the plane to DC I started reading his latest fantasy novel Shriek: An Afterword. I only made it through the first 100 pages of so before meeting him, but I could tell there was quite a bit of talent in the man.

Shriek: An Afterword is of that fantasy genre that I don't often read: alternative histories that may or may not be earth. It is also a biography of sorts of the Shriek siblings, Duncan written by his older sisterS Janice. Likewise it is a "biography" of their strange city, Ambergris. In Shriek, Janice is looking back on her life and writing an afterword for one of her historian/writer brother's books. The Shriek's lives were marked by the sudden death of their father after receiving the announcement that he had won a prestigious literary award, when they were children. Is this event the one that started Duncan down the path of an obsessive historian with radical theories perhaps too outlandish for others to fathom? And is this why Janice longs for recognition even while self-destructively indulging in every pleasure imaginable? The Shrieks eventually become fixtures in Ambergris' culture, both reaching populist heights and tragic lows.

The river-city of Ambergris itself is perhaps the most potent character in the novel. Think of a grand, decaying New Orleans, complete with an underground city of quasi mushroom dwellers known as Gray Caps and you might get a sense of what Ambergris holds. Duncan's obsession focuses on the Gray Caps and his first work, Cinsorium: Dispelling the Myths of the Gray Caps becomes a best-seller. During his research, Duncan uncovered hints of dark secrets connecting the Gray Caps to an horrific event that nearly destroyed the city years back. He also picked up a bizarre fungal condition that remained with him for the rest of his life. Janice unspools the pair's story with tantalizing hints of their fate, augmented by notes from her brother, sometimes reinforcing, sometimes contradicting what she writes. It is a fascinating and compelling addition to the city's lore.

VanderMeer has created a masterfully detailed, complex, fantastical novel, so utterly and darkly creative. The voices of Janice and Duncan are unique and true, revealing their all-too human flaws even while endearing them to the reader. Shriek: an afterword calls to mind Mary Gentle's glorious White Crow novels, Rats & Gargoyles and Architecture of Desire in its gloriously giddy sense of the historical and the fantastic. This was one absorbing and entertaining read.

July's First Published Work Sparkles

2007-07-12T09:12:00.000-04:00

Performance artist/filmmaker/writer Miranda July has published her first book; No one belongs here more than you, a work of short stories that examine the wonder and awkwardness of modern life. With her background as a performance artist, July possesses a self-awareness (almost a self-consciousness) that lends a genuineness to the emotional challenges faced by the (mostly) women who anchor these 16 stories. The reader feels for these characters as they face everyday hurdles, usually revolving around loneliness and isolation, even in the quirky situations July sets them in. Whether it is a young woman giving an elderly trio swimming lessons in her kitchen or an aspiring author trying to give her first work to Madeline L'engle's husband, July's characters ground their unique situations with emotions that all of us have felt at one time or another.

Anyone who has seen July's film ME AND YOU AND EVERYONE WE KNOW will hear her unique voice throughout this book. Her characters vary in age, sexual preference, and social status yet each one is reocgnizable, usually as the awkward girl with few friends in school. Not that there aren't some happy moments in No one belongs here more than you, but they are few and far between, with the best most of these characters can hope for being a life that is manageable and somewhat satisfying. July's collection of stories is much more than that, and is a work worth checking out.

Ambitious New Novel from Sheri S. Tepper

2007-06-26T21:35:00.000-04:00

Sherri Tepper is a prolific writer of both science fiction and fantasy. Her latest novel is an ambitious work the is for-the-most-part a success. The Margarets takes place far in the future. Margaret is a twelve-year old girl living on Mars' moon Phobos with her parents. Terrans have for the most part destroyed the Earth through overpopulation and much of the population has abandoned the planet for colonies on other worlds. However interstellar races who advanced earlier than Earthians have been keeping an eye on them. There is some indecision as to whether or not the human race should be allowed to continue to exist.

Some of the races who sit in judgment of humanity are benevolent, while others are vile, living only for torture, pain and cruelty. The former have set in motion a plan to prove that Earthians are worthy, and in the process, give them a gift to help them mature as a race. Central to this plan in young Margaret. As a child, Margaret invented six different aspects of herself, imaginary playmates, to keep loneliness at bay as the only child on the colony. There was Wilvia, the Queen; Naumi, the warrior; a spy, a healer and more. When Margaret and her parents are sent back to earth, and then several years later, when Margaret is forced to leave the planet forever, her other selves are lost to her. Yet in reality, and unveknownst to Margaret, each of her six other selves follow a different path and flourish on different colonies, some finding great hardship and pain, while others have families and find love.

In the end, Margaret must bring all her selves together to help save the human race, with the help of some pretty remarkable beings created out of Tepper's incredibly fertile imagination. The dozens of races and beings Tepper creates in The Margarets is impressive, and there is very little that seems tired or familiar. My main complaint comes with such a large cast and massive landscape that some areas seem glossed over or too quickly resolved. Already clocking in at just over 500 pages, The Margarets could have used a couple hundred more to truly explore Tepper's ideas.

A Somber Look at a Dark Spot in Our Past

2007-06-19T13:54:00.000-04:00

There have been many novels about the mistreatment of Japanese-Americans in internment camps, but who knew about the illegal detainment and harsh treatment of women stricken with sexually transmitted diseases during World War I? Evidently author Michael Lowenthal did, and he wrote a novel called Charity Girl to illustrate the unjust treatment of some of society's forgotten.

Frieda Mintz is seventeen, Jewish, and on her own, working at Jordan Marsh's gift-wrapping counter in downtown boston. Her beloved father is dead, and her she is alienated from her mother, but after a deliriously happy night spent with a handsome American soldier, Frieda's future is looking bright. When she is visited at the store by a stern woman informing her of her unfortunate condition (and blaming her for spreading the disease to an American soldier) her world is turned upside-down. Eventually she is tracked down and sent to a medical detention center, where she suffers humiliating examinations, strict discipline, and an erosion of her own self-worth. Yet Frieda draws strength from those around her, surviving and even doing her best to thrive when all seems against her.

Charity Girl is a thoughtfully written book about a young woman living in a time when women in general were denied so many rights. Lowenthal captures the fervor of patriotism that can transform to something much darker that is reminiscent of the world we live in today.

Local Author Enters the Contemporary Fiction Fray with First Novel

2007-06-19T13:41:00.000-04:00

Mary E. Mitchell has already been compared to Elinor Lipman and Elizabeth Berg in her depiction of relationships, both family and romantic, with with and tenderness. The West Newton native has just recently hit the library shelves with her debut novel, Starting Out Sideways. Martin's self-assured debut lacks a little of the maturity of a Lipman or a Berg, but given the number of novels each of these authors has published, that should come as no suprise. What is surprising, is the freshness and emotion that resonate throughout Sideways.

Roseanna Plow leads a happy life on Long Island, with a handsome husband, and a fulfilling job as a counselor for the developmentally challenged. Sure, she's got a meddling mother whose trapped in the 1950's, but mother-daughter relationships area always tricky. Sure enough, things don't remain happy for long, as Roseanna discovers that her handsome husband is leaving her for her best friend. To make matters worse, even though Roseanna can acknowledge that her husband is a lout, she is unable to move on... even though with her mother dragging her along. When all Roseanna would like to do is hide in bed, she must then cope with her mother's romantic meddling, as well as a family secret that threatens to change everything.

If you're a fan of good-humored books filled with both laughs and emotion, Starting Out Sidways is a fun, quick read.

How I Live Now

2007-06-19T13:30:00.000-04:00

I loved reading How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff. This teen novel begins with 15 year old Daisy arriving in England from New York City. Daisy's father and step-mother sent her to live on a farm with her aunt and four cousins. Daisy's extended family are all glad to have her there, especially her cousin Edmond. Soon after Daisy arrives, her aunt leaves on a business trip for a few days. While she's gone, England is attacked. At first it seems like just a few bombs, but soon England is invaded and occupied by the enemy. The reader doesn't get many details about the attacks or even who the enemy is. We know only what Daisy knows, which isn't much. For a while the kids take care of themselves and are basically left alone. Daisy's aunt is stranded in London and when the phones go out they lose contact with her. When the situation worsens, the army splits up the kids and removes them from the farm. The rest of the story is Daisy's amazing journey to reunite with the people she loves and survive in a country at war.
It took me a bit to get used to the writing style of this book. I don't normally read teen fiction and wasn't used to a 15 year old narrator. Once I got used to Daisy's voice, I really enjoyed the book. I was moved by her fire and courage, and couldn't put the book down until its satisfying conclusion.

On the Bus to BookExpoAmerica 2007

2007-05-30T13:53:00.000-04:00

So I'm on the bus to BEA, expecting a very busy three-and-a-half days. I've got appointments and parties for just about every waking moment, and I hope to return with a whole bunch of new books and potential visits by authors for the BPL. While at BEA I hope to catch up with Terry Moore, Nancy Pearl, and possibly Claire Cook, all recent speakers at the Massachusetts Library Association Annual Conference. I'll get to catch up with HarperCollins' Virginia Stanley, and of course, Holtzbrinck's Talia Ross, and my good pal Daniel who works in Milwaukee's famous independent bookstore chain, Harry W. Schwartz. I will also be at two sure-to-be mobbed breakfasts, the first featuring Stephen Colbert and the second featuring Rosie O'Donnell. Cool!

Oh, by the way, check out Shelfari.

Carnival Uses the Kitchen Sink Approach

2007-05-08T09:56:00.000-04:00

Elizabeth Bear draws upon a variety of styles to create Carnival, an intriguing science fiction novel focusing on the challenges of post apocalypse colonization of other worlds. Touching upon alien cultures, political intrigue, survivalist thriller, forbidden love, gender politics, cultural exploration, and first-contact themes, Bear effectively weaves together a fascinating landscape to explore personal and cultural themes.

Michelangelo Kusanagi-Jones and Vincent Katherinessen were once the premiere partners in the world of ambassador/spies. But when their last mission ended in disaster, and their intimate relationship discovered, they were separated and kept apart for years. Now they are reunited by the ruling Coalition to embark on a diplomatic mission with New Amazonia, an earth colony ruled by women and former home to an alien race of "dragons" that have never been encountered, but left behind a potentially useful source of energy-saving technology. Unknown to either Kusanagi-Jones and Katherinessen, each is operating under a secret agenda all their own. But plopped down in an alien culture on the eve of a Mardi-Gras-like week-long festival and faced with the political machinations of the women of New Amazonia, it will take all their skills, and more importantly their trust in each other for them to succeed.

Carnival is a challenging read, but one filled with rewards for those who stick with it. Bear does a terrific job melding genres to create a complex sci fi read.

Helpless is a Gripping and Satisfying Read

2007-05-08T09:44:00.000-04:00

Canadian author Barbara Gowdy's latest novel is a harrowing, character-driven thriller about an abducted child and the people who prey on them. Nine-year-old Rachel is a beautiful young girl; the type that strangers stop and comment on. Her single-mother Celia is more invisible, working at a video store by day, and a piano bar by night. They rent (at a decidedly reduced rate) from Mika, Celia's gay best friend, in a trendy neighborhood in Toronto. Rachel is a bright, loving girl, who aches to one day discover her father, of whom all she knows is that he is a black man who once lived in New York City.

Ron is a small appliance repair man who lives a quiet life with his girlfriend Nancy. After seeing Rachel a single time, Ron becomes obsessed with her, to the point of following her home from school and convincing himself that Celia is an unsuitable mother. His obsession grows into a deep, disturbing love that prompts him to "rescue" Rachel from a life he perceives as harmful. While letting Nancy believe he is interested in adopting a child with her, he builds a lovely bedroom/prison in his basement. When a sudden blackout strikes the city, Ron takes advantage of the confusion and spirits Rachel away from Mika while Celia is at work. What follows is an emotionally harrowing journey for Celia, Nancy, Rachel, Mika, and even Ron, as Gowdy looks past the superficial judgements and creates real human beings, both flawed and admirable, in her quirky cast.

Gowdy is the author six previous novels, all of which revolve around odd-ball characters struggling with the world around them. She is a talent not to be missed.

Giving up on Jonathan Lethem?

2007-04-27T16:41:00.000-04:00

I know I'm in the minority, but I think I'm giving up on Jonathan Lethem. I read and thoroughly enjoyed his breakthrough novel, Motherless Brooklyn. Then I couldn't get through his much-acclaimed opus, Fortress of Solitude, which is unusual, because I am a big comic book fan. I decided to give his latest novel, You Don't Love Me Yet, a try because it was pretty short, and revolved around the indie music scene which I have an interest in. Unfortunately, Lethem's characters really turned me off. His protagonist, Lucinda, is the bass player in an unnamed band, who is breaking up with her on-again-off-again boyfriend, the lead singer. They've vowed to not let it affect the band, and to remain friends. Lucinda gets a day job as part of an art installation, answering calls from people who have complaints. When she finds herself emotionall drawn to a caller who calls repeatedly, she finds it overtaking her personal life, and even the band. It's supposedly satirical and sexy, but I found it to be a little bland and uninspired. Lethem has a good command of language, and the book was pretty readable, but after this, I think I'll just chalk his work up to not being to my tastes.

Rebuilding an Identity in a New Mystery Series

2007-04-24T10:12:00.000-04:00

Gray Ghost is the second Stoney Calhoun novel in a new series by mystery writer William G. Tapply. Already established with over 20 novels in his Brady Coyne series, Tapply has decided to explore the themes of identity and starting over with his new series which kicked off with Bitch Creek. Tapply, also a fisherman and a sports writer, establishes Stoney as a fisherman who ties flies, and each of the books in the series are named after types of flies. Stoney has a lot of talents, but the problem is, he doesn't remember what they are. After being struck by lightning, Stoney's memory was lost. Now, when placed in certain situations, his sense memory takes over and makes gradual discoveries about his past abilities... and some of them are downright frightening. To make matters worse, there is the man in the gray suit, clearly connected to some governmental agency, who keeps turning up at Stoney's doorstep in the woods of Maine to dangle bits of Stoney's past before him all the while making sure that he hasn't remembered anything that might put someone at risk.

All Stoney wants to do is enjoy his new, simple life, but when a he discovers a murder victim on a small island off the coast while on a fishing tour, he reluctantly gets caught up in a mystery where he is deputized by his friend, the sheriff. He clearly has a talent for observation and deduction, but there are other elements of his past life that he senses he doesn't want to remember. Of course, Stoney has enough problems in his new life. In addition to the murders, there is the beautifully drawn relationship with Kate, who runs a fisherman's shop with Stoney. Kate is married, but her husband is stricken with MS and is getting worse. Kate and Stoney have her husband's blessing, but Kate is torn between guilt over the love she feels for her husband, and the love she feels for Stoney. When Dr. Samantha Surry starts to express some romantic interest in Stoney, the complications just grow. At least there his is beloved dog Ralphie, who manages to keep Stoney on an even keel.

Tapply has the mystery formula down pat, but he keeps things interesting by interjecting his knowledge of fishing and the wilderness, weaving a complex interpersonal relationship in the form of Stoney and Kate, and keeping the underlying thread of Stoney's memory a theme of the novels. There are a lot of stories left to tell about Stoney Calhoun, and here's hoping Tapply has a chance to write them.

Peter Watts Trades Deep Sea for Deep Space

2007-04-06T16:21:00.000-04:00

Former marine biologist Peter Watts has transformed himself to a respected science fiction novelist with his acclaimed Rifters Saga. Now he tackles the far reaches of outer space with the fascinating, compelling first-contact story Blindsight. Despite the heady science fiction concepts being tossed around in this well-researched, well-written novel, Watts creates a powerful hook by assembling a team of scientifically-augmented misfits sent by the government into deep space after incomprehensible aliens have sent thousands of orbiting probes to essentially take a picture of the earth! Led by a long extinct predator once known as "vampires" recalled from the grave through genetic science, this team of investigators include a linguist with multiple personalities whose brain has been surgically partitioned into separate cores; a biologist so enhanced that he sees X-rays and tastes sound saves, but in unable to feel his own flesh; a warrior whose consciousness controls a fleet of drones that would be hopeless outclassed if forced into battle, and a synthesist with half his brain removed, to provide a conduit between the aliens and home.

Watts weaves the fear of the unknown and unknowable into something real and suddenly, unwillingly in our faces. His team of "heroes" wavers between brilliant and dysfunctional. His aliens are just that... alien. No humanoids with wrinkled foreheads or nose prosthetics here. Physically, psychologically, intellectually, the race Watts creates stretches the imagination and the intellect while tapping into a fear that lies deep in our souls. If science fiction doesn't frighten you off, this one's worth a read.

Cormac McCarthy's The Road Gets the Movie Adaptation Treatment.

2007-04-03T10:12:00.000-04:00

Get ready for a flood of reviews (I just got back from Bermuda where I read 4 1/2 books!) but as I was catching up with my blog reading, I noticed this little tidbit about a book I recently read. Variety reports that Cormac McCarthy's chilling, post-apocalyptic tale, The Road will be adapted for the big screen by screenwriter Joe Penhall (who penned the movie version of Ian McEwan's Enduring Love to mixed results. Australian director Joe Hillcoat, who recently helmed THE PROPOSITION, will direct. That's going to be one chilling movie... I just hope they don't go the full-out zombie route. The terror of McCarthy's book comes largely from the isolation surrounding the main characters, and the potential danger of discovery. It might be difficult to successfully translate to the big screen. We'll see.

More importantly for McCarthy and the book's sales -- The Road has been selected as an Oprah Book Club pick.

Densely Written Spirit Gate Satisfies

2007-02-20T09:20:00.000-05:00

Kate Elliott writes hefty books, not necessarily in page count, although her latest, Spirit Gate (Tor, 2006), comes in at 445 pages, but in content. It's not fast reading either; the amount of detail she inserts into her tales enriches your understanding of the worlds she creates, but it also occassionally bogs the flow of the story down and makes for skimming. In Spirit Gate Elliott creates a world on the verge of cataclysmic war, only no one knows it yet. Order is kept in "The Hundred" by the Reeves, an order of law enforcement that fly on great, dangerous eagles. When Reeves are flying overhead, villagers below fall in line. Now something is eroding the status and influence of the Reeves. Joss is one of the first Reeves to see the portentious disaster, and it costs him the life of his beloved Marit, another Reeve who is brutally murdered. Years later Joss is still unable to pull his life back together, and he becomes entangled in the saga of Mai, a beautiful, young woman from far to the South, who was sold into marriage with a Qin Captain named Anjj, and taken north. Are Anjj and Mai the only hope that "The Hundred" can look to for salvation?

Eliott constructs a religious and economic culture of merchants, soldiers, and Reeves that is rich and complicated. While most of it works wonderfully, she spends a little too much time on detailed descriptions, something the for me needs to be balanced carefully with characterization and plot. The characters are numerous, and some of the merchants tend to blend together. With her principals she does a fine job, creating strong, relatable characters in Joss, Mai and Anjj. In fact I was saddened to lose the character of Marit so early in the book.

Much to my dismay, Spirit Gate is book one of Crossroads, one of those ubiquitous fantasy series that requires a certain level of commitment to a longer story. While I enjoyed the first installment, it remains to be seen whether I sign on to the full series.

The Opposite of Music Heralds a Talented New Voice in Fiction

2007-02-03T17:35:00.000-05:00

Janet Ruth Young's debut novel, The Opposite of Music is being marketed as a young adult novel because the protagonist is a teenager, but this is a book for all ages. The Morrison family lives on the North Shore of Massachusetts. Besides Mom and Dad, there is Billy and his younger sister Linda. One day their life turns upside down as their Dad succumbs to a severe depression. Alternatively embarrassed and terrified, Billy and his family do everything they can to help their father. As they do so, Billy becomes cut off from his friends, unsure of what to even say to most of them. So while his longtime friends wonder what his problem is, Billy finds that the only person outside his family that he can turn to is Gordy, relatively new in town, who recently lost his mother. Here is a book that explores a family dynamic as well as friendship in times of trouble.

Each of the characters in Young's novel is vividly drawn. Family members will seem as familiar as your own as the pop off the page and come to life. Even the supporting characters, like Dad's co-worker June, a well-meaning friend who tries unsuccessfully to help share the family's burden, and Uncle Marty, Dad's brother who's been down-on-his-luck of late, but offers his brother what help he can, are beautifully realized. There's a lot of valuable information here as well, for anyone who has a family member or friend who suffers from depression, and Billy travels a winding and surprisingly realistic arc that Young explores despite the difficult subject. This one comes highly recommended.

The Road is a Chilling Read

2007-01-26T13:03:00.000-05:00

Cormac McCarthy's latest novel, The Road follows the travels of a father and his pre-teen son as they make their way across the country after an apocalyptic catastrophe has wiped out most life on earth. While there are external dangers, such as roving, half-crazed bands of lawless survivors, and lack of food and shleter, the internal feelings of isolation and utter hopelessness are ever present. The man and his son have only each other upon which to rely, and a gun with only two bullets remaining.

I was stunned at the impact this book had on me. I was traveling to Seattle for a conference, and after reading most of the book on the plane, I was dropped off late in the evening at my bed & breakfast in a quiet part of the city. I found I couldn't finish the book that night as the feelings of isolation and fear of discovery pervaded my consciousness. The devastation of New Orleans also came to mind as people struggled to survive in a place where the elements had destroyed society as we know it. In the end, McCarthy wraps things up rather quickly with a surprisingly hopeful ending that didn't quite work. However all-in-all, The Road is a riveting and intensely powerful novel about the effects of isolation, and the bond between a father and son.

Davis Invents a Delightfully Irreverrent British Adolescent

2007-01-26T12:19:00.000-05:00

Londoner Will Davis, still several years away from thirty, has written My Side of the Story a debut novel that chronicles the trials and tribulations of Jarold, aka Jazz, a typical sixteen-year-old boy. Jazz lives at home with his domineering mother, uninvolved father, spiritually superior little sister, and slightly off-kilter grandmother. That action kicks off when his family finds out that he is gay.

As if life at home wasn't troublesome enough, there's "The Bull" an aptly nicknamed classmate who has it in for Jazz; Fabian, Jazz' former friend who is now a black-clad goth who sports a pretty dangerous looking knife, and whose attitude might be at little more heartfelt than is healthy; and his geology teacher Mr. Fellowes, who Jazz has seen hanging out at the same gay bar as he's been prowling. Of course it's not all bad, he's got the friendship of Al (short for Alice), his partner in crime, and another social outcast in the high school culture.

My Side of the Story is written in a first-person voice that is authentic for the character. His attitude could be summed up in one of his favorite catchpharases, LIC GAS ("Like I could give a shit.") Yet there is a deeper, maturing side to Jazz that we catch glimpses of, without the story turning sentimental or preachy. Davis is certainly not far from his teen years, and must remember them well to paint such a vivid and enjoyable picture for those a little further away from those years.

The Year in Books, 2006

2007-01-18T11:30:00.000-05:00

I could never resist a good year-end list, and even though we're over half-way through January, I thought I would share my list of the Top 10 books I read in 2006. Most of these books were also published in 2006, but since I read a lot of advanced reader's copies, and a couple of the books I read were actually released earlier, I'm using books I read in 2006 as my determining factor for inclusion.

I was mildly surprised to find that a graphic novel topped my list, but when the novel in question is Alison Bechdel's (left) powerful and literary work, Fun Home: a Family Tragicomic that skillfully combines the best elements of the personal memoir and the graphic novel it's not so surprising. I was pleased to see such a varied list; a little non-fiction, a little genre, a newcomer placing quite high, a collection of short stories, and some favorite authors making an appearance. So, with no further ado:

The Best Books I Read in 2006

Fun Home: a Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel

Save Your Own by Elisabeth Brink

A Killer Life: How an Independent Film Producer Survives Deals and Disasters in Hollywood and Beyond by Christine Vachon

Solstice Wood by Patricia A. McKillip

My Latest Grievance by Elinor Lipman

Banishing Verona by Margot Livesey

Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman

How Elizabeth Barrett Browning Saved My Life by Mameve Medwed

A Perfect Union: Dolley Madison and the Creation of the American Nation by Catherine Allgor

The Twilight of the Superheroes by Deborah Eisenberg

There were several books not appearing on the list that I wanted to point out. Kenneth J. Harvey's The Town That Forgot How to Breathe held the anchoring spot on the list for quite a while until I suddently remember Deborah Eisenberg's magnificent collection of short stories reminiscent of the master, Alice Munro. Harvey's novel blending dark fantasy, magical realism, gothic horror and contemporary fiction was alternatively atmospheric and suspenseful, with well-drawn characters, a powerful sense of place, and a complex, interweaving story. Marilyn Robinson's Gilead was so deserving of this list, but it lacked the emotional resonance to knock something else off. Beautifully written, exploring powerful issues, Robinson is a skilled writer who does so to infrequently. I was quite taken by Deborah J. Miller's Swarmthief's Dance an imaginative fantasy novel that kicks off a new trilogy. I tried to squeeze Douglas Coupland's JPod onto the list. In this hilarious look at the cubicle culture of a hip faming company skewers his own persona, as well as a generation that has grown up online. Colson Whitehead's Apex Hides the Hurt is a fascinating meditation on identity and branding that moves this talented author's career forward another step. Finally, I just have to mention Shannon McKelden's Venus Envy, a book that quite honestly, shouldn't even have been considered for a list like this, but it was just so darn entertaining. Blending chick-lit with fantasy seems like a bold move to me, but McKelden handles the trials and tribulations of the goddes Aphrodite trapped in the myth of the Fairy Godmother with such humor that it's nearly irresistible.

A Unique Take on the Iraq War

2007-01-05T07:06:00.000-05:00

Brain K. Vaughn (Y: THE LAST MAN and EX-MACHINA) has written a powerful new graphic novel called PRIDE OF BAGHDAD with gorgeous art by Niko Henrichon. The story, based on true news reports, follows four lions who find themselves inexplicably freed on the day the U.S. started bombing Iraq. Held in captivity for most of their adult lives (and one cub who was born in captivity) the four try to make sense of their freedom and their new world in war-torn Iraq. The clever characterization of the four lions is well thought-out. There's the adult lioness who wants nothing more than freedom, even going so far as to try to plot with a gazelle. The proud alpha male, who has found captivity to be comfortable. The hard-edged older lioness who has resigned herself to captivity knowing that freedom where they are is far, far more dangerous. And the cub, who has known nothing but captivity and needs his father to explain what a "horizon" is. When the conclusion arrives, it's shocking and tragic as we see these noble, three-dimensional characters that we have come to admire and respect face the harsh realities of war. It's an emotional story, beautifully told.

Saturday, Saturday, Saturday

2006-12-30T13:17:00.000-05:00

I've wanted to read Ian McEwan's Saturday since it was published a few years ago, but considering my "to read" list is several miles long, it took me a while. Saturday is a day in the life of Londoner Henry Perowne, a successful neurosurgeon, husband and father. Henry begins his day watching a plane on fire heading toward the airport. He thinks immediately of terrorism, but Henry soon discovers the plane simply had mechanical failure. Though no one was hurt, the incident stays with Henry throughout his day; a reminder of the post 9/11 world where terrorism is on everyone's mind. This particular Saturday is in early 2003, before the Iraq War begins. There is a large anti-war protest in London that sparks an argument between Henry and his daughter. It was a little unnerving to read Henry's predictions of how the war would most likely be over in a few months when you realize that was almost four years ago, and no real end in sight.
In the morning, Henry has an exchange with a few men over a car accident. This exchange came back to haunt Henry in ways he never imagined. But until it does, the reader is led through a detailed play-by-play of Henry's squash game. This is where McEwan started to lose me. I'm an avid sports fan, but I got pretty bored with this section of the book. I thought about giving up entirely, but I hate not finishing books. And in the end I'm quite glad I stuck with it. The pace eventually picked up, and was even page-turning at times.

(I realize it has absolutely nothing to do with the book, but does anyone else get Elton John's Saturday Night's Alright (for Fighting) in their head when they read this?)

Admiring Christine Vachon's Killer Life

2006-12-24T18:33:00.000-05:00

A Killer Life: How an Independent Film Producer Survives Deals and Disasters in Hollywood and Beyond, the second book by Christine Vachon, film producer and founder of Killer Films, has got to be one of my favorite reads of 2006. After all, it combines two of my passions, books and independent film. Vachon's first book, Shooting to Kill, was a handbook for independent filmmakers, taking readers step-by-step through the process of making a film. With A Killer Life, Vachon blends her personal story, with the life of a film producer, from trying to sell a film to potential investors, to acting as a juror at the Sundance Film Festival. Through this fascinating look at the independent film world, from someone who is arguably the most successful independent film producer working today, we get an up-close and personal look at some of the important players, including writer/directors Todd Haynes (FAR FROM HEAVEN) and Kimberly Peirce (BOYS DON'T CRY), actor Julianne Moore (FAR FROM HEAVEN), and producers James Schamus (THE PIANIST) and Harvey Weinstein, former head of Miramax, current head of the Weinstein Co.

Vachon is an engaging writer, and even if I didn't have a propensity toward indie film, I'm sure I would find her story pretty fascinating. She's a bit of a rarity in the film world: someone who shoots straight and tells it like it is. It's truly amazing what she manages to get on film given the constraints of time and finances. Her writing moves the story along and kept me reading late into the night to find out what was the next story she would have to tell. If you're interested in how a film gets made, or if you're one of those people who pays attention to the Academy Awards, this is a must read, and if you're not, you still might find it pretty interesting.

Call Me By Your Name is a Literary Delight

2006-12-18T15:31:00.000-05:00

André Aciman's first novel, Call Me By Your Name, is a gorgeous paean to intimacy in the Italian countryside. Elio is a seventeen-year-old boy whose family owns a lovely villa on the Italian Riviera. Each summer the family opens their home to a visiting guest, and this year, the charismatic American Oliver arrives and captures everyones' hearts. When Elio finds himself nearly overwhelmingly attracted to their latest guest, he struggles with his burgeoning emotions, first feigning indifference before allowing this obsession to overtake him. As the two men circle each other cautiously, their mutual attraction soon becomes impossible to ignore. Surrounded by the lush, beauty of the Mediterranean summer, they discover an intimacy that forever bonds them for a lifetime.

Aciman is the author of Out of Egypt and False Papers, a pair of non-fiction works that could not prepare his audience for the deft use of language and the compelling capturing of the powerful emotions found in Call Me By Your Name. This exquisite novel took me by surprise, as I am not usually a fan of tales of nostalgic love, nor stories in the Italian countryside. Aciman changed that for me, at least when those stories are written with the daring insight and lyrical beauty as this work. Look for this powerful novel to be released in February 2007.

DeLisle Travels to China

2006-12-08T14:50:00.000-05:00

Just over a year ago I read a fascinating graphic novel about a French Canadian former animator's time spent managing an animation studio in North Korea called Pyongyang. This past October DeLisle released Shenzhen: a Travelogue form China about, you guessed it, his time managing an animation studio in China. Shenzhen is very much a companion piece to Pyongyang both in style and in content, but it also provides a nice bookend showing how very different the countries are, important for Western readers who tend to lump all Asian cultures together.

DeLisle's storytelling is entertaining in its inevitability. He forshadows much of the ennui, confusion, and repitition of his time in China so when the moments of connection and kindness come they are like little treasures found in the sand on a beach. His clean artwork and layout make for a quick and easy read, yet he conveys a lot of information through imagery. Definitely worth a look, especially for those not inclined toward graphic novels.

Enchanting Fantasy Leaves Reader Hanging

2006-12-07T15:32:00.000-05:00

You know, I stopped reading so much fantasy because everything nowadays is a series. It's so hard to find single, stand-alone books in the fantasy genre. Still, I was wooed by a couple of intriguing and positive reviews for Deborah J. Miller's Swarmthief's Dance, you guessed it, Book One of The Swarmthief Trilogy. Usually, if I read a series now, I like to have a few of the books already available, but with this 2006 publication, there's only Book One. To make matters worse, Swarmthief's Dance ends in something of a cliffhanger. This really annoys me. Now I have to remember the author, remember the series, and keep track to make sure I get Book Two. Of course, none of this would be an issue if the book was unremarkable or boring. Nope, it's well-written, and pretty darn compelling. Guess I'll be sticking around for Book Two.

Miller doesn't do anything all that unique in the fantasy genre. There are a lot of characters, there's something of a quest going on. Two quests, actually, at cross-purposes with each other to make things interesting. Something else that's interesting is we're not 100% certain who the good guys and the bad guys are. A few are pretty evident, but for many it isn't so clear cut. The reason for this is the meddling being done by the gods in the affairs of humans. Years ago there was a war between Rann, god of the Underworld, and the beautiful sisters, the Nulefi. While the Nulefi won the battle, they ultimately lost the war when they were banished by Herrukal, lord of the gods. Their banishment took on the form of the Swarm, the magical, dragonfly-like, composite creatures. Only Vivrecki knows of their coming, and because of that, he's been condemned a heretic and must remain in hiding.

These are just a couple of the stories Miller weaves into Swarmthief's Dance, and it all adds up to an enchanting ride that's sure to please most fantasy readers. Now if I can only remember to notice when Book Two comes out.

End-of-Year Lists are Fun!

2006-11-29T07:12:00.000-05:00

The list of the New York Times' 100 Notable Books of 2006 was published the other day (I found it via Bookslut). As someone who reads a lot of fiction, but finds that I don't read a lot of "best-selling" fiction, I was surprised to find that I had read two of the books from the list (not counting the couple of wallpaper-drying boring chapters of Alice McDermott's After This that I read before giving up.) The two I did read (and enjoyed) were Colson Whitehead's Apex Hides the Hurt and Deborah Eisenberg's Twilight of the Superheroes. The one book that leaps to my mind that they missed is clearly Alison Bechdel's Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic. I don't know if it was the best book I read all year, but it's definitely up there.

Not surprisingly I haven't read any of the notable non-fiction. Hey, I'm trying.

Detecting Deception in a New Thriller by Roderick Anscombe

2006-11-16T22:12:00.000-05:00

I'm not a frequent reader of thrillers... I'm more of a character-driven, than plot heavy book reader, but with Roderick Anscombe coming to this month's Reader's Circle meeting, I wanted to read his forthcoming novel, Virgin Lies. And while the plot was certainly the driving force of this fast-paced page turner, the characters drive right alongside in a tale that focuses on morality and ethics even more than detection and solving a crime. Central character Dr. Paul Lucas is an expert at interviewing violent criminals and the insane. Despite a checkered pasr-relationship with the local authorities, Lucas is called in to help on an investigation surrounding that disappearance of an eight-year-old girl. The problem is, the only witness is a homeless shizophrenic woman who trusts no one. As the investigative team follows scarce clues to a pair of possible suspects, Lucas must determine the truth from the lies using his skills, and must eventually face his own principles and code of ethics with a young girl's life hanging in the balance.

Virgin Lies is a taut, thrilling ride that will hit reader's in their core beliefs, causing them to rethink their own ethics. It's a great book for discussion, and it has made me want to read the first book in the series, The Interview Room. Look for Virgin Lies in March 2007.

Romance is in the air

2006-11-15T14:26:00.000-05:00

Looking for a fast read? A nice little distraction from the holiday season? Well, I have the perfect book for you! The Librarian’s Passionate Knight, by Cindy Gerard, is a ridiculous (but still delicious) Harlequin cheesy romance novel. And the best part is our heroine, shy and timid Phoebe Richards, is a children’s librarian at the Boston Public Library! There’s even a picture of the McKim building on the cover!
Phoebe leads a quiet life in Boston, happy to have her own home with her cat, Arthur. But that was before the dashing Daniel Barone thrust himself into her life. Sexy, charming, and of course rich, Daniel is everything Phoebe dreamed of in a man. They start out as buddies, but with their growing attration, will they be able to remain just friends? Will Daniel overcome his fears of commitment for Phoebe? Will Phoebe's ex-boyfriend stop stalking her? Will some one tell me why they are able to drive everywhere in Boston and always find a parking spot? You probably already know the answers to all these questions (except the last one; the parking really annoyed me), but the predictability of the book doesn't make it any less entertaining.

An Insightful Prize-Winner

2006-11-07T10:17:00.000-05:00

I just finished Marilynne Robinson's Pulitzer Prize-Winning second novel, Gilead. I was a fan of Robinson's first novel, Housekeeping, which was published 25 years ago and made into a rather amazing film. There are similarities between the two novels, mainly in the introspective nature, and journalistic style of the narrators. Gilead is a small town Iowa, home to Revered John Ames. In 1956, the elderly Ames begins chronicling his life and those of his father and grandfather for his young son, so that there will be record after his passing.

John's upbringing in the heartland during the turn-of-the century was colored by his grandfather who traveled from Maine to Kansas to fight for abolition. John's father was a devout pacifist which brought him into conflict with his father. Gilead spends a lot of time exploring the father/son relationship in the four generations of the Ames family, extending even to the son of John's best friend with whom he developed a very stormy, yet powerful relationship. Yet while the focus is on the men in the Ames family, John's wife plays a pivotal role in his life and is featured prominently in his journals. Robinson also touches upon spirituality, freedom, and aging in this finely written novel.

Cathy's Book: If Found Call 650-266-8233

2006-11-06T23:50:00.000-05:00

Go ahead, do it. Call the number on Cathy's Book. You know you want to. Don't worry. I guarantee she won't answer. You'll get her voicemail. You don't have to leave a message. ... But if you're clever, you can figure out her voicemail access code and learn a little more about her. And you know ... this book is Cathy Vicker's personal journal. If she's in trouble, it might be your duty to poke around in a bit to find out what's going on. But wait -- what's all this crap glued to the inside front cover in a baggie? Newspaper clippings, vital documents, a take out menu, business cards, sketches, a ripped up photo? Aw man. This could become pretty time consuming.

At least it did for me. I've spent the better part of two days following up on every lead I can find in this little parcel. I've been calling phone numbers, cracking access codes, comparing signatures, and piecing together dates. Seems that this precocious 17-year-old girl has hooked up with a fella named Victor of about 23 -- probably too old for her to be dating in any case -- and he may be involved in drugs? Questionable genetic research? The Chinese Mafia? At any rate, Victor's co-worker has been murdered, Cathy's got a mysterious needle mark on her arm, and her best friend Emma needs Cathy to pitch in on their joint Biology project.

To solve the mystery I've mostly been investigating web sites: both factual, pre-existing ones and fictional ones constructed for the conceit of this ARG. (That's "alternate reality game," Mom.) Cathy and Emma have their own My Space and AIM pages, of course. But there's even a site for a fictional wireless phone company with a forum in which all of Cathy's new helpers can share secrets. Here, let me get you started in your investigation.

I really can't say enough about this book. It's quite ingenious. Of course, this sort of strategy has been used before to market products, as in the ingenious ilovebees.com ARG for Halo 2, but this is the first full-scale attempt (that I've been aware of) to actually incorporate real world knowledge discovery, interactive media, realia, and Web 2.0 applications to complete a literary work. And some of the reasearch is kinda hard, so to get the most from the book, you'll likely have to spend some time engaging in the online community. It really raises this use of social networking tools from "viral marketing" to "community building" -- from a trick to a tool, from a gimmick to an experience.

Of course, you can just read the book if you want. It's not Proust or anything, but it's written well enough. I'm sure the young women it's marketed to will appreciate that Cathy is both amazingly confident and a bit of a screw up. She has no problem driving into San Francisco and wandering Chinatown by herself, but she has a problems fulfilling the basic responsiblities of friendship. And her problems range from the amusingly minor to frighteningly serious. It's a wild ride worthy of Buffy Summers.

Really, though, if you don't follow through on the questions you still have by getting your nose out of the book, you know you'll regret it. Go ahead. Open up the baggie. Pick up the phone...

Maine Reinterprets the Bible

2006-10-09T10:30:00.000-04:00

With his first novel The Preservationist, David Maine tackled Noah's story. He followed up with Fallen, where he told of Adam & Eve's banishment from Eden. Now coming in November is The Book of Samson, which, you guessed it, tells the story of Samson and Delilah, a story that I actually didn't realize was from the Bible. I thought it was something more mythical. This third novel is also the first of Maine's books that I have read, so I have no idea if the first two share the matter-of-fact, quasi-modern tone of this one.

An angel visited Samson's pregnant mother and told her that despite her barren state, she would bear a son, who would be a Nazirite and must avoid strong drink and eating unclean flesh. In addition, no razor or scissors must ever touch his hair. Simple things, Samson's mother thought. Samson was born and raised with his flowing locks intact. He also grew up mightier than anyone around him. As an adult, he became involved with a young woman name Huneisha and they were pledged to be married. But Huneisha was a Philistine, and Samson was of the Israelites, the two people being sworn enemies. When a social custom embarasses Samson at the wedding feast, he is suffused with what he believes is a Godsent rage that spurs him to a nearby village to slaughter all of the men. This event kicks off a years-long struggle between the two cultures that culminates in the Philistines unleashing Delilah on the mighty, but rather dimwitted Samson.

Now Samson had a weakness for the women, and Delilah was a master manipulator. Although it took time, and many days of playing his sexually voracious partner, Delilah eventually pried Samson's weakness from him. Before he knew it, Samson found himself in chains before his enemies.

The story is fairly straightforward, and Maine paints Samson as a crude, self-centered bully, albeit one directed by God. Ultimately I think Maine is exposing the hypocrisy of the Bible and its early Old Testament messages. The Christian God is one of love and forgiveness and the way He uses Samson is pretty brutal and cruel, and it sure seems like Maine is giving Samson some pretty god-like abilities. As a dark criticism of some early religious tales, The Book of Samson works pretty well. I would have liked for Samson to have eventually seen the misguidedness of his ways, but I guess that would have been too much revisionist "history" in the end.

Lessons Learned from Indie Films

2006-10-07T14:12:00.000-04:00

Those of you who know me know that in addition to libraries, I have a passion for independent film. John Gaspard's latest book, Fast cheap & under control: lessons learned from the greatest low-budget movies of all time, is a fun, quick read for the independent film buff. Each section focuses on low-budget films from the late 50's to 2005 and features interviews with the filmmakers, casts, producers and friends detailing how these films were made for such a comparatively small amount of money. In the context of each film, Gaspard posits lessons to take away from these creative filmmakers. For example, one of the lessons gleaned from Eric Mendelsohn's Judy Berlin is stated as "The Family and Friends Plan." This delightful low-budge film starred Edie Falco, a veteran of the independent films of Hal Hartley, and about to become a household name in "The Sopranos." Edie and director Mendelsohn were good friends. Mendelsohn was also friends with the producer, the Director of Photography and several other key roles. Using friends allowed Mendelsohn to tap into a cast and crew that shared a passion that went above and beyond a paycheck, which translated into a more committed group working on the film.

Other films Gaspard focuses on include Darren Aronofsky's π,T om Noonan's What Happened Was..., David Lynch's Eraserheas, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Stephen Soderbergh's sex lies and videotape, Kevin Smith's Clerks, and perhaps the most famous indie blockbuster, The Blair Witch Project. The interviews with filmmakers and other related personnel are fascinating. At the end of the book, Gaspard collects all of the lessons he has mentioned throughout the book and lists them, cross-referencing the films that used them. While nowhere near the level of Christine Vachon's Shooting to Kill, this is a diverting read for any indie film fan.

Things to Read in Denver While at Conference

2006-09-17T11:25:00.000-04:00

I do my best reading while travelling, and on a recent trip to Denver for a conference I was able to polish off two books courtesy of Holtzbrinck Publishers and their delightful Library Markter, Talia Ross. I'm on a good roll too; this makes five strong, entertaining reads in a row, starting with Douglas Coupland's satirically hilarious JPod, then Alison Bechdel's sublimely written and drawn graphic novel Fun Home, and John Morgan Wilson's solid if unsurprising mystery, Rhapsody in Blue. This trip found me trying out a best-selling novelists personal ruminations, and some clever and surprisingly entertaining chick-lit!

I'm one of the few people in America who hasn't read Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections, but I think I will have to correct that oversight after enjoying his latest work, The Discomfort Zone: a Personal History. The first thing that becomes very clear is Franzen's talent as a writer. Armed with an impressive vocabulary (it has been a while since I've had to go to a dictionary while reading), Franzen has that much-appreciated skill of using a complex, literary style to tell simple, stories and having the two styles match wonderfully. This latest mini-memoir is bookended by two essays from Franzen's more recent life, revolving around the death of his mother. The remaining remembrances are delivered realitively sequentially, illuminating the author's childhood, awkward adolesence, and college years. Franzen isn't afraid to reveal his awkward sensitivity that often expressed itself in strange ways, and he avoids that self-confessional, bludgeoning style that has turned me off from the popular Augusten Burroughs. It's always a joy to read skilled writers who can also tell a good story.

In what surely must be one of the most disparate follow-ups possible, I next picked up Shannon McKelden's forthcoming chick-lit offering Venus Envy. There are several "firsts:" surrounding Venus Envy that I only discovered while preparing for this blog entry. Not only is this the first book in the chick-lit genre that I have read, it is also the first novel in a new line of chick-lit for publisher Tom Doherty Associates (Tor), as well as McKelden's debut novel! Some of this surprised me (debut novel; how much I enjoyed this book) while the news about Tor clarified certain things. What makes Venus Envy so unique in chick-lit (I would imagine) is the fact that one of its principle characters is Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love. It's a nice and delightfully successful blending of chick-lit with urban fantasy that made for a surprisingly entertaining read.

2000 years ago, Zues, the lord of the Greek gods, banished his daughter Aphordite from Olympus to do service as a "fairy godmother" until she has learned something. Her first charge was Cinderella, and she has been working ever since, much to her distaste, to earn her way back home. When Rachel Greer inadvertantly selects Aphrodite, going under her Roman nom de plume, Venus Cronus, as her fairy godmother, both women are appalled. Rachel Greer is a young woman who has been damaged by a series of disastrous relationships that she has internalized (wrongly) into being her fault. She has sworn off men and has devoted herself to volunteerism, convinced that her fulfillment will come from a live without love. Deep down, buried far below any rational thought, Rachel truly seeks that fairy tale romance, complete with a Prince Charming that will complete her and fulfill her fantasies. But despite Venus' godly origins, has she met her match with Rachel, and are the two stuck together for the rest of Rachel's life? Venus cannot move on until she succeeds in her mission of uniting Rachel with her very own Prince Charming.

McKelden is skilled at creating flawed yet likable characters, with a wry sense of humor and deeply rooted emotions. As expected, both Rachel and Venus learn about humanity and relationships through the course of the book, and like the best fairy tales, everyone lives happily ever after. Sure, there are plenty of romantic conventions laced throughout, but it's such a fun read that I just took it for what it was and came out the other end with a new appreciation for a previously untested genre. Look for Venus Envy at the beginning of the new year.

Formulaic Mystery is a Satisfying Read

2006-09-09T16:00:00.000-04:00

I don't often read mysteries, because when I do, they all seem slightly forumlaic. That holds true for Rhapsody in Blood by John Morgan Wilson, the seventh featuring gay, ex-journalist Benjamin Justice, yet that is not to say that the novel isn't well-written and absorbing. Quite the contrary. Wilson pens a suspenseful yarn, handing out clues sparingly and letting the reader put the pieces together along with the main characters.

Perhaps what makes Rhapsody such an entertaining read is the complexities of its main character, Benjamin Justice. Despite having not read the previous six novels, there was enough background information woven into the storyline to keep me from feeling confused, and it's a fairly involved background. Apparently Justice, once a renowned journalist who won a Pultizer Prize, has lost quite a bit of luster when he was forced to give up the Prize when he revealed that he invented much of the story that won it for him. Now he is trying to make ammends by writing his memoir, leaving all the shame and errors of his life intact.

As a diversion, he travels with his friend, and L.A. Times journalist Alexandra Templeton to a faded resort hotel in the town of Haunted Springs. There a movie is being shot bringing to the big screen the scandalous history of the hotel. During the 1950's, famed starlet Rebecca Fox, who was at the hotel shooting the tragic story of her life, was found murdered in room 418. Ed Jones, a local, black man was accused of the rape and murder, but before he could be brought to trial, he was lynched and hung. Years later DNA testing proved that Jones, at the very least, did not rape Fox, but the case has never been reopened. To complicate matters, Fox's daughter committed suicide in the same room and date years later.

Now, Hollywood has descended on Haunted Springs to tell the story of Rebecca Fox and her daughter, but delays and other problems plague the set. When feared Hollywood gossip writer Toni Pebbles, at the hotel to reveal a carefully guarded secret about one of the stars of the film, is found brutally murdered in, you guessed it, room 418 on the ides of March, Justice and Templeton find themselves in the midst of a mystery that refuses to be solved... until now.

Rhapsody is filled with colorful characters, many from the Hollywood film crew, and most of them never really stretching far beyond a stereotype. Still, Justice's complicated, aging but supremely competent detective work is fun to read, and Wilson rarely makes apologies for his characters' flaws. There is a somewhat disappointing and unnecessary subplot involving Justice and the film's leading man, but otherwise, Rhapsody in Blood is a potboiler of a whodunnit with not one, but potentially three murders in three decades to be solved!

Bechdel Elevates Graphic Novel Format

2006-08-22T14:21:00.000-04:00

Alison Bechdel, well-known for her "Dykes to Watch Out For" comic strip, has written a powerful memoir in grahpic novel format. Fun Home: a Family Tragicomic explores Bechdel's youth in a tiny town and specifically her relationship with her troubled father. The dark humor Bechdel infuses into her family tale is perfectly complemented by her richly detailed artwork. As lovely as her artwork here, it is her sublime storytelling skills that leap from the page and resonate with the reader. Starting with a mythical and symbolic comparing of Bechdel and her father to Icarus and Daedelus, Fun Home is suffused with the unique and nearly mythic perspective of an adolescent; particularly one who is wrestling first with the onset of puberty, then with a realization of her homosexuality. Bechdel's mother is featured here as well, but the core of this story is a father/daughter relationship, one fraught with deception, suspicion, adoration, and reluctance. Yet while Bechdel highlights the tragic and dark moments of their lives, there is real love between these two, and while slower to be revealed, it is their nonetheless.

And "Six Feet Under" fans take note: Bechdel's father was a third-generation funeral home director. This is one outstanding work of literature.

Coupland Tackles the Millenials

2006-08-22T11:35:00.000-04:00

Canadian author Douglas Coupland made pop culture history when he released his first novel, Generation X. Now he tackles millenial culture with his latest work, JPod. This hilarious, irreverent novel explores the lives and habits of a group of computer game builders. The six young men and women who comprise JPod, a no-escape computer architecural limbo in a massive video-game-design company are morally suspect, computer geeks whose lives are explored through Ethan, the central character and a member of JPod. In addition to Ethan's co-workers, his family fleshes out this colorful and wacky cast of characters, putting Ethan in impossibly bizarre and even lethal situations.

Coupland masterfully pokes fun at current pop culture and the modern day high tech world. He even inserts himself as a particularly malevolent character whose impact on Ethan and his circle of friends defines their world. The book is filled with word games, e-mails, visual jokes, and computer code making JPod truly a book for the new millenial. Readers will gasp and laugh as Coupland's story spirals to impossible heights... or is that depths of behavior.

Cunningham's Novel is as Busy as Real Life

2006-08-08T09:45:00.000-04:00

It would be a toss-up deciding which genre was the latest trend; urban fiction or supernatural suspense. Witnessed by the massive success of Laurel Hamilton's Anita Blake and Meredith Gentry novels, and the hundreds of titles that are published in this genre each year, I might have to lean toward the supernatural suspense. Elaine Cunningham's Changeling Detective Novels fall squarely into this popular genre that blends fantasy, mystery, and, well... sex. Shadows in the Starlight is the second book in a new series (following Shadows in the Darkness) and the first of Cunningham's books I've read. They follow the life of Gwen "GiGi" Gellman," a former member of the Providence, RI vice squad who looks like a precocious teenager, but due to the fact that she is in fact, a changeling, is considerably older with special "qualities" to boot. Gwen is now a private investigator with a specialty for family problems, little realizing she's about to embark on a search for her own "family problems."

Shadows in the Starlight is a well-written, entertaining read, using the backdrop of Providence, RI and southeastern Massachusetts quite well, giving it a unique feel. The problem I found was it was rather confusing to read as a standalone novel. Not having read the first part, there were a lot of storylines that just appeared without explanation. And while the multiple threads running through Gwen's life lent an air of reality to the proceedings, it made keeping track of the story rather complex; something that you don't really want from a light, diverting read. If Cunningham can fashion her novels to be a little more self-contained, with fewer threads running through each one, the colorful characters and solid backdrop should find many readers.

Finding Faith with Aaron Hamburger

2006-08-01T15:16:00.000-04:00

Aaron Hamburger's second novel, Faith for Beginners, focuses on a mother and son who have lost their way. Helen Michaelson is a housewife from suburban Michigan with a chronically ailing husband and two gay sons. Jeremy, the younger of the sons is college-aged and rebellious. After nearly losing Jeremy to what was either an overdose accident or an attempted suicide, Helen drags both Jeremy and her husband to Israel in the hopes that he will reconnect with his faith and find some meaning in his life.

The journeys that Helen and Jeremy find themselves on lead not necessarily to faith, but to life, and how to live it. The year is 2000 and the threat of violence is never far away, yet there is something seductive in the air, for both Helen and her wayward son. Hamburger does a nice job in subtly bringing Helen and Jeremy to a place of self-realization without resorting to any melodramatic cliches or forced meeting of minds. Neither Helen nor Jeremy are particularly likable when we first meet them, but it's to Hamburger's credit that we are rooting for them both by novel's end.

What's in a Name?

2006-07-20T09:31:00.000-04:00

Colson Whitehead's latest novel, Apex Hides the Hurt, is a cleverly-written examination on the power of the name. In many fantasy novels, names carry great mystical power and beings of power never reveal their true names to others. To do so gives other people a measure of power over the individual. Whitehead looks at this idea in a contemporary novel about branding and advertising. What something or someone is called is a very powerful thing, Whitehead proposes. Ironically, Whitehead's protagonist remains nameless throughout the novel.

Our unnamed narrator built himself a highly successful career as a nomenclature consultant, naming products for maximum revenue generating effect. His crowning glory was the Apex bandage, a minor competitor against the Band-Aid brand, that is avaialble in varying shades to match skin hues. The resulting "Apex Hides the Hurt" advertising campaign scored big for the product and catapulted the already succesful narrator to superstar heights in the naming business.

As in all great stories, our namer's subsequent fall due to a fluke injury, and perhaps a little psychological uncertainty, is what sets up the novel. After living an extended period as a hermit in his Manhattan apartment, our protagonist is contacted by his former company to act as their agent on a job. The mid-west town of Winthrop is vying to change it's name. Should the town be called "Freedom," as it was when it was founded by freed slaves after the Civil War? Should it look to the future and its recently found economic growth with the name "New Prospera?" Or should it remained rooted in tradition and stick with "Wintrhop," named after the benevolent the early aristocratic family who settled there two generations ago? Our narrator must struggle with this issue, dealing with people for whom he feels a mixture of thinly-veiled contempt and respect, all the while struggling with his own demons and the reliving the series of events that lead to his sorry condition.

Whitehead is a good writer. I enjoyed his first novel, The Intuitionist, a nifty bit of speculative fiction about an elevator inspector, and Apex is vaguely reminiscent of that book minus the science fiction shadings. Both books focus on the internal lives of protagonists who find themselves in isolating situations. He touches on issues of identity, race, and society with a light touch and a wry sense of humor. There isn't too much character development beyond the main character, but that's pretty much the point. An interesting and thought-provoking quick summer read.

A Delightful New Voice in Literary Fiction

2006-07-17T09:55:00.000-04:00

Elisabeth Brink's gentle humor and wry, intellectual observations sparkle brightly when delivered through Gillian, SAVE YOUR OWN'S awkward, scholarly main character. We follow Gillian's journey from sure-of-herself Harvard Divinity School grad student struggling with her dissertation as she finally learns what life is all about.

Brink has found her place among the Elinor Lipman's, Mameve Medwed's and Stephen McCauley's of the literary world with this delightful debut that skirts the pain and humor of humiliation and allows her awkward main character little triumphs along the way. Truly a marvelous read that will leave you wanting more.

Still Struggling to Make the World a Better Place

2006-07-04T18:21:00.000-04:00

In David Levithan's young adult novel Wide Awake, we once again travel to the near future where much has changed, but a lot is still the same. Duncan's life is definitely going well. Not only does he have a terrific boyfriend in Jimmy, but history has been made with the election of the first gay, Jewish president. But as we all know, change doesn't come easy to a nation, and not a day has gone by before the election results have been called into question. Then Duncan's stable loving relationship with Jimmy hits a couple of bumps, and his life is suddenly unsure.

Levithan chronicles a young man's first call to activism with all the hesitance and confusion that adolesence holds. He envisions a near-future where Christianity evolves into something loving and inclusive rather than the divisive force that it is so often depicted as today. He espouses activism to facilitate change by telling a highly personal tale that is sure to appeal to many readers.

Perfection has its Price in Prodigy

2006-07-04T17:42:00.000-04:00

David Kalstein's debut novel, Prodigy, is a compelling speculative tale about a prep school set in the near future. The administration of Stansbury Prep School are using a combination of drugs and training to create physically and intellectually superious specimens to better society. Throw in some political intrigue, teen-aged rebellion and romance, and a murder mystery, and you've got a smart, taut thriller that makes for a fun and fast read.

Mr. William Winston Cooley and Mr. Thomas Oliver Goldsmith make for a truly oddball pairing. Both are orphans, chosen by lottery to attend the prestigious Stansbury school, but their similarities end there. Cooley has rejected Stansbury's medeical regimen and has gotten through his scholastic years on determination, shrewdness, and the bold action that the meds suppress in all the other students. Goldsmith is the year's valedictorian, the pinnacle of the Stansbury program's student body. Yet when they begin to uncover something dangerous and deadly involving the school, both their lives begin to unravel and they find that they can rely only on each other.

Prodigy was released in December 2005 so check it out if you're looking for an exciting summer read.

Nothing New in Mordden's Novel

2006-06-27T17:32:00.000-04:00

This latest installment of Ethan Morden's "Buddies" trilogy is the first that I have read. I've grown pretty wary of novels that chronicle the "gay experience," particularly when those novels revolve around a group of friends living in New York City. I thought How's Your Romance? being the concluding volume of the trilogy and taking place in the 1990's might be an interesting look at the gay men who grew up and came of age during the AIDS era of the 1980's and therefore might avoid some of the tired stereotypes that flourished during that previous decade. Unfortunately that was not the case. In fact, Romance, which touches upon older narrator Bud explaining about the mentoring process of the next generation of gay men perpetuates and even reinforces the stereotypical gay categories and worse hints that gay men who don't live in New York are freaks and that most straight men long to have sex with gay men. The men in Romance might well have been aliens from another planet who learned about human culture by reading cheesey gay novels from the 1980's (except for the singularly unique and well-rounded narratore -- surely a stand=in for Mordden himself. I just don't get it.

Vampire Transgression by Michael Schiefelbein

2006-06-13T09:58:00.000-04:00

The third in a series following Vampire Vow and Vampire Thrall,
Schiefelbein's latest novel follows the exploits of Victor Decimus and
his newly-turned vampire lover Paul. The relationship between Victor
and Paul breaks the rules of vampire-kind and the forces of the Dark
Kingdom are closing in to enforce the rules -- one way or another.

Fans of the series may enjoy the development of the relationship
between Victor and Paul, but new readers will find little reason to
care whether the Dark Kingdom gets them or not. The plot is difficult
to discover amid the sexual escapades and the characters' motivations are unclear at best. Not recommended.

"...the worker as a bee"

2006-06-07T22:35:00.000-04:00

This quote from Shakespeare's Henry V could also represent the combination of hard work ethic and graceful beauty that make up The Hive: the Story of the Honeybee and Us by British food writer and historian Bee Wilson (short for Beatrice, nicknamed Bee long before her interest in bees every existed). The Hive is not a detailed, scientific exploration of the honeybee, but rather a cultural (both human and bee) look at a marvelous society and how it has interacted with our own throughout history.

After giving us a brief rundown on the science of the honeybee, Wilson breaks The Hive down into six basic sections: work, sex, politics, food and drink, life and death, and the beekeeper. Wilson explores how various cultures throughout history have revered, demonized and emulated the honeybee's work ethic, social structure, even their sexual practices. She spends a great deal of time on honey, the bees' by-product and its position as one of civilization's first sweeteners. Her writing is entertaining, informative and extremely readable.

Historic Europe Take a Fantastic Turn

2006-05-26T16:32:00.000-04:00

In R. Garcia Y Roberson's Firebird, Markovy is the fantastic land beyond eastern Europe, where barbaric tribes, werewolves, and witches run wild through the Iron Wood. A young orphan girl named Aria, lives a quiet life foraging for the Bone Witch, a legendary figure feared by the local villagers. When Aria encounters the French knight, Sir Roye de Roye, beaten, wounded, and clutching the precious Firebird's Egg, she falls immediately in love and finds the course of her life irretrievably altered. Her life suddenly finds a new purpose, to return the Firebird's egg to its nest. Pursued by the church, the local villagers, the deadly Tartars, Aria and her knight must face overwhelming odds with scant few allies, all the while holding tightly to the love they share despite seductive harem girls and the deadly "Killer of Children."

R. Garcia Y Robertson has written a compelling fantasy novel that uses historic Europe as a backdrop. Aria is an engaging, sensual heroine, and the sex is plentiful. The one drawback of the novel comes from the separation of the two main characters. Aria's sections are compelling and hard to put down, while the sections following her beloved Sir Roye de Roye become distracting as I just found myself wondering what Aria was up to. All in all, Firebird is a wonderfully playful stand-alone fantasy tale in a genre cluttered with series.

Holtzbrinck's Talia Ross Enters the Blogging World

2006-05-24T09:06:00.000-04:00

As many of you know, Talia Ross, head of library marketing at Holtzbrinck Publishers, is a good friend of the Reader's Circle. Check out Talia's new blog, 175 Fifth St. Rocks - Holtzbrinck Musings, where Talia and her colleague Martin talk about the books they've been reading. (I just hope this doesn't mean Talia won't post on the Reader's Circle anymore!)

I just had the fortunate opportunity to hang out with Talia at BookExpo America down in Washington, DC where we partied with politicians, hung out with librarians, talked about books, and basically had a good time. I'll post more about BookExpo soon, and in the mean time, go visit Talia's blog!

Lipman's Latest Grievance is Delightful

2006-05-23T07:36:00.000-04:00

Set in 1978 at a small women's college in Boston (Simmons College, perhaps?), Elinor Lipman's eighth novel, My Latest Grievance tells the story of Frederica Hatch, her parents, and the enigmatic Laura Lee French. Frederica's parents, ex-hippies, professors, union reps, and ultimately, house parents at one of the school's dormitories, raise Frederica surrounded by portential babysitters who view their young charge first, as the school mascot, then as part of the institution. Growing up as the only child on a college campus suits Frederica's desire for attention fittingly until she enters her high school years where she doesn't stand out quite so much.

Enter Miss Laura Lee French, the new house mother of a nearby dormitory. Laura Lee is the lovely, blonde, former Rockette, antithesis of the Hatches, who was briefly and shockingly (to Frederica, at least) married to Mr. Hatch before he married Frederica's mother. Her presence on campus is Frederica's perfect opportunity to regain the spotlight until she finds that sometimes being the center of attention isn't the greatest thing in the world.

Lipman is a sublime writer who weaves humor and drama seamlessly into her story. All of Lipman's previous novels that I have read focused on man-woman relationships, so My Latest Grievance provided a refreshing departure, giving Lipman to make some pointed observations about parenthood, growing up, higher education, and the need to stand out in a new milieu. If you're looking for a smart, fun, and well-written novel, don't hesitate to give this one a try.

out of time is out there

2006-05-19T10:50:00.000-04:00

I hate when I have nothing good to say about a book but here goes. John Marsden's Out Of Time was just confusing. I can handle and even enjoy non linear chronolgies, for example I loved the Time Traveler's Wife, but this one just jumped around. I never knew who was speaking or why the main character was doing what he was doing or when anything was happening. This is a slim volume written for children and teenagers by a master of specultative fiction for those ages, but this time he just missed the boat.

Homework (or at least house work)

2006-04-28T09:35:00.000-04:00

Its been a while since I updated you all on what I have read. One of the main reason for the delay is that I got bogged down in (and then gave up on) a book I held on to for a while. Both of the titles I am reviewing have whiny characters and household chores as a major theme but my reaction to them was very different.

Dirty Laundry, a Sofie Metropolis Novel by Tori Carrington This is the second title in the Sophie Metropolis series which can be catagorized as chick-lit mystery. When I picked up this book I was really expecting to like it. I am always interested in how people portray my own ethnic background (greek-american) and as you all know I definately perfer lighter reading fare. Then I started the book, and did not get more than two chapters in before the character's whining and sterotypes made me want to hurl (something). I left the book on the kitchen table, hoping that the prominant placement would make me pick it back up and give it another chance. A few times I picked it up - to put it back down again. I know that the Sophie Metropolis titles have a following, I am simply not going to be one of the series fans.

Katie Fforde is one my favorite authors so at the last meeting when someone else presented Restoring Grace I snatched it out of her hands with glee, and was not disappointed. Grace Soudley is a typical Fforde heroine, she is in her mid thirties and coming off of an amicable, but devistating divorce. Her family does not understand her and resents the fact that she has things that they do not. In this case it is a house which was left to her by her aunt and godmother. The title refers to many different themes within the book Restoring the house, restoring the balance withing the family and taking Grace from the broken character who lives in a big house with no furniture and little contact with the world to a women with a circle of good friends a new love and the means to fix up the house by selling a painting found in the house which needs to be restored. Katie Fforde's writing style is very witty, british hen lit or women's fiction depending on whom you are trying to sell the book to. She can be compared with Jenny Cruise and Susan Elizabeth Phillips.

I have three other titles wait at home so you should hear from me again soon. Georgia

Mameve Medwed is a Life-Saver

2006-04-15T09:01:00.000-04:00

Superficially, Mameve Medwed's latest novel, How Elizabeth Barrett Browning Saved My Life, tells that time-honored modern tale of a young woman, maybe not that young, whose life is mired in dissatisfaction and missed opportunities, until she picks herself up by her bootstraps and ultimately triumphs. It's a popular theme in contemporary literature, but in Medwed's hands, it's like a revelation. Medwed's Abby was born into a somewhat privileged life, daughter to a Harvard Professor, living in Cambridge, MA. Yet she never really fit comfortably in that skin that she was expected to inhabit. Not like her best friend and next door neighboor Lavinia. Although perhaps just a little bit more like Lavinia's older brother, the adorable Ned. That's all nearly ancient history at the novel's outset, where Abby has been recently dumped by Clyde. Abby collects and sells antiques, and when her friend in the next booth notices something intriguing about one of her pieces, Abby finds herself on Antiques Roadshow, then in the middle of a whirlwind of excitement when it is revealed that her antique offering is actually a chamber pot used by poet Elizabeth Barret Browning.

Medwed spins Abby's tale from that point on with delicate finesse. The porcelain antique in question has a definite impact on Abby's life, especially when she finds out it's value, but it also brings Lavinia, and eventually Ned back into her life. Medwed writes with wry, plucky humor, letting us sympathize with her occassionally pitiful heroine, even as we hope... we know that things will work out in the end. And things do work out in the end, but Abby's happiness is earned, and that is the beauty of Medwed's writing... in all of her works. While the reader might be able to tell that How Elizabeth Barrett Browning Saved My Life is going to wind up with that Hollywood ending, it's the honest way Medwed brings us there that is so surprising and satisfying.

McKillip Weaves Strong Magic

2006-03-26T19:09:00.000-05:00

In Patricia A. McKillip's latest fantasy novel Solstice Wood, a gathering of women knit, crochet, and weave threads to keep the otherworldly race of the faery at bay. It's not so different really, than the way McKillip weaves words together, not to keep anything at bay, but rather to create; this time, a magical world right next to our own contemporary one. It has been a while since this master of the fantasy genre has set a tale in our everyday world, and at first I was taken aback by the less ornate use of language. But when it comes to words, McKillip does everything with a purpose, and the more straight-forward descriptions and language used by the family and villagers gathering to mourn the loss of a dear grandfather sets the modern-day stage. As a magical fairy land becomes evident in the woods behind Lynn Hall, lush descriptions begin to creep into the prose before flowering into the full-blown metaphoric sumptuousness that her fans adore.

Another rarity for Ms. McKillip is the fact that Solstice Wood is a sequel of sorts, returning to the setting of an earlier novel, Winter Rose. But really that's just for the fans. Anyone can enjoy this novel without having read her earlier work. Sylvia is living in the big city. She owns a bookstore and enjoys a modern relationship. When she receives a phone call from her grandmother informing her that her grandfather has died, clearly there is something about Lynn Hall and her old stomping grounds that she does not want to return to. Despite her best intentions, Sylvia finds herself unable to flee back to the safe anonymity of the city immediately after the funeral, but instead finds herself caught up in a battle between our world and that of the faeries. Two worlds that are tied to her past as surely as any spell cast by a Knitting Guild of witches.

For fans of fantasy, McKillip should be a staple. Her novels may fluctuate from gloriou to simply fantastic, but they should all be read. At first I thought Solstice Wood was going to end up in the simply fantastic realm, but McKillip pulls through, with her trademark powerfully drawn women and her skill with weaving magic from words she hits this one just short of the glorious.

Banishing Verona is an entrancing read

2006-03-15T08:59:00.000-05:00

Margot Livesey, Massachusetts Book Award Honors Winner in 2002 for Eva Move the Furniture, has returned with an entrancing love story set in London and Boston called Banishing Verona. In this oddly moving tale, a young carpenter and painter named Zeke meets Verona, several years older, mysterious and seven-months pregnant. The two spend a day together forming a powerful connection, when abruptly Verona vanishes, leaving Zeke bereft and heartsick. To complicate matters, Zeke suffers from Asperger's Syndrome making social interactions difficult for him, and Verona is involved in some trouble caused by her beloved, yet irresponsible and self-involved brother. Despite Zeke's fears, he follows Verona to Boston, only to find her gone again when he arrives. With both characters longing to find each other again, yet kept apart by circumstance, Livesey weaves a fascinating romance with two characters who keep missing one another.

Livesey is an accomplished writer who avoids mainstream fiction cliches and weaves words together with intriguing skill. The Reader's Circle is thrilled to welcome her to our April 19 meeting at the Boston Public Library. Hope you can make it!

The Commitment Brings Up Personal Discomfort

2006-02-27T11:29:00.000-05:00

I thoroughly enjoyed Dan Savage's Skipping Towards Gomorrah, his collection of humorous essays from a few years back. But while that title looked at the lives of sinners in a fun and clevery way, his latest title, The Commitment: love, sex, marriage, and my family, veers dangerously toward personal memoir, which is a category that I've had trouble with ever since reading the work of Augusten Burroughs. I've gone on record frequently for being disturbed by the spate of confessional memoirs that have come into vogue in the last several years, prompted no doubt by the television talk shows where people confess way more than I ever wanted to hear. While Savage's latest is obstensibly about gay marriage, he discusses this recent issue in the context of his own life, most notably his life with his partner of ten years, their adopted son, and his mother.

My discomfort with Burroughs and his ilk stems from the need for people to confess some really disturbing stuff and make it funny. It's information I would rather not know about people who I don't really know personally. It lacks context. It makes me think, "Man, that guy is sick." I have no problem discussing difficult or potentially disturbing elements from the lives of friends and family, but with strangers, it's information I don't really want. While The Commitment doesn't feature a cast of dysfunctional characters anywhere near the level of Burrough's books, I noticed something that annoyed me about the book. Savage takes the quirks and personality traits of his family and plays them for laughs. For some reason this doesn't bother me in fiction, but in non-fiction it seems a little too wink-wink, nudge-nudge.

Regardless my personal difficulties with the book, it is entertaining, and deals with a lot of timely issues. Naturally, all of these issues are filtered through one man's (and his family) perceptions, and Savage, who considers himself a very conservative guy, definitely has preconceived judgements that aren't necessarily blown apart by his writing of this book. I think that's what disappointed me the most. Ultimately, I'd rather read Savage's examination of society in a more macrocosmic way, than reading about him and his family.

Academy X is Fun, but Lacks Finesse

2006-02-13T09:25:00.000-05:00

Written anonymously, Academy X is a entertaining, quick read that satirizes the culture of wealth and privilege in a prestigious private school in New York City. John Spencer is an English teacher trying to educate his precocious, uber-privileged class about the relevance of Jane Austen in today's society; particularly with today's wealthy society. Yet although he is inexplicably on track to become the new Department Head and pursuing the sexy new school librarian, he has difficulty resolving his moral responsibility to his students with the administration's pressure to be swayed by the students' parents' checkbooks. To top things off, many of his more elite students will stop at nothing to excel at Academy X, whether that means the rampant plagiarism among the students, the promise of Knicks or Yankee tickets for a glowing letter of recommendation to a University, or nubile teen-aged girls wearing the scantiest outfits imaginable.

While Academy X is fun, it lacks the style of similarly humorous writers such as Elinor Lipman, Mameve Medwed or Tom Perrota. The anonymous author does a fine job weaving the story of Austen's Emma into the lives of the school's students, but in the end, this seems written for eventual TV Movie adaptation (or worse, a sticom.)

A Simply Perfect Look at Dolley Madison

2006-02-02T10:33:00.000-05:00

Not being a fan of the historical biography, or really all that interested in history at all, I am probably one of the few people who knew nothing about Dolley Madison's heroic act of saving the White House's famous portrait of George Washington during the War of 1812. Catherine Allgor's new book, A Perfect Union: Dolley Madison and the Creation of the American Nation, kicks off with this very moment in history, then wheels back to our most famous historical First Lady's birth and childhood, spending considerable time on her marriage to James Madison, our third President, and wrapping up with Dolley's legacy. While Dolley's life is fascinating, from her Quaker upbringing, to her role as the social center of Washington, D.C. during her husband's presidency, it is Allgor's voice that truly brings this first serious biography on Dolley for years to enthralling and entertaining life. There is a knowing wink, a mischievous suggestion, and a comprehensive knowledge of the emerging power of women, particularly political power, infusing Allgor's prose. Allgor paints a thorough and believable portrait of a woman who broke very important ground for all the women in politics who came after her. She also does a terrific job melding the thorough research of an academic text with an engaging style that will appeal to all readers.

Newfoundland Village Gets a Touch of the Supernatural

2006-01-09T09:06:00.000-05:00

Kenneth J. Harvey's The Town That Forgot How to Breathe is an atmospheric supernatural suspense novel that examines the effects on the modern age of technology on a tiny fishing village on the coast of Newfoundland. When the town of Braden starts to experience some unexplainable phenomena, two differing opinions on the causes are offered up; one by the older villagers who spent their lives on the water and in the fisheries, and another by the army who is brought in to investigate. Yet how can the military mind explain away the fantastic creatures who make their presence known in the harbor; or the mysterious ailment that strikes many of the villagers pushing them into unexplained aggression before causing them to forget how to breathe? When the long dead start showing up floating in the harbor, perfectly preserved as if they'd just died, rational explanations are harder to rationalize.

For visiting Joseph and his sensitive young daughter Robin, the unexplainable events embrace them in a manner that is sinister and dangerous. Yet for Tommy Quilty, who was stolen by fairies as an infant and returned slightly changed, and the ancient Miss Laracy who lost her fiancee in a tragic boating accident decades before, the circumstances herald a return to a simpler time.

Harvey's spellbinding prose marries a dark gothic style with a modern suspense novel, much as the traditions of the old fishing village are forced to coexist with the criss-cross of internet and cellphone signals that clutter the sea air. Harvey defines the village of Bareneed with the ever-present ocean, the crusty, recalcitrant villagers, and the mysterious wooded areas where it seems only natural that fairies once cavorted. At the same time he draws some very real characters whose fears of losing their precious daughter, or the sanity of his timid wife ground the supernatural into something very natural. The Town That Forgot How to Breathe is a triumph of haunted imagination that fans of early Stephen King or Peter Straub will thoroughly enjoy.

Karin Lowachee Plumbs the Dark Side

2005-12-27T10:43:00.000-05:00

Canadian author Karin Lowachee has got herself a fascinating science fiction series going here. Her third installment, Cagebird, was released in the spring of 2005, and I finally caught up with it. Lowachee's books take place in a farflung future, where humanity has extended its reach firmly into the stars and finds itself caught up in an interstellar war with an alien race. Earth's three major factions include the military including elite fighting forces like Jets or Black Ops, the sympathizers, humans who do not believe the aliens are at fault and seek to end the war, and pirates, who play every side and break every rule for their own personal gain. In her first novel, Warchild, Lowachee focused on the effects on a child who loses his family to a pirate attack, is raised and trained by the aliens to be an assassin, and is ultimately put undercover in the military. Her second novel, Burndive, looks at a privileged youth who suddenly finds himself thrust into the dangerous world of his father, a high-ranking military admiral who is now a mistrusted sympathizer. In Cagebird Lowachee explores the dark wise of this triangle: the pirates.

Yuri is four when his home colony is destroyed and his family splintered by an alien attack. Several years later he is picked up by pirates; not any pirates, but Falcone, one of the most notorious pirates, formerly a high-ranking military officer. Falcone sees in Yuri, the potential for him to become the protégé Falcone has been seeking to shape for years. Now Yuri is twenty-two and serving life in prison after attempting to assassinate an admiral's son. When two mysterious agents of the Black Ops visit Yuri in his cell to offer him a deal, he finds they hold sway over him by taking advantage of his one weakness. Lowachee plumbs the psychological depths of a boy who was taken at an early age and molded into a ruthless, conscienceless pirates; forced to do unspeakable atrocities and struggling as an adult to find his way after everything he once believed he now questions. Cagebird is not afraid to venture into the dark places to emerge into something lighter. Her remarkable skill at creating multi-dimensional characters sneaks up on the reader. I can't tell you how many times I think I know how a character is going to behave and am completely (and usually happily) mistaken.

Warchild, Burndive and Cagebird are terrific books for fans of science fiction, and teenagers looking for some action. Younger kids may be intrigued by the focus on children, but the books are pretty dark and deal with sexuality in a very frank way (particularly Cagebird) so know who you are recommending them to.

A Beautiful Portrait of the Immigrant Experience

2005-12-22T08:56:00.000-05:00

Christopher Castellani's second novel is a lovely portrait of the Italian-American experience in 1950's Delaware. Antonio found his Maddalena, his movie-star beautiful bride, in a tiny Italian village and swept her off to America to join his family. His dreams of opening an Italian restaurant and raising a large family bright in his mind. Maddalena left a young lover and her entire family to come to a far away country and an uncertain future with a husband she hardly knew. Seven years later, Antonio toils at the Ford Factory, while Maddalena sews at the Golden Hem. They live with Antonio's extended family and have yet to start that family they both feel will make everything right.

Their neighbor Giulio is sufferring his own losses. 40-years-old and unmarried, Giulio has recently buried both of his parents. Now he lives a solitary life, missing his parents, avoiding work, and occassionally expressing his loss through music.

When Maddalena at long last finds herself pregnant, she is filled with joy, but Antonio is suddently riddled with surprising fear and doubt. When Maddalena becomes ill both Antonio and Giulio find their lives turned inside out, as each struggles with this unexpected turn of events.

Somerville-resident Castellani imbues his rich story with detailed images of the life of an Italian immigrant. The extended families living under one roof, the boisterous holidays overflowing with food, the solemn loss of the elderly, and the pursuit of the American dream all come vividly to life under Castellani's hand. A true slice of life of a specific part of America's past.

My first post!

2005-12-13T09:01:00.000-05:00

I thought I'd write a little bit about Mark Schorr's Terminated Client, a mystery slated for release in the Fall of 2006.

When psychologist, Vietnam Vet and recovering alcoholic Brian Hanson learns that his patient has committed suicide, Brian suspects foul play. But who is to blame? His now dead patient was a major source of embarrassment to her family. But, would her own family betray her so ruthlessly? Or would her boss, the town's strip club owner and former lover, be out for revenge for a deal gone sour between the two? Or is the Mayor's desire to keep the town safe forcing his own staff to resort to murder? And what about Brian's wife? Are her career ambitions too mighty? Will Brian's memories from Vietnam and desire to drink again ultimately destroy any chance he had in discovering the truth about Tammy's death?

With a multitude of plot twists and turns, this book is fast-paced action-packed and has a real shocker of an ending.

Other mysteries of interest:
King of Lies, John Hart (May 2006)
Parting Shot, Jonathan Stone (June 2006)

Blending Genres for a Sublime Read

2005-12-08T16:37:00.000-05:00

I picked up Matty Groves from the Reader's Circle collection after noticing that Deborah Grabien was the author. Grabien wrote a book back in the 1990 called Plainsong that I thoroughly enjoyed. I hadn't seen any books by Grabien since then, but apparently she's been working on a new series, of which Matty Groves is the third and most recent entry. "The Haunted Ballad Series" cleverly combines the mystery with the ghost story, with a dash of British history, theatre and music tossed in. I was a bit skeptical, not being a mystery series fan, and coming in with volume three, but recalling Grabien's writing fondly, I gave it a try.

As with many mystery series, there is a cast of recurring characters, in this case led by Ringan and Penny. Ringan Laine is the leader of Broomfield Hill, one of the foremost folk music groups in contemporary Britain, credited as nearly single-handedly keeping traditional folk music alive. His longtime companion, Penny Wintercraft-Hawkes, actor-producer with a prestigious theatre troupe, is also a sensitive, reacting strongly to spirits. When Broomfield Hill is invited to participate in the exclusive Callowen House Arts Festival, Ringan and Penny's initial excitement is dulled when they recall that the famed Callowen House is haunted.

Worse than haunted, as they discover when the Festival begins, Callowen House not only boasts it's own whimsical ghost, it also houses a malevolent spirit that suddenly rears its ugly visage spectacularly after the new guests arrive. Ringan, Penny, and their friends and associates must solve the mystery of a seventeenth-century murder, entertain guests at the festival, and get rid of this spirit all while staying alive and safe.

Grabien is a skilled writer, slowly revealing clues and character traits with the best of series Mystery writers, while lacing lovely pieces about British history, folk music, and spiritualism throughout the narrative. Fans of mysteries, ghost stories, and all things British should take note of this terrific series.

television by jean-philippe toussaint

2005-12-03T14:04:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone -
My husband will deny it, but he watches a heck of a lot of tv.
To be fair, with the help of his remote, he never actually watches one program from start to finish; therefore it may not seem to him like he watches tv.
Anyway, I am not immune. Over the years I have watched way more tv than him, and
I have steeltrap memories of thousands of theme songs and commercials to prove it.
But recently I have been making the righteous effort to reduce my viewing, especially since his quick draw prowess with the remote gives me vertigo. So what have I been doing? Reading, talking to the cat, pacing....
So when I heard of Television , a slim, popular novel from France by Belgian Jean-Philippe Toussaint. I read it and enjoyed.
The narrator is on sabattical in Berlin. His wife and child are on vacation.
He is supposed to be writing a book, and he decides to give up watching television "cold turkey."
This guy doesn't do much, but I found him hilarious, rather, as the French might say, tres amusant.
He is a Woody Allen type. He procrastinates bigtime. He swims. He neglects the plants he is supposed to take care of. He fantasizes about all kinds of odd things like Baywatch, libraries, and why he stopped watching tv. He writes two words of his book ("when Musset...")
He stares at the tv. In the end, his wife returns. Nothing much has happened. But, I enjoyed being in his head. It was funny. It was relaxing. And, guess what? the whole time I read it, I wasn't watching television! bc