Fiction Lovers
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When We Were Vikings by Andrew David Macdonald (2020) - I am so looking forward to putting this book in the hands of everyone I know when it is finally published next week on January 28, 2020. To sum, this book lovingly, and with great prose and plot, reminds us that we are all legends of our own making. The heroine, Zelda, has some significant health difficulties, and she knows they stem from fetal alcohol syndrome (even if she isn't exactly certain what that means). She also has a fierce determination to live her life boldly and an obsession with Vikings (the historical ones, not the football team) helps her in this quest. This book starts with her 21st birthday party and slowly unfolds to show how she and her brother Gert navigate, as young adults, the honestly crappy hand life has dealt them: dead mother, absent father, abusive uncle, and poverty - just to name a few obstacles. When Gert, who is trying to both take care of the two of them and keep his college scholarship, makes some pretty poor choices, Zelda rises to the occasion with help from a superb librarian (love a book with a helpful librarian), a great social worker, and Gert's strong-minded on-again/off-again girlfriend - AK47. You will cheer for Zelda every step of the way and be a bit sad when you leave her orbit at the end. I find it hard to believe this is Mr. Macdonald's debut novel; both Kirkus and Publishers Weekly agree. ~ Lisa Christie Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson (2019) - In this compact and powerful novel, National Book Award-winning author Jacqueline Woodson deftly explores issues of race, class, identity, and sexuality. In just under 200 pages she manages to convey generations of information about Iris and Aubrey, two Black teenagers in New York whose families are brought together by an unexpected pregnancy and the birth of their daughter Melody. It is narrated in alternating chapters by Melody, Iris, and Aubrey, as well as their parents who have among them survived race riots in Tulsa, rebuilt lives, struggled with poverty, attended college, and landed in very different economic locations. What results is a moving portrait of two families whose members both young and old have disparate voices, varied dreams, and whose identities have been shaped by very different influences. This complicated past converges in the no less fraught present at the beginning of the novel on the eve of Melody’s fifteenth birthday in a brownstone in Brooklyn. These beautifully drawn characters are sure to stay with readers long after they have turned the last page. When interviewed by Trevor Noah in October 2019 on “The Daily Show,” Woodson offered that she hoped for readers of her book to “fall in love with the characters and [that] it makes them want to create some kind of change.” I share her hope. Highly recommended. ~Lisa Cadow The Overstory by Richard Powers (2019). As the IndieNEXT list states, "I can’t stop thinking about this book! A sprawling, literary eco-epic, The Overstory is the kind of novel that changes people. It’s a riveting call to arms and a bitter indictment of our wasteful culture. More than that, it’s an incredibly human story with a huge cast of richly imagined characters that you’ll never forget. With writing that is dense but accessible, Powers is a master at intersecting science, art, and spirituality without sacrificing plot. I pity the next customer who comes into our store looking for ‘a book about trees’ because Powers has given me a lot to talk about.”. I agree. ~ Lisa Cadow The Travelers: A Novel by Regina Porter (2019) - This book has an energy I can't yet describe adequately. However, my inadequacy is irrelevant as what matters is that this energy and Ms. Porter's prose had me rapidly turning pages of this debut novel; I really, really wanted to know what happened to each of the many characters. And by "many characters", I mean that the cast list at the beginning of the novel, reminiscent of the copy of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead one of the characters keeps carrying around, proved extremely useful in tracking who is who. Ms. Porter deftly moves her plot and her abundance of characters between decades in a delightful, surprising, and circular motion while she portrays two main families - one black and one white - navigating the decades from the Civil Rights Movement to Obama's presidency. I am a bit jealous that those of you who have not yet read this novel, still have discovering how Agnes Miller, James Vincent, and Claudia Christie are connected in your future. Ms. Porter's tale employs wit and compassion, two things I believe we can call use more of these days. But, perhaps most importantly, as The Guardian Review of this debut states, this novel reminds us that "we are all both the heroes of our own stories and the extras in other people’s". ~ Lisa Christie There There by Tommy Orange (2018, paperback 2019) - The writing in Tommy Orange's debut novel is forceful and builds a percussive momentum as the story progresses, perhaps not unlike the beat of a drum at a Native American Powwow. Maybe this has something to do with the fact that the author himself majored in sound engineering as an undergraduate before working in a bookstore and falling in love with reading and writing. There There explores identity and sense of place, telling the story of twelve characters, mostly urban Native Americans, all living in Oakland, California. Their lives are braided together though it is not until the end, at the Oakland Powwow, that the reader understands just how. From the outset, it is clear that things won't end well. However, the beauty of the prose, the poignant stories of the individuals it tells, and the insights and honesty it offers into the Native American experience compel one to read to the painful, shocking finish. Orange's work has received a great deal of publicity since it was published in 2018. Margaret Atwood and Pam Houston have both sung its praises. The New York Times named it one if the "10 Best books of the Year" in 2018. It was even a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. These kinds of reviews can be off-putting to the casual reader, the hype overwhelming, the literariness of it all stopping one before the first page can even be turned. Don't let this get in the way of reading such an important and accessible book. For me it was one of those "shape shifters," a work that helped me to understand our culture and history in a different, richer (though not easier or more comfortable) way. ~ Lisa Cadow The Slow Waltz of Turtles by Katherine Pancol (2016) - If you’re looking for insight into the French psyche and what the French are tending to read these days, this would be a good book for you. “Waltz” is the second in a trilogy that explores the dramas of a family, in particular the lives of two very different sisters - Josephine and Iris - dealing with divorce, loss, new love, “crises de career”, raising teenage children, and dealing with mid-life. A mystery is involved - people in Josephine’s Parisian neighborhood are being murdered - and be forewarned that descriptions can be quite graphic, even disturbing. I found there to be slight similarities to The Elegance of the Hedgehog as much of the story is set in a fancy apartment building and involves a concierge. Ms. Pancol’s style is a bit less existential, though, more fast-paced and more American than Ms. Barbery’s (which could have something to do with the years Ms. Pancol spent in New York and at Columbia University as a graduate student). This book has been a mega-bestseller in France that has done well internationally as it has been translated into over 30 languages. ~ Lisa Cadow State of the Union, A Marriage in Ten Parts by Nick Hornby (May 2019) - Speaking of novels, a husband and a wife walk into a bar, order a drink, and discuss their marriage before heading to their weekly therapy session - for ten weeks in a row. What comes of it?... This isn't the beginning of a joke. Rather, it's the premise of a brilliant, short-but-sweet and even funny 10 chapter novel. Topping out at 140 pages, master comedian and writer Nick Hornby (of "About a Boy," and "High Fidelity" fame) deftly and sensitively guides readers into the depths of a relationship that's in trouble. There are kids, there are infidelities, there is wine and beer being served, there are middle aged people feeling a little bit unsexy and even a obviously a tad bit vulnerable. But this is the loveliness of this whipper-snapper smart novel composed almost entirely of dialogue. And it is this dialogue that made it ripe to be snatched up by Sundance TV which has now made it into a popular series. This may not seem like a Father's Day gift but it is. It's honest. It addresses the challenges men and women really face when parenting, working, and facing the (beautiful!) reality of middle age. It is a wonderful springboard for discussion. And it is a book that will be appreciated by all comers: Dads, Grads, Moms, Readers, Writers, Thinkers. Enjoy! ~ Lisa Cadow The Eight Mountains by Paolo Cognetti (2016) - I was immediately drawn to this Italian coming-of-age story when I saw that the New York Times described it as "a good old fashioned novel." Who doesn't seek this, especially if said book is just over 200 pages and takes place in remote alpine pastures? Set in the late in the 20th and early 21st centuries, readers journey with young Pietro and Bruno through their boyhoods and high up into the Aosta Mountains. City boy Pietro's parents rent a small house in a hamlet summers for their family of three with the hope of sharing some part of their own rural childhoods with him. It is here that he meets Bruno and spends days on end with him exploring the village ruins, cool streams, and hillsides while also learning how to be a cowherd and climbing mountain peaks with his distant father. The boys lives take very different paths into adulthood but always re-converge in the village. This novel is deeply atmospheric and quietly explores male friendship and father-son relationships. It conveys a love of mountains, nature, farming, and respect for making a living from the land with one's hands. I found this book to be an important one. It offers insight into the changing nature of post-war European economies, culture, and the challenges presented to traditional livelihoods. "The Eight Mountains" remained on the bestseller list in Italy for years, and has won both the Italian "Premio Strega" prize and the French Prix Médicis Étranger. ~Lisa Cadow The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead (2019) - One of the most devastating and beautiful books I have read in a long time. I knew I was in trouble when I started silently crying at the unfairness of the arrest of Elwood, the first boy described in this novel. I knew I was in trouble knowing the stories in this book are based on true stories of a reform school in Florida that operated for 111 years. So like Millie in the final chapters, I took breaks from learning about what happened to Elwood and Turner (in my case by reading magazine articles and children's books). Please don't let this deter you from picking this novel up and reading the tales of the Nickel Boys - boys sent to a fictional juvenile reformatory in the Jim Crow South. ~ Lisa Christie Milkman: A Novel by Anna Burns(2018). We highly recommend listening to the audio version of this Man Booker award-winning book. Not only does the narrator’s irresistible Irish accent transport the listener to Belfast in the 1970’s but her conversational delivery invites the listener into this difficult story of an18-year-old being sexually harassed by a much older man (the eponymous “milkman”). The author’s intentionally long, run-on sentences are delivered in a way that the listener is able to sink in her teeth and truly feel the Terror in Ireland – though the decade is never directly named – a time when partisan politics came to a head (think America modern day), infusing daily life with bombings and fear. This book makes one wonder if the shaming of accused women will ever change or if perhaps continuing to spotlight an awareness of this timeless storyline will ultimately lead us to an age of equality. ~ Lisa Christie Circe by Madeline Miller (2018) – This saga covers the origin, life and final decisions of Circe, the original Greek witch. Sprinkled throughout with men, women and gods from Greek Mythology, I found myself spell bound by what would happen next – even though I technically knew. And because Circe manages to succeed alone, banished to an island, she draws the wrath of gods, slightly reminiscent of some women today. In the end this is a gripping tale centered around a dysfunctional family of rivals, love and loss, punishment, and a tribute to a strong woman living in a predominantly man’s world. (Also on the April 2018 Indie Next List.) ~ Lisa Christie Fruit of the Drunken Tree by Ingrid Rojas Contreras (2018) – There are books that are so gorgeous when you finish you turn back to page one and start over again. This debut novel is one of them. I was so moved by this story and so sad to see it end that I finished the author’s notes at the end and began again, re-reading at least the first 30 pages before I was ready to let these characters go. The novel, set in Bogota during the height of Pablo Escobar’s power, shows the horrors violence breeds through the eyes of seven year old Chula and her family’s maid Petrona. Loosely based upon actual events in the life of the author, this debut novel devastates and uplifts with every perfectly placed word. As I just told my youngest son, “I am so glad that one of the best novels I have ever read is about your birth country. I am grateful for its gift of insight into Colombia, and what your birth family endured in Bogota. I am so looking forward to you reading it someday so we can discuss”. ~ Lisa Christie Nutshell: A Novel by Ian McEwan (2016) — Ok the tale of Hamlet reworked for Modern Day London and told form the perspective of an unborn child? Yes, sounds too precious, but Mr. McEwan pulls it off. It truly is more brilliant than this quick summary shows it should be. Perhaps because the narrator allows Mr. McEwan to ponder modern problems and pleasures without seeming to lecture. Perhaps it is because of Mr. McEwan’s lovely prose. Whatever the reason, I highly recommend this one, while admitting a bias for Mr. McEwan’s work. (A New York Times and Washington Postnotable book and previously reviewed by us a few times.) ~ Lisa Cadow and Lisa Christie Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders (2017) – A fascinating look at Lincoln after his beloved son Willie dies and the USA is burning down all around him due to the Civil War. Told in a completely uniquely gorgeous style and premise – actual historical documents describing this time and the souls of the dead interred with Willie give voice and color to the narrative. Challenging to read; fascinating to think about. (Winner of the Man Booker Prize, and an IndieNext pick.) ~ Lisa Cadow and Lisa Christie The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (2016) – I am late to the party over this National Book Award, Pulitzer Prize winning novel. But, this tale of Cora and her life as a slave will capture your imagination and give you many reason to pause and think about race relations today. Please pick it up if you have not already. (Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.) ~ Lisa Christie The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros – I LOVED this once again as I read it to discuss with my 9th grader who was forced to read it for his English teacher. Bonus — he, a very reluctant reader, loved it too :)! (Thanks you Ms. Eberhardt.) The trials and tribulations of the narrator as she navigates her life in NYC are deliciously unraveled by Ms. Cisneros sparse prose. Or as the New York Times reviewed ““Cisneros draws on her rich [Latino] heritage . . . and seduces with precise, spare prose, creat[ing] unforgettable characters we want to lift off the page. She is not only a gifted writer, but an absolutely essential one.” ~ Lisa Christie Gertrude and Claudius by John Updike (2000). Yes, Hamlet, that tortured prince receives a lot of time in High School and College English Lit classes, but did you ever think about his story from the perspective of his mother and her lover/second husband? Well luckily for us, John Updike did. The result is a well written novel that forces you to rethink the Bard’s popular tale of a Danish Prince and his doomed lover Ophelia. This is different from most of Mr. Updike’s novels – try it, you might love it. And if you don’t believe us, try the New York Times Book review “Updike has used Shakespeare to write a free-standing, pleasurable, and wonderfully dexterous novel about three figures in complex interplay.” ~ Lisa Christie Whatever Happened to Interracial Love by Kathleen Collins (2016) – I am so glad someone put this collection of short stories in my hands. The writing by Ms. Collins – an African American artist and filmmaker – is distinct and concise and paints vivid pictures of life in New York in the 1970s. The backstory to the collection is almost even better – these stories were discovered by Ms. Collins’ daughter after her death. ~ Lisa Christie Ghana Must Go by Taiye Selasi (2013) – When a renowned surgeon dies suddenly outside his home in Accra, his family, which is scattered across the globe, suddenly learns much more about him and what his choices meant for them. Beautifully rendered, this novel takes you from Accra to Lagos to London and to New York. It also shows us the power of love, family, and choices as we figure out who we are and where we come from. ~ Lisa Christie Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi (2016) – WOW, it took too long for this book to get the top of my “to-be-read” pile. But, I am so glad I did finally read it. I LOVE this tale of two sisters and their many generations of offspring as they live their lives in Africa and the USA from the times of African-USA slave trading to modern day. ~ Lisa Christie Days Without End by Sebastian Barry (2017) – And now for a completely different look at the Wild West! Twice nominated for the Booker Prize, author Sebastian Barry crafts a truly original story that follows the life of orphan Thomas McNulty from the day he comes to North America from Ireland as a young boy in the mid 19th century. His far-reaching travels take him through the emerging West first as a gender-bending performer, then as a soldier in the Civil War, and eventually as a non-traditional father with his life partner John Cole. This is an unconventional love story and a tale of an unusual family gorgeously told. As New York Times reviewer Katy Simpson Smith observes, “Barry introduces a narrator who speaks with an intoxicating blend of wit and wide-eyed awe, his unsettlingly lovely prose unspooling with an immigrant’s peculiar lilt and a proud boy’s humor. But, in this country’s adolescence he also finds our essential human paradox, our heartbreak: that love and fear are equally ineradicable.” Highly recommended. ~Lisa Cadow Burial Rites by Hannah Kent (2013) – Ms. Kent’s newest novel – The Good People – reminded us of how much we liked her first one. This first novel is based upon the true story of Agnes, the last woman executed in Iceland. In it, Ms. Kent vividly renders Agnes’s life from the point where she is sent to an isolated farm to await execution for killing her former master (or did she?). Be careful though, reading this may inspire some wanderlust because of the way Ms. Kent makes Iceland a character in a vast array of memorable people Agnes encounters. Enjoy. Note, this was also reviewed in our previous post “Books to Inspire Your Summer Travels“. ~ Lisa Cadow and Lisa Christie The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher by Hilary Mantel (2014) – A collection by Hillary Mantel is probably not the most obvious choice for a post about thrillers. But trust us, many of the short stories contained in this collection are down right haunting, especially as they are portrayed in such a matter-of-fact, plausible manner. From the title story about a man trapped in his flat with a would-be assassin of Prime Minister Thatcher, to a shorter tale about the end of a marriage, to a story of two pre-teen girls spying on a mysterious form, Ms. Mantel’s narrators are a bit warped and the every day situations they encounter unusually framed. As an NPR reviewer wrote “Every other story here makes a permanent dent in a reader’s consciousness because of Mantel’s striking language and plots twists, as well as the Twilight Zone-type mood she summons up.” And, if you have not yet read anything by Ms. Mantel, these stories provide a great excuse to try her work. The New York Times wrote in their review of this collection, “Over the past decade or two, Mantel has made a name for herself — no other way to put it — as one of the indispensable writers of fiction in English.” That description itself provides a very good reason to try anything Ms. Mantel pens. But the bonus for reading this particular book — it is actually a superb and eclectic mix of stories to enjoy. ~ Lisa Christie Euphoria by Lily King (2014) – Truly terrific. A well-crafted tale of three anthropologists and their time observing and living with the various peoples in the Territory of New Guinea. Set between the two World Wars, Ms. King explores a complex love triangle among three gifted and often confused young scientists. This novel is loosely based upon real life events from the life of Margaret Mead — all from a trip to the Sepik River in New Guinea, during which Mead and her husband, Reo Fortune, briefly collaborated with the man who would become her third husband, the English anthropologist Gregory Bateson — and it has me searching for nonfiction treatments of her life. The New York Times agrees that this book is a must read this summer. ~ Lisa Christie A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra (2013) – A truly, truly, truly amazing debut novel about the pain and suffering inflicted during the Chechen conflict(s) and the power of love. From the opening pages describing the abduction and disappearance of a man from his home, Mr. Marra connects the lives of eight unforgettable characters – the daughter of the abducted man, the father of a despised informant, a doctor trying to hold together a hospital with only three staff members – in unexpected ways. With incredible writing and gifted storytelling, this is a superb read. I honestly can not praise it enough. ~ Lisa Christie The UnAmericans by Molly Antopol (Feb. 2014) – To start, I HATE short stories. They leave me bereft because just as I am starting to care so much about their characters, they are over. So the fact I am recommending a collection of short stories is rare and special. This collection is amazing. Each story has unforgettable characters. Each is well written by one of Stanford’s Wallace Stegner Fellows (a sign for the Book Jam of an author who can write – hello Bo Caldwell). Yes, I was a bit sad at the end of each one because it was over. How did I survive? I chose to concentrate on the overarching theme, and look at it as a strangely constructed novel about a variety of interesting “communists”/immigrants to America from the various countries that were once known as those behind the Iron Curtain. ~ Lisa Christie Mudbound by Hilary Jordan (2008) — This novel provides yet another reason to always read Bellewether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction winners. This story set in post WWII Mississippi is a heartbreaking story of racial relations, poor treatment of returning veterans, and the high price of silence as members of two families living in rural Mississippi collide. ~ Lisa Christie and Lisa Cadow Distant Land of My Father (2002) by Bo Caldwell – Good for all-men clubs, all-women clubs, mixed gender, father/son and mother/daughter clubs. Gorgeous prose and insight into 21st Century life in China and LA. The plot? The consequences that result when a man’s love for China is bigger than his love for anything else in his life. ~ Lisa Cadow and Lisa Christie The Submission by Amy Waldman – This book will have your group thinking and talking more than any book in awhile. The plot – a jury chooses the final design for the 9-11 memorial only to find out that it was submitted by a Muslim. The reactions to this selection of the jurors, the public a reporter and the architect who submitted the design intermingle with politics, prejudices, emotions and thoughts about art. Somehow this seems like an appropriate book to read in September. ~ Lisa Christie Into the Beautiful North (2010)by Urrea – It is as if Jon Stewart wrote a novel of gorgeous prose about Mexican immigration into the USA. With this tale you learn about life in a small Mexican town after all the men have left for jobs in the US. Humor, coyote crossings and apt commentary about all the prejudices we all hold. ~ Lisa Christie Rules of Civility (2011) by Amos Towles. This fabulous novel transports. It’s set in Depression-era Manhattan and is gloriously atmospheric in the New York it portrays (think flapper dresses, smoky jazz clubs and Great Gatsby-esque Hampton estates with flowing champagne). It is also rich in strong characters and probing in the questions it asks its readers about choices, careers paths and the assumptions we make in life. Towles writing is polished, gorgeous even (hard to believe it’s a first novel), and takes us to 1938 to tell the story of that year in the life of Katey Kontent, a smart, ambitious, working class girl who finds herself rubbing shoulders with the 1%. Besides being a great read, it is a love letter to New York City. ~ Lisa Cadow The Cove by Ron Rash (April 2012) — A haunting tale about the power of prejudice and love. Set during WWI in a dark cove in the rural Appalachian mountains of North Carolina, the book follows the life of Laurel and her brother Hank, newly returned and maimed from serving in France. The story begins as they offer shelter to a mute musician – Walter – who wanders into their home. Due to abundant local superstitions about the Cove and Laurel’s birthmark mark, a visitor is eerily unique. When the outside world intrudes and secrets are revealed, of course tragedy strikes. However, you will enjoy the story that gets you there and the small piece of hope you are left with. ~ Lisa Christie Running the Rift by Naomi Benaron (2012) – The author’s true gift is that she makes a book about a country torn apart from genocide hopeful, without flinching from the awful truths contained in Rwanda and in the world’s lack of response to the horrors there. The characters are extremely memorable and often extremely human role models. The story amptly illustrates the strong ties of family and friendship, and the love that can overcome hatred even as all hell breaks loose; even if ultimately, that love can not save everyone. Since it is the second of the two winners of the Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction that we have truly enjoyed, we vow to add the annual winners to reading lists. ~ Lisa Cadow and Lisa Christie
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