Monday, July 23, 2012

The Beginner's Goodbye


The Beginner's Goodbye Anne Tyler

Adult New Fiction Tyler


When a tree falls on Aaron's house, killing his wife Dorothy, he feels
completely lost. Everyone in his neighborhood and at work wants to cook
for him or take him out, but all Aaron wants to do is be alone with his
grief. So he empties out casseroles, dumping them in the garbage and
sending thank yous. In his grieving, the one person he longs to speak with
is Dorothy. There's a beautiful quote to that effect, but I can't find it.



After staying in the hospital for days on end, he returns to his torn up
home until a rainstorm forces him to move in with his overbearing sister.
Dororthy starts to visit Aaron for brief moments as he recalls his
courtship and their 10 year marriage. Dorothy, or Dr. Rosales as she would
always correct everyone, was a plain, no frills woman. Aaron was crippled
as a boy on his right side. The two seemed to converse through silences
and it takes Dorothy's visits after her death to show Aaron how to say
goodbye and to realize the truth of his marriage, that it wasn't really a
happy one.



This is a brief book. Aaron is a publisher of a vanity press, inherited
from his father, not something he would have wanted to do after having
graduated from Stanford. His company publishes "beginners' guides to..."
and in this way this book is a guide for Aaron to say goodbye. As usual
Tyler sets this in Baltimore and she has a way of drawing upon the most
ordinary of characters and finding their humanity and quirkyness.


The Marriage Plot


The Marriage Plot Jeffrey Eugenides

Adult Cd Book Eugenides


During her senior year of college, Madelaine Hanna, a lover of British
novels by Jane Austin and George Eliot, is embarking upon her senior
thesis on the marriage plot, a theme that runs through the works of these
writers. Then she takes a class in semiotics where she meets the
charismatic Leonard Bankhead. Beginning as an intellectual relationship,
it quickly becomes erotically charged and wildly unpredictable as
Leonard's manic depression cycles from mania to depression.



Throughout this relationship, her friend from freshman year, Mitchell
Grammaticus, like Eugenides from Detroit, resurfaces. He's been reading
Christian theology, saying his mantra, the Jesus prayer, over and over and
is planning a trip to India to work with Mother Theresa. Mitchell has been
madly in love with Madelaine since freshman year, but has never been able
to get anywhere with her, which has caused him a great deal of self
loathing.



With this love triangle, Eugenedes writes a marriage plot of our time that
has humor but long bouts of depression as Leonard tries to find his way
through his mental illness.



I listened to the audio book, performed ably by David Pittu. He did a
remarkable job with the many voices, only failing in pronouncing a few
foreign words. I highly recommend it.

Away


Away Amy Bloom

Adult Fiction Bloom


Barbara Rosenblatt does an excellent job narrating the story of Lillian
Leyb who comes to America in 1924 after her family is killed in a Russian
pogrom. Here she manages to get a job as a seamstress in the Goldfadn
Yiddish Theater where she becomes the mistress of the leading actor and
his father. Her friend at the theater, Yaakov Shimmelman, gives her a
thesaurus and coaches her in English. When she learns that her daughter
Sophie did not die in the pogrom, he helps her procure cheap passage to
Seattle, her launching off point for a trip to Siberia to find Sophie.
There she falls in with a kind African-American prostitute who rescues her
after she is robbed.



Lillian's trip by foot across Alaska is amazing, helped along the way by
kind strangers. Lillian's voyage is filled with tragedy, humor and
compassion; she is not one to wallow in self-pity. Lillian is open to all
experiences and without umbrage. A wonderful read or listen.


Salvage the Bones

Salvage the Bones Jesmyn Ward

Adult Fiction Ward


This powerful book is set in the woods of Mississippi in the days leading
up to Hurricane Katrina. It's a gritty story about a family of 3 boys and
their father, told by the 14-year-old sister, Esch, who discovers she is
pregnant. She is a lover of mythology, especially the story of Medea and
Jason and her ideas of Medea and Jason surround her unrequited love for
Manny, her sun, who made her pregnant but rejected her. Esch's brother
Skeetah loves his pitbull, China, who has just given birth to puppies
which he hopes to sell to pay for the older brother's basketball camp.
There is the youngest, Junior, whose birth was their mother's death, and
who has been cared for by all of them. Their lives are filled with grief
from the death of their mother and their father's most important
possession seems to be photos of her. West's writing is earthy and filled
with metaphore as well as love and respect for this family living in
desperate poverty.



Caleb's Crossing

Caleb's Crossing Geraldine Brooks

Adult Fiction Brooks


In 1665 a young Indian man from Martha's Vinyard graduated from Harvard
College and upon this fact Geraldine Brooks creates a dramatic account of
two cultures engaging and colliding. Bethia Mayfield is growing up in
Great Harbor (Martha's Vineyard) where her widowed father is a tolerant
preacher and where she has time to wonder the island. In her wonderings
she meets an Indian boy, Cheeshahteaumauck, whom she will later call
Caleb. Caleb and another Wampanoag, Joel, eventually come to live with her
family and study with her father. It is at that time that two more
tragedies strike and Makepeace, her brother, along with Caleb and Joel go
to study at Cambridge. Her wealthy grandfather offers her as an indentured
laborer to the school master in order to pay Makepeace's fees.



Eventually Joel and Caleb will attend the Indian College at Harvard
College and distinguish themselves as scholars of Latin, Greek, Hebrew all
for the study of the Bible. While Bethia is prohibited from learning, she
listens in to all their lessons, even getting a job at the Buttery at
Harvard after her brother leaves school.



Brooks uses archaic terms and turns of phrase that give authenticity to
what she calls her diary. What incredibly beautiful writing. I haven't
loved reading/hearing language like this in a long time. Jennifer Ehle
gives a careful reading, timing it as a woman might have spoken in the
1660's.



In One Person

In One Person John Irving

Adult CD Book Irving


The early part of In One Person focuses largely on the amateur theater
productions of First Sister Playhouse for which Billy's mother is the
uptight, rigid prompter, his Grandpa Harry prefers to play women, and the
director, Harry's business partner is an hysterical Norwegian who
constantly gets his word order wrong and brings levity to a pretty heavy
book. There is also the theater at the Academy where Billy plays Ariel in
The Tempest, Ariel whose sexuality is mutable.



Following graduation, Billy leaves Vermont and goes on to college, travel,
explore his sexuality with gay men, transsexuals, and women. Perhaps it
bogs down a bit here, but as the 80s commence, the novel takes on a
deepening cast as friends and lovers start to get sick and die. Irving
goes into much detail about the ravages of AIDS, not wanting us to forget
what it was like.



Told from the point of view of a nearly 70 years old William Abbot, the
novelist, he will confront many ghosts from his past before the novel ends
and he will support the younger generation of GLBTQ teens that he comes to
teach. This is an extraordinary novel from one of my favorite novelists,
one that bears rereading.



I listened to the audiobook and found the narrator, John Benjamin Hickey,
quite good. I would have liked him to have more of a Vermont accent for
Grandpa and other family members, but he reserved accents for foreign
characters, which was okay and perhaps for the best.


The False Prince

The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Teen Zone New Fiction – Main Level - NIELSEN

High-spirited orphan Sage, always a troublemaker at his orphanage, is sold to the noble Lord Conner, who is buying up orphans the right age who resemble Prince Jaron. Prince Jaron was lost four years ago, and presumed to have been killed by the pirates who took the ship he was on. Lord Conner’s plan is to train all four boys to impersonate the prince, and thus prevent the civil war that would otherwise break out when it’s discovered that the king, queen, and crown prince have all been poisoned. There’s a lot at stake, as it’s clear from the get-go that the boys who don’t get chosen won’t have any future at all. While Sage refuses, somewhat inexplicably, to buckle down to his studies, the other boys are doing their level best, including studious and sycophantic Tobias and the less educated but tough and street-smart Roden. Sage is too smart to want to be a pretend prince, forever doing Lord Conner’s bidding, but he’s walking a tightrope between making it clear that he won’t give in to Conner’s demands while co-operating just enough not to get booted out altogether. All too often, his open defiance gets him hard knocks from Conner’s toughs. He’s got two weeks to learn enough to stay in the contest, figure out what Lord Conner’s real motives are (surely not as virtuous as he claims), and find a way to get out of the whole situation alive, preferably saving the lives of the other boys as well. Sage is cagey about his history, even with the reader, and it’s clear he’s got secrets of his own. Having read reviews of this other places, I already knew the Big Secret. (Hint: why does Sage both refuse to pretend to be the prince forever if he’s chosen and tell Conner “I am your prince.”?) Theoretically, knowing this ahead of time could have spoiled the book for me, like already known whodunit in a mystery. Not so. There are still so many gaps in Sage’s story, past and future (and present, the wily kid) that I was sucked in. Ultimately, Sage has to decide if he should go for being a prince or not – and how to get there without Conner coming with him if he does. As I get tired of books leaving me hanging waiting for the next in the series, I was somewhat surprised to see that the catalog record for this says “Ascendance Trilogy Book 1”. Nielsen has been very considerate with her series making: while I definitely want to read more of Sage’s adventures, this is a nicely rounded story in its own right, without being awkwardly chopped off at the right page count. The False Prince combines strong characters with fast and tricky plotting, similar to – dare I invoke the name? – Megan Whalen Turner’s the Queen’s Thief series. That series has similarly strong characters who hold on to their secrets to the end, combined with top-level politics with a small number of players, though the gods and magic don’t play a noticeable role in The False Prince. That means that despite it not being set in any place definitely on our earth and having a very similar feel to fantasy books, it not really fantasy. Still, highly entertaining and well worth reading.



Thursday, July 19, 2012

Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson



Before I go to sleep by S. J. Watson

Here is a thrilling read for the beach this summer! This is the story of Christine Lucas who has amnesia. Christine wakes up every morning thinking that she is in her twenties with life waiting to be lived. However, throughout the day she learns that she is married, is in her forties, and was in an accident that erased her memory. She holds on to her memories throughout the day but as soon as she goes to sleep...everything is erased. With the help of a therapist Christine begins writing in a journal as a way to have a memory, even if it's on the page.

After a few days of writing in her journal, her adult memories come back and the memories she is remembering aren't matching up with the realities of her life. As she writes more she starts to suspect that the man claiming to be her husband isn't her husband, that there is something he's not telling her, and then there is the problem of how she got her amnesia--which may not be the car accident she's been told about.

This mystery by S.J. Watson will keep you reading through the night to unravel Christine's past and all of the unanswered mysteries surrounding her new memories.

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Mennonite in a Little Black Dress


Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen
Adult Biography - Upper Level - JANZEN


After a difficult divorce and a car accident, Rhoda Janzen returns home to her Mennonite parents to heal. She recounts her Mennonite upbringing and finds that all the things that drove her away as a young adult are the same things that she finds safe and comforting now. The author is funny in a sarcastic, plain-spoken way, and the passages about Mennonite traditions are especially entertaining. This is an easy, fast read - perfect for a summer weekend!

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

American Salvage


American Salvage Bonnie Jo Campbell

Adult Paperbacks Campbell


American Salvage is a highly atmospheric collection of short stories set in rural Michigan. The author, Bonnie Jo Campbell, is from the rural Kalamazoo area and in this collection she introduces us to her neighbors, people who know how to survive but have no clue as to how to prosper. The stories are gritty and dark yet compassionate and quirky, and have an authenticity that moves them along. These are people we know – damaged people who are somehow salvaged like the old trucks and machinery that they keep alive. This book is part of the Made in Michigan Writer Series and was a finalist for the National Book Award in Fiction. It’s a quick and worthwhile read.


Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Shades of Grey: The Road to High Saffron #1



Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde

No, not the OTHER Shades of Grey. In fact, this book couldn’t be different! “Shades of Grey” takes place in a future world, after the mysterious “Something That Happened”, where people’s eyes have devolved to only see certain colors and certain resolutions of those colors. Because of this, society has created castes and rules based on which colors you can see and how well you can see them. The story follows Eddie Russett who is accompanying his father to the Outer Fringes, away from the marriage that will bring his family up the social ladder and away from the life Eddie has been dutifully planning all his life. It is in the Outer Fringes that Eddie discovers that not everything is as peaceful as it seems in his safe and controlled existence.

In this world, good behavior is rewarded with merits and bad behavior is punished by demerits. The manufacturing of spoons is forbidden. Eddie, through his dangerous curiosity and questioning, becomes low on merits and must risk his life by going to High Saffron, a city untouched since the “Something that Happened.”

Fforde has crafted an uncanny love story between Eddie and the Grey peasant called Jane and a hilarious mystery that leaves you eager for the second book to be written. Fans of Douglas Adams and the Thursday Next series will devour this quirky read!


Tuesday, July 3, 2012

After Dark by Haruki Murakami



After Dark by Haruki Murakami

“after dark” is set in Tokyo and takes place during the night, after the trains have stopped running. The story follows Mari, a nineteen year old woman who is seeking a reprieve from her home, though it’s not clear why until the end of the novel. While reading studiously at a Denny’s, Mari is recognized by Takahashi, who once went on a double date with Mari and her sister, Eri. Mari describes her sister as very beautiful and herself as very plain and ugly. Through Takahashi, Mari meets a retired female wrestler who works at a Love Hotel. She helps save a young Chinese prostitute who has been beaten and left with nothing at this Love Hotel after speaking with Takahashi. The novel investigates the man who beats the prositute as well as the pursuit of the man by the gang responsible for her. The novel also follows the mysterious sleep of Eri, Mari’s sister, who has been asleep for two months. There is a ghostly quality to the sleep and the story becomes more dream than reality following her into a world in which she is trapped and running for her life.

Murakami writes this story as if writing a script for a film. The imagery and description will keep you reading and invested in this ethereal narrative. "after dark" is wrapped in mystery about the night, about the people who live and play at night, and about what it means to be searching for who you are. A perfect summer read!


Monday, July 2, 2012

Rogue Island


Rogue Island by Bruce DeSilva
Adult Mysteries - DESILVA


Rogue Island is a noir mystery about newspapers that really delivers! It's a fun read with lots of humor amidst the action - in the tradition of Robert Parker, Lawrence Block, Sue Grafton, Janet Evanovich, etc. A wise-cracking newspaper reporter investigates a spate of mysterious arsons in the seedy part of town, which also happens to be his old neighborhood. There's intrigue in high places, petty corruption, wiseguys, a rumpled hero, romance and all the other elements of good noir. A must read for Red Sox fans!

Sunday, July 1, 2012

101 Places not to see before you die



101 Places not to see before you die by Catherine Price
Travel Collection-Upper Level 910.4 P


Human beings love to travel to various places in the world. Earth is filled with natural wonders or breathtaking man-made creations. Many people have a desire to see more than what they grew up being around at their homes. However, author Catherine Price warns us with her 101 Places Not to See Before You Die that some locations around the globe may be best to skip during the next family vacation this summer.

Price’s book is filled with places that run the gamut from the bizarre to the slightly unexpected. For instance, have you ever been to the Seattle Gum Wall or taken a literal beer bath at the Chodovar brewery in the Czech Republic? How about chasing a piece of cheese off a cliff during the Gloucester Cheese Rolling Competition? Not your idea of a well spent summer vacation I imagine. Many tourists may already see little reason to sightsee in locations such as the Beijing Museum of Tap Water or the Great Pacific Garbage Patch but the author also makes convincing arguments against touring more popular destinations such as Mount Rushmore, Stonehenge, or Times Square on New Year’s Eve. Some of the entries are also included for pure comedic effect such as Jupiter’s worst moon or a Monday morning at the Department of Motor Vehicles. More of a wacky trivia book than an anti-travel one, 101 Places Not to See Before You Die reminds us just how unique and occasionally weird the planet can be at times.