Fiction Reviews, July 15, 2011
Jul 15, 2011Benson, Raymond. The Black Stiletto. Oceanview. Sept. 2011. c.280p. ISBN 9781608090204. $25.95. F
Imagine waking up to discover that your Alzheimer’s-stricken mom had been an action figure. That’s the fate of Martin Talbot, who unearths a 1958 diary kept by his mother. A New York street vigilante in the late 1950s and early 1960s, Judy Talbot later inspired a comic book series and an Angelina Jolie movie, as well as the action figure. Most of Benson’s (James Bond: Choice of Weapons) thriller excerpts Judy’s diary detailing her attempts, devoid of superhuman powers (à la Batman), to teach herself boxing and karate, as well as to wield the weapon that provides her crime-fighting name, the Black Stiletto; she’s equally adept in stiletto heels and sews her own threads, one set for summer and another for winter. Interspersed are less interesting sections about Martin’s life and a subplot dealing with a Mafia hit man whose brother had been killed by the Black Stiletto and, after 52 years in stir, is out to get her. VERDICT This mashup of the work of Gloria Steinem, Ian Fleming, and Mario Puzo, all under the editorship of Stan Lee, will appeal to fans of comic books and the movie Kick-Ass.—Bob Lunn, Kansas City, MO
Bill, Frank. Crimes in Southern Indiana: Stories. Farrar. Sept. 2011. c.288p. ISBN 9780374532888. pap. $15. F
This gritty, violent debut collection begins rather like pulp genre fiction then deepens into something much more significant and powerful. Set in a dilapidated, seedy, nightmare version of southern Indiana, complete with meth labs, dog-fighting rings, and all manner of substance abuse, the stories are connected by recurring characters. The collection opens with vignettes focused mainly on carnage. But as readers go deeper, the stories lengthen, with Bill turning his attention to psychology and character development and bringing the community to life in fascinating ways. Many of the male protagonists are combat veterans, suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, and many of the characters—women as well as men—solve problems through lethal violence. Take Scoot McCutchen, who murders the wife he loves when she falls terminally ill. Bill’s characters live in a fractured world where there are no good jobs, not much respect for life, and not much hope. It’s a bleak, hard-boiled vision of America. VERDICT Recommended for fans of literary fiction but not for the faint of heart.—Patrick Sullivan, Manchester Community Coll., CT
Brown, Sandra. Lethal. Grand Central. Sept. 2011. c.472p. ISBN 9781455501472. $26.99. F
Honor Gillette, the widow of a coastal Louisiana police officer, goes from frosting cupcakes to being held hostage when armed, accused murderer Lee Coburn invades the home where she lives with her four-year-old daughter, Emily. Lee says he’s looking for something important that was kept by her late husband, but Honor can’t imagine what it is or why a dangerous man like Lee wants something from her good cop husband. As her ordeal continues, Honor doesn’t know whom to believe or trust but only that she needs to do whatever is necessary to keep Emily and herself alive. VERDICT Fast paced and full of surprises, this taut thriller, marking the author’s return to Grand Central, features a large cast of superbly drawn characters and the perfect amounts of realistic dialog and descriptive prose. Brown (Tough Customer), who began her career writing romance novels, also adds palpable romantic tension to the proceedings. Public libraries should expect high demand. [See Prepub Alert, 3/21/11.]—Samantha J. Gust, Niagara Univ. Lib., NY
Disher, Garry. Wyatt. Soho Crime. (Wyatt Wareen Thriller). Aug. 2011. c.288p. ISBN 9781569479629. $25. F
With an uncanny ability to hide in plain sight, master thief Wyatt Wareen (Kickback) slips calmly and silently through the streets of Melbourne, Australia. No one—including law enforcement—ever notices or remembers his presence. This calculated anonymity, along with Wyatt’s preference for taking low-risk jobs and working alone, has fostered his underworld success. But when he changes his usual MO to join an old contact and his ex-wife on a lucrative jewel heist, the job takes an ugly turn that puts them all at risk. As duplicity turns to murder, Wyatt becomes the target of several players in the deal, and he must rely on all his skills to untangle and rectify multiple layers of calamity and betrayal. VERDICT Disher’s depiction of Melbourne’s underworld is a revelation—undeniably lurid and harsh yet humming with a vibrancy that lends a soulful note to the story. In his first Wyatt thriller in 13 years, Disher, author of the Hal Challis police procedurals (The Dragon Man; Blood Moon) excels at capturing the complexity and tension of life on the run, and his characters exude a visceral energy as they compete to survive. Highly recommended for readers who enjoy atmospheric, character-driven crime thrillers.—Kelsy Peterson, Prairie Village, KS
Duffy, Stella. Theodora: Actress, Empress, Whore. Penguin. Oct. 2011. c.338p. ISBN 9780143119876. pap. $15. F
Daughter of an actress and a bear keeper for the Hippodrome of Constantinople, Theodora was trained as a dancer, singer, and actress who performed on the stage and in the bedrooms of anyone who could afford her, from the time she was a child. Her skills as a comedic orator endeared her to both rich and poor, noble and common, so much so that she was exhausted by the time she was 16 years old. An invitation to be the mistress of the new governor of Apollonia in Libya came as a welcome surprise and an opportunity to create a new, more socially acceptable life for herself. But when Theodora finds herself cast off in a few short years, she must make her way back to her beloved Constantinople. VERDICT Duffy’s (Parallel Lies) retelling of the true story of a woman (500–548) who rose from lowly beginnings to become Empress of the Byzantine Empire is lively and dramatic. One hesitates to use the term chick lit when referring to historical fiction, but perhaps it fits as Duffy explores themes of sexuality, theater, religious conversion, female oppression, and the struggle for power and recognition in a sixth-century historical setting with a surprisingly contemporary attitude. [The publisher notes that this is soon to be an HBO series.—Ed.]—Jane Henriksen Baird, Anchorage P.L., AK
Enright, Anne. The Forgotten Waltz. Norton. Oct. 2011. c.288p. ISBN 9780393072556. $25.95. F
She’s a sharp-tongued home wrecker who doesn’t try to ingratiate herself. But in this corrosively beautiful novel from Man Booker Prize winner Enright (The Gathering), you want to drag back Gina Moynihan as she recounts plunging headlong into the affair that will change her life. Gina met Seán Vallely at sister Fiona’s house and first made love to him, without much preamble, while drunk at a business conference. Lectured by her sister, who proclaims that their just-deceased mother would have been mortified, Gina silently disagrees. Surely Mum would have appreciated this affair, which has liberated Gina from…what? The dread of domesticity with teddybearish but somewhat dense husband Conor? Boredom with a lock-step job in Ireland’s grim economy? Writing with cool, clear-eyed logic, Enright is brave and persuasive enough to paint Seán as less than ideal; he’s a rigid bully and not overwhelmingly attractive. Through Gina’s determined pursuit of their relationship, we see the stupefying nature of desire, which Enright deftly contrasts with the sometimes equally stupefying nature of parenting; Gina’s big competition is not Seán’s wife but his sweet, not-quite-right daughter. VERDICT A breathtaking work that will surprise you; highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, 4/11/11.]—Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal
Fagerholm, Monika. The Glitter Scene. Other. Aug. 2011. c.528p. tr. from Swedish by Katarina E. Tucker. ISBN 9781590513057. pap. $17.95. F
First, Sweden gave us Stieg Larsson’s girls who did things, and now it has sent us Fagerholm, whose previous novel, The American Girl, was a best seller and multiple prize winner there. Her new novel has murders and mysteries, but don’t expect a tight—or even coherent—story line. Fagerholm’s technique is to circle around a plot development, repeating incidents and phrases like taglines, incrementally adding small bits of information. The narrative is carried along in the mulling voices of several quirky, unlikable characters who live in the cryptically unnamed District on a marshy seacoast, evidently in the author’s native Finland. One character may be a writer—it’s hard to know for sure—but at one point she says her editor suggests that she “use self-pity productively, carry it to the extreme,” which is an apt description of how Fagerholm approaches character and plot. VERDICT For those who like to puzzle over a challenging narrative. Most readers will find the novel almost incomprehensible, and as it is a sequel to The American Girl, one’s only hope of understanding is to read them both.—Reba Leiding, James Madison Univ. Libs., Harrisonburg, VA
Freud, Esther. Lucky Break. Bloomsbury, dist. by Macmillan. Nov. 2011. c.320p. ISBN 9781608196906. pap. $16. F
Anxious students Nell, Dan, Jemma, Pierre, and Charlie are some of the aspiring young actors who arrive at Drama Arts, the fictional drama school in Freud’s (Hideous Kinky) seventh novel. Through the next 14 years, the would-be actors together endure classes, auditions, agents, screen tests, disappointments, and some successes. Freud again draws on her own experience—she attended drama school herself—and her believable characters are written with intelligence and compassion. The author’s flair for authentic situations is evident, although at times she approaches cliché—a sleazy director attempts to seduce Nell in a casting-couch situation, and Patrick, the director of Drama Arts, could not be more self-important. While Freud is a talented writer known for her psychological insights, eccentric characters, and strange situations, her portrayal of the acting world at times seems a bit flat. Perhaps it is because the promise of triumph—the film or the Broadway play, that lucky break—is so rarely delivered. VERDICT Highly readable but not as satisfying as Freud’s previous works.—Lisa Block, Emory Univ., Atlanta
Gille, Élisabeth. The Mirador: Dreamed Memories of Irène Némirovsky by Her Daughter. New York Review. Sept. 2011. c.240p. tr. from French by Marina Harss. ISBN 9781590174449. pap. $14.95. F
Few of us will forget the experience of discovering Irène Némirovksy’s powerful Suite Française and the equally powerful and disturbing details of her life. Now we can rediscover Némirovksy through this novel, a fictionalized biography written by her daughter and published in 1992, where it helped precipitate a reexamination of this remarkable author’s work. Gille was just a few years old when her mother, a Russian émigré much celebrated in France, was rounded up and sent to Auschwitz, where she died within the month. Through research and, more significantly, imagination, she has re-created her mother’s life, from her privileged, samovar-scented youth in St. Petersburg and Kiev (Némirovksy’s horrid mother is particularly well captured), to her flight to France and heady days as an established writer, to the family’s increasingly tenuous circumstances as the Germans invaded and occupied France during World War II and friends deserted them. Gille writes in a style at once lyric and focused, periodically introducing her alter ego’s dispassionate reflections as an adult. VERDICT As Gille concludes, Némirovksy “will remain thirty-nine for all eternity,” and that painful realization resonates throughout this beautiful book. For all readers of literary fiction.—Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal
Jacobsen, Roy. Child Wonder. Graywolf. Oct. 2011. c.256p. ISBN 9781555975951. pap. $15. F
Young Finn’s routine existence with his single mother in a working-class suburb of Oslo, Norway, is shaken when two new people enter their lives. First, his mother takes in a lodger, a bachelor named Kristian. Shortly thereafter, Finn’s six-year-old half-sister, Linda, comes to live with them. Kristian introduces Finn to new ideas and new vocabulary—and his television attracts Finn mightily. Meanwhile, over the course of a year, including an idyllic, endless lakeside summer, Linda’s presence changes Finn’s relationship with and understanding of his mother forever. VERDICT Jacobsen, author of the Dublin IMPAC short-listed The Burnt-Out Town of Miracles, perfectly captures the perspective of a child who doesn’t fully understand what’s happening around him but knows when something’s wrong. The run-on sentences convey the stream-of-consciousness of a bright and perceptive boy whose thoughts run ahead of him. While the English translation is somewhat jarringly British, the warm, subtle humor and sympathetic characters are broadly appealing and should find interested readers from teens up.—Christine DeZelar-Tiedman, Univ. of Minnesota Libs., Minneapolis
Katsu, Alma. The Taker. Gallery: S. & S. Jul. 2011. c.448p. ISBN 9781439197059. $25. F
On a cold winter night a young woman is brought into an emergency room in the small Maine town of St Andrew. Lanore McIlvrae is covered in blood and probably injured, but the sheriff also believes she murdered someone. When Lanore is alone with emergency physician Luke Findley, she tries desperately to convince him of her innocence, telling her story in mind-numbing detail. In the late 19th century, she met and fell in love with Jonathan, the man Lanore is now accused of killing. At one point, Lanore’s family sent her from the town to avoid a terrible scandal. During this journey, she met the man who made her immortal and brought her back to Jonathan. Finally, the plot begins to move, although at times the pace is still slow. VERDICT Hard-core romance readers might enjoy this debut novel, but it is not a necessary purchase.—Patricia Altner, Biblioinfo.com, Columbia, MD
Kepler, Lars. The Hypnotist. Sarah Crichton: Farrar. Jul. 2011. c.512p. tr. from Swedish by Ann Long. ISBN 9780374173951. $27. F
In the Stockholm suburb of Tumba, a family has been found brutally butchered. The only survivor, a 15-year-old boy who suffered more than 100 knife wounds, is in a state of shock. Desperate to identify the killer before there is another murder, homicide detective Joona Linna asks Erik Maria Bark, a doctor specializing in trauma, to hypnotize the victim. Having a decade ago given up the practice of hypnosis, Bark complies reluctantly, unwittingly setting off a chain of violent events that climax at a lakeside cabin north of the Arctic Circle. Already a best seller in Europe and scheduled to be filmed by director Lasse Hallström (The Cider House Rules), this smart, unpredictable thriller by a pseudonymous Swedish literary couple features an intriguing premise, plenty of cinematic action and twists, and an appropriately chilly and gothic Nordic atmosphere. VERDICT While Kepler’s protagonists lack Lisbeth Salander’s charisma and the loose ends are too neatly tied up, the high-octane plot will capture readers bored by Stieg Larsson’s sometimes glacial social and political asides. Be aware that some readers may confuse this with M.J. Rose’s reincarnation thriller of the same title. [Library marketing; see Prepub Alert, 1/10/11.]—Wilda Williams, Library Journal
Laferrière, Dany. I Am a Japanese Writer. Douglas & McIntyre, dist. by PGW. 2011. 160p. tr. from French by David Homel. ISBN 9781553655831. pap. $17.95. F
The absurdist premise of this novel is intriguing: a writer becomes famous for a book he hasn’t yet written. A Canadian writer who also happens to be black, like the Haitian-born, Montreal-based Laferrière (Heading South), gets a contract for his next book based on the title, I Am a Japanese Writer. The problem is that he’s a whiz at titles but not all that interested in actually writing. Nevertheless, he becomes a phenomenon in Japan, where people view his claims of Japanese nationality as a cause for celebration, and he is even hounded to some extent by a reporter, the police, and Japanese officials. The notion of what makes a celebrity is handled well here, and the Japanese officials are perhaps the most believable characters in the book. Otherwise, the novel doesn’t hold one’s interest throughout. The main character’s fascination with the long-dead Japanese writer Basho and celebrated violinist Midori aren’t quite as interesting as the fascination that others hold for him—yet another of the book’s cascading ironies. VERDICT Recommended for fans of absurdist literature like that written by Kurt Vonnegut and Harold Pinter.—Evelyn Beck, Piedmont Technical Coll., Greenwood, SC
Lawrenson, Deborah. The Lantern. Harper: HarperCollins. Aug. 2011. c.400p. ISBN 9780062049698. $25.99. F
Eve and her boyfriend, Dom, have moved into a country house in Provence that they are renovating. Life is idyllic, except that Dom refuses to speak about his ex-wife, Rachel. As a result, Eve becomes completely obsessed with Rachel. At some point in the past, Benedicte lived in that same run-down house, where she grew up with her blind sister, Marthe, and her wicked brother, Pierre. Benedicte reflects upon her life and wonders why Marthe stopped speaking to her. In fact, Marthe seems to have disappeared altogether while in the middle of a brilliant career as a perfume designer. What could have happened and how does it affect Eve in the present day? VERDICT British writer Lawrenson, making her U.S. debut, alternates viewpoints between the past and the present at a dizzying speed. Her sumptuous descriptions of the charming French countryside and the intricacies of perfume making do not compensate for a lackluster plot and minimal character development. Readers wanting a truly gothic tale of suspense and romance are better off rereading Daphne du Maurier or Mary Stewart. [See Prepub Alert, 3/14/11.]—Laurel Bliss, San Diego State Univ. Lib.
Lerner, Ben. Leaving the Atocha Station. Coffee House, dist. by Consortium. Sept. 2011. c.186p. ISBN 9781566892742. pap. $15. F
Poets turn to writing fiction for a variety of reasons. Sometimes, they’re curious about the possibilities of the genre and think that their poetic skills are transferable to the medium of prose. Lerner (The Lichtenberg Figures) is the latest poet to attempt this conversion, and his debut novel follows protagonist Adam Gordon, a young American poet who wins a yearlong fellowship to Madrid. Adam spends much of his residency suffering from the nagging suspicion that he is unable to have authentic experiences. Mediated by a steady diet of antidepressants, drugs, and alcohol, his life in Spain is portrayed as a series of shifting surfaces that lack any possibility of meaningful social or political engagement. VERDICT While well written and full of captivating ideas, this novel might have been better as a collection of essays. At its worst, it simply revives the tired stereotype of the self-absorbed poet as the lead character in his own reverse bildungsroman—one in which the only character who matters is the very person whose development the reader cannot bring himself to care about.—Chris Pusateri, Jefferson Cty. P.L., CO
Lippman, Laura. The Most Dangerous Thing. Morrow. Aug. 2011. c.384p. SIBN 9780061706516. $25.99. F
Gwen, Mickey, Sean, Tim, and Gordon spent their childhood summers exploring the lushly wooded forest of Leakin Park. The five of them were inseparable until they encountered a run-down cabin deep in the woods and the mysterious man who lived there. From this chance encounter comes a tragedy that impacts their lives as well as those of their parents. When Gordon dies in a suspicious car crash years later, the surviving members of the quintet—now adults—reconnect and attempt to understand the events that took place more than 30 years before. Lippman’s latest shifts between past and present and among the viewpoints of the five friends and their parents as it builds toward a surprising conclusion. VERDICT Edgar Award winner Lippman (I’d Know You Anywhere) returns with another stand-alone thriller that explores truth, lies, and the nature of childhood friendships. Although the story lacks some of the suspense and urgency of her most recent works, Lippman is an expert storyteller, and fans and mystery readers alike will appreciate her nuanced portrayal of life in small-town Maryland. [See Prepub Alert, 3/14/11.]—Amy Hoseth, Colorado State Univ. Lib., Fort Collins
McGrath, M.J. White Heat. Viking. Aug. 2011. c.381p. ISBN 9780670022489. $25.95. F
Set on the islands of the High Arctic, McGrath’s first novel features Edie Kiglatuk, a half-Inuit teacher and guide. She knows Craig Island like the back of her hand and is the first choice for qalunaat (southerners) who want to hunt or fish on the island. However, things go wrong for Edie when one of her charges is killed, supposedly by a ricochet from his own gun. This death is followed by another accident on Craig and the apparent suicide of Edie’s stepson. Unable to accept these accidents, Edie decides to look into the deaths, and her investigations take her from Ellesmere Island to Greenland and Etah, the home of her ancestor, the famous guide Welatok. VERDICT Award-winning British journalist McGrath (The Long Exile: A Tale of Inuit Betrayal and Survival in the High Arctic) shares a wealth of knowledge about life in the High Arctic that is central to her story. Well written and researched, her excellent adventure murder-mystery will hold readers’ attention until the last page.—Lisa O’Hara, Univ. of Manitoba Libs., Winnipeg
Markovits, Benjamin. Childish Loves. Norton. Jul. 2011. c.288p. ISBN 9780393330236. pap. $14.95. F
Narrator Benjamin Markovits helps to publish the fictional memoirs of Lord Byron, written by a disgraced and now dead teacher, Peter Sullivan. Struck by the memoirs’ recurring themes of sexual predation and innocence lost, he seeks to determine what of Sullivan’s own life was contained in this ostensibly well-researched retelling of Lord Byron’s romantic and marital misadventures. The narrator (whose name invites questions about fiction and biography) is drawn into an investigation of a student-teacher sex scandal when he interviews Sullivan’s family, colleagues, and possible victim. The author Markovits (Imposture) keeps an emotional distance and never makes clear the narrator’s motivation for his search. The prose is most engaging in the fictionalized memoirs, which effectively reproduce the tone of 19th-century literature yet offer a more modern, uncensored glimpse at the scandals and sexual relations in Byron’s life, including those “punishable by death.” VERDICT A complex book that would appeal especially to fans of historical fiction and the Romantic period.—John R. Cecil, Texas State Lib. & Archives Commission, Austin
Meyer, Deon. Trackers. Atlantic Monthly. Sept. 2011. c.480p. tr. from Afrikaans by K.L. Seegers. ISBN 9780802119933. $24. F
Award-winning crime fiction author Meyer demonstrates his superb gift for bringing together several disparate plots, striking characters, and vividly drawn scenes of contemporary South Africa, all roaring toward a climax with more than one surprise. Milla Strachan, a discontented, fortyish housewife with journalistic yearnings, leaves her suburban family and takes a job writing security reports for the secretive Presidential Intelligence Agency. She becomes involved with a man who is being chased by her bosses and the CIA as a murderer and possible terrorist. Meanwhile, Lemmer, a professional bodyguard last seen in Blood Safari, is fighting gangsters while inadvertently smuggling black rhinos. Muslim terrorists lurk in the background of both plots. Elsewhere, Mat Joubert, a cop from Dead Before Dying who is now in private security, seeks a missing husband and a pile of money. VERDICT With a fine eye for detail, an unflattering image of South African culture, and clear sympathy for the downtrodden, Meyer still never loses his focus on page-turning suspense and riveting mystery. Highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, 4/4/11.]—Roland Person, formerly with Southern Illinois Univ. Lib., Carbondale
Mitchard, Jacquelyn. Second Nature. Random. Sept. 2011. c.384p. ISBN 9781400067756. $26. F
Mitchard returns to the Cappadora family saga (No Time To Wave Goodbye; The Deep End of the Ocean), placing them in a near-future Chicago where the lives of Beth and her sons, Ben and Vincent, intersect with that of Sicily Coyne, a young burn victim. When Sicily was 13, she was caught in the Holy Angels Catholic School fire and lost both her firefighter father and much of her face. Now 25 years old and a medical illustrator, she is approached about having a face transplant. In this future world, face transplants, while not commonplace, have advanced. Sicily asks Beth to document the surgery, bringing beauty to her past pain. Through Beth, she meets and falls for Vincent. True to Beth’s belief that her family carries a special genetic twist for unusual and improbable life events, there is no smooth road ahead. VERDICT This is not your average summer novel, as Mitchard continues her explorations of the many nuances of survivor guilt, responses to trauma, and the pull of ambivalence. [Library marketing; see Prepub Alert, 3/7/11.]—Jan Blodgett, Davidson Coll. Lib., NC
Moravia, Alberto. Two Friends. Other. Aug. 2011. c.352p. tr. from Italian by Marina Harss. ISBN 9781590513361. pap. $18.95. F
This work from renowned Italian author Moravia is not a novel. In fact, it is not even a set of three novellas, as the back cover announces. The manuscript pages, probably written in 1951–52, were found in a suitcase after Moravia’s death in 1990. The three unfinished stories, all about a single friendship, were then patched together to create a cohesive narrative. In the first part, “Version A,” the two friends of the title, Sergio, a poor immigrant, and Maurizio, a bourgeois Roman, fight over a girl and then lose touch, though Sergio misses his friend dearly. In “Version B,” Sergio and Maurizio fight a battle of wits. Desperate to convert his rich friend to communism, Sergio proposes a sinister trade: his girlfriend for Maurizio’s party membership. In “Version C,” the only first-person narrative, we hear Sergio’s struggle to accept his poverty and return his girlfriend’s relentless love. VERDICT Full and fascinating portraits emerge of two men—one obsessed with both overcoming and possessing his poverty and the other obsessed with maintaining appearances despite his desires. It’s telling that Jean-Luc Godard adapted some of Moravia’s novels into films, including Contempt, and readers who enjoyed those works will appreciate this publication.—Stephen Morrow, Columbus, OH
Neggers, Carla. Saint’s Gate. Mira: Harlequin. Sept. 2011. c.336p. ISBN 9780778312352. $24.95. F
FBI agent Emma Sharpe, an art expert from a family of art experts, is called to view a painting at a convent on the Maine coast, the request coming from a nun with connections to Emma’s past. When the nun is murdered and the painting mysteriously disappears, enter deep undercover FBI agent Colin Donovan, who’s been pointed in Emma’s direction by her concerned boss and a certain interfering priest. The attraction that Emma and Colin feel for each other is neither smart nor convenient as their search for the killer takes them to Ireland for answers that seem to lead to more questions. VERDICT With a great plot and excellent character development, Neggers’s (Cold Dawn) latest thriller, the first in a new series, is a fast-paced, action-packed tale of romantic suspense that will appeal to fans of Lisa Jackson and Lisa Gardner.—Debbie Haupt, St. Charles City/Cty. P.L., MO
Ondaatje, Michael. The Cat’s Table. Knopf. Oct. 2011. c.288p. ISBN 9780307700117. $26. F
“The journey was to be an innocent story within the small parameter of my youth,” says the narrator of his voyage aboard the Oronsay, which carried him through the Indian Ocean to England and his divorced mother. But for 11-year-old Michael, things shift from the moment he is seated at “the cat’s table,” the least propitious spot in the dining room. Michael enjoys wild escapades with the two other boys at the table, quiet Ramadhin and hell-raiser Cassius, while befriending the mismatched adults at his table as well as his card-playing roommate, who tends the ship’s kennels. Others on board include Michael’s older cousin Emily, who takes up with the magnetic head of a performing troupe while protecting a deaf and frail-looking girl named Asuntha, and a heavily chained prisoner. The relationship among these four characters precipitates crisis, but we’re not led to it systematically; instead, Booker Prize winner Ondaatje (Anil’s Ghost) flashes forward to Michael as an adult, showing us how unwittingly we lose our childhood innocence and how that loss comes to affect us much, much later. VERDICT Writing in a less lyrically wrought style than usual, Ondaatje turns in a quietly enthralling work. Highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, 4/4/11.]—Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal
Park, Samuel. This Burns My Heart. S. & S. Jul. 2011. c.320p. ISBN 9781439199619. $25. F
Set in postwar South Korea, where tradition is challenged by the eye-blinking changes erupting from a rapidly evolving modernity, Park’s (Shakespeare’s Sonnets) novel is essentially a triangulated love story involving wealthy and stunning Soo-Ja, who dreams of becoming a diplomat in a brave new world; the weak-willed lothario she marries; and the good doctor she lets go. For the sake of her beloved daughter, Soo-Ja chastely endures her suffocating marriage, which is exacerbated by the manipulations of her greedy father-in-law. “Chamara,” the devastated would-be lover tells her, “[t]o stand it, to bear it,” a sentiment commingled with the empathy of his agonizing, “This burns my heart, too.” VERDICT Inspired by the life of Park’s mother, to whom the book is dedicated, this novel has the added gravitas of being embellished truth. It will surely claim a popular spot on the ever-growing shelves of sweeping historical titles starring long-suffering heroines in faraway locales, from Lisa See’s Shanghai Girls to Eugenia Kim’s more recent The Calligrapher’s Daughter. Readers in search of more substantial Korean/Korean American reads might try Kyung-sook Shin’s Please Look After Mom, Sonya Chung’s Long for This World, or Chang-Rae Lee’s The Surrendered. [See Prepub Alert, 12/20/10.]—Terry Hong, Smithsonian BookDragon, Washington, DC
Prcic, Ismet. Shards. Black Cat: Grove. Oct. 2011. c.400p. ISBN 9780802170811. pap. $14.95. F
Reassembling the fragments of a life shattered by war is the task of the narrator of this challenging first novel set in 1995. The narrator, also named Ismet Prcic, is a young Bosnian who has escaped the bitter war in his home country and come to America after the theater troupe he is part of is given permission to perform in Scotland. Enrolled in college in Los Angeles and suffering from post-traumatic stress, he takes a writing class in which he is urged to get his experience down on paper as a way of processing it. What emerges is a memoir of growing up in Bosnia both before and during the war. Alongside this is the story of alter ego Mustafa, a young Bosnian soldier who experiences the full horror of the war. VERDICT Part coming-of-age tale and part war story, this novel contrasts sweetly innocent reminiscences of growing up in Tuzla with harrowing depictions of the costs of conflict, ultimately focusing on the psychological damage done to those in war’s path. A memorable if disconcerting debut. [See Prepub Alert, 4/4/11.]—Lawrence Rungren, Merrimack Valley Lib. Consortium, North Andover, MA
Reichs, Kathy. Flash and Bones. Scribner. Aug. 2011. c.320p. ISBN 9781439102411. $26.99. F
In her 14th escapade (after Spider Bones), forensic anthropologist Tempe Brennan pulls a body from a landfill near North Carolina’s Charlotte Motor Speedway, which leads her on a convoluted and contrived search that involves right-wing militants posing as stock-car enthusiasts who seek revenge by injecting toxic microorganisms into socially undesirable members. To spice up this tangle of plotlines, Reichs has the stubborn Tempe display her voluptuous inclinations with fellow detectives and her vindictiveness with family members. VERDICT Rednecks and race cars do not constitute a compelling plot. Although devoted Reichs fans will miss the clever repartee and nonstop action of her previous novels, they will still plod through this one. Series newcomers will find earlier titles, such as 206 Bones and Bare Bones, far more interesting. [See Prepub Alert, 2/21/11.]—Jerry P. Miller. Cambridge, MA
Reid, David. Suffer in Silence. St. Martin’s. Aug. 2011. c.352p. ISBN 9780312699437. $24.99. F
In the light of Osama bin Laden’s death, this is a timely and gripping novel about a very difficult subject to capture—U.S. Navy SEAL training. Debut author Reid, who completed this training, starkly portrays the hell people go through to achieve their goal of becoming one of the elite. But this is also a tale of ethics and desperation as two men fight an instructor who is determined to see one of them fail. VERDICT Reid is unrelenting in his description of the physical and emotional toll—sometimes appearing to border on torture—inflicted on SEAL candidates. This explicit detail is both the novel’s strength and its weakness. Some sensitive readers may find themselves overwhelmed to the point of numbness. Those who like this genre will appreciate this book, while others will find it a difficult, even painful, read. Purchase in response to demand.—Robert Conroy, Warren, MI
Rockcastle, Mary François. In Caddis Wood. Graywolf. Sept. 2011. c.272p. ISBN 9781555975920. pap. $15. F
The natural environment exerts a powerful presence in Rockcastle’s second novel (after Rainy Lake). Once a working farm, Caddis Wood now includes several homesites spread over 1400 acres of woods, meadows, and streams teaming with wildlife. Carl and Hallie Fens bought their parcel from Alice and Henry Badenhope over 30 years ago. Hallie, a published poet, lovingly reads Alice’s garden journals for inspiration for her newest book of linked poems about Demeter and Persephone, the mother and daughter goddesses who ruled over the earth’s vegetation. Carl, an award-winning architect, is designing a river research center in an area that must also be cleansed of chemical waste. He has been diagnosed with a progressive neurological disorder possibly triggered by exposure to pesticides. Hallie struggles with Carl’s declining health, while coping with her guilt over a romantic encounter ten years before with Eugene Kinsella, still not entirely forgotten. Although their grown daughters, Beatrice and Cordelia, introduce additional worries for Hallie, both bring joy and healing at a crucial time. VERDICT Gracefully moving between past and present, Rockcastle portrays the tangled emotions of a troubled marriage, of a family struggling to rise above tragedy. A strong and insightful novel this reader was reluctant to see end.—Donna Bettencourt, Mesa Cty. P.L., Grand Junction, CO
Schein, Michael. Bones Beneath Our Feet. Bennett & Hastings. Jul. 2011. 384p. ISBN 9781934733653. pap. $16.95. F
Known today mainly to the people of the Northwest, the Puget Sound War of 1855 ended with a major miscarriage of justice: the execution of Leschi, chief of the Nisqually Indians. Isaac Stevens was sent to be the first territorial governor of Washington, to claim as much land as possible along the Puget Sound for whites moving west. Leschi, in his role as a tribal leader, objected to Stevens’s heavy-handed techniques; when Stevens became more dictatorial, the chief’s opposition eventually moved to armed resistance. When Leschi finally surrendered, he was charged with a murder he did not commit. But Schein’s (Just Deceits) version of an interesting episode in American justice suffers from excessive and needless description. While Chief Leschi is sometimes drawn as ambivalent (not good for a story’s hero), Stevens, as the villain of the piece, is more clearly driven by ambition, almost becoming a cartoon. VERDICT Even to readers in the Northwest, it is hard to recommend this overgrown tale of a worthy subject. Recommend instead Richard Kluger’s nonfiction account, The Bitter Waters of Medicine Creek: A Tragic Clash Between White and Native America.—W. Keith McCoy, Somerset Cty. Lib. Syst., Bridgewater, NJ
Sem-Sandberg, Steve. The Emperor of Lies. Farrar. Aug. 2011. c.672p. tr. from Swedish by Sarah Death. ISBN 9780374139643. $30. F
This is the story of the Lodz ghetto, located in Poland’s second-largest city. Unlike the bigger Warsaw ghetto, the one that the Germans established at Litzmannstadt (their name for Lodz) was highly organized and offered jobs to thousands of Jews, who made items for use by the German army and civilian population—before they were gradually shipped off to the death camps. Masterminding this giant enterprise was Mordechai Chaim Rumkowski, the Eldest of the Jews and the “Emperor” of the title. How this initially unmarried and childless man, whom some would call a misfit, came to a position of preeminence in the ghetto is the heart of this riveting narrative. Sem-Sandberg, who lives in both Vienna and Stockholm, relied on the Ghetto Chronicle, secretly compiled by the Jews of Lodz, which he has deftly fictionalized. Readers must struggle with the issue of whether Rumkowski was a crass opportunist or saved countless lives through his near monarchical rule. Death’s translation is first-rate, and the reading group guide should be especially helpful. VERDICT This portrait of hell is highly recommended to knowledgeable readers with a love of world literature and an interest in the era. [See Prepub Alert, 3/7/11.]—Edward Cone, New York
Smith, Dominic. Bright and Distant Shores. Washington Square: S. & S. Sept. 2011. c.470p. ISBN 9781439198865. pap. $15. F
At the end of the 19th century, two orphans from opposite sides of the world meet in a drama that will lead one to fulfill his dream, while destroying the other’s. A collector since childhood, Owen Graves turned his natural inclinations into a career, bringing back the bizarre and unusual from island nations of the Pacific to fill local museums. On his last voyage, he meets Argus Niu, a mission houseboy in the New Hebrides (today’s Vanuatu) who reads and speaks impeccable English; Owen convinces Argus to return to Chicago as part of the “collection,” along with his sister. Australian-born Smith (The Beautiful Miscellaneous; The Mercury Visions of Louis Daguerre) weaves the multiple threads of the characters’ stories into a lyrical and colorful pattern while bringing the teeming streets of Chicago and the unspoiled islands of Melanesia to life. His characters are so well drawn and realistic that readers will want to keep following them just a bit further. Even the historical details—from South Seas customs to Chicago weather—maintain the novel’s momentum rather than dragging it down with seemingly superfluous description. VERDICT This excellent read will appeal to those who enjoy literary historical fiction with a touch of exotic adventure.—Pam O’Sullivan, Coll. at Brockport Lib., SUNY
Stevens, Chevy. Never Knowing. St. Martin’s. Jul. 2011. c.416p. ISBN 9780312595685. $24.99. F
Stevens’s debut, Still Missing, was a word-of-mouth (and critical) success. Her second thriller once again uses a flashback structure to set a suspenseful mood. Her protagonist, Sara Gallagher, tells her story in sessions with a therapist. Given up for adoption as a newborn, Sara has always felt the abandonment keenly, not least because her adoptive father seems to value her less than his two biological daughters. Now Sara has the chance to learn who her birth mother is. Though she is happily engaged and the mother of a six-year-old daughter, Sara needs to know—to an annoying degree. But her birth mother wants nothing to do with her and in fact seems somehow frightened of Sara. Undeterred, Sara continues to investigate and opens up a hornet’s nest when she learns her birth father is a serial killer still on the loose. VERDICT Still Missing was such a strong debut, but everything that worked in that first novel has the opposite effect this time around, making the plot feel forced and the heroine unlikable. That said, this is a book fans will be anticipating, so some copies are a must. [A 150,000-copy first printing; library marketing; see Prepub Alert, 1/24/10.]—Jane Jorgenson, Madison P.L., WI
Torres, Justin. We the Animals. Houghton Harcourt. Sept. 2011. c.144p. ISBN 9780547576725. $18. F
In punchy, energized language, the narrator of this dark and affecting little book relates life with his two brothers and their too young, just-making-it parents. The boys play and fight, with the first sometimes blending into the second, and though the parents can be loving with each other and with their sons, there’s often trouble. Ma stops going to work when Paps briefly takes up with another woman, for instance, and becomes spiteful when he brings home a new truck with no seat belts or even backseats. The narrative moves in a straight line but is not straightforward, with the story and the texture of this family’s life disclosed through a string of telling incidents. The narrator reports it all in a dispassionate, almost starry-eyed youngster’s sort of way, frequently in the first person plural—“we were allowed to be what we were, frightened and vengeful—little animals, clawing at what we need”—but a creeping tension is in the air. When real anguish bursts forth at the end, you almost think it comes undeserved—and then you applaud first novelist Torres’s genius ability to twist around and punch you in the gut. VERDICT Highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, 3/28/11.]—Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal
Van Booy, Simon. Everything Beautiful Began After. HarperPerennial: HarperCollins. Jul. 2011. c.416p. ISBN 9780061661488. pap. $14.99. F
Crimson-haired Rebecca has left behind a job at Air France and a life that’s stuttering out like a candle to settle in Athens and work at becoming a painter, drawing on the memory of the mother who abandoned her and her sister as children. Socially maladapted, relentlessly soused, but indisputably brilliant—he breezed through college early after lonely years at a New England boarding school—George is in Athens to perfect his grasp of ancient languages. Rebecca falls carelessly into a brief affair with George but takes up passionately with Henry, a charismatic if troubled archaeologist in Athens on a dig. Then Henry unknowingly befriends George, and together they end up working together on the dig. But this is no idyll; the dark backstories crafted for each character by first novelist Van Booy (Love Begins in Winter) presage a crushing tragedy that changes the landscape of their lives forever. VERDICT Readers who like to zip through the pages might find this precious or overextended, but those with a little patience will be taken in by the carefully etched stories and lyrically precise and inventive language. A lovely book for sophisticated readers.—Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal
Vila-Matas, Enrique. Never Any End to Paris. New Directions, dist. by Norton. 2011. c.224p. tr. from Spanish by Anne McLean. ISBN 9780811218139. pap. $15.95. F
Taking its title from a section of Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast, about which the narrator is obsessed, prize-winning Spanish author Vila-Matas re-creates the two bohemian years in the mid-1970s he spent in a garret in Marguerite Duras’s Paris residence struggling to write his first (in reality, his second) novel, the theme of which—the death of everyone who reads it—ironically instigates the ultimate in reader participation. Though it purports to be the text of a lecture he is delivering to us, the book defies classification—is it fiction (if hardly a novel), essay, memoir? Each of the 113 episodes, varying in length from one sentence to several pages, adds to the diary-like structure wherein the author plays literary hopscotch, vertiginously jumping from one allusion to another. That the author quotes without attribution and creates geographic references that do (and did) not actually exist only complicate matters. VERDICT This book, the third of recent translations of Vila-Matas’s books into English (after Bartleby & Co. and Montano’s Malady), is a brilliant literary tour de force. Though the profusion of allusions may put off the casual reader, the book’s abundant display of literary techniques makes this as an artistic adventure that, like Paris, never ends.—Lawrence Olszewski, OCLC Lib., Dublin, OH
Waldman, Amy. The Submission. Farrar. Aug. 2011. c.320p. ISBN 9780374271565. $26. F
After four months of wrangling, the jury commissioned to choose from the 5000 anonymous submissions for New York City’s 9/11 memorial acceded to the affecting widow’s steely determination. The Garden, entry #4879, would be a place, Claire opined, where families could “stumble on joy.” But jury chair Paul Rubin sees his ambitious plans for elite fund-raising soirees evaporate when the architect’s name is revealed. Mohammed Khan’s Muslim moniker hits the news like an explosion, reopening still raw wounds. The volatile Sean Gallagher of the Memorial Support Committee is apoplectic, politicians pander to their constituents, lawyers salivate at perceived opportunities, and the Muslim American Coordinating Council sees the besieged Mo Khan as a tool to advance its own agenda. Can he be pressured into walking away from his finest artistic achievement? From this cacophony of intolerance, the single voice calling for reason emanates from Asma Anwar, a non–English speaking Bangladeshi widow whose husband also perished in the burning towers. VERDICT Waldman fluidly blends her reporter’s skill (New York Times) at rapid-fire storytelling with a novelist’s gift for nuanced characterization. She dares readers to confront their own complicated prejudices steeped in faith, culture, and class. This is an insightful, courageous, heartbreaking work that should be read, discussed, then read again. [See Prepub Alert, 2/7/11.]—Sally Bissell, Lee Cty. Lib. Syst., Ft. Myers, FL
Wheeler, Richard S. The First Dance: A Barnaby Skye Novel. Forge: Tor. Jul. 2011. c.349p. ISBN 9780765322029. $26.99. F
Dirk Skye, the half-British, half-Shoshone son of Barnaby Skye from the long-running “Skye’s West” series, is a very happy man. He just placed a silver wedding ring on the hand of Therese Trouville, a half-French, half-Metis refugee from Canada. After their first dance following the marriage ceremony, she dances with many others then disappears. But the new groom can’t search for her. Skye, a civilian translator for the U.S. Army, must leave on a debatable mission that takes him throughout Montana. He is supposed to help the army flush out many of the Metis who have been exiled from Canada. Meanwhile, readers learn the whereabouts of Therese, whose religious visions have set her off on a grand quest. Will these two lovers reunite? And how will the much-hunted Metis make it through the winter? VERDICT Suspense, romance, and survival themes intertwine nicely as this second-generation star of the Skye series settles in for what many loyal Western genre fans undoubtedly hope will be a long ride.—Keddy Ann Outlaw, formerly with Harris Cty. P.L., Houston, TX
Williams, Luke. The Echo Chamber. Viking. Aug. 2011. c.372p. ISBN 9780670022830. $25.95. F
In this debut, an all-encompassing family saga, Williams tells the story of Evie Steppman, a woman born with especially acute hearing and the peculiar ability to remember everything she has heard, even while in the womb. The reader now finds Evie alone in an attic, surrounded by memorabilia of her family’s past, as she tries to record everything she recalls before it fades away from her memory. Williams uses Evie’s memories as springboards for myriad tales that span the globe, from Nigeria to Scotland, and to introduce complex characters that include Evie’s grandfather, a watchmaker who attempts to make a mechanical likeness of his dead wife. VERDICT Although well written and true to historic facts, this book rambles, and the many stories recounted tend to run together and sound much like the din Evie now hears in her head. That may be the author’s intention, but it does not translate into a satisfying read and keeps the reader at arm’s length. Not recommended.—Leann Restaino, Girard, OH
SHORT STORIES
Plummer, Toni Margarita. The Bolero of Andi Rowe. Curbstone: Northwestern Univ. 2011. c.136p. ISBN 9780810127678. pap. $17.95. F
This work presents a diverse yet loosely connected set of stories, including those of Olivia Real and her two daughters, Andi and Maura. Though the tales are set predominantly in California’s San Gabriel Valley, Olivia’s Mexican lineage also leads readers across the border. Her visit to the Mexican graveyard where her parents are buried is captured in “To Visit the Cemetery.” Told from her perspective and her sister Vicenta’s, the story reveals the complexity of their family life, especially the emotional divide created when Olivia was sent to live with their grandmother in Los Angeles. This story is characteristic of the collection’s strength, exemplifying Plummer’s use of rich descriptions to share her characters’ experiences. In another exemplary piece, “The Body,” young Teresa Maldonado contemplates her unrequited feelings for her friend Maria while she participates in her church’s communion service as an altar server. Overall, the collection’s tone is consistently quiet, which underlines the emotional distance among characters. VERDICT This strong debut has already garnered accolades, having been honored with Curbstone Press’s Miquel Maramol Award for the first book-length fictional work by a Latin American author. Recommended for readers of literary fiction.—Faye A. Chadwell, Oregon State Univ. Libs., Corvallis
Ross, Adam. Ladies and Gentlemen. Knopf. 2011. c.288p. ISBN 9780307270719. $25.95. F
In these seven strong stories by Ross (Mr. Peanut), betrayal is a constant theme. A successful man makes peace with his troubled brother but is drawn into a scam. Twenty years after a kiss in an abandoned observatory, a woman contemplates adultery. College students fabricate life stories, pursue each other’s lovers, and take increasingly dangerous risks, and an isolated professor is trapped into concealing a crime. In other stories, the narrators meticulously work themselves into strange circumstances. A desperate man submits to bizarre job interviews, despite not knowing the nature of the job. A beautiful, erratic woman keeps a dog locked in the basement, and a boy leverages his job as a voice-over actor into an opportunity finally to kiss an older girl. The author is good at creating unease and suspense in each tale, although the reader can sometimes predict the twist. VERDICT A fast-moving collection ideal for contemporary fiction and short story readers.—John R. Cecil, Austin, TX
