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"Poetry is the imagination pressing back against the pressure of reality." |
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2008 Reviews |
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| Oystercatchers by Susan Fletcher (Norton, $23.95) A book like this is the reason why I read, and I can’t wait to put it in the hands of every other thoughtful reader I know. Susan Fletcher, who wrote and won a Whitbread award for her first novel Eve Green, has written a mesmerizing second novel. There is so much beauty and grace in her prose that it strikes the reader as poetic, though the tension of its plot and depth of its characters remain strong and engaging throughout. Set in southwest Wales and along the east coast of England, an older sister sits at the bedside of her sixteen-year-old sister who lies in a coma as a result of a terrible accident. She spends the hours recounting her story and ultimately their shared story as it culminates in their fateful situation. Fletcher allows the reader into the deep interior life of Moira, a protaganist so flawed and real and yet so beautiful and alive to everything. Her dark anger, jealousy and lonliness, but also her love, intelligence, and sympathy. All judgements fall away in appreciation of being allowed to experience her so intimately. One of the finest books I have read in recent memory. – Heidi |
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A Death in Vienna by Frank Tallis (Random House, $16) |
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2007 Reviews The Echo Maker by Richard Powers (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $15) |
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| The Kitchen Boy by Robert Alexander (Penguin, $14) The Kitchen Boy, a novel of the last Tsar, tells the story of the last days of Nicholas and his family, told through the eyes of a young kitchen boy. The family, after having been mysteriously spared by the Bolsheviks during the bloody Russian revolution, is held prisoner in a house in Siberia. There they await their fate with hope of rescue and fear of banishment or death. Alexander, a beautiful writer and scholar of Russian history, imaginatively dramatizes this fascinating family’s (unbeknownst to them) wait of execution while filling the story with rich historical detail. The result is a deftly told mystery, rich with sympathetic characters and exciting drama. Add missing jewels, secret letters being passed back and forth, mistaken identity and other unexpected twists, and you have a great historical mystery. I also recommend Alexander’s Rasputin’s Daughter which similarly explores the last days of Rasputin. – David |
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| The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield (Simon & Schuster, $15) The Thirteenth Tale is an impossible-to-put-down novel! It is a combination of mystery, fantasy and discovery of self. Vida Winter is an aging author with a mysterious past, made more so by the “missing 13th tale,” her last novel that written but then suppressed. Margaret Lea is rare book dealer chosen by Vida to tell her life story before she passes away. This book grabs you in such a way that it is hard not to sneak a premature peak at the ending, which the Miss Winter’s biographer admonishes the reader not to do. With a great twisting conclusion this is a one sure to keep you from your household chores and sleep. – Anne |
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2006 Reviews Birds in Fall by Brad Kessler (Scribner, $14.00) |
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| Grief by Andrew Holleran (Hyperion, $12) Andrew Holleran's Grief is a short but powerful book. Its power doesn't come from a complex plot with lots of characters, but from its spare, honest prose. After the death of his mother, a lonely professor comes to live in Washington DC to process his grief and find a new life. There he explores the city, its monuments, history and contemplates both his own and America's notions of truth and loss. In the town house where he is staying he discovers a copy of Mary Todd Lincoln's journals. Through his reading of them we get to piece together the events of Lincoln's assassination and reflect on the way Mary Todd lived her life and saw herself after her husband's death. Most interesting are questions concerning how the death of loved ones affect those who remain living, why people who are ill hold on and what determines when they let go, and why. While this may sound like depressing stuff, it truly isn't. I read the book in one sitting and have returned to passages several times. Amidst the somber reflections, there is a lack of pessimism and a lot of hope. This is a book I will always remember. – David |
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| A Place of Hiding by Elizabeth George (Bantam, $7.99) Guernsey, an island in the English Channel, is the setting for the Elizabeth George novel/mystery A Place of Hiding. Forensic scientist Simon St. James and his wife Deborah become involved in solving the murder of the island’s benefactor after Deborah’s friend China is arrested as a suspect. Guernsey was occupied by the Nazis in WWII and many of the inhabitants harbor secrets. Solving the mystery is a study in relationships as well as science. George keeps the plot fast-paced, and even though this isn’t one of her popular Inspector Linley mysteries, it was every bit as engaging as her other novels. If you love mystery be sure to try Elilzabeth George... she has many titles available in paperback as well as a new hard cover on sale October 1st entitled What Came Before He Shot Her (Harper, 26.95). Don’t miss it! – Anne |
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| The Lay of the Land by Richard Ford (Knopf, $14.95) The Lay of the Land, an October 2006 publication by Richard Ford, continues Frank Bascombe’s life story begun in the Sportswriter and then continued in Independence Day which won the Pulitzer Prize and the PEN/Faulkner award for fiction. The older, wiser and more introspective Frank enters what Ford calls the Permanent Period. He is still a realtor and still seeking insight into his past and present life. I admire Richard Ford. His writing style is unique, smooth and lyrical, and his characters are sharply drawn. He is an author not to be missed. – Marilou |
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| That Girl Lucy Moon by Amy Timberlake (Hyperion, $15.99) That Girl Lucy Moon is about a 12-year-old girl, named Lucy Moon, who is fighting a battle against corruption in her community and struggling to find herself. Lucy faces Miss Ilene Viola Wiggins (a woman who controls Turtle Rock, Minnesota through her philanthropic giving) when Miss Wiggins fences the community sledding hill. Lucy also struggles with adolescence, her friends changing, and a mother who leaves on a trip and doesn't seem to be coming back. There's also a good bit about all the goings on in the town of Turtle Rock, Minnesota. You won't want to miss this delightful, irrepressible heroine! Amy visited Town House in September 2006 and has a webpage about her trip. Check it out! – Heidi |
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| Home Ground edited by Barry Lopez (Trinity University Press, $29.95) Home Ground: Language for an American Landscape brings together a collection of over 800 words that if you read much nature writing you may have stumbled over and wondered about their origins. Here's just a taste: beheaded stream, browse line, kiss tank, biscuit board, basket-of-eggs relief, and ait. Even if you're familiar with the basic meaning of a featured phrase or word, these definitions will still enrich your understanding. In many cases they are miniature works of art themselves. Almost like the notes that a writer might keep in a private revery. 45 poets and writers have contributed including Charles Frazier, Robert Hass, Linda Hogan, Kim Stafford, and Gretel Ehrlich. Sometimes its nice to have a book that you can read in short interludes. This is just such a book and will probably be a great reference for years to come as well. If you like Barry Lopez, he writes the intro and has a number of entries. For those days when you can't get out to your favorite woods, fen, prairie, or stream—this book provides a little solace. – Mark |
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