Novels Now

I don’t know, maybe we’re all chaos theorists. Lovers of pattern and predictability, we’re scared shitless of explosive change. But we’re fascinated by it, too. Drawn to it. Travelers tap their brakes to ogle the mutilation and mangled metal on the side of the interstate, and the traffic backs up for miles. Hijacked planes crash into skyscrapers, breached levees drown a city, and CNN and the networks rush to the scene so that we can all sit in front of our TVs and feast on the footage. Stare, stunned, at the pandemonium – the devils let loose from their cages. “There but for the grace of God,” the faithful say. “It’s not for us to know His plan.” – from The Hour I First Believed, page 306 -

Caelum Quirk and his wife Maureen both work at Columbine high school in Littleton, Colorado – he as an English teacher, her as a part time school nurse. Their marriage is strained after Maureen had an affair and Caelum retaliated against the interloper and was arrested back in Connecticut… just before they packed up and moved to Colorado to start over. When Caelum’s aunt (who raised him after his mother’s death) falls ill from a stroke, Caelum boards a plane back to the east coast to see her. Little does he know that only days later two boys will open fire at Columbine, killing and maiming dozens. Maureen finds herself cowering in a cupboard in the library during the tragedy – and when she emerges, everything will have changed…for not only her, but Caelum as well.

The Hour I First Believed centers around the Columbine high school shootings. Wally Lamb uses the names of the actual shooters and victims in his book, but revolves this around the fictional Quirks and their families. The first half of this over 700 page book moves quickly, taking the reader through the events of that fateful day and the immediate aftermath of the tragedy. I found myself glued to the pages during this part of the novel. But then Lamb becomes rather tangential as Caelum struggles to deal with his wife’s PTSD and addiction to prescription medication leading to an accident that puts her behind bars. Caelum begins to look back and analyze his life, trying to understand his father’s alcoholism and suicide…and getting caught up in the history of his extended family  – all the way back to the civil war. Caelum’s search for understanding involves long chapters devoted to his great-great grandmother’s diary, his mother’s background and life, and a mystery involving two children.  The middle of the book slows tremendously because of these additional story lines. By the end of the novel, Lamb redeems his story somewhat – finally tying up the multiple loose ends and providing some closure for the reader.

Thematically, the story is about chaos vs. order, belief in a larger power vs. fate or chance, and how tragedy warps and changes a person through time. It also explores the idea of family connections and how they shape who we become.

I had a hard time rating this book. On the one hand, Lamb is an incredible writer who has a deep understanding of his characters…and is able to translate that understanding to the reader (although I will admit, I did not particularly like Caelum Quirk). On the other hand, the book was heavy with information. Even though a writer must understand EVERYTHING about his character before writing that character’s story, it is not necessary that the reader have all that information. In many ways, I believe The Hour I First Believed was overburdened with too many plot lines. What I really wanted to understand was Caelum and Maureen’s reaction and recovery from tragedy. I did not want to know all about Caelum’s family history. I actually think this novel could have been two novels… one a family saga, the other about the Quirks and how their lives collided with the Columbine shootings.

I don’t believe a lot of readers will have the patience to wade through this entire book without skimming. Even Lamb fans may find it hard to keep reading past mid-book in order to finally get to the satisfying, albeit melancholy end. The best part of the book, in my opinion, was the first half when he focuses in on the Columbine tragedy. Perhaps had Lamb more aggressively edited his tome down to a more manageable 400 or so pages, I would have walked away feeling more positive about the book. Not everyone agrees with me.

Every year as August wanes and the school year looms, New Orleans can expect to see at least one or two storms. They are as much a part of the calendar as Thanksgiving or Easter. Many people who can leave town do so, driving to Baton Rouge, or Lafayette, or Jackson or Houston, just in case the weather does enough damage to pull down the electrical grid for a couple of days. Many others choose to stay. – from City of Refuge, page 27 -

SJ Williams lives in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans. He shares his life with his nephew Wesley and sister Lucy while still grieving for the loss of his wife Rosetta. SJ is a carpenter and takes pride in his home and community – a vibrant neighborhood where everyone knows everyone; where neighbors help neighbors.

He loved living in the Lower Ninth Ward. Its rhythm was his rhythm, despite the danger, the violence. It was their place; it belonged to the people in the Ninth Ward and they knew it and they managed as they could, and they were proud to have made lives there. No one had ever promised them, of all people, that life was going to be easy or without daily struggle, and there, at least, they took pride that it was their own struggle. And unlike in some other parts of town, there weren’t a lot of people from outside coming through to bother them. SJ had built part of it, just like his father and grandfather, and it had made him who and what he was, and it had made his parents and almost everyone he knew. – from City of Refuge, page 12 -

Craig Donaldson has moved to New Orleans from the Midwest and has settled with his wife and two young children in a desirable neighborhood. Craig works as an editor for an alternative newspaper. On the surface he seems to have it all – but there are deep cracks in his marriage to Alice who wants to leave New Orleans and return to her Midwestern roots; while Craig’s love of New Orleans lies deep within him and the city has come to be a part of who he is.

His self was invested in the city, in its rituals; he read meaning into it and it returned the favor by endowing him with a set of coordinates, a loose confederation of attitudes, and a community of others who operated under the same constellation. It was not a constellation of meaning he’d been born into; it was a refuge he’d found, a world that worked in a way he needed the world to work, a safe harbor to get away from something in himself for which he lacked a name, some emptiness, some longing, some intimation that perhaps he did not really even exist…But what if it wasn’t here anymore? Where, exactly would he be? – from City of Refuge, page 80 -

Different in significant ways, not the least the color of their skin (SJ is black, Craig is white)…the two men’s lives will parallel each other when Katrina – a devastating Category Five hurricane – hits New Orleans. Faced with an uncertain future, both men will have to decide to either stay and rebuild, or leave the city they love.

Tom Piazza’s novel City of Refuge takes a hard and brutally honest look at one of the most shameful natural disasters in American history through the eyes of two compelling characters. In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina brushed New Orleans with its lethal strength and contributed to the failure of the old and poorly constructed levee system. City, State and Federal governments were slow to response to the tragedy. The ineptness of the response played out on the national news with horrifying images of refugees dying in the Superdome, Convention Center and on the streets. Piazza reveals the humanity behind the tragedy in his beautifully written novel. Laced with the flavor of New Orleans, City of Refuge transports the reader to the days before the hurricane and the months following. In an interview printed at the end of the novel, Piazza says:

You can’t understand the kind of experience that people in New Orleans went through from an air-conditioned bus. You need to get the mud and the water and the blood all over you. So that was how I approached the material.

Piazza is successful in this effort – the scenes immediately following the disaster, seen through SJ’s eyes, are stunning, sad, and horrible. They also generated a certain amount of renewed rage in me for HOW and WHY the disaster played out as it did.

In the midst of it, with up and right and green and there and down and left and here and red jabbering incoherently, you did what you could until help arrived, whether you led a child by the hand through the ruined streets, or endured the blazing sidewalk heat in the crowd outside the Convention Center, or sat trapped in a wheelchair in your living room, abandoned by the nurse, as the water crept up around your ankles, and then your knees, praying, knowing that God never sent you nothing that you couldn’t handle, so it must have been someone else sent all that water that rose mercilessly past your lips and nose (they found you later, out of your wheelchair, under your refrigerator, which had floated and come to rest on top of you), or squatted with hundreds of others in the red haze of afternoon amid the other garbage by the side of the empty interstate, waiting for a helicopter, or a bus or a truck waiting for passage up and out to some city of refuge waiting on a strange horizon. – from City of Refuge, page 169 -

But City of Refuge is more than just a replaying of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Piazza’s characters are carefully drawn and very human. Their story asks an essential question: What is the definition of home? It is not just a place, but a community, one’s family, and sense of belonging that develops because of the spirit of the people who live there. Many people have wondered: why rebuild New Orleans? And that question is part and parcel of Piazza’s novel. The answer is complex, but Piazza has simplified it. By showing us the people behind the tragedy – their dreams, their families, their hopes for the future – the question turns on itself. Why NOT rebuild?

But New Orleans had been the most lush garden in the world, to him, and now here they were huddled around these few remaining stalks, trying to warm themselves…It was like living in an optical illusion; from one angle the city was a ruined shell of itself, where people hung onto the wreckage for dear life; from another angle it was already coming back, insisting on not dying, full of examples of the human spirit defiantly asserting itself in the face of the worst that life could dish out. – from City of Refuge, page 306 -

Only a few pages into City of Refuge, I knew I would love this book. Piazza’s writing is honest and deeply empathetic. It is not surprising that New Orleans becomes almost another character in the novel … Piazza not only survived Hurricane Katrina, he continues to reside there. Although the book exposes the horror and sadness of the tragedy – and reveals the desperation of the people who were affected – it is not a depressing novel. Rather, it leaves the reader with hope and a glimpse into the enduring spirit of a community.

Highly recommended.

Standing above the rug, he began to pray, but his thoughts continually turned to Nouf. For the sake of modesty, he tried not to imagine her face or her body, but the more he thought about her, the more vivid she became. In his mind she was walking through the desert, leaning into the wind, black cloak whipping against her sunburned ankles. – from Finding Nouf, page 2 -

Nayir ash-Sharqi, a desert guide, is hired by the Shrawi family to locate a family member who has disappeared. Nouf, only sixteen years old and planning her wedding, appears to have run away into the desert. But when her body is found in a wadi and the coroner reveals her cause of death as drowning, disturbing questions arise. Nayir joins forces with Katya Hijazi, a lab worker at the coroner’s office who is like no woman he has ever met. Together they begin to piece together Nouf’s last days and hours to uncover the mystery surrounding her death.

Finding Nouf is at its heart a mystery, but it is also more than this. Set in modern Saudi Arabia, the novel explores the role of women in a gender-segregated society which clings to its history while at the same time must address the changing views of the women it seeks to control and protect. Nayir is a devote man who prays regularly and wishes to follow the laws of Allah; but he is also a bachelor who fantasizes  of one day finding a woman with whom he can share his life.

Nayir sipped his tea and marveled at the casual way that Muhammad had spoken of his wife. There had been no need to explain who she was, and telling Nayir her name was something else entirely. It put Muhammad squarely in the category of young infidel wannabe. Gone were the days of calling one’s wife “the mother of Muhammad Junior”; today women had first names, last names, jobs and whatnot. He wondered how many men had known Nouf’s name. – from Finding Nouf, page 97 -

Nayir’s conflicted feelings provide the tension in the book. At first I disliked Nayir, finding him rigidly pious and chauvinistic. Ferraris does a remarkable job turning Nayir from a largely distasteful character to one the reader begins to respect. It is Nayir’s growth as a man (who comes to see women as human beings with dreams, desires and individual strengths) which elevates the novel to more than a simple whodunnit.

Katya represents the modern Saudi woman – a woman who has her own job and dares to speak to men not related to her. It is through her that the reader begins to gain a deeper understanding of Nouf – a teenager from a wealthy family who yearns for freedom.

Zoe Ferraris once lived in Saudi Arabia during the time following the first Gulf War. At that time, she was married to a Saudi-Palestinian Bedouin and was exposed to a culture largely closed to Americans. Knowing this about the author gave me respect for the perspective of this novel which although seen mostly through the eyes of the lead male character, exposes the dreams and desires of women living in a paternalistic society.

Ferraris’ writing is clean and riveting. The core mystery (what actually happened to Nouf) has many twists and turns which kept me guessing right to the end. This is a novel I would classify as “literary mystery” as its focus is as much on its main characters (and their growth) as on the mystery which propels the story.

Readers who enjoy a good mystery, as well as literary fiction, will enjoy this look inside the Saudi culture.

Recommended.

Finding Nouf is the 2009 Alex Award Winner

Zoe Ferraris Website

New Novel due out Spring 2010 (sequel to Finding Nouf): City of Veils

Michael Lee West
291 pages

Renata DeChavannes is going through a rough time. Her mother and stepfather recently died in a plane crash, her director-boyfriend is in Ireland directing a film when the tabloids report of his alleged affair with a young starlet, and her difficult relationship with her father isn’t getting better any time soon.

The relationship between her parents and the eventual end of their marriage has always been a mystery to Renata and she decides the time has come for answers. Fueled by a letter written by her mother and with her father unwilling to communicate, Renata heads to Point Clear, Alabama to talk with her paternal grandmother, Honora DeChavannes and her former nanny, Gladys Boudreaux. There, surrounded by the familiar, Renata begins to get the answers to her questions.

I don’t believe that my description of what happens in this novel is fair because it doesn’t convey the humor and warmth that is shared between Honora, Gladys, Renata, and Honora’s next-door neighbor and best friend Isabella D’Agostino McGeehee, which is truly the delight of this book. Honora is the matriarch of her family. She loves her son Louie but recognizes his faults and maintains a strong relationship with her former daughter-in-law, Shelby. Gladys is protective and loyal to Shelby, Renata, and Honora, and Isabella is the character who brings on the laugh out loud moments with her frank speech, man-chasing and randomly drugging food and drinks at the parties.

Another strength is the descriptions of Point Clear and the surrounding areas. They are very warm and inviting and felt familiar even though I have never been there.

Despite the fact that I enjoyed this book quite a bit, I did have few problems with it. There are a lot of different things going on and it can sometimes be a little hard to keep things straight. Also, while I felt the book had a satisfying conclusion, I felt like the ending was a bit rushed.

There is a bit of graphic content but it’s a fairly small amount and this book is truly fun and humorous. I recommend it if you enjoy reading southern fiction. (3.5/5)

You just remember a few of the ripples, not the whole of the river. I don’t know any writers, but I think that’s what all stories are about, the ripples moving away down some vast river, and the words we find to describe those moments are in the river too, swirling together and then apart. - from After the Floods, page 210 -

After the Floods takes place shortly after Hurricane Katrina, after the flood waters had mostly receded from New Orleans leaving the living to cobble together their destroyed lives. The flood has not only left destruction in its wake, but a weird twist of the world where birds and dogs are able to talk.

The stairs to the upper room were bolted to the side of the building and wobbled unpleasantly. The wrought iron steps were nearly a deal breaker for Smoky.

“Definitely unsafe,” Smoky protested. “I want something solid under my feet. I have issues with seeing through the freaking steps. My paws will get trapped. I’ll break a leg.” Smoky retained an evolutionary memory of leg-hold traps. - from After the Floods, age 14 -

The opening pages are narrated  (literally) from a crow’s eye view as Ruby and George Corvus survey the damaged neighborhoods. The novel veers away from New Orleans eventually, and takes the reader to Cold Beak, Minnesota - a fictional town which has also found itself recovering from a flood. It is here in Minnesota where the majority of the story takes place - revealing the odd and eccentric characters who reside in this small town. Two brothers open a restaurant, an obese woman becomes famous with her striptease act meant to educate and motivate people about weight loss, a bizarre family cult acts out violently, and birds from all over the world flock to the area. In a matter of three weeks a decade’s worth of time is compressed and the town grows economically and spiritually. After the Floods gathers together a wide array of characters who pass in and out of each others lives, seeking recovery alongside a river which nourishes them and reminds them of their vulnerability.

Sometimes in dreams, I imagine that the New Hope River has gone silent. The water is there, but it doesn’t move. It’s a foolish dream, and it probably has something to do with growing old, but maybe also with what we are doing to the planet. I think that our lives are rivers, turning, joining, and rolling on, and also threatened and vulnerable. - from After the Floods, page 55 -

In Henricksen’s fictional world, magic is allowed to become reality while various characters (including an omniscient ex-mayor and a young man who questions God through a series of emails) provide insight into such things as religion, social justice,  war and death.

I think when someone dies, a bit of meaning leaves the world with him. - from After the Floods, page 157 -

Henricksen’s writing is at turns sad, humorous and meditative. If there is a weakness in his prose it is that he never fully develops each character before moving on to the next. I will admit that magical realism is not the genre I typcially read and enjoy - so it is to Henricksen’s credit that I felt engaged in the novel from the start. After the Floods is comedic and spiritual, hopeful and despairing - it does not offer answers, but instead frames questions about life, death, faith and how our lives interconnect with others.

Readers who enjoy well-written magical realism will undoubtedly love this novel. Charming  and memorable, it will make you look at the world around you just a little bit differently.

Bruce Henricksen’s short stories have appeared in numerous magazines and in two anthologies. After the Flood, his first novel, was published in 2008. Henricksen is the former editor of  New Orleans Review and lives in Duluth, Minnesota with this wife Viki.

Powerful

Rehana Haque is a widow with two children, Maya a strong willed 17 year-old girl and Soheil a 19 year-old boy who is also strong willed. As Rehana goes about her daily routine of cooking and caring for her children something is brewing in Bangladesh.

In March 1971, Rehana wakes up very excited one day, as she decided to throw her children a garden party and invite the neighbors. Rehana and her neighbor couldn’t have predicted that during the party a war would be starting. They hear loud noises and think perhaps it’s fireworks, but then realize that was wishful thinking.

In A Golden Age we see how one family copes during the Bangladesh War of Independence. With hope, passion, and heroism they help their neighbors and fellow man.

Tahmima Anam writes with poetic prose that makes her characters come alive. I felt as if I was living the war with them step by step. This is Anam’s first book and is to be the first in a trilogy. I can hardly wait for the next book to come out!

Very highly recommended!

5/5

Enjoyable Debut Novel

Susanna Smith’s last living relative has recently died and she goes to Weymouth, Massachusetts to settle her aunt’s estate. Susanna’s faithful companion, a Weimaraner, goes along.

This is no usual estate. Both Susanna and her Aunt Susanna are both descendants of Abigail Adams, wife of President John Adams. The house is listed in the National Registry of Historic Places and has many heirlooms in it including letters from Abigail to John, the future president of the United States.

Susanna is not sure what to do with the house and she consults with a Realtor who also hooks her up with an antiques dealer. The antiques dealer has a shady past, to say the least, and the adventure begins.

The letters from Abigail Adams are authentic and the highlight of the book. I really enjoyed reading them. The book itself had a little of everything, romance, mystery, adventure, danger, with emphasis on little. It was enjoyable but maybe a bit too rushed. I think I would have liked it more if we had gotten to know the characters more and had more plot development. It was hard to believe that a romance could bloom in a couple short meetings, etc. I loved the historical bits and pieces but could have taken or leaven the rest. I think this book, as written may be better suited for young adults.

3/5

We must set our children free from our adult agendas and our frenetic, goal-oriented pace. The path that we have accepted for ourselves is the wrong path for children. Children do need a foundation upon which to grow and children do need their parents. They need to belong to a community, not an interest group. They long to know right from wrong and long for adults in history and in their lives to look up to. They need time to play and to forge meaningful relationships with family and friends. They need the opportunity to retreat within themselves - to find out what is there. -From Ships Without A Shore, pages 248-9

Anne R. Pierce holds a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and has published articles and books on social and political issues and intellectual history. In Ships Without A Shore she sites a great amount of research regarding day care, child development, political philosophy, psychiatry, brain science and genetics to support her theory that childrearing in the United States and our educational system in this country are on the wrong path.

Pierce’s book is divided into four sections which deal with:  1. The dangers of day care, the woman’s liberation movement, and the pressure for women to conform to societal demands to work outside the home, 2. Maternal love and normal child development in the context of current societal mores and expectations, 3. The impact of moral relativism on modern parenting, and 4. The failure of America’s educational system.

Throughout the book, Pierce simultaneously argues for more nurture while allowing a child’s nature to develop - the classic nature vs. nurture argument is debunked early on.

Given the advances in brain research and in anthropological techniques, it is simply impossible to deny the influence of genetics and of natural foundations for behavior. Given the abundance of evidence, confirmed by recent research in psychology, psychiatry, neurobiology, and sociology, that parents and communities (especially parents) have dramatic effects upon the emotional and developmental outcomes of children, it is simply implausible to deny the influence of the environment. -From Ships Without A Shore, Introduction-

She also questions current parenting practices which place children very early on into day care when so much research indicates the importance of early attachment to mother.

It is unlikely that children’s developmental needs should miraculously and conveniently change just when adult career patterns and life styles required them to change. - From Ships Without A Shore, Introduction-

The practice of detaching from our children, Pierce argues, is fueled by a media which makes women feel they are neither intelligent nor contemporary if they choose to stay home to rear their children. She further argues that although Feminism was ‘right to call for a less subsuming vision of motherhood,’ it was wrong to suggest there should be a detachment between mother and child (ie: placing children into childcare situations from infancy onward). Pierce’s arguments in her first chapter are supported by reams of research, but she lost me a bit when she began relating horror stories about children who were placed into the hands of uncaring or negligent providers. To read these examples, one might think it foolish to even hire a babysitter for the night. Despite this, Pierce makes a good point when she questions the objectivity of media reporting when it comes to research dealing with day care and its affects on children.

Our willingness to buy into the superficial and partial picture painted for us has stemmed in part from our belief in the larger social cause. The cause of women’s liberation has been thought so worthy that we have been willing to accept less than clear thinking and less than accurate reporting in support of it. -From Ships Without A Shore, page 58-

I found Pierce’s second chapter the most compelling. Pierce examines normal child development in the context of institutionalized care and points out that all developmental evidence points to  the fact that ‘children thrive upon love‘ and that attachment to a maternal figure is paramount to normal development. She then goes on to say that no one can love a child as their parent does and that it is reasonable to expect a paid caregiver will be less responsive to a baby’s signals than a mother would be. Pierce observes that children become over-dependent or “anxiously attached” not because they have had too much care, but because they have not had enough.

The truth is that even high quality day care centers cannot provide the optimal conditions for development. -From Ships Without A Shore, page 115-

In the last two chapters of Ships Without A Shore, Pierce delves into the area of politics, the welfare system, morality, liberalism, and the failure of our education system. Although she provides ample research to support her conclusions, I was less convinced by her arguments because I felt there was an underlying political bias. Pierce is careful, however, to temper her opinion that the best family for a child is a traditional one with one father and one mother.

I should note that I do not agree with those that advocate a return to the stigmatizing of unwed parents and their children as an alternative solution. I do believe in a return to the valuing of fathers’ essential role in the family, of the intact family, of responsible parenting, and of firmly founded mother-child attachment. - from Ships Without A Shore, page 152-

Pierce convincingly writes about the frenetically busy life-style of American families and the pressure on children to achieve constantly - whether it be in advanced classes, sports teams or other extracurricular activities. This, along with over-stimulation from technologies (such as television and computers), leaves children exhausted, stressed and depressed. Pierce goes on to attack an American educational system which by empowering girls, degrades boys; neglects American history and philosophy while ‘providing students with a “social conscience”‘; and teaches multiculturalism while ignoring American culture.

Unfortunately, multiculturalism has been twisted by the agendas and, yes, the biases which hide behind it. It is often a code word for anti-Americanism. -from Ships Without A Shore, page 231-

Ships Without A Shore is a provocative and penetrating look at American culture and how it has impacted societal views on child rearing. Pierce does not mince words, but speaks strongly in advocating more parental involvement in raising our nation’s children. She supports her opinions with ample research. I did not always fully agree with Pierce’s conclusions, which at times felt excessively right-leaning. But despite my disagreement on some of her points, I believe this is an important book to read for those individuals working in the child care industry and school systems…and for those adults who love children and care about where our society is headed. Pierce’s prose is easy to read and the book is well-organized. At the very least, this is a book which will generate dialogue on one of the most compelling issues of our society - how we choose to raise the next generation and how those choices will impact our future.

Recommended for readers interested in child development and social issues.

See, guys freak out. They hit critical mass and blast nuclear, white-hot anger out over the world like walking flame throwers. But girls freak in. They absorb the pain and bitterness and keep right on sponging it up until they drown. Maybe that’s why nobody’s real worried about girls going off and wreaking havoc. It’s not that the seething hatred and need for revenge isn’t there, hell no. It’s just that instead of erupting and annihilating our tormentors, we destroy ourselves instead. -From Leftovers, Blair’s voice-

Leftovers is the story of two teenage girls - Blair and Ardith - who are mostly social outcasts and have only each other to lean on.

Blair’s mother is a rising star defense attorney who has traded her family for the career she wants. Blair’s father is having a not so subtle affair with his secretary. Both parents have seemingly ripped up their parent cards to pursue their own needs while emotionally abandoning Blair - a soft-spoken 14 year old who loves animals.

Ardith’s family comes from a different social strata. Her parents are alcoholics who allow her brother to rule the house along with his sexually aggressive friends. Ardith’s father gropes the young girls and makes inappropriate jokes, while his wife stands by and blames the girls for dressing provocatively. It’s no wonder we find Ardith bolting her bedroom door at night.

The novel opens by suggesting something horrible has happened. The girls are telling their stories, from the beginning, to an unnamed person in a hospital bed. They reveal their sadness, anger, fear and show the reader what brought them together as the story builds to its conclusion.

This book is written for young adults, and I can see how it would appeal to that age bracket. Weiss seems to understand teenage angst and emotion well, and both Blair and Ardith’s voices are real. Despite this, the novel is overwritten at times. The dysfunction in the story feels over-the-top and not always believable. And when the end finally comes, it underwhelmed me.

Credit should be given to Weiss for tackling issues relevent to young adults and exposing the double standards which effect young girls. The difficult topics of sex, underage drinking, smoking, and sexual identity are all explored in this slim novel. This is a book which would stimulate great discussion between parents and teens.

“Well from what you’ve told me, the book has survived the same human disaster over and over again. Think about it. You’ve got a society where people tolerate difference, like Spain in the Convivencia, and everything’s humming along: creative, prosperous. Then somehow this fear, this hate, this need to demonize ‘the other’ - it just sort of rears up and smashes the whole society. Inquisition, Nazis, extremist Serb nationalists…same old, same old. It seems to me the book, at this point, bears witness to all that.” -From People of the Book, page 195-

Of course, a book is more than the sum of its materials. It is an artifact of the human mind and hand. -From People of the Book, page 19-

Pulitzer prize-winning author, Geraldine Brooks, has written another stunning and impeccably researched book. People of the Book begins in 1996 when rare book expert (and conservator) Hanna Heath is summoned to post-war Bosnia to examine an ancient manuscript.

The Sarajevo Haggadah, created in medieval Spain, was a famous rarity, a lavishly illuminated Hebrew manuscript made at a time when Jewish belief was firmly against illustrations of any kind. It was thought that the commandment in Exodus “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image or likeness of any thing” had suppressed figurative art by medieval Jews. When the book came to light in Sarajevo in 1894, its pages of painted miniatures had turned this idea on its head and caused art history text to be rewritten. -From People of the Book, page 8-

Between the pages of this incredible book, Hanna discovers clues to its history: a fragile insect’s wing, a missing clasp, a small wine stain, a drip of salt water and a single white hair. In alternating chapters, the clues reveal themselves and uncover the people whose hands the manuscript passes through…and remarkably the author and illustrator of the Haggadah. The reader visits Sarajevo in 1904, Vienna in 1894, Venice in 1609, Tarragona in 1492, and Seville in 1480. At the same time, Hanna’s story is also gradually revealed as she moves forward from 1996 to 2002.

People of the Book is inspired by the true story of the of the Hebrew codex known as the Sarajevo Haggadah. Brooks novel, however, is richly imagined - borrowing certain facts and then creating multi-layered characters and situations which immerse the reader in a fictional world of intrigue, emotion and wonder. Brooks did her homework - and People of the Book includes fascinating facts about early art history and the skill of book conservation, as well as the history of the Jewish people.

I turned a page. More dazzle. The illuminations were beautiful, but I didn’t allow myself to look at them as art. Not yet. First i had to understand them as chemicals. There was yellow, made of saffron. That beautiful autumn flower, Crocus sativus Linnaeus, each with just three tiny precious stigmas, had been a prized luxury then and remained one, still. Even if we now know that the rich color comes from a carotene, crocin, with a molecular structure of 44 carbon, 64 hydrogen, and 24 oxygen, we still haven’t synthesized a substitute as complex and as beautiful. There was malachite green, and red; the intense red known as worm scarlet - tola’at shani in Hebrew - extracted from tree-dwelling insects, crushed up and boiled in lye. Later, when alchemists learned how to make a similar red from sulfur and mercury, they still named the color “little worm” - vermiculum. Some things don’t change: we call it vermilion even today. -From People of the Book, page 15-

I found this novel immensely satisfying and one which I highly recommend for readers who enjoy world literature and have a fascination for books and art history, as well as for those who enjoy unraveling mysteries.

Jill A. Davis

246 pages

Back of the Book:

“Emily has a tendency to live with one foot out the door. When her mother dramatically announces, “They’ve found a lump,” Emily gladly leaves behind her career, her boyfriend, and those pesky, unanswerable questions about who she is and what she’s doing with her life to be by her mother’s side. But back in her childhood bedroom, Emily realizes that she hasn’t run fast or far enough—especially when she opens the door, quite literally, to find her past staring her in the face”

My thoughts:

This was a fun, lighter read. Emily is in therapy and is trying to deal with the fact that she runs every time she faces the tough questions but honestly, she doesn’t seem crazy to me. I think her witty inner dialogue keeps her from going over the edge with her dramatic mother (who is hilarious too), her father who is too laid back and her sister who just goes shopping rather than dealing with life. I didn’t think that this book was too heavy, though it does deal with some tougher issues such as death, marriage, children, cancer and family relationships. I’d recommend it to anyone in the mood for a chuckle. (3.5/5)

Becky: The Life and Loves of Becky Thatcher
By Lenore Hart
Completed May 29, 2008

I must admit that I am a sucker for a good companion novel. Last year, I read Finn by Jon Clinch, which was a story about Huck Finn’s infamous father. My latest read was the feminine side of this group of friends – a story about Becky Thatcher, Tom Sawyer’s sweetheart. In Becky: The Life and Loves of Becky Thatcher by Lenore Hart, Becky got her voice and opportunity to set the story straight.

“I loved and hated men, lost and found them, tried and failed to tempt them away from their own destruction. I’ve been the cause of more than one death. I’ve been a friend and enemy and fiancée, wife and mother and widow. I’ve killed in a fight, and longed to do murder once or twice at home. I’ve taught, mothered, soldiered, mined and even written for the newspapers. But I was never the weeping little ninny Sam Clemens made me out to be in his book.”

And with this statement, Becky began her story as a complex, multi-dimensional character, dead set about shaking this timid image that Mark Twain described in his novels.

The story opened as Becky’s husband, Sid, was about to leave for the army during the late months of the Civil War. This began Becky’s adventures as she chased her husband into the wilds of Missouri in an attempt to bring him home. She disguised herself as a soldier to accomplish this mission and was involved in skirmish or two. Once reunited, the couple decided to move to Nevada to escape the war atrocities as home – thus, beginning another set of adventures for Becky as she moved West.

Hanging like a web over all of these stories were Becky’s feelings for Tom. Tom and Huck were minor characters in this book, and Hart added different perspectives to these famous boys (who are now men in this book). Tom was self-absorbed and restless, always caring for his childhood sweetheart despite his lack of commitment to her. Huck was Tom’s loyal companion – raw, impatient, cunning and unforgiving - but I felt that Huck had more sense than his reckless friend. In addition to Tom and Huck, Hart added Sam Clemens, who came across as imaginative and scheming, eventually betraying his friendship with Becky when he published his books.

With all of these males in her life, one can see how Becky did not grow up to be a “weeping little ninny.” However, I think Hart tried too hard to prove Becky was as strong as her male counterparts. The killings, the soldiering, the wearing of pants, the lying, the adultery – it was a tad too much. Women can be strong without acting like men.

Despite this small criticism, I enjoyed Becky and highly recommend this book to lovers of Tom Sawyer stories, Civil War fiction and tales about women’s lives in history. ( )

The Anatomy of Deception by Lawrence Goldstone

Pages: 342
Finished: May 17, 2008
First Published: Jan. 2008
Genre: historical fiction, forensic mystery
Rating: 3.5/5

Reason for Reading: Received a review copy from Random House Canada.

First sentence:

For days, clouds had hung over the frigid city, promising snow; an ephemeral late winter veneer of white, but the temperature had suddenly risen and a cold, stinging drizzle had arrived instead.

Comments: It is 1898, Philadelphia and Dr. Ephraim Carroll is studying with the renowned Dr. William Osler. Autopsies have been legal for only five years and still many people find them barbaric. It is in this setting that one day the corpse of a young lady found in the streets turns up on Dr. Osler’s table for autopsy. Dr. Carroll notices that two of the other doctor’s seem shocked by her appearance and Dr. Osler quickly replaces the sheet and ends the class early. Later, looking into the suspicious death of one of his colleagues leads him down a dark trail to the waterfront, seedy ‘Paris Revue’ clubs and back alley operations. Many real-life personalities populate the story and fact mixes with fiction in this intriguing story of late 19th century medicine.

While the mystery portion of the story was rather slow going and predictable to this reader, I found the historical aspect absolutely riveting. The characters were rather cliched but the story was entertaining and kept me reading. The piece de resistance of this book is the historical setting and the detailed research of the author. The surgical processes, the medical knowledge and research of the time makes for fascinating reading. This book will appeal more to historical fiction fans than those looking for an intense mystery.

James Keeper is comfortable with his life. He works in a salvage yard with his childhood friend, he just bought a house with his girlfriend, and things are going well. He has a little regret over his ex-wife but, for the most part, he has moved on. At least he thought he had until he gets a phone call from his former mother-in-law that his ex-wife, Cynthia is in the hospital. Keeper ends up finding out about a son he never knew he had and eventually his son Leo ends up coming to live with him. What follows is a very funny, sometimes touching story of what happens to Keeper’s life when Leo overtakes it.

This was a quick read and I related to it on a lot of levels. Parenthood really does knock the stuffing out of you at times. Especially when you are first starting out. But it is also filled with laughter and blessings.

I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be thrust into it overnight with no preparation, yet this story manages to remain light and humorous while the protagonist deals with some pretty serious issues. My one issue with this book is that the language is a bit strong for me at times. However, I would definitely love to read more by Edward Hardy. (4/5)

Keeper and Kid by Edward Hardy
Contemporary Fiction
2008 Thomas Dunne Books (St. Martin’s Press)
Finished on 4/29/08
Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher’s Blurb

Eight years ago, James Keeper fell in love with his upstairs neighbor in Boston, a sassy pastry chef with gray eyes and a fierce attitude. They got married, found a dog, and shopped for cilantro. But conflicting schedules and a real estate deal gone bad took its toll on the twenty-somethings in love. One divorce later, the hand-me-down chairs were separated, the potato masher custody settled, and Keeper moved to Providence to work with his best friend selling antiques at a quirky shop called Love and Death.

A new job, a new love, and a new life now in place, Keeper is in a comfortable situation. Business is steady, Leah (the new love) is intriguing and passionate, and Keeper’s friends always turn up for Sunday evening Card Night.

But one phone call from his former mother-in-law changes everything. And so days later, Keeper comes away with a son he never knew he had, and life all of a sudden takes on a new meaning.

Leo, the precocious three-year-old who sports Keeper’s square chin, is more than a handful—he eats only round foods, refuses to bathe, thinks he’s a bear, and refers to Leah as ‘that man.’ For a guy who never thought he’d be a parent, Keeper is thrown headfirst into fatherhood—and has no idea what to do. As Keeper and Leo adjust to the shock of each other and their suddenly very different lives, Keeper begins to let the people in his life in, in turns strange and heartwarming, funny and painful. But some, like Leah, aren’t so eager for change.

In this humorous and poignant novel, Edward Hardy explores the depths of modern love, parenthood, and compromise. Keeper and Kid is the story of how a normal guy receives an unexpected gift and in turn must learn to ask more of others and himself. A coming-of-age story for the guy who thought he had already grown up, Keeper and Kid is a sharp and witty account of what we do for love.

I’m always a bit hesitant to say yes when I get an email from an author, asking if I’d like to review his book. Forget Google alerts. It’s pretty much a given in this situation that they’re going to read my review (and hope that those who read my blog will go out and buy their book), so I want to be fair, yet I also don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings with negative comments. Edward Hardy need not worry. Keeper and Kid is a wonderful book. Anyone who’s raised a child (or taken care of a toddler for any length of time) will appreciate the humor in this story. Reading the book outside on our deck, I found myself laughing out loud so many times, I began to worry the neighbors would wonder what was really in my coffee mug!

I’m not sure how I missed this book; the cover is bright and cheery and one that would normally entice me to give it more than a passing glance. Yet, I don’t even remember seeing it in the store! This will definitely go on my list of books to use on my summer picks display at work next month. (This month’s end cap is set with my favorite coming of age books.)

My daughter is in her twenties and it’s been over a year since I was “nanny” to my two nieces, but I still remember the joys and frustrations of taking care of a three-year-old. Vividly! You know. A three-year-old who knows exactly how she likes her sandwich cut (with the crusts cut off and sliced on a diagonal. But not if it’s a tuna sandwich! Then you leave the crusts on and cut it in quarters. Duh!), or why she has to wear her tutu with her snow boots at nap time, or why she simply must get in the car on the right hand side and heaven forbid, NOT the left side. Three-year-olds can be quite stubborn particular. I’ve glanced through the book, checking out all the passages I marked with Post-It flags. There are quite a few, but they only make sense in the context of several paragraphs. You’ll just have to trust me on this. Keeper and Kid is one funny, moving book.

My only quibble is that I found the romantic drama between Keeper and Leah a bit tedious. Quite frankly, I would’ve liked to have read more about Leo’s antics and the hilarious dialogue between Keeper and Leo and a little bit less about Keeper’s self-pity and juvenile attempts to win back Leah. But never once did I feel like tossing the book against the wall or calling it quits. Of course, now I’m anxious to check out Hardy’s debut novel (Geyser Life). That one slipped under my radar, too!

I guess it’s lucky for me that I missed Keeper and Kid when it first came out. Now I own a signed first edition. Thanks, Edward. You’ve got a keeper!

Isn’t this a cute cover?! I just love it. Keeper and Kid by Edward Hardy is about a single dad trying to be a father to a 3 year-old child he never even knew he had. It’s about the shock one gets with a child when one realizes your life will never be your own again. It’s also about how our lives are made even richer for it. Struggling to make his job and his relationships work with a new child in his life, James Keeper is just overwhelmed with it all. But little Leo is so cute and says the cutest things. Children are like that. They frustrate and inspire simultaneously. I enjoyed reading this book about child rearing and relationships from a man’s perspective, though the language was a bit strong for my tastes. I’d be interested in reading the sequel if the author decides to write one.

2008, 294 pp.
Rating: 3.5/5

The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan
Memoir
Finished 12/3/07
Rating: 4/5 (Very good)
ARC - Book due out on January 8, 2008

Publisher’s Blurb:

In humorous, incandescent prose, Kelly Corrigan alternates tales of growing up Corrigan with the story of her life and her father’s today as they each–successfully, for now–battle cancer. A book that reminds us of the good things in life, The Middle Place examines the universal themes of family, adulthood, and how we all must, inevitably, make the leap to the other side and grow up.

Book Description:

For Kelly Corrigan, family is everything. At thirty-six, she had a marriage that worked, a couple of funny, active kids, and a weekly newspaper column. But even as a thriving adult, Kelly still saw herself as George Corrigan’s daughter. A garrulous Irish-American charmer from Baltimore, George was the center of the ebullient, raucous Corrigan clan. He greeted every day by opening his bedroom window and shouting, “Hello, World!” Suffice it to say, Kelly’s was a colorful childhood, just the sort a girl could get attached to. Kelly lives deep within what she calls the Middle Place — “that sliver of time when parenthood and childhood overlap” — comfortably wedged between her adult duties and her parents’ care. But she’s abruptly shoved into a coming-of-age when she finds a lump in her breast — and gets the diagnosis no one wants to hear. And so Kelly’s journey to full-blown adulthood begins. When George, too, learns he has late-stage cancer, it is Kelly’s turn to take care of the man who had always taken care of her — and show us a woman as she finally takes the leap and grows up. Kelly Corrigan is a natural-born storyteller, a gift you quickly recognize as her father’s legacy, and her stories are rich with everyday details. She captures the beat of an ordinary life and the tender, sometimes fractious moments that bind families together. Rueful and honest, Kelly is the prized friend who will tell you her darkest, lowest, screwiest thoughts, and then later, dance on the coffee table at your party. Funny, yet heart-wrenching, The Middle Place is about being a parent and a child at the same time. It is about the special double-vision you get when you are standing with one foot in each place. It is about the family you make and the family you came from — and locating, navigating, and finally celebrating the place where they meet. It is about reaching for life with both hands — and finding it.

Two years ago, at the age of 41, my younger brother was diagnosed with rectal cancer. We had just experienced the absolute worst loss of our lives, only to learn of Chris’ cancer 6 weeks after Rachel’s death. We were stunned beyond belief. After two rounds of chemo, radiation, and radical surgery, Chris is now, thankfully, cancer-free. Somewhere along the line, in my quest to become more knowledgeable about this particular cancer (to learn how to help my brother emotionally, as well as educate myself about my increased risk as a sibling), I stumbled upon a particularly informative website. While CircusOfCancer is a site for those seeking information about breast cancer rather than colo-rectal cancer, it provided me with an insider’s view to chemo, radiation, how to talk to friends with cancer, etc. I was moved by the story behind the website and read everything posted, including the photo essays. Little did I know, two years down the road I’d pick up an Advanced Reader’s Copy of Kelly Corrigan’s memoir, only to discover that she was the creator of CircusOfCancer! What a small world.

Corrigan is a marvelous storyteller, drawing you into her family and home with the ease of a seasoned writer. When I finished the book, I felt as if I’d met her in person, trading stories about family and love and fear and loss. In typical fashion, I read with a packet of sticky notes in hand and wound up with a dozen or so pages marked for a second reading. This first passage is from the Prologue:

…I called my parents from the maternity ward and cried through the following: “Mom, Dad, it’s a girl, and Dad, we named her after you. We named her Georgia.”

Three years after that, almost to the day, I called home to tell my parents that I had cancer.

And that’s what this whole thing is about. Calling home. Instinctively. Even when all the paperwork–a marriage license, a notarized deed, two birth certificates, and seven years of tax returns–clearly indicates you’re an adult, but all the same, there you are, clutching the phone and thanking God that you’re still somebody’s daughter.

I especially like this brief passage:

I get another e-mail from a particularly grown-up friend of mine, Jen Komosa. She just says, “You are stronger than you think. You are strong enough.”

Such truth in these simple words. I never thought I could survive the loss of one of our children and I’m sure there were times when my brother thought he couldn’t survive the rigors of cancer treatment. But it’s amazing what the heart and mind and body can endure. We are all stronger than we think.

I like the cadence of these particular paragraphs:

There is fear, like the moment before a car accident or the jolt that shoots through you when you see your baby slip under water, and there is pain, like whacking your head into a cabinet door left open or the quiver in your shoulders as you carry your end of the sofa up those last few stairs, fingers slipping. And then there is pain and fear together, like delivery a baby or standing up for the first time after surgery. Until they tell you it’s working, chemo is like that, pain and fear, fear and pain, alternating relentlessly.

Yesterday, I took eighteen pills in twenty-four hours for everything from the well-known side effects like nausea and fatigue to the secret ones like runaway infections and tear-jerking constipation. Each side effect can be treated with medication, which usually has its own side effect. For nausea: Zofran. For the constipation caused by Zofran: laxatives and stool softeners. To ward of infection and stabilize your white blood cell counts: Neupogen. For the deep bone pain caused by Neupogen: Vicodin, which in turn causes nausea and drowsiness. And there you are, right back where you started.

I nodded my head in agreement when I read this:

I envy my dad his faith. I envy all people who have someone to beseech, who know where they’re going, who sleep under the fluffy white comforter of belief.

I remember feeling this way after Rachel died. And I remember feeling like this, too:

I feel different from everyone these days. Words are loaded now–people who were “so sick they wanted to die,” who ate “so much they wanted to puke,” who hope someone will “take them out back and shoot them” before they get old and infirm.

And yet, as I relate to quite a bit of Kelly’s thoughts and feelings, I became annoyed when I read the following passage (her response to learning she would need to begin hormone therapy in order to temporarily eliminate estrogen from her system, thus postponing the possibility of any more children for five more years):

I shake my head. “They talked about cancer like it was something to get through, to treat, to beat.” They never said it was going to change everything, all my plans, and take things away from me that I have wanted since I was a child. “They said it was gonna be a bad year. So doesn’t that mean when the bad year is over, when you do everything you are told to do–and with a goddamn smile no less–you get to go back to the life you had?”

Finally, I just stare ahead. I’m so mad and so tired at the same time.

“I thought that was what I was here for–to raise a bunch of kids,” I say as we get closer to home.

I wanted to reach through the pages and past and shake this young woman and tell her she should be thankful to be alive. Thankful to have two beautiful daughters, a loving husband, devoted parents and friends and relatives who love her deeply. I wanted to tell her that while my brother is also a cancer survivor, he didn’t get to go back to the life he once had either, but he’s deeply grateful for his life, physically altered though it may be.

I can’t begin to imagine how I’d personally handle the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, but I did watch my brother ride the emotional rollercoaster for the longest year of his life. I’d like to think that Kelly’s reaction to the hormone therapy was exacerbated by the stress and emotional fragility of that long year in her life and that she can now appreciate how truly blessed she is to have what she has.

And now to jump on my soap box — Many, many cancers are treatable, if detected early. If you are 50 or older, get a colonoscopy! I had one two years ago (six years sooner than normal, but highly recommended due to the hereditary risk as a sibling), and quite honestly, it’s not a big deal. I was alseep through the entire procedure and the prep the day before was certainly tolerable. I’d gladly have that test once every five years if it prevents the ill effects of chemo (nausea, chemo brain, neuropathy, mouth sores, etc.), not to mention prolonging my life.

The Winter Rose by Jennifer Donnelly
Fiction/Historical Romance
2008 Hyperion
Finished on 2/27/08
Rating: 3.5/5 (Good)
What’s In A Name Challenge

Publisher’s Blurb:

Every now and again, a storyteller comes along who can take us completely into her world and make us wish we never had to leave it. Jennifer Donnelly is such a writer.

When India Selwyn Jones, a young woman from a noble family, graduates from the London School of Medicine for Women in 1900, her professors advise her to set up her practice in London’s esteemed Harley Street. Driven and idealistic, India chooses to work in the city’s East End instead, serving the desperately poor.

In these grim streets, India meets–and saves the life of–London’s most notorious gangster, Sid Malone. A hard, wounded man, Malone is the opposite of India’s aristocratic fiancé, Freddie Lytton, a rising star in the House of Commons. Though Malone represents all she despises, India finds herself unwillingly drawn ever closer to him, intrigued by his hidden, mysterious past.

Though they fight hard against their feelings, India and Sid fall in love, and their unpredictable, passionate and bittersweet affair causes destruction they could never have imagined. Sweeping from London to Kenya to the wild, remote coast of California, The Winter Rose is a breathtaking return to the epic historical novel, from a masterful writer with a fresh, richly vivid, and utterly electrifying voice.

It was with great anticipation that I finally sat down and read Jennifer Donnelly’s second installment in The Tea Rose trilogy. And settle down I did. This book weighs in at a hefty 720 pages (hardcover); it took me nearly three weeks to read. As with The Tea Rose, this sequel also has a large cast of characters whose paths continually cross, almost to the point of unbelievable coincidence. There are several “near misses” and occurrences to which the reader is privy, yet which remain unknown to the characters involved. One must be willing to suspend quite a bit of disbelief in order to enjoy this romantic romp saga. While it never felt plodding or dull, I did find myself a little impatient to reach the end of the story. I loved The Tea Rose; it made my 2004 Top Ten list. I wasn’t disappointed in this sequel, but it doesn’t rate as high as its predecessor. (As I read, though, I couldn’t help but think it would make a wonderful movie. Clive Owen would be my choice for Sid Malone. Not sure about any of the other characters. Maybe Helena Bonham Carter as India. But I digress.)

The Winter Rose is certainly an entertaining read, with its vivid settings and memorable characters; perfect for a long flight or a week at a beach resort! Be sure to read Heather’s review, as well as her excellent interview with the author at Estella’s Revenge.

River by Lowen Clausen
Contemporary Fiction
2008 Silo Press
Finished on 2/3/08
Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Book Description

From a remote corner of a vanishing American landscape, a bereaved father begins a journey down the river that has been all but inseparable from his life. At the river’s origin the shallow stream courses through the ranch where he was born. It is where he fell in love the first time and where the ashes of his son have been poured.

“Now, before it’s too late, before I lose the will to do anything, I am leaving this land to follow the sticks I dropped into the river so long ago.” But this man’s passage along the interlacing rivers to the ocean will not be simple or disconnected from the life he leaves behind. His estranged son’s last angry words echo in his memory, and despite moments of pure concentration on the waters ahead, the solitary voyager finds the past seeping into his thoughts and dreams.

In River, novelist Lowen Clausen has created a story of deep beauty and seriousness, in which he weaves together the complex threads of one man’s search for wholeness. Clausen’s rich, elegiac prose becomes its own landscape and river, transporting the reader on a journey through despair and doubt into discovery.

I have lived in Nebraska since 1992 and I have yet to see the Sandhills. However, as I read Lowen Clausen’s evocative novel, I came to know those Sandhills like I know the beaches of San Diego, as though I’d been born and raised in western Nebraska instead of in Southern California.

Like Clausen’s main character, John, I too have lost a child. And, I too own a kayak. But I have never once contemplated a trip down a series of Midwestern rivers, ultimately winding up in the Gulf of Mexico! The dangerous currents, barges, and weather are enough to keep me on the calm waters of our local lakes. Yet I still enjoyed this remarkable story. If 19 sticky notes is an indication of a good book, this one certainly qualifies.

The sunrise is long in coming. First there is a softening of the darkness, a gray tinge that dims the stars above the eastern horizon, then a pink glow that seeps through. It turns into a swath of yellow as if the sun will fill the whole sky, but it doesn’t. It concentrates into a sphere of gold that rises above the sandhills and hurts my eyes.

Weariness weighs down my body as I get up from the riverbank and drag the kayak closer to the water. Her name is Gloria, and the idea of a journey with her has gotten me through one day after another. For months I’ve been planning this trip, buying equipment and supplies and storing them in the barn beside Gloria. Now that the day is here, the anticipation of leaving is gone and I feel empty.

Once more I look across the river into the hills as if I won’t see them again. The coarse grasses along the bank of the river are green, but the rolling sandhills hold the dead brown of last year’s growth. There are no trees on the hills and few even beside the river except at this place where the creek wanders down from the beaver dam to join it. Here willows cling to the bank and cottonwood trees have rooted in the low spots behind them. The willows are beginning to form new leaves, but the cottonwoods wait for more certain weather.

I push Gloria into the water and draw her close to the bank. The current pulls impatiently.

Clausen kept my interest in spite of the necessarily introspective tale of one’s man’s journey. The narrator’s story slowly unwinds, keeping pace with the current of the rivers, slowly revealing the past through memories and thoughts. As John travels down Nebraska’s Loup and Platte Rivers, picking up the Missouri and finally the Mississippi, I found myself recognizing various points of interest throughout his voyage: Brownville, NE (“This is a nice little town, but there ain’t much here. We’re getting a new bookstore though. Got a Greek name I can’t pronounce. It’s mostly for the tourists, I guess.”) — Rod and I visited the Lyceum Bookstore last summer; Indian Cave State Park, NE; Lexington and Saint Louis, MO; Memphis, TN; Vicksburg, MS (a fellow book-blogger lives here!). While I enjoyed my armchair-view of this journey, I can’t begin to imagine the physical (and emotional) toil one must endure to travel such a distance with only a few changes of clothing, food fit only for Boy Scouts, and virtually no companionship. Clausen’s vivid, yet at times elegiac, prose will appeal to fans of Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain and David Guterson’s Snow Falling on Cedars. Fans of Huck Finn and Tom Saywer (with a keen sense of adventure) will also appreciate Clausen’s lyrical writing.

This is a leisurely read, yet one that has made me anxious for warmer kayaking weather. Quite a joy to read!

Atomic Lobster was one fast ride. It’s a story about Serge A. Storms, a criminal who always ends up helping the underdog, and his motley crew consisting of Coleman, a pothead alcoholic, and Rachael, a coke-sniffing stripper. In this story, Serge is hell-bent on protecting Jim Davenport, who saved Serge’s life ten years prior and is being hunted down by a serial killer. It’s also the story of four old ladies who have learned that it’s cheaper to go on cruises all year than to live in a retirement home. And it’s a story of the Mexican drug trade and terrorist attempts to poison Americans with anthrax. All of these subplots rapidly weave and twist their way through the story, until the end when they all come together in an Old West-meets -Florida fashion.

This story is not one of my usual genres, but I have to admit that I enjoyed the book. Excuse my eighth grade vernacular, but there’s something totally cool about seeing familiar streets, shopping centers, bridges, bars and cultural events in a book. The characters drive up the road I take to work every morning. They stop at a shopping center where I used to work. It’s like seeing your neighbor on TV over and over again, and this helped make Atomic Lobster very amusing to me.

Dorsey also chose “only in Florida” new stories and mixed them into the story. I am not sure if a non-local would “get” the humor behind a toll booth operator alerting police that a man’s body was stuck to the front of a car, or a house being sold dirt cheap because the owner, who was a county official, cut corners on code enforcement. But for a local, this is funny stuff. From the state the brought you hanging chads and the president’s brother, Florida does not get enough credit for being a little bit backwards. Read Dorsey and you’ll get a huge dose of the absurdity that can be the Sunshine State.

If you like dark humor and high crime, and don’t mind the sex, drugs and rock-and-roll, then I would recommend Atomic Lobster to you. If it’s not your cup of tea and you don’t live in the Tampa Bay area, I think you can safely skip this book. (3/5)