VPL Staff Fiction Picks - July 2010
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Alexie, Sherman Alexie offers a relaxed yet penetrating portrait of teen angst, school bullying and social issues within a reservation community. The hero, Arnold Spirit, a.k.a. Junior, is the ultimate outsider both on and off the reservation. His saving grace is his intelligence, quick wit, and irreverent attitude to life. A terrific book for teens and adults alike and a worthy contender for this year’s One Book, One Vancouver choice.
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Morgan-Cole, Trudy J. This would be a great book for lovers of family sagas and, in particular, books about the people of Eastern Canada. Morgan-Cole’s book takes place in the 1920’s and speaks to the experiences of the 75,000 first and second generation Newfoundlanders who moved to Brooklyn to find work. An engaging read.
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Stanley, Kelli Well researched and rich in period detail, this noir inspired mystery is set in San Francisco’s Chinatown. The year is 1940, and private detective Miranda Corbie must use her tough-smart attitude and her commendable sense of social justice to solve a series of crimes that cross racial divides. A welcome addition to the noir canon and a must-read for historical mystery fans.
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Donlay, Philip S. This is the best disaster thriller I’ve read in a long time! While many books take a little time to get into the story, this is not the case with Code Black. The book jacket description begins with “A terrible blizzard, a grisly accident, a mid-air collision, and that’s only the beginning…” never were truer words written. From the prologue, where Donlay sets up to the story, to the first chapter, where the action begins ... you are hooked! He uses the chapters to take you from the tower to the cockpit, the storyline flows, the suspense builds and the characters will keep you turning the pages to learn their fates! Highly recommended!
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Edlow, Jonathan A. These are real life detective stories, describing internal and external medical problems, how they were diagnosed and treated. Edlow uses a combination of Dr. House and Sherlock Holmes to make the detection of the spread of typhoid in Boston, the life threatening effects of a tick, food poisoning, and air borne pathogens come alive. Informative and a good read.
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Savage, Sam The quirky adventures of a rat named Firmin, prove a booklover’s delight. Born in a bookstore, Firmin literally owes his life to the stock-in-trade of Shine Books and lives by the life-rule “good to eat is good to read.” Highly recommended.
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Toews, Miriam Unusual, off-beat novel about a young aunt and her niece and nephew trying to find the children’s father while their mother recovers in hospital from her latest bout of depression. To say that the plotlines are off kilter will in no way prepare the reader for the book’s charm and quirkiness. The dialogue both masks and reveals the characters’ feelings and emotions under layer-upon-coded-layer of hip-speak. A road trip like no other. Enjoy!
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Moore, Brian A Canadian woman living in New York City revisits her past life and marriages in a series of probing flashbacks. A friend of mine considers this one of the finest female narrators ever created by a male author. Critics consider this one of Moore’s finest novels.
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Erdrich, Louise Not quite magic realism and not quite fable, this is my favourite Erdrich novel. An ex-nun, Agnes Vogel, survives a flood and, in a case of mistaken identity, lives out her life on the Little No Horse Reservation as Father Damien Modeste. Charming and touching! This book would appeal to fans of Ruth Ozeki or Barbara Kingsolver. |
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Like Jane Austen before her, Warner knows that there are worse things in life than being a spinster beholding to your family. Despite the outrage her decision causes, Lolly Willowes decides to leave London and settle in the obscure, rural village of Great Mop. Slyly, and with great affection, Warner tells us just what those village ladies were up to on those moonlit nights. A welcome return to this fine novel first published in1926.
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In his final days, the Emperor Hadrian records a testament of his life. We learn of his childhood, his military and political careers and, especially, his relationship with the Greek youth Antinous. Fascinating account that will appeal to fans of historical fiction.
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McLynn, Pauline Another lovely story from McLynn. This one features an intergenerational story set in a small British town called Pennick. (The locals pronounce it as Panic.) Kitty Fulton is caring for her mother, May, as the latter slips into the final stages of Alzheimer’s. The two take a final trip to Egypt where Kitty discovers the world to be a far kinder place than she had imagined. Romantic entanglements, local history, and witty repartee make up the rest of the novel. Highly recommended
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Bi, Feiyu Fascinating account of Xiao Yanqiu, disgraced star of Peking Opera, who in her forties, is offered a come-back role in a restaging of the Moon Opera. Like many of China’s traditional art forms, opera suffered drastic changes during the Cultural Revolution. Although it is tempting to read this slim novel as political allegory, the real pleasure here is the brilliant portrait of its central character. Highly recommended.
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Rahimi, Atiq This compelling novella is the 2008 winner of Le Prix Goncourt. Left to care for her comatose husband who was wounded in factional fighting, an unnamed woman steps beyond the deference expected of a wife in a traditional Afghani household. Her startling, confessional voice is somewhat hampered by less than ideal translation from the French. A moving story.
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Garner, Helen Garner offers an unflinching portrait of a cancer patient in the final stages of her illness. This is one of the best depictions of the emotional and physical stress suffered by the patient’s caregiver I have ever read. Garner acknowledges not only the bonds of love and friendship, but also the frustration, fear, and anger the illness generates. Beautifully written and very moving.
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Kleypas, Lisa Wealthy and ruthless, Harry Rutledge compromised Poppy Hathaway in order to marry her but will sweet and innocent Poppy be able give Harry the love he craves from her after she discovers that he purposely manipulated her into marriage? This thoroughly enjoyable historical romance full of beguiling and engaging characters will entice you to read the rest of the author’s romances about the Hathaway clan.
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Schine, Cathleen When a 78 year-old man divorces his 75 year-old wife after 48 years of marriage, you know that a good story is about to unfold. Indeed “another woman” emerges much to the distress of the wife and two daughters, one an emotional, impulsive book publisher and the other a practical, thoughtful librarian. They all move from New York to a small, weathered Westport, Connecticut, beach cottage to support each other with humour, compassion, irritation and exasperation. Love and loss is experienced by all and Ms. Schine has captured family dynamics perfectly for all the generations. A great, fun read.
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Dunne, Dominick Dominick Dunne, the well known writer for Vanity Fair, and author of People Like Us and The Two Mrs. Grenvilles, has written his final book. The book portrays the last years of Gus Bailey, a society author, who chronicles his terrifying legal woes of being sued for $11 million for slander by a congressman that he has accused “of knowing more than he was admitting about the case of the famous missing intern, Diandra Lomax.” Gus continues to attend social functions in New York as he is “a popular fellow, who gets asked to the best parties in New York, Los Angeles, London, and Paris, and goes to most of them.” And here Mr. Dunne excels in conveying the colour, sights and sounds of the players at lunch, dinner, in prison, or out. The descriptions of bespoke suits, orchids, salaries for the maids and butlers, cars, private planes and Gus’s beloved Turnbull & Asser shirts from London make the lives of the rich, famous and infamous come alive.
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Bakker, Gerbrand This was one of my favourite books of 2009. Bakker parallels the seasonal cycles on a Dutch farm with the physical and emotional changes taking place in the Van Wonderen family. Themes of grief and reconciliation are handled with great subtlety and restraint. This would be a good book club choice. This was the grand prize winner of the 2009 Impac Dublin Literary Award. Recommended.
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Lansens, Lori Mary Gooch lives an isolated life with her handsome husband “Gooch” in a small farming town in Ontario. On the eve of their 25th wedding anniversary, Gooch disappears and Mary decides to abandon her sheltered life to pursue him across America. She encounters many different people from all walks of life and finds kindness where she least expects it. With characters you can’t help but love, Lansens brings us a touching and heart warming tale of one woman’s journey to independence. Well written and highly recommended.
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A true eccentric, Joan Grant put herself into a trance-like state and dictated a series of historical novels she says were based on her own past life experiences. Grant offers fine period detail and an unmatchable sense of intimacy. Her Egyptian series is especially good. |
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Carter, Angela Meet the elderly twin sisters Dora and Nora Chance, better known in their vaudeville heyday as The Lucky Chances. Born the illegitimate daughters of a famous Shakespearean actor, Sir Melchior Hazard, Nora and Dora’s lives follow the twists and turns of history and tangled family events in an attempt to have their biological father acknowledge them as his daughters. Not only is Wise Children a dazzling backstage glimpse at popular culture, Carter allows her characters moments of deep insight as when Dora recalls the moment in her life when she first felt true happiness. Dora goes on to reflect, “How frail a thing your happiness can be! We went from the ridiculous to the sublime, and broke our hearts, as well.” Highly recommended.
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Follett, Ken World Without End is set 200 years after the building of the cathedral in Kingsbridge, England. This long awaited sequel (18 years) to Follett’s The Pillars of the Earth, introduces us to a new builder Merthin and his love Caris, a natural healer and leader. They love each deeply. The novel traces the twisted paths of their lives in 14th century England which is at war with France. Accusations of witchcraft, feelings of jealousy, and ambition threaten to keep them apart. The cathedral and the teachings of the church and the Prior dominate and restrict the business and personal lives in the village. There is constant conflict between the old teachings and the new scientific observations of common sense that is brought to a dramatic conclusion fighting the Black Death. This is a great historical romance set in a turbulent, dangerous and fascinating time.
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