Karen F.'s Picks
Crescent by Diane Abu-Jaber
You are transported through sight, sound and smells into Sirine's kitchen, where she is the chef at a small Lebanese restaurant in the middle of an Arab-American community in L.A. Abu-Jaber's language is beautiful and sensual. Sirine is 29, unmarried, living with her Iraqi uncle and is more passionate about her cooking than any boyfriend she's had - until she meets Han. Hanif is an exiled Iraqi professor and forces Sirine to examine her broken past. Crescent is part romance and part cultural discovery. It is a lovely read for all ages.
W. W. Norton & Co.
This is a wonderfully told story about a little known part of the devastation of WWII. Jan and Antonina are the caretakers of the Warsaw Zoo; when WWII reaches Poland they are able to use the zoo cages, the animals, and the Jews from the Warsaw ghetto and the concentration camps. Ackerman has deftly interspersed what could be a horrific war story with tidbits of life and stories of the funny antics of the animals that inhabit their lives. The book is as powerful as it is poignant, heartbreaking, and yeat full of the resilience and goodness of the human spirit. I loved it!
W. W. Norton & Co.
The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean
This is a wonderful book! Based on a true story, told in flashbacks, you relieve Marina's life as a docent at the Hermitage during the siege of Leningrad. Her job is to dismantle the artworks, the Madonnas, and ready them for safekeeping. As the war creeps in, Marina, her family and the staff move into the basement to survive, while her dear firend Dmitri is off at war. To keep her sanity, Marina creates a memory palace where she can retreat; she walks the rooms, now vacant of the madonnas, as though they were still present. Fast forward to the present, Marina's granddaughter is getting married; Marina is losing her hold on present day and living more and more in the past. It is beautifully written and so touching, without being maudlin.
Highly recommended!
HarperCollins Publishers
Ok, I have wanted to read this book since it came out but never managed to do so. With all the Oprah hype I finally took the time and I love it! A Million Little Pieces is everything Oprah said it is--painful yet inspirational--worthy of all the acclaim given it. It is an incredible account of one young man's struggle for survival in a life filled with addiction. Along witht he phusical abuse he has subjected his body to, his family and friends have been subjected to great amounts of emotional pain. this is his story of his struggle and successes and it is compelling!
Knopf Publishing Group
This is the heart wrenching memoir of a young woman, raised in a “Good Family” in a small community in New Hampshire. In 1964, at the age of 16, as things begin to disintegrate within her own family, Meredith makes a poor choice, ending up pregnant. What happens next is mind boggling- her family and community, inexcusably, shun her. She is forced to live with her father and his cold wife, retreating to the upstairs when there are people round. Ironically, just when Meredith needs her mother’s love the most, it is snatched away from her. How she ends up, pulling things together to make a life for herself make an incredible, stunning, yet ultimately healing story.
Beacon Press
Holy Fools by Joanne Harris
The author transports us back to the 17th century, to a time of intrigue, deception, and masquerade, laced of course with her characteristic flair for mysticism. Juliette has fled from her demon lover and her past of rope dancing to an isolated abbey, with her 5 year old daughter, Fleur. The tale unfolds from there and it is mesmerising. Highly recommended!
HarperCollins Publishers
Ishiguro's latest work is a masterpiece of understatement. Told through the voice of the placid Kathy H., who is preparing to begin the next phase of her life, the story is revealed in a series of reflections of her past. Growing up in an idyllic country setting in a seemingly privileged English boarding school, Kathy and her close friends Ruth and Tommy learn poetry and art and are made to feel special. But as details are revealed subtly, beautifully and ever so slowly, truth begins to dawn on the reader that things are not as they seem. Like the children in the story, there is much the readers are "told but not told." The book is haunting and leads to some very interesting thoughts on the topic of science without ethics. I couldn't put it down!
Knopf Publshing Group
Jackson is back with another quirky, charming novel set in the South. Protagonist Nonny is caught between 2 feuding families; she is the adopted daughter of Stacia, one of the 3 lovable, sassy sisters. Stacia is deaf and Nonny has become a strong hearing impaired translator. Through a series of bad to worse incidents, the cycle of Mother-Daughter pairings is continually explored, the characters are vivid and colorful, and the story is fun. A very enjoyable read!
Grand Central Publishing
Gods in Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson
This is a wonderful read! Gods in Alabama tells the story of why mistakes made, covered up, by one at an early age may not be what they seem! This is full of funny and endearing characters with plenty of backbone. It reassures us that no matter where you may hail from, we are all ultimately the same. I loved it!
Grand Central Publishing
The outbreak of cholera in London, 1854 was one of its deadliest. This book chronicles the work of Dr. John Snow who painstakingly "mapped" the outbreak of cholera and connected it to one water source. Snow was ahead of his time and the local media people were resistant to this line of thinking. However, the modern day medical society consider him responsible for changing the way we think about disease and how it is spread. The book is compelling and reads like a novel - very Devil in the White City-ish.
Penguin Group
Civil war rages on the fictional island of Bougainville in the early 1990's; 13-year old Matilda and her mother fight for survival, along with the other remaining islanders, when the only local white man, Mr. Watts, volunteers to teach the children. He reads to them from his only book, Dickens' Great Expectations. The children, particularly Matilda, are soon swept away from their immediate troubles and taken into the imaginary world of Pip. Conflict builds as Matilda's mother becomes more and more distrustful of Mr. Watts and the story of Pip; she feels like she is battling Mr. Watts for Matilda's soul. Outrageous acts occur when the soldiers return and try to track down this man called "Pip." Jones writes with faultless prose -- it is a beautifully written, if horrific story, and ultimately Matilda discovers that whatever happens in your life, your "voice" is your own and special and no one can take that from you. Shortlisted for the Man Book award in 2007, this book isdeserving of all of its accolades. Highly recommended!
Dell Publishing
The Trudeau Vector by Juris Jurjevics
This is a great thriller! The first few pages were tough for me to get through (think Clancy and too much information) but once you get through the beginning detail the story whisks along. Likeable characters, full of intrique, suspense and bio-terrorism (think Crichton) with a fascinating account of life at the top of the world! I highly recommend it.
Penguin Group
I loved this book! This is a solid, meaty read - full of intrique and passion. You are pulled into Berlin at the end of WWII where things are not always as they seem, and the Black Market jumps to life. A fascinating read.
Picador
Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Fight Terrorism and Build Nations One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson
This is a fabulous story- a true example of the human spirit! The author, a trauma nurse by trade with a passion for mountain climbing, fails at his attempt to summit K2. He ends up stranded in a small unmapped village in Baltistan. There he finds a group of people who have nothing but give him everything. He decides he needs to do something to help them and promises to come back and build them a school. Many obstacles and setbacks slow his progress but he succeeds, and has since built 55 schools in the area.
This truly goes to show you what one man with passion can do, in the face of many odds. Very inspirational and a great read!
Penguin Group
Four Spirits by Sena Jeter Naslund
Four Spirits was truly a compelling read- you are drawn into a particularly painful part of our history through her choice of interestingly drawn characters. The story parallels events of the time and is told through various voices that lend credence and humanity to the story, which is in turn haunting and intriguing. Four Spirits has no “Hollywood” ending, but the ending is appropriate and feels right. In spite of its painful subject matter, it is inspiring and hopeful, and on top of that written beautifully. Definitely worth tackling!
HarperCollins Publishers
For all of you Michael Connolly fans, I say look out Harry Bosch, there's a new guy in town! Well, make that Norway . . . set in Norway, The Redbreast introduces us to Det. Harry Hole, a washed-up detective with the uncanny ability to solve the most unsolvable crimes. The story flips from past to present as it takes us back to WWII where the setup for a present day crime is unfolding. This is smartly written and fast paced, with twists and turns until the very last page!
HarperCollins Publishers
Astrid and Veronika by Linda Olsson
Sweet wild strawberries, gravlox and lingnonberries, dry bone chilling cold-you can almost smell and feel Sweden in this moving story of two women's friendship. Astrid, living alone in a big house on an isolated street outside of town, is considerded by many to be the town witch. Veronika is a young writer who has just moved from New Zealand after losing the love of her life in a tragic accident. Both have hidden secrets and as the women slowly get acquainted, secrets are revealed, layers of pain and solitude are stripped away, slowly, slowly as the ice melts, creating a very real feeling of a thaw. Beautifully written, hypnotic prose pulls you along in this wonderful novel of friendship.
Penguin Group
The Schooling of Claybird Catts by Janis Owens
Here's a fresh, at times funny, but always honest new novel for you. You'll watch the very likeable, wise beyond his years, "Claybird Catts" grow up - and sometimes a very bumpy ride - poignant yet very charming - I really liked it.
HarperCollins Publishers
This book is so much fun. It's smart, literary fiction, modeled after the writing style of a college syllabus, with chapters named Othello, Moby-Dick and Paradise Lost, among others. Following the sudden death of her mother, Blue and her eccentric college professor father travel from community to community, depending on where he is teaching at the moment. Much time is spent traveling by car, discussing books, books, and more books. This doesn't lead to much of a social life, to say the least. When Blue and her dad set up a home in Stockton, NC, for her senior year, things take a turn. The story quickly become a kind of murder mystery, and you won't want to put it down. I savored every moment!
Penguin Group
The quote on the back of the book hits the nail on the head - "tender, tough, and tearful" - yes, all of that plus a great story about sisters, families, and life! Written in a very unique style, this will grab you from the beginning.
Little, Brown & Company
A dusty box discovered in the remains of a basement of an old North Carolina plantation house opens the door to the reader on an extraordinary life from the past. The treasures include an 1870’s diary of a young girl, letters, court documents, news clippings, marbles, dolls, etc.; all allowing us to meet the irrepressible Molly Petree, the protagonist from Lee Smith’s newest novel. Raised in the ruin of the post-Civil War era by relatives, Molly refuses to waste time on self pity. She means to live life to the fullest, so when a mysterious benefactor shows up to rescue her, she doesn’t look back, until she is an old woman and returns to the old family home on “Agate Hill.” Molly lives her life with the throttle on high, risking everything to remain true to herself. Spanning half a century, On Agate Hill is a novel of love, unexpected adventures and luck, both good and bad. This is a wonderful piece of historical fiction with flesh and blood characters and equal doses of comedy and tragedy. Lee Smith at her finest!
Workman Publishing
Buy This Book
This is a phenomenal read - it’s bizarre but oh, so compelling! Taking place immediately following 9/11, we meet our unlikely hero, ex-cop, Brian Remy. Remy is suffering from eye damage and memory gaps due to the explosion, and the novel is written from his point of view, thus following a style that stops and starts. He ends up involved in a shadowy covert operation in which he has no idea of how he became involved. This style of writing takes a bit of getting used to but you are soon totally engrossed; it is darkly comic and sticks with you long after you have finished. Highly recommended!
HarperCollins Publishers