All wars
are fought again in retrospect as the tactics, victories and losses are
reviewed for whatever lessons can be learned. For anyone who had any
reservations about the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, Breaking Iraq: The Ten Mistakes That Broke Iraq ($28.95, History
Publishing Company) by Col. Ted Spain, U.S. Army (ret) and Terry Turchie, Asst.
Deputy Director FBI (ret) will either confirm your worst fears about it or open
your eyes to what occurred in the first year of the war. The primary voice,
Col. Spain, was a commander of the military police brigade that was primarily
responsible for restoring security for both U.S. forces and the Iraqis in the
wake of the initial success of the “shock and awe” campaign that put our forces
in Baghdad shortly after the invasion began. What Col. Spain found was evident
to those of us sitting safely at home in front of our TVs. Baghdad and the rest
of Iraq was in a state of chaos in the absence of the brutal Saddam Hussein
regime. There was extensive looting and criminality. If that wasn’t bad enough,
the war was a logistical mess for our troops, some of which were wearing
Vietnam-era flak jackets. The authors meticulously report the events of that
first year in which Col. Spain interacted with the highest levels of command in
Iraq while wondering how stupid those back in the Pentagon and even the White
House could be given the internal warring factions, the lack of law
enforcement, and the insurgency that followed in the wake of the invasion. This
book makes a major contribution to understanding the war.
Like most
people I only pay attention to the Supreme Court when there is a critical case
before them. It has a long history of making both some good and some very bad
decisions. For those who find the law of interest, Murder at the Supreme Court: Lethal Crimes and Landmark Cases by
Martin Clancy and Tim O’Brien ($26.00, Prometheus Books) will prove a rewarding
read. As they note, in 1969 the Court cast votes in secret that could have
signaled the end of the death penalty, but later the justice’s resolve began to
unravel. The two authors, both journalists,
pull back the curtain of secrecy that surrounds the Court’s
deliberations and reveal crucial links between landmark capital punishment
cases that the lethal crimes at their root. These are the cases “that made the
law” defining the parameters that judges must follow for a death sentence to
stand up to an appeal. What we learn is that those subject to that decision
have often been the subject of child abuse, often black, often poorly educated,
and often poorly represented by their lawyers. The issues involved are often
difficult to parse, both morally and legally. The way things are today, a
condemned killer is more likely to die of old age on death row than to be
executed, with the exception of the State of Texas.
One of my
favorite authors is Mark Twain. Thomas J. Reigstad has written Scribblin’ for a Livin’: Mark Twain’s
Pivotal Period in Buffalo ($19.00, Prometheus Books, softcover). In August
1896, a 33-year-old journalist named Samuel Clemens moved to Buffalo, New York,
with high hopes of becoming a successful newspaper editor of the Buffalo
Morning Express in what was a thriving, up-and-coming metropolis at the end of
the Erie Canal. Reigstad, a Twain scholar, details the domestic, social, and
professional experiences of Twain when he lived and worked there. Twain would
go on to become one of the nation’s most famous and successful authors, but his
formative years are of interest and I think any of his fans, as well as
students and scholars of American literature will find this treasure trove of
information about his years in Western New York worth reading. People who write
for a living love good similes that paint a big picture in a few words.
Everyone uses them when they say things like “strong as an ox” or “busy as a
bee.” Happily, the second edition of the Similes
Dictionary, edited by Elyse Sommer, ($29.95, Visible Ink Press) has been
published and it is packed with imaginative phrases on all subjects. It cites
more than 2,000 sources from the Bible, Socrates, Shakespeare, and, yes, Mark
Twain. Keeping it handy can make anything you write sparkle and is a useful
tool for students, speakers, teachers, lawyers, and politicians, among others.
It is a great aid to those seeking a quotation and well-turned phrase.
How often
I look back at my youth and formative years and wish--beyond the excellent
upbringing of my parents--that I could have unlocked the secrets of creating
and maintaining good relationships with others. As often as not, we all make
mistakes and, if this is your concern as well, I recommend you pick up a copy
of Cue Cards for Life: Thoughtful Tips
for Better Relationships ($12.95, Hunter House, softcover) by Christina Steinorth, a licensed
psychotherapist and Board Certified Diplomate in professional counseling. For
more than a decade of private practice, she has helped hundreds of people heal
their relationships. The “cue cards” in this excellent book offer a variety of
behavior and attitude changes that can make anyone’s life go smoother. She
advises that we master three basic tools for any good relationship; listening,
managing feelings, and being sensitive. It’s not always ease in a society where
“I come first” is often the unspoken message. Her book will help you keep from
hurting another’s feelings, saying something hurtful or that we don’t mean, or
failing to say or do the right thing. You will learn how to navigate perplexing
family challenges, from births to deaths, and deal with aging parents, in-laws,
and other loved ones. You will learn to engage in meaningful talk with your
kids—especially teenagers—and communicate effectively with bosses, employees,
and coworkers. You will sail through awkward parties and intimidating public
events. I am inclined to think that, after reading this book, your life will
become a lot easier in many ways. A useful addition to “Cue Cards” is “Why Do I Feel This Way?” What Your
Feelings Are Trying to Tell You by Dina L. Wilcox ($16.95, Mill City,
softcover). The author takes on the life of the brain on behalf of
non-scientists like herself, answering questions of why we do what we do,
blending humanistic psychology with brain science while sharing her own life
with a deeply personal story of the feelings that haunted her after the death
of her husband from AIDS during the height of that epidemic. This is a book
about how we talk to ourselves through our memories, our fears, our loves, in
our quest for happiness. If you find yourself asking yourself the question
posed by the title, you should read this book.
Uncle Billy’s Grim, But Wholesome
Bedtime Stories (with a Smidge of Poetry) by B. Oscar Overbeck ($25.00, Charing Cross Press, Ann
Arbor, MI) is now in its third edition and would normally be in the “Novels”
section of Bookviews, but it deserves special mention as a collection of
twenty-two short stories in which the talented author blurs the line between
reality and make-believe, all inspired from his personal life. He farmed for
twenty-five years and ran a gift store for ten. Natives of Nebraska, he and his
wife moved to Colorado Springs, where he returned to his greatest gift, writing
from his unique point of view, but you will find influences ranging from
Stephen King, the Brothers Grimm, Dr. Seuss, and Rod Serling in these stories.
You will congratulate yourself for “discovering” him along with many others who
have had that pleasure. You can check it out at www.UncleBillystories.com.
Reading History
I confess
that, for me, Bunker Hill, has just been the name of the opening battle in the
U.S. Revolution, following the skirmishes at Lexington and Concord. I did not
know much more about it than that. Happily, Nathaniel Philbrick has filled in
that gap with Bunker Hill: A City, A
Siege, A Revolution ($32.95, Viking), providing the reader with an
understanding of the events and personalities that were the real origins of the
war that led to the establishment of America. It goes beyond the Founding
Fathers, the Declaration of Independence, and the usual elements we are taught
in school, focusing on the decades-long struggle that led a group of merchants,
farmers, artisans, and sailors to take up arms against their own country the
most powerful empire of its time, England. Boston was already a city of 15,000
and the tension that built up climaxed in June 1775 with the Battle of Bunker
Hill. The book’s special appeal is the way Philbrick has brought the story
alive, making it an exciting tale about the arrogance of the British who kept
imposing taxes and penalties on Boston, the Tea Party, and increasing incidents
that enflamed not only its citizens, but the many Massachusetts communities
adjacent to it and ultimately all of the colonies. The personalities involved,
both American and British are brought to life again, the events and
preparations leading up to the battle, the spies, and ultimately the battle and
the Revolution combine for a compelling, exciting story.
George
Washington and Thomas Jefferson have become mythic figures in America’s history,
but we tend to forget that they were flesh-and-blood men whose acts and
decisions not only gave birth to the nation, but shaped its history to come. Blood of Tyrants: George Washington and the
Forging of the Presidency ($27.99, Encounter Books) by Logan Beirne reveals
how Washington created the template by which future presidencies would
function, dealing often with many of the same problems. When should military
tribunals be used instead of civilian trials? How should enemy prisoners be
treated? How should citizen’s rights be protected when the nation is struggling
to defend itself? One of the best aspects of this book are the vivid stories
from the Revolution, many quite different from what most of us learned in
school or even college. They set the stage for Washington’s pivotal role in the
drafting of the Constitution and his dogged pursuit of the war against the
British despite daunting problems and odd, not the least of which was the
congressional committee. Only Washington’s steely character and strong moral
beliefs got us through to victory and beyond. The author is an attorney with
impressive academic credentials. He is the Olin Scholar at Yale Law School.
Readers will profit from reading this excellent book. Framing a Legend: Exposing the Distorted History of Thomas Jefferson
and Sally Hemings by M. Andrew Holowchak ($25.00, Prometheus Books) adds a
new chapter to the debate over the relationship between Jefferson and a slave
and rebuts the claim that he fathered one of her children. Suffice to say it
challenges many of the accepted “truths” developed by who have advanced this
story, bringing a penetrating, critical perspective to the question of
Jefferson’s paternity, his racial attitudes, and other aspects of the legend.
The last
two decades of the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation that replaced it as
seen by Dmity Rogozin can be found in The
Hawks of Peace: Notes of the Russian Ambassador ($28.20, Glagoslav
Publications). Written, of course, from a Russian point of view, it provides
lots of insight into the way the events and personalities leading up to the
collapse of the USSR played out. Rogozn is a Deputy Premier of Russia and had a
front-row seat at the events and the people involved. His book shares his
evaluation of them and provides a look at post-Communist Russia. A former
Permanent Representative of Russia to NATO, he reflects on the complex
relationship of Russia and the West. His book addresses his view of men like
Gorbachev and Yeltzin, the political stand-offs and military conflicts, and
sheds light on the terrorist acts and hostage situations that occurred during
the Chechen War. For the Western reader it demonstrates how a Russian
nationalist and patriot saw the world and his nation, and interpreted it.
Suffice to say, it is well worth reading.
To Your Health
A health
problem that affects many men is addressed in Prostate Cancer Breakthroughs ($12.95, Oceansong Publishing) by Jay
S. Cohen, MD. As he notes, “A quiet revolution in the
diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer is underway, but many doctors and
most men diagnosed with prostate cancer have not heard about it. Instead, today
men are quickly dispatched for aggressive treatment such as prostate surgery or
radiation, both of which can affect men's sexual or bladder competence
permanently. The numbers are startling: 85% of men diagnosed with prostate
cancer get surgery or radiation, yet only 15% actually need it.” Prostate
cancer is the most common cancer in men and the author takes readers, step by
step, along a better path to a cure, introducing a new diagnostic process than
enables doctors to differentiate dangerous prostate cancers from
non-threatening ones while detailing four new treatment methods designed to
target different types and various stages. The author was diagnosed with this
cancer in December 2011 and it led him to undertake the research that results
in this very useful book.
From
Central Recovery Press, a publisher that focuses on various elements of medical
and psychological care, come two books that will prove useful. Some Assembly Required: A Balanced Approach
to Recovery from Addiction and Chronic Pain by Dan Mager ($16.95,
softcover) an instructive story of his own struggle with addiction and chronic
pain. A behavioral health professional, he documents how these problems
spiraled out of control and presents a model for recovery from both
life-altering conditions. This is a warning against the fastest-growing drug
problem, addiction to so-called pain-killers. I have no doubt this book will
prove helpful to anyone encountering these problems. Why Can’t My Child Stop Eating? A Guide to Helping Your Child Overcome
Emotional Overeating by Debbie Danowski, PhD, looks at food addictions, offering
real-world solutions to the social, emotional, and physical problems of obese
and overweight children and their families. It arrives at a time when more and
more people are aware of this nationwide problem in their own lives and those
of others.
What Did You Say? An
Unexpected Journey into the World of Hearing Loss ($16.95, Two Harbors
Press, softcover) addresses a problem affecting an estimated 48 million
Americans over the age of 12 who have had hearing loss in one or both ears.
Monique E. Hammond, RPh, has worked in health care in Europe, the United
States, and Australia. This is, in part, her personal story in addition to
being an educational guide for anyone who is or who knows someone who is
experiencing hearing loss. It examines basic hearing and emotional implications
as well as checklists for preparing to meet with specialists. This book will
help millions like her. Alive Again: Recovering from Alcoholism and
Drug Addiction by Dr. Howard C. Samuels with Jane O’Boyle ($24.95, Wiley)
The author knows about this subject because his first arrest for drug
possession was at age 17 and he struggled with his addiction until conquering
it in 1984. He has since gone on to become one of the nation’s experts on the
subject, running the Hills Treatment Center in Los Angeles. He shares the
program that saved and changed his life and anyone seeking to escape these
additions would do themselves a big favor if they read this book cover to
cover.
Eating Expectantly: Practical Advice
for Health Eating Before, During and After Pregnancy by Bridget Swinney, MS, RD, is now in
its fourth edition ($19.95, Healthy Food Zone Media, softcover) so you know it
has been tested and its advice works. There are more than 120,000 copies in
print. The new edition has been thoroughly updated and expanded. Eating
properly can contribute to the newborn’s health and not doing so can “program”
them for problems that include diabetes, high blood pressure, and asthma. When
first published, it was selected as one of “Child” magazine’s Top Ten Parenting
Books of the Year. This nutrition expert has done a lot of mothers and their
children a big favor with this excellent book. The flip side of eating too much
is eating too little or anorexia, a condition in which the individual is
obsessed with being thin. Emma Woolf has written a memoir, An Apple a Day, ($16.95, Soft Skull Press, softcover) about her
addiction to hunter, exercise and control, a full-fledged disorder, while also
managing a successful career. The title comes from what she often ate daily and
nothing else. At age 32, after a decade of hiding the truth, she had met the
man of her dreams and decided it was time to start living a normal life. This
is a life-affirming story and one that would help anyone with a similar
disorder, as well as those in the medical and mental health professions to
provide some valuable insights. It is well
worth reading.
Other People’s Lives
The gift
of memoirs is the way they provide a look into our own lives. The Forest House: A Year’s Journey Into the
Landscape of Love, Loss and Starting Over by Joelle Fraser ($16.95,
Counterpoint Press, softcover) in which she shares her life after her divorce.
She was determined to ease her young son’s transition to joint custody by
staying near her ex-husband, moving to the closest far-away place she can find,
a one bedroom home off a one lane road tucked deep in the forests of the Sierra
Nevada Mountains. This is her story as she starts to rebuild her life, finding
solace in the passages of her favorite books, strength from researching her
fascinating family history, and peace, in rescuing and rehabilitating injured
animals. Ultimately she learns to accept her choices and discovers gratitude,
strength, and resolve beneath her pain. Any newly single parent will find much
to learn and enjoy in this memoir. In a similar fashion, Dena A. Bedsole offers
her story in A New View of an Old
Horizon ($14.95, softcover), a personal account of a daughter’s quest to
discover herself in the wake of her father’s battle with pancreatic cancer.
This is her account of a yearlong journey to find a new balance between her
life as a wife and mother, and caring for her dying father. It is a heartfelt
story told with raw honesty, the kind we all need to cope with loss and go on
living.
Love with a Chance of Drowning by Torre DeRoche ($14.99, Hyperion,
softcover) is an entertaining memoir by an Australian city girl with a morbid
fear of deep water who fell in love with an Argentinian man with a sailboat and
a dream of setting off to explore the world. Soon enough she has to confront a
decision of either watching the man she loves sail away forever or head off on
the journey with him. Her memoir is of a year-long voyage across the Pacific.
These days they live together in Thailand in a $5-a-night bungalow with a
million-dollar view.
Letters from the Closet by Amy Hollingsworth ($19.99, Howard
Books, a division of Simon and Schuster, softcover) is the story of a deeply
intimate yet platonic relationship between a gay high school English teacher
and his young protégée—each seeking connection and acceptance—as reflected by
the decade of letters they exchanged. They were a treasured connection that was
locked away for years and a poignant commentary on the values that unite us
all. This is a look at an era when many homosexuals were still “in the closet.”
The author wrote for eight years for the “The 700 Club” and holds a degree in
counseling psychology, along with a degree in both English and psychology.
Those who
love basketball will love the story of former NBA star, Anfernee “Penny”
Hardaway as told in On These Courts: A
Miracle Season that Changes a City, a Once-Future Star, and a Team Forever
as told by Wayne Drash ($26.00, Touchstone, an imprint of Simon and Schuster).
Hardaway grew up in Binghampton, a rough section of Memphis, but his talent as
a basketball player and the values imparted by a no-nonsense grandmother, kept
him away from the gangs and drugs in the neighborhood. Everyone was sure he was
the next superstar player, but he was plagued by injuries and eventually
returned to Memphis wondering what he would do next. An old friend, diagnosed
with colon cancer, needed someone to replace him as head coach of the Lester
Middle School team. He coached them to their first championship win, but he did
much more, helping them cope and overcome the challenging environment in which
they lived. This is a story of hope and inspiration, of struggle and triumph.
It helps that its author, a senior producer for CNN.com, was named one of the
best online writers in America who, as it turns out, also coaches a grade-school
basketball team in Atlanta.
Odds and Ends
There are
books that do not fit into any particular category and are unique for their
topic or some other aspect.
One such
is The Birth of an Opera by Michael
Rose ($35.00, W.W. Norton) which will surely please fans of opera with its
stories behind the creation of fifteen operas by composers that range from
Mozart to Beethoven, Bizet to Alban Berg’s “Wozzeck”, a span of four centuries.
Rose drew on correspondences between composers, librettists, performers and
critics to take the reader behind the scenes to tell the stories of how fifteen
operas came to be created and the travails, luck and genius of those who
undertook these challenging projects. Even someone who has never seen an opera
would find these stories interesting. In the early nineteenth century opera was
considered the best road to worldly success for a composer, but just imagine
what it must have been like to merge music, a libretto, stagecraft, and drama
all in one. Beethoven was writing “Fidelio” as his hearing began to fail and
Bizet would die shortly after “Carmen” debuted, never to know what a success it
would become.
We can all
use a good laugh. Humor is great medicine and blows away our daily cares. Mary
I. Farr is a health care marketing executive who is also the author of four
books, the most recent of which is Never
Say Neigh ($12.95, Two Harbors Press, softcover) in which the narrator is a
handsome American quarter horse, Noah Vail, but Noah is no ordinary horse.
After a brush with fame on an Oklahoma race track, he turned to blogging and
has a large Face Book fan club. Mary is his assistant and together they motor
around in his Comfy Sundowner trailer as he hosts cribbage tournaments and
offer his views on human behavior, the economy, and dishing out horse hilarity
as he views the world through equine eyes. It is a wonderful book, but
especially for anyone who loves horses. There’s lots of humor to be found in My Planet: Finding Humor in the Oddest
Places by Mary Roach ($14.99, Reader’s Digest, softcover). She has a sharp
eye for our various forms of neurotic behavior, whether it’s hypochondriacs,
hoarders, or compulsive cheapskates. The book is a tonic as she describes
marriage as “a unit of people whose sleep habits are carefully engineered to
keep each other awake” referring to her husband as “the man I call Ed.” Married
couples will find a treasure of shared experiences, but Ms. Roach ranges widely
with a sharp, often sarcastic, eye over the landscape of human behavior as it
confronts our daily challenges. It’s a real treat.
Sidney Lea
is an American poet, novelist, essayist, editor and professor who is currently
the Poet Laureate of Vermont. He has taught at many of the Ivy League colleges
and his work appears in forty anthologies. His latest book is A North Country Life: Tales of Woodsmen,
Waters, and Wildlife ($24,95, Skyhorse Publishing). His book will
especially appeal to sportsmen and women who love the outdoors and notes the
loss of crucial mentors who shaped his life, a lost generation of those who
could turn their hand to anything from cooking without electricity or gas, to
dressing wild food, or to carpentry. He
has spent his life as a hunter, angler, and paddler, evoking the forests and
waters of upper New England and the lives of a cast of characters who come
alive with his skillful prose. This book is an elegy to those in tune with
nature. People who share his love of nature will especially enjoy this book but
even a city born and bred reader will find it a great reading experience.
The
travel writer, Matt Gross, offers essays on his adventures in The Turk Who Loved Apples and Other Tales
of Losing My Way Around the World ($15.99, Da Capo Press, softcover). It is
a celebration of independent travel and begins with his first trip as a young
child in the back seat of his family’s station wagon through New England. His
travels have afforded him a wealth of stories, taking him from Third World
countries to fabled European ports. Along the way he met a rich variety of
people and include discovering a “nudie beach” in the Gulf Islands of British
Columbia to being taken in by a Slovakian family on a rainy night. Gross is a
graceful writer whose has penned nearly 200 article for The New York Times
travel section, including his columns, “Frugal Traveler” and “Getting Lost.” He
is the editor of BonAppetit.com and lives in exotic Brooklyn with his wife and
daughter.
It took me
a long time to acquaint myself with the Greek philosophers, discovering how
much they knew millennia ago and how much of what they knew applies to our lives
today. Aviezer Tucker has done us a favor by writing Plato for Everyone ($21.00, Prometheus Books, softcover) in which
he recasts Plato’s dialogues into accessible and entertaining short stories in
modern settings. “Euthyphro” becomes a story of a televangelist bent on
disowning his son at a denominational boarding school in rural Virginia and
“Crito” is retitled “What have you done for your country?” as a U.S. citizen
considers a current war unjust and contemplates avoiding the draft by moving to
Canada. Need it be said that the author has taught philosophy at universities
around the world and is currently teaching at the University of Texas-Austin? The
big questions, what is good and bad, what is virtue, and what constitutes a
meaningful life were addressed by Plato and are recast in this entertaining and
enjoyable book.
When it
comes to “odd” The Resurrectionist: The
Lost Work of Dr. Spencer Black by E.B. Hudspeth ($24.95, Quirk Books)
certainly fits that description. It is a work of fiction and art by the author
who asked himself, if angels were real physical beings, how would their wings
be attached? An artist and sculptor, he began to create anatomical images of
fabled creatures like the sphinx, sirens, satyrs, and others, creating the
character of Dr. Black to pull them together in the book as a kind of biography.
It is a significant work of imagination, though it may not appeal to a wide
audience given the bizarre images. If you’re into skeletons and musculature,
this odd book will provide ample entertainment.
Books for Younger Readers
One of my
special friends is Tania Grossinger, a longtime fellow member of the American
Society of Journalists and Authors. Little did I know that one of her friends
when she was a young girl and for years thereafter was the baseball legend,
Jackie Robinson. She met him went he and his wife visited Grossinger’s, a famed
Catskills resort run by her cousins; many celebrities would spend time there. Jackie and Me: A Very Special Friendship,
illustrated beautifully by Charles George Esperanza, ($16.95, Sky Horse Press)
is ideal for young readers ages 5 to 8. It is the story of when they met first
in 1951 when Tania was 13 years old; a girl who felt out of place and insecure
much of the time. Jackie saw something special in her and invited her to play a
game of ping-pong when he learned she liked the game. In time she would learn
he was the first African-American to play in the major leagues as a member of
the fabled Brooklyn Dodgers. He knew what it felt like to feel out of place,
but he also was secure in his skills and blessed with character and a personality
that won over fans. They would stay in touch over the years until his passing
in 1972. This is a wonderful story, simply told, and a great tribute to a great
man.
A young
set, ages 3 to 6, will thoroughly enjoy It’s
a Firefly Night by Dianne Ochiltree ($12.99, Blue Apple Books) demonstrates
her great talent as a writer for children. With art by Betsy Snyder it uses
simply rhymes to tell the story of joy of capturing fireflies and letting them
go. It is a lovely story for a parent and child to share, most likely at
bedtime, capturing the simple, unforgettable fun and unforgettable memories of
childhood. For the child learning numbers there’s Flowers by Number written by David Shapiro and illustrated by
Hayley Vair ($14.95, Craigmore Creations) for those aged 4 and up. It starts
with zero and counts up to ten while showcasing a different flower with each
number. Sometimes readers count the petals or flower parts, or the flowers
themselves. So they learn counting and the names of various flowers at the same
time. It is an intriguing way to learn these things.
Another
counting book is National Geographic
Little Kids Ocean Counting by Janet Lawler with photos by Brian Skerry
($16.95, National Geographic) and while the “flowers” will appeal to little
girls, this one will appeal to both girls and boys, ages 4 to 6. The photos are
excellent as one might expect of a National Geographic book and the text is an
enjoyable learning experience. Also from National Geographic is The World is Waiting for You by Barbara
Kerley ($17.95). With sparse text and eye-catching photos, this book invites
the reader to explore the world around them including the sky above them. It is
a spur to the tiny adventures that make up childhood no matter where the
reader, ages 4 to 6, may be.
Novels, Novels, Novels
I don’t
know if more novels are being written and published these days, but it sure
feels that way. They pour into the Bookviews office and the best one can do is
select those that one feels will prove entertaining to someone.
Like
werewolves? If so, you will like Red
Moon by Benjamin Percy ($25.99, Grand Central Publishing). The novelist
John Irving praised this novel saying, “Red Moon is a serious, politically
symbolic novel—a literary novel about lycanthropes. If George Orwell had
imagined a future where the werewolf population had grown to the degree that
they were colonized and drugged, this terrifying novel might be it.” This is straight out of the classic horror genre,
combining both the familiar and the frightening. This novel with its
unforgettable characters, grisly action, and powerful storyline is hard to put
down. Now let’s turn 180 degrees for a novel filled with magic and enchantment,
drawn from the Afghani culture, a narrative interlinked stories rooted in fact
and laced with magical realism. The
Honey Thief by Najaf Mazari and Robert Hillman, the former who fled
Afghanistan in 2001 for Australia and the latter, a Melbourne-based writer,
conjures up a cast of characters such as a grief-stricken boy who finds his way
back to happiness as the apprentice to a master beekeeper. There’s a musician
capable of conjuring stones to rise into the air with the beauty of his playing
who teaches his art to a mute child. These are just two that you will meet as
your knowledge of Afghanistan today will be transformed from the dry headlines
of war.
Other
novels fill familiar genres such as Bolero:
A Nick Sayler Novel by Joanie McDonell ($14.95, Thomas & Mercer,
softcover). A private investigator, an orphaned former junkie, gambler, and
petty thief, Nick has turned his life around is living the good life, solving
cases for a long list of wealthy and appreciative clients. His nights are spent
on the “Dumb Luck”, a luxurious converted barge anchored in the Hudson River.
He is plagued thought by memories of the beautiful woman whose killing he
failed to stop a decade earlier. When an emergency call comes in late one rainy
evening, it sets in motion a series of events that could finally bring about
his redemption—or lead to his ruin. The law is at the center of A Case of Redemption by Adam Mitzner
($26.00, Gallery Books) by Adam Mitzner who is an attorney living in New York
City. We meet Dan Sorenson who was once a high-powered New York defense
attorney until a horrifying accident killed the two people in his life who
meant the most to him. He hits bottom, but is offered the opportunity to defend
an up-and-coming rapper in a murder trial on the front page of every newspaper.
His client swears he’s innocent of killing his pop star girlfriend and Dan
believes him, but as he delves deeper into the case, a successful defense may
come at a high price. It is a real thriller that lovers of legal dramas will
enjoy.
The world
of mega-churches is the backdrop to Pastor’s
Wives by Lisa Takeuchi Cullen ($16.00, Plume, softcover). When the
then-Time magazine reporter attended a religious retreat on a story assignment,
she had no idea what to expect. What she found was that life as a pastor’s wife
was more complex than imagined. This novel has been praised as “a terrific
first novel, fast-paced and fresh” as it follows three women whose lives
converge and intertwine at Greenleaf, a Southern evangelical mega-church.
Suffice the say they all come together from very different points of view and
life experiences. Each will end up asking what is the price of loving a man of
God? There is a lot here to enjoy and it is never boring.
Relationships
are at the heart of Girls I Know by
Douglas Trevor, a Hemingway finalist, (SixOneSeven Books) whose main character,
Walt Steadman, in the winter of 2001 gets wake-up call when he survives a shooting
in his favorite Boston café that leaves four people dead. He is a grad school
dropout, a sperm donor, and holder of odd jobs. He has not made much of his
life and knows it. He becomes entangled with two new relationships; one with an
ambitious Harvard undergraduate, Ginger Newton, who is writing a book titled
“Girls I Know” about jobs women do and with 11-year-old African-American
Mercedes Bittles, who lost her parents in the shootings. He accepts Ginger’s
support while tutoring Mercedes and, through the power of human relationships,
begins to shape a future for himself. This is a very promising new novelists,
well worth getting acquainted with. Booklist has said of Jonathan Tropper that
he is “a master of the mid-life male coming of age story” while praising One Last Thing Before I Go ($16.00,
Plume, softcover). His previous novels such as “This Is Where I Leave You” have
garnered similar praise. In his new novel, Drew Silver is a drummer who has
tasted fame just long enough to be ruined by it. His band, the Bent Daisies,
became rock stars overnight on the strength of just one hit song. Then their
lead singer quit, stranding the ban back home in suburbia. Eight years and an
endless succession of mistakes later, Silver is a flabby 44-year-old divorcee
scraping by on royalty checks, living alone in an efficiency hotel off the
interstate that is filled with other lonely divorced men. Two unexpected events
transform things for Silver. The first is that his 18-year-old daughter
confides that she is pregnant and the second is a diagnosis that he has an
aortic tear that requires immediate surgery. To everyone’s astonishment, he
decides to forgo the operation and focus on making the most of his remaining
days. Suffice to say this is a very different kind of story and one that will
draw you in and keep you there to the last page.
Kiss Me Over the Garden Gate by Alexis Rankin Popik ($14.00, Aucoot
Press, softcover) is not for the faint of heart. Is is a novel of madness and
mayhem in Los Angeles in which Clare Stone’s husband disappears soon after they
move there, only to resurface in the emergency room in a manic state. After
piecing together the signs of Richard’s bipolar disorder, Clare comes to
realize that the man to whom she has been married for 15 years has become a
dangerous stranger. At the same time, Clare finds it difficult to resist the
flirtations of the attractive gardener she and Richard hired to revitalize
their yard. This is a look at the heights and depths of manic-depressive
illness as they both struggle to sort out what is real and what is an illusion.
That’s
it for May. Come back in June for a look at the best in summer reading, fiction
and non-fiction. Tell your book loving family members, friends, and coworkers
about Bookviews so they too can get the inside edge on the many books that may
not be on the bestseller lists, but often deserve to be.
