First Novels Fall/Winter 2003/04: Weighing in with First Fiction
by Barbara Hoffert with Ann Burns -- Library Journal, 3/15/2004
Looking for a good novel? Hoping to find something by someone just breaking into print? Then look no further: LJ's retrospective of last season's best fiction debuts is here. True, Jhumpa Lahiri and Tobias Wolff, two of the first novelists featured, aren't exactly neophytes. But it's still a thrill to see what they have done with full-blown fiction. And they're joined by an exciting new crop of colleagues, including two novelists who started making waves just weeks after the January publication of their books. In addition, LJ provides a list of forthcoming first novels, highlighting with a star (*) books already available for review that have received especially good notices in these pages.
Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi. Purple Hibiscus. Algonquin. ISBN 1-56512-387-5. $23.95.
That rare purple hibiscus in a sea of tamer blossoms, a teenaged Nigerian girl named Kambili must deal with escalating family tensions even as her country heads for political turmoil. Adichie's story may parallel her life (born in Nigeria, she came to this country as a college student), but she has transformed her experiences into notable fiction. So notable, in fact, that it ranked sixth on BookSense 76's Top Ten list for November/December and was called one of the best books of the year by the San Francisco Chronicle. (LJ 8/03)
Ali, Monica. Brick Lane. Scribner. ISBN 0-7432-4330-7. $25.
Ali must have been thrilled when her first novel was picked for the prestigious Discover Great New Writers program. How much more thrilling to find it among three fiction finalists for the 2003 Discover Awards. It's also a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and was proclaimed one of the year's best books by no fewer than eight publications. All this and seven printings, too. As the Discover Award citation proclaims, "Ali's virtuoso debut carries readers effortlessly into a world unknown to most Americans: the sheltered life of a deeply traditional Muslim housewife." (LJ 6/15/03)
Docx, Edward. The Calligrapher. Houghton. ISBN 0-618-3439-7. $24.
So what if London Times columnist Docx's debut got one of those rare write-ups in People, some really terrific reviews ("The Calligrapher could be described as a romance of sorts, but that doesn't do justice to a novel that is as intelligent and sophisticated as it is light and funny," Boston Globe), and best-book plaudits from the San Jose Mercury News and San Francisco Chronicle? The really big news is that Docx made the cover of LJ's September 1 issue, which featured "Must-Reads for Fall." (LJ 9/1/03)
Ford, Robert. The Student Conductor. Putnam. ISBN 0-399-15037-4. $24.95.
When he's not acting, writing award-winning plays, or tootling on his flute (having earned an M.A. in music from Yale), Ford works in the reference department of the Fayetteville Public Library, AR—good background, doubtless, for his most recent career move. Ford's tale of a musical ménage à trois in 1989 Berlin won a James Fellowship for most promising novel-in-progress, and the finished book went on to win a rafter of cheerful reviews and a nod from Discover Great New Writers. It also got a big spread off the review page in the New York Times, where Ford was praised for "bring[ing] uncommon musical sophistication to bear on a love story…fraught with personality clashes and politics." (LJ 11/15/03)
Hamann, H.T. Anthropology of an American Girl. Vernacular. ISBN 0-9740266-7-0. $30.
Along with the likes of ELLEgirl, Argus, Providence Journal, and San Mateo County Times, LJ was one of the review sources to weigh in early on this imaginative work ("A sort of Henry James meets the 21st century, this novel might be slow going for some readers but will intrigue those who are not afraid of the English language"). Now publications like the Los Angeles Times and Washington Post are planning to get into the act. Hamann will be out on the road this spring, doing readings at places like Harvard University and appearing on radio to discuss the songs woven into her atypical coming-of-age narrative. This beautifully bound book has already sold 3000 copies—good numbers for a small press proud of having published something distinctive. (LJ 11/1/03)
Hoffman, Jilliane. Retribution. Putnam. ISBN 0-399-15127-3. $24.95.
Normally, the fall first novelists retrospective would not list a January publication as too recent to evaluate. But it's already clear that Hoffman's book is a hit. Ranked third on the BookSense 76 Top Ten list for January/February, it proved viable coast to coast when it was chosen as the monthly book club pick by mystery bookstores in both New York and Los Angeles. "The realistic procedural details, tight prose, and sympathetic characters combine for an impressive debut that will please Michael Connelly fans," observed LJ's reviewer. (LJ 10/1/04)
Jones, Ben. The Rope Eater. Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-50977-4. $24.
Published at the end of last year, this work has sold only modestly so far. But great reviews promise great things to come. What reader wouldn't be tempted by the Washington Post's observation that "Ben Jones's extraordinary first novel is a gripping arctic adventure… transformed by his dazzling prose into something much more" or by this proclamation from the San Francisco Chronicle: "It shouldn't demean the talent and ability of first novelist Ben Jones to say this early in the new publishing season that his novel is one of the best first novels of the year." (LJ 12/03)
Jones, Edward P. The Known World. Amistad: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-055754-0. $24.95.
Jones must be good. This year, he followed up his 1993 National Book Award–nominated story collection with a National Book Award– nominated first novel. The illuminating tale of a former slave in the antebellum South who becomes a slave owner himself, this work racked up plenty of other honors. It ranked third on BookSense 76's Top Ten list for September/October, made People's Top Ten Picks of 2003, and was chosen for the Today Show Book Club. "A great novel," concludes the San Diego Union–Tribune.
Lahiri, Jhumpa. The Namesake. Houghton. ISBN 0-395-92721-8. $24.
"What can I tell you about The Namesake?" asks the publicist, and she's right: when an author has won the Pulitzer Prize for her first story collection, her first novel is bound to be a success. And succeed it did: Lahiri's saga of an Indian American family with a child named Gogol was a New York Times best seller for two months and remains on the extended best sellers list, with over 200,000 copies having passed by America's cash registers. "I still get requests for her daily," confides the publicist of the toured-out Lahiri, whose book was also chosen to be read citywide this spring in Cambridge, MA. (LJ 7/03)
Niffenegger, Audrey. The Time Traveler's Wife. MacAdam/Cage. ISBN 1-931561-46-X. $25.
"We are so proud of this book," asserts the publicist—and that's no surprise. It's not every small-press release that hits 12 best sellers lists, including the New York Times; sells rights to 15 countries; and gets optioned for a film to star Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston. The book has gone through eight printings, and since it was a Today Show Book Club selection, it will probably go through more. Oh, yes, did we mention that it was a Discover Great New Writers, Borders Original Voices, and BookSense 76 pick and made People's Top Ten Picks for 2003? Not bad for a book featuring a time-traveling librarian.
Robinson, Elisabeth. The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters. Little, Brown. ISBN 0-316-73502-7. $23.95.
Like Hoffman's Retribution, Robinson's first work is a January title that came out of the gate so fast it's safe to mention here as an outstanding debut. The book got an early push, with loads of advance proofs at BookExpo America, a listing in Time's September 8 "What's Next in 2004" issue, and serialization in the December Vogue. It ranked second in BookSense 76's Top Ten list for January/February and made the New York Times' and San Francisco Chronicle's best sellers lists shortly after publication. "High concept enough to be a movie producer's dream," observed the Times, but then it is written by a producer about a producer who in a series of epistles "writes heartbreakingly to and about her dying sister." (LJ 8/03)
Wolff, Tobias. Old School. Knopf. ISBN 0-375-40146-6. $22.
It's been said before, and it will be said again: no one can believe that this is Wolff's first full-length fiction. Having waited this long, Wolff has been rewarded for his patience. Nominated for both the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award, this prep school fable has made it through five printings in less than three months and promises to keep going. "Not a word is wasted in this spare, brilliant novel," concludes People. (LJ 11/1/03)
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