Fiction

al-Azzawi, Fadhil. The Last of the Angels. Free Pr: S. & S. Jul. 2008. c.288p. tr. from Arabic by William M. Hutchins. ISBN 978-1-4165-6745-5. pap. $14. F

Because this book was originally published in 1992 (and promptly banned by the Iraqi government), neither the Gulf War nor the war in Iraq appears in its pages. Instead, we get a wondrously crafted story, set in the 1950s, of the author's birth city of Kirkuk. Al-Azzawi's writing embraces the coffeehouse, the mosque, the back alley, and the royal palace, telling a story that is comedic—but not at the expense of any of the large cast of characters. The premise sounds like the opening of a joke—a poet, a madman, a Communist, a hero, a bodyguard, and the personification of Death make a pilgrimage to the king to stop a British oil company from plowing a road through the town's cemetery. Narrative flourishes like the golden wheelchair and flying zeppelins or sayings like "It is always better to address the head rather than plead with the tails" lend a unique richness to the increasingly complex tale. Readers of Ngugi Wa Thiongo or Orhan Pamuk will recognize this novel's mix of slapstick, tragedy, and the fantastic and will look forward to further translations of al-Azzawi's work.—Travis Fristoe, Alachua Cty. Lib. Dist., FL

It is Christmas Eve 1940. The United States is on the brink of war, the automobile is king of the road, and racial prejudice is the norm in the South. On an isolated stretch of track between Mississippi and Louisiana, two trains are barreling toward each other to what only can be a tragic end. One is the Silver Star, a luxury passenger train filled with holiday travelers and Artemus Kane, a brakeman who can't help thinking about the last war, the Great War. The other carries a freight of hogs and crewmen, including engineer A.P. Dunn, who can remember every detail of the year 1923 but is having a difficult time remembering what happened that morning. Like a slow-moving train that must build up steam to reach full speed, the plot starts cautiously but chugs on steadily, carefully intertwining each character's backstory, layer upon layer, until the two trains carrying different people who may have known one another or maybe not finally connect in one last and fateful way. Vivid descriptions of passing landscape, of railroad processes, and of the smell and sound of men and trains and life make for a story that will appeal to historical fiction fans and train aficionados alike.—Kellie Gillespie, City of Mesa Lib., AZ

This novel by actress Barbeau (The Fog; Maude) and author Scott (The Alchemyst) begins with the gruesome murders of three Hollywood A-listers. What the police don't know is that the victims were vampyres, the progeny of actress and high-rolling producer Ovsanna Moore. Her specialties are horror movies that often focus on the nasty doings of the undead. Ovsanna is convinced that a vampyre hunter has come to town but is unsure who or why. Hunky veteran Beverly Hills detective Peter King is assigned to investigate the murders, unaware, of course, that Hollywood is literally crawling with the undead. Barbeau uses her insider knowledge to paint a picture of a Hollywood inhabited by immortal blood suckers. The writing is witty and the main characters interesting, but the silly plot sometimes overwhelms. Recommended for large fiction collections where vampire fiction is popular.—Patricia Altner, Biblioinfo.com , Columbia, MD

Benni again unveils his Italian brand of magical realism for readers of English, this time demonstrating a decidedly more political slant than what featured in his previous novel, Margherita Dolce Vita. While Margherita lamented the intrusions of modern technology on the pastoral Italian lifestyle, Timeskipper focuses on the perceived evils practiced by conservative Italian politicians in the second half of the 20th century. Despite the subject matter, the book is more strongly characterized by the main character, Timeskipper, and his "duoclock," which was given to him by a filthy elderly man who may or may not be some sort of pagan god. The duoclock enables Timeskipper to see into the future occasionally, a gift he uses to his advantage as his country, small village, and personal life undergo radical changes. With its shifting from the fantastical to the political and its dizzying number of characters, this is not an easy book to follow, and it specializes in an obscure, scatological brand of humor. If your tastes range from impish gnomes to Italian politics, you will enjoy this book more than the average reader. Recommended for large fiction collections.—Kevin Greczek, Hamilton, NJ

What happens when people of the clay (humans) and people of the sky (angels) mate? Set initially in Africa but primarily in an African American community located below the gates of heaven, this debut novel traces the uneasy interactions of humans, spirits, and halflings. This literary commingling of fantasy and magical realism requires complete suspension of disbelief, beginning with a newborn babe's being raised in the deep by a pod of dolphins. The characters, who are at least part spirit, have names like Time, Power, Dance, Silence, Passage, Chance, and Blue River and are all fascinating in their powers and flaws. The human characters are utterly human and equally flawed. Those flaws and a variety of misunderstandings all drive the story toward an inevitable series of tragedies. Bracy's prose is both mystical and muscular and therefore utterly appropriate. The one quibble is that eschewing capitalization and quotation marks became old hat 40 years ago and now seems like a hackneyed postmodernist trick. Highly recommended for public and academic libraries but not for "gentle readers."—Jim Dwyer, California State Univ. Lib., Chico

Caparrós (El Interior) won Argentina's Premio Planeta Award in 2004 for this novel, which became a best seller in South America. As translated into English here, it is a difficult read because there are multiple narrators that change from chapter to chapter, and their respective voices are indistinguishable until the book's halfway point, when the reader knows enough about the main characters. The plot, which revolves around the 1911 theft of Leonardo's Mona Lisa from the Louvre, is recounted in turn by the self-made Marquis of Valfierno; art restorer and forger Yves Chaudron; Valerie, a Parisian demimondaine; Perugia, a carpenter and a Louvre employee; and Becker, a newspaper reporter who interviews these key players. Caparrós accurately relates the details of the heist, which make for rather dull reading. He does excel, however, in his portrayal of the intriguing central character, Valfierno, an Argentine of humble birth who molds himself into a con artist posing as a nobleman and who concocts an audacious robbery and art-forgery scheme involving Leonardo's masterpiece. Recommended only for libraries with extensive collections of Latin American fiction.—Loralyn Whitney, Edinboro Univ. Lib. of Pennsylvania

A Wall Street lawyer is recruited into a mysterious conspiracy. Two and a half years later, a young writer stumbles over the lawyer's corpse in Harlem; an unexplained suicide follows. The writer's sister vanishes. The writer sets out to connect these seemingly unconnected events; his quest takes him through the tumultuous 1950s and 1960s. In his previous novels (New England White; The Emperor of Ocean Park), Yale law professor Carter has delighted in bending genres. His latest is no exception, at once a hyperbolic thriller and a subtle and convincing comedy of manners. Lives intersect across 20 years in ways both obvious and hidden: Richard Nixon appears as a strangely sympathetic figure, and poet Langston Hughes, Joe and Jack Kennedy, Congressman Adam Clayton Powell, and J. Edgar Hoover take bows. Few authors are better than Carter at capturing the nuances of human behavior on both sides of the color line. His take on race relations isn't bleak, but Carter is no Pollyanna: there's still a long way to go by the end of this book. Council will grip readers, but it will also make them think. Enthusiastically recommended for all general collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 3/1/08.]—David Keymer, Modesto, CA

This quirky seventh novel by Castellanos Moya, a member of Central America's younger generation of writers, is his first translated into English. The nameless narrator is lured from his native El Salvador to an unnamed neighboring country (ostensibly Guatemala, but it could pass for anywhere) to copyedit for the Catholic Church an 1100-page report detailing the atrocities committed by the army against guerrillas and their indigenous sympathizers. As he becomes more and more involved with the report, he assimilates its shocking testimonies, as phrases from the text, such as the opening line—"I am not complete in the mind"—haunt and torment him. Compulsive and paranoid, he imagines dire events are happening to him when reality indicates otherwise. In one instance, he hides so as not to be spotted by some questionable types he thinks are plotting against him; he panics when he feels hot breath on his neck, thinking that the perpetrators are out to get him only to find out that it's the panting of a mastiff puppy. The report's grimness is offset by the humor in the narrator's life, as when an amorous episode is aborted when the protagonist takes a whiff of his lover's smelly feet. The narrator eventually escapes this nightmare by fleeing to Germany—or so we are led to believe. Recommended where Latin American literature is popular.—Lawrence Olszewski, OCLC Lib., Dublin, OH

Connolly's latest novel (after The Unquiet) features the enigmatic characters Angel and Louis, introduced in previous books as sometime associates of former detective Charlie Parker. Louis contacts an ex-associate for information when figures from Louis's shady past as a member of an organization of elite killers reappear and target his home and friends. At the same time, his assistance is requested by a reclusive billionaire who seeks revenge against an old enemy who seems to be connected to the attacks against Louis. After Louis's ex-associate is shot, Louis and Angel agree to act on the billionaire's behalf, but the hunters end up being hunted when they find their information is incomplete. The novel flashes back on Louis's life as characters from his past reappear in his present, and readers learn what put him on the reaper's path. This latest offering from Connolly is as dark and convoluted as his previous novels and just as enjoyable. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 2/15/08.]—Lisa O'Hara, Univ. of Manitoba Libs., Winnepeg

In fall 1984, best friends Catherine and Skye have quite a few things in common—wealthy New England roots, cocaine habits, and the distinction of being expelled from other boarding schools before meeting at the Esther Percy School for Girls. Catherine is preparing for equestrian championships and juggling a long-distance relationship with John Paul, while Skye maneuvers her very public life as a popular liberal senator's daughter. Various adult supporting characters are well drawn, but the teens and their perspectives remain center stage. Against the usual high school backdrop of boys, angst, and excess, Harvard Extension School writing instructor de Gramont (Of Cats and Men) skillfully sustains a tension that leads to an explosive ending while providing us with characters that go well beyond many recent examples of upper-crust East Coast teenage life. Think Donna Tartt and Bret Easton Ellis with the wisdom of hindsight. Young adults should be a strong audience for this compelling coming-of-age novel, which excels in its honest depiction of the interrelationships among teens and with their families and circumstances. Recommended for all fiction collections.—Jenn B. Stidham, Houston Community Coll. Lib., TX

Deaver's (The Sleeping Doll) latest novel, which pairs disabled criminologist Lincoln Rhyme and Detective Amelia Sachs for the eighth time, is sure to be one of his most popular books to date. When Lincoln suspects his cousin is being framed for murder, other similar cases of stolen identities and innocent people being set up lead him to a data mining company. However, Lincoln is able to track the real killer by exposing crime-scene evidence unintentionally left behind. As the killer feels the police closing in on him, he targets his pursuers by messing with their records, changing information to complicate their lives. Pertinent to today's society of credit cards and computer data, Deaver's thriller reminds us how vulnerable we really are and will be an essential purchase for all public libraries. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 2/15/08.]—Amanda Scott, Cambridge Springs P.L., PA

Dufresne (Deep in the Shade of Paradise) here offers the childhood reminiscences of Johnny, who is trying to make sense of his traumatic upbringing in Requiem, MA. With a crazy mother who believes her children are imposters; a trucker father whose long, frequent absences have more to do with his secret second family than his delivery route; and a younger sister who likes to sit in closets, Johnny appears to be the only sane one in his family. He struggles none too successfully to instill his home life with some normalcy. As the adult Johnny writes this memoir and tries to make sense of his chaotic past, we get some of his more recent memories as well as a look into his present life. But the slew of other characters that Johnny recalls get tangled up with one another, as one memory triggers another until this reader frequently lost the thread of the main story. Be that as it may, Dufresne's voice is strong and witty, and while the digressions might seem at times extraneous, they are all funny and extremely well told. Recommended for all fiction collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 3/1/08.]—Joy Humphrey, Pepperdine Law Lib., Malibu, CA

Haas (cowriter of the screenplay 3:10 to Yuma) introduces readers to a new killer-for-hire in his character Columbus, an orphan who never knew his parents. When Columbus is hired to bump off the front runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, the underworld that was his adoptive home turns against him, and he must use all his skills as a consummate assassin to survive the assignment. Well written, fast-paced, and engaging, this debut thriller seamlessly interweaves scenes from the past with the present to give a thrilling account of a professional killer at his peak, what the Russians call a "Silver Bear." The cross-country hunt is a fast read; fans of James Patterson and Jeffrey Deaver will enjoy. Recommended for public libraries.—Colleen S. Harris, Univ. of Tennessee at Chattanooga Lib.

Departing from her award-winning Eve Diamond crime series (Prisoner of Memory; Last Lullaby), Hamilton sets this stand-alone novel in 1949 Hollywood. Former stenographer and OSS spy Lily Kessler returns to Los Angeles as a favor to her late fiancé's mother. She agrees to search for her fiancé's sister, Kitty, who moved to Hollywood for a movie career and has disappeared. Kitty's boardinghouse roommates think she's gone off with a fellow actor, but her body is soon discovered in a ravine under the Hollywood sign. Frustrated by the lack of progress in the local police investigation, Lily sets off on her own to find Kitty's killer. In the process, she encounters movie moguls, actors, geeky special-effects wizards, mobsters, ambulance-chasing photographers, and a certain homicide detective whose advances are pleasantly unsettling. The atmosphere of postwar Hollywood and Hamilton's edgy noir style are spot-on. Her reputation for Chandleresque dialog and impeccable historical detail is strongly supported in this highly readable and entertaining story. Highly recommended for all popular fiction collections.—Susan Clifford Braun, Aerospace Corp., El Segundo, CA

Sandra, the phone-sex operator from Harbison's first novel (Shoe Addicts Anonymous), introduces three PTA moms with various money troubles to the lucrative job of the phone "actress." Although none is eager to learn the trade, all are desperate for cash after the kids' band trip to Las Vegas, where debts were racked up via an ill-fated shopping spree, an accidental night with a male prostitute, and a blackmailer. After these debts are settled, the women, who have bonded and become friends, use the spoils of their phone sex business, Happy Housewives, to fund a highly successful PTA. Some readers may appreciate a plotline that provides an excuse for plenty of phone sex conversations, although poorly developed characters and too many story lines make it a tiresome read. Recommended only where the first book has been popular. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 2/15/08.]—Anika Fajardo, Coll. of St. Catherine Lib., St. Paul, MN

Hollowell's second novel (after The Annunciation of Francesca Dunn) centers on married, middle-aged dentist Doreen Woods, who is about to be held accountable for a grievous act she committed at age 19 that led to her going into hiding and changing her identity. Doreen is now living in Denver, her only connection to her past her nearby brother, Adam, who suffers from debilitating multiple sclerosis. Adam is equally haunted by disturbing memories stemming from his service in Vietnam. When Doreen realizes that she is going to be found out, she must not only reveal herself to Miles, her unsuspecting husband of 26 years, and their 18-year-old-son, Ian, but she must also reconnect with her estranged mother. Hallowell doesn't always succeed in believably conjuring up an in-depth depiction of college campus militancy in the late 1960s and early 1970s; some characters are stock, and the situations can appear trite. With Doreen and her brother, Adam, however, Hallowell strives to dig deeper, allowing the reader to feel true concern for the emotional burdens they have carried throughout their adult lives. These fuller characterizations, coupled with an adept writing style that effectively draws the reader into the story, recommend this for all public libraries.—Maureen Neville, Trenton P.L., NJ

A good historical novel should demonstrate the author's thorough knowledge of the period setting while casting light on the present milieu. This first book to be published in the United States by German novelist Kleeberg does both. Historically accurate and entertaining, it is topical because the main character is like so many of today's self-made celebrities, people with no genuine talent other than the ability to promote themselves. Though low-born, Theodor von Neuhoff rises through the ranks of society with little more than a talent for being in the right place at the right time and saying charming—if unoriginal—things. Neuhoff plays bit parts in some of the most intriguing dramas of early 18th-century European history, until he finds himself named King of Corsica for a few months in the summer of 1736. His self-promotional skills are challenged in the final 30 pages when, imprisoned in London after piling up debts across the continent, he is troubled to learn that David Garrick intends to portray him as a harlequin in a drama Garrick hopes to write. Recommended for public libraries.—K.H. Cumiskey, Duke Univ. Libs., Durham, NC

Already released in Great Britain, where former Chinese dissident Ma now resides, this is a lengthy telling of protagonist Dai Wei's decade-long ordeal as a victim of the Tiananmen Square massacre of June 4, 1989. A student in the protest, Dai is shot in the head (a piece of his skull remains in a hospital refrigerator) and lies comatose throughout the narrative, yet his senses remain sharp. Dai's memories of his past romances and active involvement with friends are interwoven with his present state as a "vegetable" being cared for at home by his mother. Descriptions of Dai's frustrating inability to communicate with others while still able to feel, smell, and hear are nothing short of heart-wrenching, as when Dai hears his mother is planning to sell one of his kidneys for money. As in his previous work, Stick Out Your Tongue, Ma does not shy away from commenting on oppression in China. Though this story is sometimes difficult to follow as it jumps between the past and the present, Ma brings a fresh sense of awareness of the Tiananmen tragedy to a new generation. Larger public and academic libraries may want to consider adding. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 2/15/08.]—Shirley N. Quan, Orange Cty. P.L., Santa Ana, CA

This first novel, published posthumously following Maguire's death from ovarian cancer in 2006, explores the friendship between the writers Constance Fenimore Woolson and Henry James from the former's perspective. The book imagines the 15 years Woolson spends in Europe, where she has gone with the express purpose of befriending James, whose work she greatly admires. James enjoys her admiration and accepts her friendship while envying her commercial success. Ultimately, however, their friendship dissolves under the strain of Henry's secretive nature and Connie's fierce independence. Her failing health encourages the fictional Connie to be the author of Maguire's text, to explain how and why a friendship of such depth could fail. Captivating and engrossing, Maguire's clear prose is a joy to read, and her analysis of relationships between men and women, Americans and Europeans, social classes, and friends applies just as much to the modern era as the historical. This novel will appeal not only to historical fiction readers but also to literary fiction readers, who will be interested in the blurred boundaries between author and text. Recommended for most libraries.—Amy Ford, St. Mary's Cty. Lib., Lexington Park, MD

As in his recent Kennedy's Brain, the author of the best-selling Kurt Wallander mysteries here turns his eye to the differences between Africa and the West, juxtaposing personal struggles with the growing pains of a newly independent state. When Hans Olofson arrives in Zambia in 1969, he is ostensibly fulfilling a dead friend's greatest wish. In fact, he is fleeing the only life he knows, his motherless childhood and alcoholic father, his failed studies and stifling social circumstances, and the loss of all those closest to him. The narrative alternates between Olofson's coming of age in Sweden and his increasingly difficult life in Zambia, where he runs an egg farm. Even after 18 years, Olofson does not fully grasp his position as a white mzungu (rich man) among the native blacks and how inappropriate his Western ideas are in a country so completely resistant to them. As the narrative continues, the paranoid fever dreams that open the novel are horrifyingly revealed to be all too plausible given the political situation. Dark and atmospheric, insightful and compelling, this book is appropriate for large fiction collections.—Karen Walton Morse, Univ. of Buffalo Libs., NY

Benjamin Ford is stuck at O'Hare airport. All flights are cancelled for the night. He begins to write a letter to (appropriately enough) American Airlines to demand a refund. This letter turns out to be an autobiography, a sad story of a life wasted. Addressing the fictional American Airline worker in Houston, he talks about his schizophrenic mother, immigrant father, unhappy wife, and innocent daughter. He details his drinking problem and what his life looks like from within an alcoholic haze. He rails against the fate that doomed his career and that is keeping him from attending his daughter's wedding. When he is not writing, he heads out to the sidewalk to smoke cigarettes and to hear the stories of his fellow refugees. After a soul-searching night, he at last boards a plane and finds the will to go on at 35,000 feet. This first novel is a tale of loss and regret that allows a hint of hope and forgiveness to beckon from the final pages. Recommended for general collections.—Joanna M. Burkhardt, Univ. of Rhode Island Coll. of Continuing Education Lib., Providence

It is quite daunting to take a character from a classic novel and, more than a century later, try to write a new story. Faithful to the characters and plot of Hjalmar Soderberg's 1905 masterpiece, Doctor Glas, this novel is both compelling and timely, surpassing all expectations. Ohlsson fully animates the character of Reverend Gregorious, successfully portraying a complex personality with many yearnings, frailties, and disappointments. With great sensitivity and an intensely introspective narrative, he tells the pastor's side of the story, of his love and admiration for his extremely young wife, Helga, and of their many problems as well as his own personal crises. We read of Gregorius's acknowledgment of his wife's extramarital affair and of his great, unfulfilled desire to father a child. At times, events cloud his judgment, and he suffers innumerable self-doubts and anxieties, yet in the end he may be a hero. Stockholm journalist Ohlsson won the prestigious 2004 August Prize in Sweden for this first novel, beautifully written and here flawlessly translated. A fascinating book with broad appeal, particularly for anyone acquainted with Doctor Glas; highly recommended for larger libraries.—Lisa Rohrbaugh, New Middletown, OH

Hans van den Broek, the main character in this ruminative third novel (and fourth book) by Irish/Turkish/English author O'Neill (Blood-Dark Track), is a Dutch-transplanted Londoner working in New York City at the start of the 21st century. Though a successful equities analyst, Hans is given more to reverie than to action. When his wife announces she is taking their young son back to London, Hans, stunned, remains in New York. He gets drawn into a friendship of sorts with Trinidadian entrepreneur Chuck Ramkissoon, who dreams of making cricket a great American sport, and who—Hans hears later—is eventually found dead in a canal. Hans's meandering, somewhat old-fashioned narrative takes a patient reader in and out of past and present: from his cricket-playing, fatherless childhood through his distant relationship with his mother, rocky marriage, and his own fatherhood, gradually revealing the appeal of the slowly unfolding game of cricket and fast-talking Chuck Ramkissoon to a man in his early thirties finding his way in a post-9/11 world. Recommended for literary fiction collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 2/15/08.]—Laurie A. Cavanaugh, Brockton P.L., MA

Picardie's well-researched novel about Daphne du Maurier is sure to send readers scurrying back to all those books they should have read in college. Du Maurier's works are referenced, as is her fascination with the Brontë family. Toss in Peter Pan author J.M. Barrie and various members of the rare book and manuscript community, and you have an intriguing fictionalization of many intertwining literary lives. The novel is written from the perspectives of du Maurier, manuscript curator J.A. Symington, and a nameless researcher, with each of their stories spiraling upon the other to create a century-spanning novel hidden in lucky coincidences and missing papers (including those of the Brontës). The result is an absolute gem of a novel that will be a hit with fans of du Maurier, the Brontës, and British fiction generally as well as the avid bibliophile. It should serve as an excellent book club selection that may prompt an interest in these literary figures. Highly recommended.—Leann Restaino, Girard, OH

Playwright Rabe is known for tightly constructed, male-centered dramas like Streamers (1977) and Hurlyburly (1985); his new work is a novel rather than a play, and all of the main characters are women. Reverend Tauke has informed his congregation that the Rapture will take place the very next day, and Bernice Doorley will be among the chosen few to be transported to heaven. Janet Cawley, a divorced teacher with a taste for drink and drugs (and the closest thing in the novel to a typical Rabe character), will be left behind. Bernice asks Janet to feed her pets after she is gone. As Bernice decides what outfit to wear, Janet goes on a bender, argues with her ex-husband, and seduces a former student. Janet sours on life just as Bernice begins to miss it. The novel is set around the time of Princess Diana's death in 1997, which suggests that Rabe has been editing the manuscript for some time. Without the formal constraints of the theater, the story expands without limit, and at almost 500 pages, the novel feels aimless and bloated. Not a priority purchase. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 2/15/08.]—Edward B. St. John, Loyola Law Sch. Lib., Los Angeles

In the months before 9/11, a plot involving Arab nationals funneling $10 million to a South Bronx, NY, drug dealer to launder draws in a variety of law enforcement officials and locals. Sanchez, a South Bronx cop on the outs with his fellow officers for reporting a rogue officer, is contacted by CIA operative Myers, who's searching for the aforementioned drug dealer (named Spook), Spook's brother David, and the money they have apparently taken for themselves. Myers's mysterious blond assistant (who may also have the money) soon finds herself tumbling off a fire escape into a stranger's apartment while escaping David's shooting. She quickly captivates the stranger, shoe salesman Alex, and his artist friends Mink and Monk. A convoluted chase ensues as Myers tries to locate the money; Alex, Mink, and Monk try to protect the woman; and Sanchez is caught in the middle with his own complicated motives. More than a crime tale, this is also a gritty exploration of love and art. Recommended for most public libraries.—Lawrence Rungren, Merrimack Valley Lib. Consortium, Andover, MA

The murder of what appears to be a homeless man propels the Sigma Force (The Judas Strain) into their most compelling and perilous adventure yet. The victim is a respected scientist, and the Sigma Force finds that his research leads to a rogue organization of scientists called the Jasons. This think tank of intellectual geniuses has developed a method to augment autistic children with special savant talents. The outcome, in the hands of several men bent on their own quest for control, threatens the entire world. Sigma Force must send their best men to India and other countries around the globe to track down the murdered scientist's research. But menace hides close to their base of operations. Rollins has outdone himself with this fabulous mix of history, science, and adventure that will easily increase his growing number of fans. For all fiction collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 2/15/08.]—Jeff Ayers, Seattle P.L.

Much like Rushdie himself, the mysterious yellow-haired stranger we meet in the opening pages of this magical and haunting new novel is a teller of tales, "driven out of his door by stories of wonder." This young man, straddling the worlds of 16th-century Florence and Mughal India much as he stands astride a bullock cart and enters the emperor's domain in Sikri, is driven to this new land with a story that can either make him his fortune or cost him his life. Appearing before the Emperor Akbar, the young man presents himself as an emissary of Queen Elizabeth I. When Akbar challenges his identity, the storyteller begins to weave the dangerous tale of Qara Köz, the enchantress of Florence, whom he claims is his mother. Parading through this tale of two worlds are Niccolò Machiavelli and Amerigo Vespucci's cousin, Ago. Köz's power, like the power of many beautiful women in Rushdie's novels, is often realized through her relationships with the men in her life, so her story often becomes one-dimensional. Nevertheless, Rushdie's lushly evocative creation of the mysteries and intrigues of a medieval world and his enchanting and seductive stories captivate and transport us in ways reminiscent of his early novels like Midnight's Children and The Satanic Verses. Highly recommended.—Henry Carrigan, Evanston, IL

What is Marika Vecera doing in a dugout canoe on a waterway deep in the jungles of Papua New Guinea? A war correspondent who came close to death on a risky assignment in Africa, she was taking time off by writing the biography of her hero, Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Lewis, who reportedly committed suicide, when she learns that a pastor claims to have spotted him in the distant island nation. Now Marika is on a death-defying quest to find him, a quest that takes her far away from gentle psychologist Seb, with whom she seems to be falling in love. In this debut novel, Salak draws on her experience as an award-winning journalist to delineate both the dangers of her profession and a portrait of an obsessive personality. Throughout, she moves deftly among multiple storylines: Marika's seesawing relationship with Seb, horrific experiences in Africa, efforts to research Lewis, and daunting experiences in Papua New Guinea. The prose is sometimes a bit pulpy, but the story is undeniably involving as Marika (the "white mary," or white woman, as the natives call her) presses toward her goal. What she discovers is unexpectedly chilling. A good addition for all fiction collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 4/1/08.]—Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal

Shaara's second entry in his World War II trilogy (after The Rising Tide) is a magnificent and epic telling of the terrible days of the D-day invasion in June 1944. As before, Shaara effectively uses the technique of adding thoughts, dialog, and intense action to flesh out the real historical characters and events of D-day. The author lets readers share the doubts, hopes, frustrations, and fears of both the great leaders and the ordinary soldiers who have to carry out what the great ones have planned. Nor does he ignore the political implications of each nation's actions, which sometimes caused tragic miscalculations on both sides. There is no sugarcoating the horrors of war; nobody is spared. Shaara portrays his characters as human and fully capable of pettiness and making bloody mistakes and committing atrocities. Intense, compelling, and thoroughly researched, this is much more than just an excellent historical novel. Highly recommended for all fiction collections.—Robert Conroy, Warren, MI

Aozora is a college student with a broken heart, a crippling mah-jongg gambling debt, and a dead aunt who left him enough money to solve his problems. But when he attempts to cash in on his inheritance, he finds his sister has vanished. Without her, Aozora can't get his share of his aunt's estate. Now, he has to dodge the yakuza (Japanese mob) debt collectors long enough to track his sister to a seedy town in southern Japan that is home to Amsterdam, a surreal theme park filled with motorcycle gangs, theme park actors, dinosaur topiary, mobsters, and men toting around high-tech love dolls. He finds his sister in the theme park but discovers she has become the princess of the entire park. It will take more than a half-baked attempt to get her out. Sherwood (The Pillow Book of Lady Kasa), who was born in Hong Kong and lived in Japan, peppers his novel with mangalike illustrations and photos that compliment his eccentric narrative adventure. His offbeat humor and cutting insight into the glossy, artificial film that layers the seedy side of business, entertainment, and crime in Japan will appeal to patrons interested in contemporary Japanese popular culture. Recommended for public libraries.—Ron Samul, New London, CT

Irish journalist Fin spends his time in Cairo drinking with other ex-pats and seeking the perfect kebab. This debut novel relates his fall and potential redemption as he attempts to wrest the conclusion of the mysterious tale of Skinhead Saïd from his Egyptian coeval, Farouk. In order to do so, the Irishman must survive several perilous taxi rides, a visit to a dubious sheikh, an abduction and beating from a violent kebab-shop proprietor and his monstrous henchman, a dip in the Nile, a risky mission in a local hospital, and Farouk's continual verbal abuse. Incapacitated by a bruised hip, an empty stomach, and a perpetual hangover, Fin teeters on the edge of actual and existential oblivion. Somerville leaves it to readers to speculate whether Fin finally embraces the salvation Farouk offers. Though it exhibits some narrative inconsistencies and a tendency to gloss over complex episodes and characters, this entertaining and affecting story belongs on the shelf next to Camus's Exile and the Kingdom and Dick Wimmer's "Irish Wine" trilogy.—J.G. Matthews, Washington State Univ. Libs., Pullman, WA

Geraldine Murphy, a professor and dean at the City College of New York, CUNY, discovered this unfinished manuscript by noted critic Trilling, who died in 1975, in the archives of Columbia University. (Trilling had published one novel in 1947 called The Middle of the Journey.) This incomplete novel, aptly titled The Journey Abandoned, is now being published with Murphy's introduction and extensive notes on the text. The novel is based partly on an incident that occurred late in the life of English poet Walter Savage Landor, but Trilling's plot, featuring many characters, is too complicated to sum up easily. The result, however, provides insight into Trilling's creative process and gives the reader a look at New York intellectual society in the mid-20th century. While this unfinished exercise in novel writing will be of little interest to the average reader, it has a definite place in the American literature collections of university libraries.—Leslie Patterson, Brown Univ. Lib., Providence, RI

Shy Parisian high schooler Julien Parme feels alone as he longs to become a literary prodigy amid schoolmates who are into singing and acting. Ironically, he's a cell phone addict who has lost touch with the power of the written word. Frustrated, Julien can only complain aloud that the society around him is self-satisfied, pretentious, insensitive to suffering, and conscious of class distinction. Unfortunately, try as he might, he can't escape his environment and is guilty of the very things he rails against. French novelist Zeller (Artificial Snow), a rising star on the contemporary French literary scene, has been critically acclaimed for his sensitive and witty portrayal of the agony, doubts, insecurities, and egotism of Generation X and the French intelligentsia. In this work, he tackles the pain of adolescence, but the result is less than stellar. One can't ignore the similarities between Julien Parme, Salinger's Catcher in the Rye, and the Truffaut film 400 Blows, and the ending is a letdown. Nevertheless, Zeller aptly captures a teenager's unpredictability, peevishness, sadness, and bewilderment with his usual humor and insightful commentary. Recommended for public and academic libraries.—Victor Or, Vancouver P.L. & North Vancouver City, B.C.

In the title story of Hecht's newest collection featuring her anonymous, anxiety-ridden, fortysomething photographer-narrator introduced in Do the Windows Open? and The Unprofessionals, a young man interviewing the narrator comments: "You know what I like about your work? It's kind of a trail." Protests the narrator, "But it's not a happy trail." And that describes Hecht's work perfectly. These tales are no straightforward narratives but rather meandering trails of funny yet poignant observations, almost obsessive in their minute detail, of the absurdities and indignities of modern life: bleached teeth, the wisdom of alternative medicine guru Dr. Andrew Weil, caller ID ("If Dorothy Parker had had the good fortune brought by caller ID, at least, she would have known what kind of [fresh] hell to expect"), the media coverage of the Lewinsky-Clinton scandal ("After watching this cableful of shows, it was being and nothingness, it was the living dead"), and right-wing Republicans. Beneath the humor, though, there is a deep-rooted sadness as reflected in the first story, "Over There," in which the narrator visits an elderly neighbor on Christmas Day and mourns her deceased parents, "…but I'm not going there. That's forbidden territory, the land of wishing my father and mother were alive." Hecht is an acquired taste; her discursiveness may irritate some readers, but for those who enjoy original voices, she's high on the menu. For larger fiction collections.—Wilda Williams, Library Journal

The five stories and one novella collected here by award-winning author Pollack (Woman Walking Ahead: In Search of Catherine Weldon and Sitting Bull) are good but ultimately flawed. "The Bris" features the middle-aged Marcus, whose elderly father, thought to have been Jewish, asks Marcus to have him circumcised. The story takes darkly funny turns, as when an indigent mohel demands $500 for the circumcision. Pollack thoughtfully describes the love between Marcus and his father and the sacrifices they have made for each other, especially evident as Marcus takes drastic measures to satisfy his father's wishes. In "Uno," Heloise, who's attracted to suffering, has trouble accepting her healthy family life and thus turns to adultery. "The Safe" concerns a woman who overcomes her fear of showing affection to her son by learning why her father was afraid to show her affection. Though these stories are emotional and hard to forget, Pollack's ideas are sometimes clouded by overdramatic, clichéd writing. In "The Bris," for instance, it's annoying to read that Marcus's father has a meal that tastes so good it brings "tears to his eyes" and later Marcus falls "to his knees" over the stress he's experiencing. "The Safe" suffers from a strange image of a woman licking chocolate from her child's fingers as an example of an affectionate parent. An optional purchase for most libraries.—Christina Bauer, Library Journal