Fiction

-- Library Journal, 6/15/2008

Alam, Saher. The Groom To Have Been. Spiegel & Grau. Jul. 2008. c.401p. ISBN 978-0-385-52460-5. pap. $14. F

Alam's debut novel explores social constraints, thwarted love, Indian Muslim immigrant culture, and current political issues intertwined with the rituals and compromises that must inevitably attend an arranged marriage far from India. Inspired by Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence, the narrative transports readers back and forth between Canada and New York as Nasr, a successful young professional, indulges his mother by allowing the family to look for a wife for him, despite his second-generation immigrant's ambivalence about the practice. Readers who enjoyed Vikram Seth's A Suitable Boy, set in India, will find familiar themes in this classic story of love found too late. But there's a considerable twist. We know from the novel's start who Nasr's bride-to-be is but not how the events of 9/11 and its aftermath affect their plans or how a series of misunderstandings with Jameela, the rebellious, contradictory family friend, will change everything for Nasr. Alam has given us an ambitious, complex first novel that contains considerable insights into how people assimilate and compromise between cultures. Recommended.—Gwen Vredevoogd, Marymount Univ. Lib., Arlington, VA

Published in France in 2006, this work quickly captured the European imagination, and the advance praise is sufficiently glowing to guarantee attention in the English-speaking world. The novel itself is more problematic. Philosophy professor Barbery—the author of one previous novel, Une gourmandise—has fashioned a slow and sentimental fable out of her own personal interests—art, philosophy, and Japanese culture—about a widow who serves as caretaker of a Parisian apartment building and a troubled girl living in the building. Barbery attempts to make the story appear more cutting-edge by introducing dizzying changes in typography, but the effect seems precious from the outset and quickly grow tiresome. Recommended for public libraries where literature in translation is in demand and for academic libraries to complement their French collections.—Sam Popowich, Univ. of Ottawa Lib., Ont.

What if you could read your future in a piece of lace? The women of the Whitney family can do just that. Years earlier, on departing from her former home of Salem, MA, Sophya "Towner" Whitney vowed never to read lace again. However, her restraint and resolve are tested as she is called home following her beloved great-aunt Eva's mysterious disappearance. As Towner tries to discern details about Aunt Eva, she must also come to terms with her own earlier near-loss of sanity as well as attempt to establish new relationships and rebuild others. Multiple narratives often told in flashback by various long-standing town residents, while offering somewhat skewed points of view, help to advance this part-historical, part-mystery/suspense novel, building rhythmically to its shattering conclusion. Barry has previously written books for the YA fiction series "Beacon Street Girls." In this, her first original adult novel, she combines her focus on the history of this particular community, including its witchcraft trials, religious cults, and quotidian seaport life, with her study of a fractured family seeking truth to bring us a most unusual and bewitching novel. Highly recommended. [Morrow is pushing this 2000 self-published sleeper hit as its big summer book with a 200,000-copy first printing, reading group guides, and online marketing.—Ed.]—Andrea Tarr, Corona P.L., CA

With this work, renowned Irish playwright Barry furthers his reputation as a great novelist as well. Set in a Roscommon mental hospital, the novel centers on 100-year-old Roseanne McNulty, who secretly records her life in a hidden journal. In sometimes painful detail, she describes a heartbreaking childhood in Sligo, affected triumphantly and tragically by events unfolding in the world beyond: two world wars, the emergence of the Irish Republic, and the often devastating influence of the Catholic Church on the lives of people in need. Her entries alternate with the writings of Dr. William Grene, a kindly if distant psychiatrist attempting to assess Roseanne's mental health. For both, writing is revelatory. Their stories beautifully unfold like blooming roses, breathtakingly revealing the ties that bind them. The prose is rich, and Barry's gift for description and especially dialog are considerable. Readers familiar with Barry's work will recognize people and places from other novels, notably the protagonist of The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty, who plays a tenderly rendered key role in this highly recommended title.—J.G. Matthews, Washington State Univ. Libs., Pullman

In Baugh's assured first novel, a young American studying Arabic in Cairo befriends the women in her apartment building. Each neighbor narrates her story. Huda, a new bride, married the man of her parents' choosing rather than the poor, young student she loves. Huda's mother, Karima, who after circumcision, was never able to feel sexual pleasure from her beloved husband. Huda's grandmother Selwa is still mourning the loss of nine of the 12 children she bore. Afkar, a divorced professor of literature, married for passion and found only pain when love faded. Yusriyya, the building custodian's childless wife, endures her husband's frequent visits to his second wife in their village. Samira the aristocratic widow suffers the secret of her lifelong romance with her best friend's husband. Slowly, Baugh weaves a rich tapestry of women's lives through their stories. Without preaching, she demonstrates that patriarchal custom, not religion, places women in subservience. The narrator's neighbors, all vibrant, intelligent individuals, provide the narrator with more of an education than her classes. This timely, important, readable book should be in most libraries.—Andrea Kempf, Johnson Cty. Community Coll. Lib., Overland Park, KS

On the day in 1949 when this novel ends, the authoritarian and merciless Generalissimo Franco, warrior against the atheism of communism, is taking communion at the Portuguese shrine of Fatima. The intense emotion of the moment is felt by all faithful Spaniards everywhere. But Sgt. Genis Aleu of the infamous Spanish Legion is devoted to the possibility of a better, less hypocritical world. Long after the end of the Spanish civil war, Aleu's father dies of a heart condition. Because the condition developed in one of Franco's concentration camps, the father imparts a plan to his young son for retaliation—pretend to become one of them, do as I say, and if you do, there'll be a treasure waiting for you at the end of your ordeal. This is a superb tale of vengeance on several levels; even the writing of the book in Catalan, a language Franco vowed to expunge from the linguistic atlas of the world, is an act of vengeance on the generalissimo. Recommended for all literary collections.—Jack Shreve, Allegany Coll. of Maryland, Cumberland

Ada Pryce is trapped. A university-educated woman with feminist ideals, she has come to find herself living the kind of life she never wanted. Married to an oppressive brute and trying to fit in among the elite of late 19th-century Boston society, Ada is caught in an increasingly impossible battle against her own true nature. Ultimately losing in her struggle, Ada runs off and joins the orchid hunters her husband relies upon to populate his rare flower collection. But Ada finds more than just the adventure and freedom she so craved in the jungles of Brazil—danger, illness, and deception follow close behind. Despite some moments that require suspension of disbelief, Bauman is off to a promising start with this debut. An engrossing blend of female self-discovery and grand adventure that is reminiscent of both Kate Chopin's The Awakening and Avi's The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, her novel is both entertaining and thought-provoking. Book clubs, especially, will find much to discuss here. Recommended for all fiction collections.—Leigh Wright, Bridgewater, NJ

Thirteen-year-old Osnat Greenberg has come to Michigan from Israel with her American father and Israeli mother and, like her parents, has trouble fitting in. Burdened with a regrettable first name in English, she battles her way through middle school as her mother complains bitterly about everything in America—the food, the language that she hasn't mastered, and the utter strangeness of life as she sees it. Osnat's professor father tries vainly to quell the household discord, though they all slowly adapt. Osnat must adapt again when she returns to Israel much later. This fiction debut of linked stories deftly portrays characters and situations that involve struggling with borders: coming of age, romantic entanglements, family feuds and frustrations, religion, secularism, and defining home. As do two recent story collections—Ellen Litman's The Last Chicken in America, which traces a Russian family's struggles in America, and Margot Singer's portrayal of an Israeli family in The Pale of Settlement—Brown's book effectively portrays emigration issues; the yearning for independence and trying to sustain an identity pulsate throughout the collection. Keen on the Jewish scene in Israel and America, Brown is a writer to savor. Recommended for most collections.—Molly Abramowitz, Silver Spring, MD

With her third novel (after Nude Untitled and Disappearing Acts), Scottish journalist and playwright Colin offers a work of historical fiction about the life and times of the orphaned Lilly Nelly Aphrodite, who grows up in early 20th-century Berlin. Left at a young age without any family, Lilly emerges as a levelheaded, strong-willed, and sometimes compassionate survivor who learns early on how to adapt to the ever-changing circumstances brought on by both personal and societal upheaval. As she moves from the orphanage to life as a live-in maid, a bargirl, a typist, and eventually a film star, Lilly tries to keep her emotions on an even keel and desperation at bay. When things unravel, however, she is not above misleading others—and sometimes finds herself being misled. The characters who intersect Lilly's life for better or for worse are as fascinating as Lilly; they, too, are struggling in a Germany that never seems to regain its stability after losing the first world war. Throughout, Colin deftly weaves into the narrative ongoing observations on cinema as a form of entertainment needed and craved by a bereft populace, and she eventually brings this aspect of the novel to the forefront. Highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 4/1/08.]—M. Neville, Trenton P.L., NJ

When a hated editor turns up dead in the newsroom with a news spike in his chest, it looks like an inside job at the New York Globe. Hot-shot investigative reporter Jude Hurley gets the story assignment shortly before the gossip columnist is murdered in a bundling machine. Then the food critic is poisoned during a live, televised cooking demo while the killer leaves taunting literary teasers. Jude and an attractive, young NYPD detective warily work together trying to stop the carnage while keeping the paper going. Although Darnton's four previous novels incorporated a science element (The Experiment; The Darwin Conspiracy; Neanderthal; Mind Catcher), here he makes skilled use of his four decades as a New York Times reporter, editor, and correspondent. Wit and sarcasm show in the insider anecdotes, the jabs at editors, even in characters' names. A Murdoch-like empire builder is named Moloch, and the publisher's twin sons are Rosen and Guilden. It's a lot of fun with melodramatic twists all arising from a really bad lede. Recommended for public and academic collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 3/1/08.]—Roland Person, formerly with Southern Illinois Univ. Lib., Carbondale

Can a Russian Gypsy with mystical powers protect a wretched village from marauding soldiers and commissars? Does the daughter of a murdered priest succeed in springing her best friend from a Siberian labor camp? Will an innocent victim of the Gulag find her true love? Furnivall, whose previous novel, The Russian Concubine, was set in 1920s China, now moves to Siberia in 1933, when Stalin's agricultural collectivization policies sent millions to their deaths. Following the path of Dr. Zhivago and the more recent The People's Act of Love, this romantic confection can make a reader shiver with dread for the horrors visited on the two heroines imprisoned in a labor camp and quiver with anticipation for their happy endings. Furnivall shows she has the narrative skills to deliver a sweeping historical epic, but we get too much of a good thing with a too-convoluted plot and repetitive sufferings. Still, the novel arrives in time for great beach reading and will fit well into the popular fiction collections of most large public libraries.—Barbara Conaty, Falls Church, VA

When his estranged brother Julian dies, Marcus Ripps inherits his dry-cleaning business. This is good news for Marcus, as the factory he manages is moving from Southern California to China, his wife Jan's trendy boutique business is losing money, his son wants an upscale bar mitzvah, and his mother-in-law needs health care. He soon discovers that the dry-cleaning business is a front for an escort service complete with hookers and a bodyguard, but despite his naïveté, Marcus decides to give it a shot using a business model that includes health care and benefits. It isn't long before problems pop up, such as a dead client, threats from a rival service, and problems with explaining to his wife about those calls at all hours of the night. Greenland (The Bones) plays with Marcus's predicament of balancing his straight family life with his illegal business activities, constantly surprising the reader with the reactions of his wife, his mother-in-law, and his wife's business partner as they all eventually discover his secret. Although the book discusses the morality of prostitution, Greenland keeps the narrative focused on Marcus's growing problems living out his brother's legacy. Recommended.—Joshua Cohen, Mid-Hudson Lib. Syst., Poughkeepsie, NY

In her remarkable new novel, Hogan (a Pulitzer Prize finalist for Mean Spirit) explores themes of love and loss among the A'atsika people of Washington State. The story centers on Thomas Just, who was missing in action in Vietnam for many years, and Ruth, the wife he left behind, a strong-willed fisherwoman and the conscience of her tribe. Thomas finally returns to the A'atsika as they prepare for a supposedly traditional whale hunt. But the hunt's results are disastrous, and Thomas is unable to reconnect with anyone, especially Ruth. The A'atsikas' loss of their traditional culture has unexpected parallels with Thomas's Vietnam experiences. Hogan's style is both dreamlike and realistic, with a nonlinear narrative that loops back on itself as more and more is revealed. While filled with heartbreaking events, the novel has a life-affirming spirit that makes the journey worthwhile. Highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 4/1/08.]—Christine DeZelar-Tiedman, Univ. of Minnesota Libs., Minneapolis

Welcome to Owl, ND, circa 1984, a town of some 800-plus souls located somewhere between Winesburg, OH, and Twin Peaks, WA. Folks feel rooted here. Most of us know one another so well, we're sort of like a big family. Here, in Owl, dating involves a lot of desperation, and serious drinking is still considered a productive avocation. Of course, the high school, which sometimes attracts teachers who've been educated abroad, in places like Minot or even St. Paul, is a big deal: the time the Owl Lobos got covered on the national news ranks right up there with Theodore Roosevelt National Park and Angie Dickinson in the North Dakota pantheon. Oh, and there's also that "Gordon Kahl incident," in which a protestor killed two federal marshals over a tax dispute—but we figure every town has its problems. We're not so much bitter, really, as dazed and confused. Klosterman (Fargo Rock City), who has previously written mainly about bands with names like OutKast, devotes his first novel to us. You'll want to check it out from your local public library. Owl's may be not so different from where you live. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 5/1/08.]—Bob Lunn, Kansas City P.L., MO

This satirical romp takes place in a somewhat puerile male fantasy world, with matter-of-fact prose that seems an uncanny hybrid of Philip K. Dick and Charles Bukowski. The main character, a giant named Awesome, is exceedingly conceited, annoying, and erratic yet strangely likable. The inherent tension created by the narrative gives readers a sharp sense of uncertainty about what might be possible in the bizarre world created by Pendarvis (Your Body Is Changing). His attempt to create this liminal state epitomizes the challenge of fiction. The revolving focus on the penis, Awesome's "wiener," and his attachment to and detachment from it, is a hilarious commentary on male phallocentric identity. Awesome exhibits a male subconscious that has become conscious and active; no opportunity is missed to add sexuality of any form to any relationship he has. The story is so over-the-top that savvy readers should pick up on its inherent playfulness and recognize it for the satire that it is. Others will just be irritated and offended. Recommended for larger fiction collections and academic libraries.—Henry Bankhead, Los Gatos P.L., CA

Swiss author Stamm's latest novel (after Unformed Landscape) describes a few months in the life of Andreas, a secondary school teacher and confirmed bachelor. This glimpse at one man's midlife crisis is a mediation on what it means to be lonely. Sitting in a doctor's office awaiting the results of a biopsy, Andreas has an epiphany. Dissatisfied with the banality of his life, he decides to quit his job, sell his apartment, end his romantic affairs, and leave Paris for good. He heads to his childhood home in Switzerland and an ill-fated reunion with his first love. Andreas's completely unrealistic self-perception (illustrated with subtle irony by his language-teaching materials) makes up for his being far from sympathetic as a protagonist. Stamm's narrative is both insightful and dreamy, his fluid prose rendered adeptly by award-winning translator Hofmann. And while the novel's ending is unexpected (and, some might argue, inappropriate), it is not unwelcome. Appropriate for large fiction collections.—Karen Walton Morse, Univ. at Buffalo Libs., NY

In Szewczyk's (fiction editor, Kirkus Reviews) first novel, recently dumped New York literary agent Kas is comforted by her boisterous buddy Max, who outrageously pranks her ex and takes Kas and their mellow friend Libby on vacation at a luxurious South African resort. There, the three lust after superlatively handsome ranger William. Fired for his one-night stand with Kas, William moves to New York convinced he can write a book on the politics of Monaco—though even his emails are gibberish. Kas imagines her dream man to be more like the promising author whose manuscript she found in the slush pile than brainless William, but she lets him move in anyway. Although the ending is abrupt, refreshingly, no great moment of discovery wraps the book up too neatly, just a celebration of Kas's family and friends in all their joyous, urban craziness. Szewczyk's cheerfully caustic sense of humor is a delight, making up for the tendency of her secondary characters—including Kas's Polish mother and Manuel, another guest at the resort—to edge into manic caricatures. Recommended for all popular fiction collections.—Lisa Davis-Craig, Canton P.L., MI

Wickham is the pen name of Sophie Kinsella, author of the popular "Shopaholic" series. In Kinsella's latest novel written under that pen name (following Cocktails for Three and The Gatecrasher), Amanda and Hugh Stratton, their two daughters, and their free-spirited nanny, Jenna, fly to Spain to stay at a stunning villa belonging to Hugh's old schoolmate Gerard. At the same time, Chloe, a lively dressmaker, her partner, Philip, and the couple's two sons are taking a well-deserved break as Philip's company prepares for a merger that might mean the end of his career. When the two families arrive at the villa and realize they have been double-booked, they appear to be the victims of a scheduling error. As the story unfolds, however, it turns out there's much more to their shared history. The occasional sexual situations and references to drug use make this more of an adult read than the "Shopaholic" series, but this should not deter readers from picking up what is essentially a fun and charming read. Recommended for all public library collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 3/15/08; library marketing campaign planned.—Ed.]—Anastasia Diamond-Ortiz, Cleveland P.L.

Winslow (California Fire & Life; The Power of the Dog) often takes a segment of fringe society—an area most readers will know very little about—and so thoroughly steeps his story in it that we come away feeling like experts. This new novel is no exception. San Diego PI Boone Daniels takes on only enough work to pay the bills so he can indulge his passion for surfing. His pals, which make up the "Dawn Patrol," are an offbeat group of characters from all walks of life who share the same passion for serious surfing. When an arson witness goes missing, an attractive insurance company lawyer enlists Boone's help in finding her. Against his better judgment, Boone signs on and finds himself in the middle of much bigger things than arson. With his short chapters and gritty dialog, former private investigator Winslow knows how to keep the pace fast and the interest high. Several subplots make the main story line even more compelling; the whole narrative plays out against a coming "swell"—the big waves that surfers dream about. Recommended for all public libraries. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 2/1/08.]—Caroline Mann, Univ. of Portland Lib., OR

In these 14 stories set in England, Gardam (The Flight of the Maidens) writes efficiently and amusingly about old age, insensitive youth, strange events, and ordinary life. Some stories, such as "Pangbourne," about a woman who bonds with a gorilla at the zoo, and "Babette," about an aging writer who gives away a cast-iron bathtub, are wonderfully bizarre. Others, like "The Hair of the Dog" and "The Fledgling," deal with the inevitable misunderstanding between parents and their children. Two of the best stories are the title story and "The Latter Days of Mr. Jones." In the former, we find Edward Feathers from Gardam's novel Old Filth on his way to a luncheon that ultimately ends in social disaster for the hostess but satisfying amusement for the reader. In the latter, the title character is a gentle elderly man who is quietly living out his days in a neighborhood that has become increasingly contemporary and thus suspicious of old men who enjoy sitting in the park watching children play. Gardam has created characters that are charming and touching and has edged them with her barbed humor. Recommended for all fiction collections.—Joy Humphrey, Pepperdine Law Lib., Malibu, CA

Substituting "fabulous" for "fine" tells you everything you need to know about Proulx's third volume in her "Wyoming Stories" series. As her other work (e.g., The Shipping News), the star of this collection is the American West, whose geography and terrain both define and limit the characters who inhabit it while underlining their relative impermanence. Readers will find themselves drawn to the intricate, relentless terrain that dominates "Them Old Cowboy Songs" and "Testimony of the Donkey," while those hankering for a touch of the macabre will chuckle gleefully over the devil's deeds in "I've Always Loved This Place" and "Swamp Mischief." What elevates this collection from merely good to sublime, however, is "The Sagebrush Kid," a masterpiece of understated horror that elevates the time-honored humanity vs. nature theme to a whole new level. Prepare to be surprised, disturbed, and uncomfortably amused by Proulx's attention to detail and her unflinching descriptions of life's inherent cruelties. Highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 1/08.]—Leigh Anne Vrabel, Carnegie Lib. of Pittsburgh