Xpress Reviews: First Look at New Books
-- Library Journal, 04/10/2009
Week of April 10, 2009
Fiction | Nonfiction
Fiction
Clark, Mary Higgins. Just Take My Heart. S. & S. Apr. 2009. c.336p. ISBN 978-1-4165-7086-8. $25.95. F
Verdict: The legions of Clark fans will enjoy this blended mix of serial killer thriller and courtroom drama.
Background: Assistant District Attorney Emily Wallace, recovering from losing her husband in Iraq, takes the lead in prosecuting the estranged husband of a Broadway star for her murder. Unbeknownst to her, her next-door neighbor is a serial killer, and Emily is in danger of becoming his next victim. Many readers may guess who the real villain is in the legal drama, and a plot point about Emily’s heart transplant and the donor is perhaps stretching it a bit much. The hints throughout the novel that Emily reminds people of the murdered star also seem awkward. But this reviewer kept turning the pages, and many other readers are sure to follow suit. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 12/08.]—Beth Lindsay, Washington State Univ. Libs., Pullman
Depp, Daniel. Loser’s Town: A David Spandau Novel. S. & S. 2009. c.304p. ISBN 978-1-4391-0143-8. $25. F
Verdict: Depp delves into the seedier side of Hollywood in this entertaining debut that is enervated by its dependence on hard-boiled clichés.
Background: Making movies is an ugly business in Los Angeles, and everyone wants a piece of it. Stuntman–turned–private investigator David Spandau is hired to look into a death threat received by a movie star, who is involved with extremely unpleasant people. These parties are unhappy about Spandau’s attempts to resolve the star’s difficulties. In another thread, readers follow the fortunes of Potts, a small-time crook who just wants a decent backyard and to get his daughter back.—Amelia Brunskill, Liaison Librarian for the Sciences, Dickinson Coll., Carlisle, PA
Deshpande, Shashi. The Dark Holds No Terrors. Europa Editions, dist. by Penguin. Apr. 2009. c.272p. ISBN 978-1-933372-67-9. pap. $15. F
Verdict: Fans of Indian fiction will relish the local color of this atmospheric and poignant novel. Recommended for public libraries and academic institutions.
Background: Previously published in India in 1980, this novel features Sarita, a well-educated woman struggling against the social norms of her traditional community. Plagued by distressing nightmares, she returns to her childhood home and her recently widowed father. The prolific Deshpande (The Long Silence) develops Sarita’s character with flashbacks and present-day vignettes narrated in both the first and third person. Spare language and description reinforce Sarita’s tenuous hold on sanity. Deshpande refuses to resolve her novel neatly, preferring instead to leave readers to wrestle with the same issues of female autonomy versus Vedic cultural norms with which Sarita must come to terms.—Dora Wagner, Northwestern Coll., Saint Paul, MN
Disher, Garry. Blood Moon: An Inspector Hal Challis and Sergeant Ellen Destry Investigation. Soho Crime. Apr. 2009. c.336p. ISBN 978-1-56947-563-8. $24. M
Verdict: Despite a rather abrupt ending, Disher’s compelling procedural offers plenty of detailed, realistic casework, but the most satisfying reading pleasure lies in the complex interactions among his richly developed and very human characters. Australian crime writers have been long underappreciated here, but Disher’s latest may start to change some mystery fans’ minds. [Disher’s U.S. tour concludes with an appearance at Book Expo America; see Prepub Mystery, LJ 12/08.]
Background: In this fifth Inspector Hall Challis title (after the Ned Kelly Award–winning Chain of Evidence), Challis and Destry are now lovers and living together when they are called to investigate the brutal beating of a chaplain at a posh private school. It seems the chaplain heads a fundamentalist church, and his brother, who works for a prominent politician, writes a racist blog. The case is further complicated when one of Challis’s officers allows the brother to compromise the crime scene. At the same time, the team must probe a sexual assault during Schoolies Week (the Aussie equivalent of spring break) and identify the murderer of a young woman in charge of punishing land use violations on Melbourne’s Mornington Peninsula. Was it her job or her jealous, controlling husband that led to her death?—Wilda Williams, Library Journal
Waberi, Abdourahman A. The United States of Africa. Univ. of Nebraska. 2009. c.134p. tr. from French by David Ball & Nicole Ball. ISBN 978-0-8032-1391-3. $45; pap. ISBN 978-0-8032-2262-5. $19.95. F
Verdict: A provocative satire featuring a wealthy Africa leeching an impoverished and oppressed Europe, this book would make an excellent teaching text and is highly recommended to college professors, particularly those specializing in critical thinking and African history, politics and literature.
Background: Waberi (The Land Without Shadows) turns the world upside down in her latest novel to be translated from French, Africa is a conglomerate of rich and powerful states, dominating, dictating to, and controlling a poverty-stricken European backwater. Waberi weaves her characters—Maya, Adama, Malaika and Doctor Papa—into an intricate story, exploring this new world’s socio-political-economic environment. The author gives readers a respite to laugh at a topsy-turvy world and prompts them to recognize their own complicity, stereotypical thinking, and ability to speak out against the abusive economic and political policies that incite and benefit from the violence in Africa.—Gloria Creed-Dikeogu, Ottawa Univ. Lib., Ottawa, KS
Isaacson, Rupert. The Horse Boy: A Father's Quest To Heal His Son. Little, Brown. Apr. 2009. c.352p. photogs. maps. ISBN 978-0-316-00823-5. $24.99. PSYCH
Verdict: Isaacson’s memoir of traveling to Mongolia in an effort to help his autistic son is weak on the autism sections and recommended as a result for travel collections only. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 1/09.]
Background: Travel writer Isaacson (Healing Land) chose Mongolia so his five-year-old autistic son, Rowan, could ride horses and to seek out shamans capable of "curing" Rowan. While Isaacson can masterfully evoke the Mongolian landscape and shaman ceremonies, his presentation of autism is wanting: Rowan’s "recovery" on this short trip feels simplistic and superficial. For those seeking to connect meaningful animal experiences with autism, a much better choice would be Nuala Gardner’s A Friend Like Henry.—Corey Seeman, Kresge Business Administration Lib., Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Kalniete, Sandra. With Dance Shoes in Siberian Snows. Dalkey Archive. (Baltic Literature). Apr. 2009. c.370p. tr. from Latvian by Margita Gailitis. ISBN 978-1-56478-545-9. $25. AUTOBIOG
Verdict: Kalniete’s memoir of her family’s banishment from Latvia to Siberia was a best seller in Latvia and benefits from Gailitis’s vivid translation. Recommended for large public and academic libraries.
Background: Former Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs Kalniete was born to Latvian parents and deported to Siberia under Stalin. The author’s reconstruction of her familial history proceeds on two tracks: she chronicles her grandparents’ and parents’ daily struggles while documenting a harrowing chapter in Latvian history. The author’s struggle to set the record straight beautifully complicates what might have been a straightforward historical memoir. In particular, Kalniete’s grandmother Emilija’s separation from her daughter, Ligita, is gracefully rendered.—Anne Garner, NYPL
Kazan, Elia. Kazan on Directing. Knopf. Apr. 2009. c.368p. ed. by Robert Cornfield. illus. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-0-307-26477-0. $30. THEATER
Verdict: On this 100th anniversary of Kazan’s birth (he died in 2003), Cornfield collects the director’s insights on his plays and films. Given Kazan’s tremendous stature in 20th-century drama, this is an essential purchase for most large film and theater collections.
Background: At mid-century, Kazan (A Streetcar Named Desire; East of Eden) was renowned as the foremost interpreter of America’s leading playwrights. Cornfield mines Kazan’s notebooks—full of observations about his craft—and adds chapter introductions and a lengthy summary of Kazan’s achievements. The book includes surprising revelations—e.g., Kazan held James Dean as second only to Marlon Brando but thought Dean lacked technique and showed an "irksome" inclination to self-pity. Kazan concludes with bittersweet reflections on the rewards of directing and the decline of his creative powers with advancing age.—Stephen Rees, Levittown Lib., PA
Kurzweil, Ray & Terry Grossman. Transcend: Nine Steps to Living Well Forever. Rodale. Apr. 2009. c.464p. illus. ISBN 978-1-60529-956-3. $27.95. HEALTH
Verdict: An introduction to antiaging techniques that offers familiar, and frequently inaccessible, suggestions and visions for future medical treatments that are more speculative than truly persuasive. Buy for demand only.
Background: Kurzweil and Grossman, authors of Fantastic Voyage: Live Long Enough To Live Forever, continue to explore how medical technology might stop—or even reverse—the aging process, if we can stay healthy into the 2020s or 2030s when it will become available. Their program, a rehashed version of their earlier book, promotes a largely vegetarian diet, sufficient exercise, and many diet supplements. Their view of future technology is fascinating and fun, but quite far from being completely credible. The supplements they recommend are expensive and, in some cases, unproven; their recommended foods are by no means universally available at affordable prices.—Susan B. Hagloch, formerly with the Tuscarawas Cty. P.L., New Philadelphia, OH
Mazor, Barry. Meeting Jimmie Rodgers: How America’s Original Roots Music Hero Changed the Pop Sounds of a Century. Oxford Univ. May 2009. c.384p. illus. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-0-19-532762-5. $27.95. MUSIC
Verdict: In charting Rodgers’s influence, Mazor provides a captivating romp through a century of American pop music and reveals the mechanisms by which icons exert influence on a variety of cultural traditions. Recommended for all collections.
Background: Though Rodgers lived only 35 years, he had an enormous impact on American popular culture. Mazor (senior editor, www.NoDepression.com) reveals his influence on country and folk singers like Ernest Tubb, Bob Dylan, and Dolly Parton, as expected, but the surprise is the effect the "Blue Yodeler" had on rock musicians as well (Rodgers was inducted into both the country and the rock music Halls of Fame). Readers wanting a traditional biography of Rodgers would be better served by Nolan Porterfield’s Jimmie Rodgers: The Life and Times of America’s Blue Yodeler.—Bruce R. Schueneman, Texas A&M Univ. Lib., Kingsville, TX
Saltz, Gail. The Ripple Effect: How Better Sex Can Lead to a Better Life. Rodale. Apr. 2009. c.224p. illus. ISBN 978-1-60529-877-1. $22.95. PSYCH
Verdict: Saltz guides women toward developing a positive relationship with their sexuality by nurturing a healthier set of core beliefs. Recommended for self-help collections.
Background: Saltz (Anatomy of a Secret Life) is the resident psychiatrist for Today and a regular columnist in O: The Oprah Magazine. In her latest book, she suggests that women’s view of themselves as sexual beings has an impact on every other facet of their lives. By reconciling the personal, mental, and physical aspects of their sexual selves and releasing negative thoughts or beliefs, women can reach their full potential. Saltz’s engaging, conversational style makes this book an enjoyable read, and her use of questions and numerous case studies invite readers to draw personal parallels.—Crystal Renfro, Georgia Inst. of Technology Lib., Atlanta
Samaan, Sarah, M.D. The Smart Woman’s Guide to Heart Health: Dr. Sarah’s Seven Steps to a Heart-Loving Lifestyle. Brown Bks. 2009. c.352p. illus. index. ISBN 978-1-934812-13-6. $24.95. HEALTH
Verdict: A practical and comprehensive guide for women interested in preventing and treating heart disease. Recommended for all consumer health collections.
Background: Cardiologist Samaan (Legacy Heart Ctr.) here offers heart-friendly advice on dieting, nutrition, taking charge of cholesterol, essential vitamins and minerals, and the influence of hormones and alcohol on women’s health. Helpful chapter summary boxes highlight key points and a brief appendix provides a chart and explanation of BMI (Body Mass Index). Samaan’s examples from various patients underscore the importance of taking care of one’s heart. A book with a similar focus, Barbara H. Roberts’s How To Keep from Breaking Your Heart, has sections related to treatment and various resources.—Rebecca Raszewski, Univ. of Illinois at Chicago
