Xpress Reviews—The First Look at New Books, October 1, 2010
Sep 30, 2010Week ending October 1, 2010
Fiction | Nonfiction | Graphic Novels
Fiction
De Rosnay, Tatiana. A Secret Kept. St. Martin's. Sept. 2010. c.320p. ISBN 9780312593315. $24.99. F
Bound to become a best seller, de Rosnay's latest (after Sarah's Key) is a taut, suspenseful, elegant novel with a secret at its heart that has the power to destroy one of the most wealthy families in contemporary Paris. As it begins, Antoine Rey, our narrator, is in a hospital waiting room eager to hear whether his beloved sister, Melanie, survived the car crash that brought him there. The two were driving back to Paris after a weekend at Noirmoutier Island, a getaway planned by Antoine as a surprise for Melanie's 40th birthday. As they reprise memories of the Rey family vacations on the island, including one trip shortly before their mother died, Melanie realizes the truth of the old family mystery, revealed as bits of memory pieced together along with a bit of detective work. This startling revelation causes her to drive the car off the road, endangering her life and her brother's. By the end of the story, Antoine, Melanie, and their friends and family suffer several deaths, culminating in a vision for the future that makes life and their fleeting moments of happiness all the more precious.
Verdict The reader will immediately become submerged in the world de Rosnay so beautifully creates and will turn the pages quickly; it's not hard to imagine downing this in one or two sittings. Different from the historical Sarah's Key but with as profound an effect; highly recommended and bravo!—Lisa Rohrbaugh, National Coll. Lib., Youngstown, OH
DuLong, Terri. Casting About. Kensington. Nov. 2010. 352p. ISBN 9780758232052. pap. $15. F
Stepchildren and ex-spouses can present challenges to any newly married couple. In her second novel (after Spinning Forward), DuLong returns to the Florida island of Cedar Key and introduces Monica, a newlywed who learns that her husband, Adam, is now going to have custody of his shy and sullen eight-year-old daughter. Happy in her new marriage and running her mother's knitting shop, Monica is a bit resentful of this added responsibility and equally unsure of her skills as a mother. How these three decent characters maneuver through a variety of not entirely unexpected plot twists, ending with a scary medical crisis, makes for a pleasant and entertaining read. The comfort and solace of knitting is interwoven throughout as Monica and her stepdaughter begin to bond over the craft and eventually form a deep and lasting affection for each other. Wonderful neighbors, supportive relatives, and a cute little dog name Billie all help Adam, Monica, and young Clarissa form a caring and strong family unit.
Verdict Readers who have enjoyed the knitting-themed stories of Debbie Macomber or Kate Jacobs will likely find this a delightful addition to that genre of needlecraft-inspired books. It's a sweet novel without terribly complicated characters or unrealistic situations.—Margaret Hanes, Civic Ctr. Lib., Warren, MI
Gracie, Anne. The Accidental Wedding. Berkley Sensation: Penguin Group (USA). Oct. 2010. 326p. ISBN 9780425233825. pap. $7.99. HISTORICAL ROMANCE
Madeleine Woodford's life in a small cottage with her five half-siblings is difficult enough without a stranger getting tossed from his horse practically on her doorstep. Now the unconscious fellow is in her bed, while she contemplates sleeping on the cold stones in front of the fire. Who would it hurt if she sneaked into that bed just to get some rest? Upon regaining consciousness, the stranger doesn't remember who he is, and Maddy can't help imagining a love all her own. Eventually, Nash Renfrew does recover his memory, but he won't tell this lovely, admirable, and fascinating woman that he is her new landlord, whose business agent has supposedly been trying to evict her—under his orders.
Verdict Gracie (To Catch a Bride) paints an affecting portrait of a woman surviving parental neglect to manage a home via her wits (she barters home-grown vegetables, eggs, and honey for custom) and a diplomat who's not so diplomatic when it comes to the woman he wants but won't admit he loves. A finely crafted tale, with just the right amount of sexuality.—Bette-Lee Fox, Library Journal
Kunstler, James Howard. The Witch of Hebron: A World Made by Hand Novel. Atlantic Monthly. 2010. c.352p. ISBN 9780802119612. $24. F
Hearing about this follow-up to Kunstler's 2008 World Made by Hand might make one somewhat apprehensive. Would the author be able to maintain the charm and impact of his first, postapocalyptic novel? Would he be able to keep us interested in his "world made by hand"? Set in the same small town of Union Grove, NY, this sequel wins on all counts. Kunstler skillfully extends the arc of the previous novel. In addition, he incorporates an effective coming-of-age story. Young Jasper Copeland, age 11, runs away from home and falls in with some bad company. As the story is resolved and the titular witch makes her appearance, the disparate parts of the narrative fall together with a spooky yet audible click. Kunstler's future is both reassuring and utterly terrifying at the same time.
Verdict Just in time for Halloween, this paean to America's past and future rings true—Cormac McCarthy's All the Pretty Horses meets Stephen King's The Stand. Highly recommended for popular fiction collections.-Henry Bankhead, Los Gatos P.L., CA
Lao She. Rickshaw Boy. Perennial: HarperCollins. 2010. c.336p. ISBN 9780061436925. pap. $14.99. F
This new translation of Lao She's masterpiece of social commentary is a somber tale. Farm boy Xiangzi moves to the big city and works three long years to scrape together money to buy his own rickshaw, but soldiers commandeer his rickshaw for the army. Xiangzi saves up again, but his earnings are stolen when his employer's house is raided for political reasons. He is tricked into marrying the daughter of a rickshaw renter, and she bleeds him dry with her profligate spending. When his wife dies delivering a stillborn child, the burial fees set him back again. Soon, to make ends meet, he must abandon his new love in order to get back on his feet. He finally locates a steady rickshaw gig and returns for her, only to find unbearable tragedy. Beaten, Xiangzi begins to fade away, losing his health, livelihood, and drive to excel. The reader feels tremendous sympathy for Xiangzi, even as the book comes to its inevitable conclusion.
Verdict This is an impressive novel of an individual struggling against and defeated by a corrupt society. Recommended for readers who enjoy modern tragedies such as Jane Smiley's A Thousand Acres.—Amy Ford, St. Mary's Cty. Lib., Lexington Park, MD
Lone Star Noir. Akashic. Nov. 2010. c.300p. ed. by Bobby & Johnny Byrd. ISBN 9781936070640. pap. $15.95. M
The latest volume in Akashic's well-received series of geographically focused "Noir" anthologies targets a state better known for brutal sun than for murky shadows, but the 14 short stories featured show that the dark places within the human heart can be found in any climate. The editors, copublishers of Cinco Puntos Press, have categorized their selections into "Gulf Coast Texas," "Back Roads Texas," and "Big City Texas" and supply a helpful map to identify their settings for those unfamiliar with Texas geography. Featured authors include both well-known novelists like James Crumley and Joe R. Lansdale and up-and-comers whose previous work has appeared primarily in periodicals. Standout stories include Lansdale's "Six Finger Jack," a pitch-black tale of crime and betrayal in the Piney Woods; Lisa Sandlin's hard-boiled urban detective story "Phelan's First Case"; and Claudia Smith's raunchily disturbing "Catgirl," in which a troubled woman reluctantly recalls a long ago beach vacation with her twin sister, two naïve high school friends, and her beautiful and amoral mother.
Verdict Sure to be of regional interest and to appeal to fans of noir or "dark" fiction, this spicy black brew of sinister thrills is not for the squeamish or the easily offended.—Bradley Scott, Texas A&M Univ., Corpus Christi
Lyon, Annabel. The Golden Mean: A Novel of Aristotle and Alexander the Great. Knopf. 2010. c.288p. ISBN 9780307593993. $25. F
This debut novel, a best seller in Canada and winner of the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, chronicles the relationship between Greek philosopher Aristotle and the teenaged Alexander before he became Alexander the Great. As the book opens, Aristotle and his wife, Pythias, are taking the grueling trip to Macedon to visit King Philip, Aristotle's boyhood friend. Aristotle intends the trip to be a brief one, a stopover on the way back to Athens. When Philip unexpectedly asks Aristotle to tutor his son Alexander, the philosopher reluctantly accepts.
Verdict Lyon depicts Aristotle as a complex combination of brilliance and melancholy. While the book's narrative thread is Aristotle's tutelage of Alexander, the most compelling part of the book is its wide-ranging portrayal of Greek civilization on the verge of the Hellenistic period. For historical fiction buffs, especially those who love to read about the ancient world, Lyons provides fascinating glimpses of the political struggles and battles, as well as the arts, culture, science, and medicine, of the period.—Douglas Southard, CRA International, Inc., Boston
Nonfiction
Bertinet, Richard (text) & Jonathan Gregson (photogs.). Cook: In a Class of Your Own with Richard Bertinet. Kyle: Kyle Cathie, dist. by National Bk. Network. 2010. 192p. photogs. index. ISBN 9781906868222. $35 with DVD. COOKING
World-renowned baker, chef, and cooking school operator Bertinet (James Beard and Julia Child Award–winning author of Dough) swings open the restaurant kitchen door to insist that it is method, not magic, that leads to fantastic epicurean creations. Fifty concept-centered recipes effectively showcase a range of techniques and ideas, demonstrating not only how to cook a dish from start to finish but how to cook, generally, with cross-recipe principles. The devil may be in the details (such as prep work), but Bertinet projects practicality and efficiency with an easy and encouraging clarity.
Verdict Without gimmicks or posing, Bertinet engages and informs throughout the text (and on the equally invaluable companion DVD). Great advice and tips abound via Q&A–type asides, from oiling the meat instead of the pan (to ensure total coverage and even coating) to reducing sauces (and fixing lumpy ones). An excellent source of no-step-left-behind advocacy for the how-and-why-minded home cook. Highly recommended.—Ben Malczewski, Ypsilanti Dist. Lib., MI
Bertman, Stephen. The Genesis of Science: The Story of Greek Imagination. Prometheus. Oct. 2010. c.278p. illus. ISBN 9781616142179. $27. SCI
Bertman (classics, emeritus, Univ. of Windsor) asks, "Who invented science?" and answers, "The Greeks." He then tours the ancient Greeks' contributions to various branches of science, including astronomy, biology, chemistry, and more. He also touches on the scientific achievements of non-Western cultures, such as those of the Maya and the ancient Chinese. Bertman's knowledge of the classics and interest in Greek science is apparent. His book is easy to read and covers much ground, but those well versed in its topic will find little that is new—it primarily presents previous scholarship for a popular audience. Also, the unsuspecting reader must beware reading too much into Bertman's occasional anachronisms. He periodically compares Greek achievements to those of modern science and often refers to Greek "scientists," a term not coined until the 19th century, to denote a role that did not exist until recently. Readers who find this book interesting should explore its recommended readings, especially David C. Lindberg's The Beginnings of Western Science.
Verdict Recommended for the general reader with a burgeoning interest in the origins of Western science.—Jonathan Bodnar, Georgia Inst. of Technology Lib. & Information Ctr., Atlanta
Diaghilev and the Golden Age of the Ballet Russes 1909–1929. V&A, dist. by Abrams. 2010. 240p. ed. by Jane Pritchard & Geoffrey Marsh. illus. bibliog. index. ISBN 9781851776139. $55. DANCE
Published to coincide with an exhibit of the same name at London's Victoria and Albert Museum, this catalog uses some of the vast riches of the museum's dance collections to great effect to elucidate the long-term influences of Russian impresario Sergey Diaghilev (1872–1929) and his Ballets Russes on the development of 20th-century arts. The visual artifacts—photographs, set designs, costumes, sketches, paintings, posters, scores, and souvenir programs—in this heavily illustrated volume complement the catalog's eight essays, which powerfully communicate the unprecedented creative collaboration of artistic giants that took place under Diaghilev's direction and transformed theatrical production. The catalog includes helpful appendixes that list the company's repertoire and tour locations, as well as short, entertaining pieces on narrow topics, such as "front cloths" and "daily class." Coeditors Pritchard and Marsh (curator of dance and director, respectively, Theatre & Performance Collections, Victoria and Albert Museum) have drawn upon new research to share museum treasures that have not been widely seen.
Verdict Recommended for interested readers who may be intimidated by Sjeng Scheijen's recent 500-plus page biography, Diaghilev: A Life.—Joan Stahl, George Washington's Mount Vernon, VA
Gold, Cynthia & Lisë Stern. Culinary Tea: More Than 150 Recipes Steeped in Tradition from Around the World. Running Pr. 2010. 288p. photogs. index. ISBN 9780762437733. $22.95. COOKING
Gold, tea sommelier at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel & Towers, and food writer Stern have written an informative book that will likely please tea lovers and adventurous cooks. A history of tea cultivation, consumption, and culture is followed by a collection of recipes for starters, entrées, desserts, and beverages. Recipes make up more than three-quarters of the book, and many are sourced from notable chefs and winners of culinary tea competitions. Expect unconventional recipes like Green Tea—Lacquered Salmon, Anise Lychee Biscot-tea, and Darjeeling and Pear Sangria.
Verdict While this book includes guides for blending and brewing tea, its primary focus is culinary pairings and cooking techniques. Readers interested in exploring culinary pairings might also enjoy Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg's The Flavor Bible.—Lisa Campbell, Univ. of Alabama Lib., Tuscaloosa
Horowitz, Mark Eden. Sondheim on Music: Minor Details and Major Decisions. 2d ed. Scarecrow. 2010. c.576p. discog. index. ISBN 9780810874367. pap. $44.95. MUSIC
The first edition of this book, published in 2003, focuses on a set of interviews Horowitz conducted with Stephen Sondheim, the legendary composer and lyricist. It also includes a few of Sondheim's original sketches. This second edition expands on the original with transcripts from two subsequent interviews, as well as an updated song listing and discography. In the newer chapters, Sondheim talks about the evolution of his show Bounce (originally entitled Road Show), how different strings of harmony distinguish composers, and his thoughts on the film adaptation of Sweeney Todd. Sondheim enthusiasts will appreciate the lengthier discussion of Merrily We Roll Along, a musical that was barely touched upon in the first edition.
Verdict The extensive musical jargon might prove difficult for some readers. Much of the content in the fist edition is incorporated here, and libraries with that volume will appreciate the expanded discography and song listing but little else. Recommended for libraries with a prominent emphasis on music.—Karen McCoy, Fort Lewis Coll. Lib., Durango, CO
Monaco, Paul. A History of American Movies: A Film-by-Film Look at the Art, Craft, and Business of Cinema. Scarecrow. 2010. 368p. bibliog. index. ISBN 9780810874336. $75; pap. ISBN 9780810874343. $45. FILM
Considering the films that won the Academy Award for Best Picture from 1927 to 2008 and the American Film Institute's "Greatest American Films" listed in 1996 and 2006, Monaco (cinema/video, Montana State Univ.; Understanding Society, Culture, and Television) has injudiciously divided American cinema into three eras—"Classic Hollywood (1927–48)," "Hollywood in Transition (1949–74)," and "New Hollywood" (1975 to the present). There are also sections about the founding of the studio system, a handful of classic silent films, and the coming of sound. For each era, Monaco attempts to encapsulate the genres, leading directors, dominant studios, and the best films. As he discusses the films, he proffers brief plot summaries, production background, and information about those involved in making the films, budgets, critical reviews (from which he liberally quotes), and public receptions.
Verdict There is little here that has not appeared in a plethora of preceding works, and Monaco tends to write in clichés. Readers looking for an introduction to film history might instead turn to Robert Sklar's Movie-Made America: A Cultural History of American Movies.—Roy Liebman, California State Univ., Los Angeles
Ortner, Jon. Buddha. Welcome, dist. by Random. 2010. 240p. photogs. ISBN 9781599620619. $29.95. FINE ARTS
Photographer Ortner (Where Every Breath Is a Prayer) compiled this collection of over 150 color images of Buddhist artwork taken on his travels in Southeast Asia. Most show Buddha statues or the temples containing them, and even a cursory glance gives the viewer a sense of the vast number of sites and objects that exist. Some photos offer a sense of scale as well, such as the image of a monk dwarfed by the great stupa at Sri Ksetra. The book is beautifully designed, with Buddha sayings interspersed among the images, so it can be randomly and rewardingly opened and reopened often. A closing section gives additional information on some of the images and sites. The introduction by Jack Kornfield, a Buddhist monk and cofounder of the Insight Meditation Society, is a succinct retelling of the Buddha story; the author's foreword is somewhat extraneous. Buddha is strongest when the images are allowed to speak for themselves.
Verdict A fine collection of images and sayings that will appeal to general readers, photographers, and, to a lesser extent, experienced Buddhist practitioners.—Mark Woodhouse, Elmira Coll., NY
Graphic Novels
Ellis, Warren (text) & Darick Robertson (illus.). Transmetropolitan. Vol. 5. 2009. ISBN 9781401228194.
Ellis, Warren (text) & Darick Robertson (illus.). Transmetropolitan. Vol. 6. 2010. ISBN 9781401228187.
ea. vol: Vertigo: DC Comics. c.144p. pap. $14.99. GRAPHIC NOVELS
Collected here are issues #31–36 of the groundbreaking series. In an ideal situation, readers have digested the first issues; otherwise, you will likely feel lost. Spider Jerusalem is a gonzo journalist modeled after legendary writer Hunter S. Thompson. Set in a futuristic dystopia in a perverse, lurid city—ostensibly New York—the story depicts how Spider's omnipresence in the culture has caused him to become an overblown caricature of himself. No one takes him seriously anymore, and the government is out to get him, but Spider is one step ahead of the game. Using investigative prowess and his fists, he ferrets out the backstory of President Callahan, whom he reveals via newsfeeds as a perverted, corrupt, horrible person.
Verdict This deviant, twisted satire romps through events reminiscent of real headlines, punctuated by violence, graphic sexual situations, and portrayals of dystopia at its worst. A satiric commentary of the contemporary world, this raucous portrait reveals Spider to be a cunning, savage journalist willing to use any means necessary to uncover the truth. The story moves thanks to razor-sharp, quick-moving writing and crisp, clear art; the grinning, relentless, and perennially smoking Spider effortlessly evokes images of Thompson in readers' minds. For fans of that writer's aura and the "Transmetropolitan" series in general.—Jeff Hunter, Royal Oak, MI
Siddell, Thomas. Gunnerkrigg Court. Vol. 2. Archaia. 2010. c.296p. ISBN 9781932386776. $26.95. GRAPHIC NOVELS
Quirky, charming, and beautifully drawn, this story follows Antimony Carver, a young girl with mystical gifts, and her adventures at a not-quite-normal boarding school. With rich color and manga-inspired character design, Siddell renders a setting that is part fantasy and part sf. Mythical beasts, ghosts, and robots populate Antimony's world, but she and her friend Kat confront it with spunk and humor. This pushes the darkness under the narrative's surface, where it's far more effective and thought-provoking. The characters, human or otherwise, feel at once normal, relatable, fantastical, and terrifying—a hallmark of all quality urban fantasy. Because it's more like a short story collection than a single narrative, this is best read chronologically (the first volume is available online at www.gunnerkrigg.com).
Verdict For readers, especially teens, looking for fantasy fiction with strong female characters, this is a breath of fresh air amid all of the vampire books sitting on your shelf right now.—M. Brandon Robbins, Wayne Cty. P.L., Goldsboro, NC
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