Fiction
Aug 15, 2010Black, Lisa. Trail of Blood. Morrow. Sept. 2010.
c.400p. ISBN 978-0-06-198933-9. $24.99. F
When forensic pathologist Theresa MacLean (Evidence of Murder) is called in to examine a slightly mummified corpse, she realizes it's a likely victim of the infamous Torso Killer, a serial murderer never caught despite the bold statements he left all over the train yards of Cleveland. It turns out the victim was a young detective trying to solve the cases. Locally born and bred, with police department lineage, Theresa and her cousin Frank Patrick grew up on tales about the Torso Killer. When a copycat killer starts in, both know they are chasing madness. Black constructs a compelling parallel story of the 1930s investigation with the modern-day pursuit. Readers may figure out the murderers—past and present—before Theresa does, but it's nonetheless a wild ride to the end of the line. VERDICT Black's carefully drawn descriptions of 1930s Cleveland and its rail yards create an intense feeling of suspense. True-crime buffs will appreciate her attention to accuracy. This third outing for Theresa will appeal to readers of Tess Gerritsen's Rizzoli and Isles series as well as fans of Michael Harvey's The Third Rail.—Teresa L. Jacobsen, Solano Cty. Lib., Fairfield, CA
Carillo, Charlie. One Hit Wonder. Kensington. Oct. 2010. c.369p. ISBN 978-0-7582-3505-3. pap. $15. F
It's back to the old Little Neck, NY, neighborhood for 38-year-old Mickey DeFalco, who hit it big 20 years ago with his first—and only—pop song, "Sweet Days." Then it was drop out of high school, off to L.A. to star in a brief and disastrous TV series based on the song, and bounce around for two decades before returning to his parents' home with a duffel bag full of memories and a mysterious coffee can full of money. Except for writing the song, nothing went right for Mickey after Lynn Mahoney ran away when they were teens. People still ask, Whatever happened to Mickey DeFalco? Mickey asks, Why did Lynn leave me? VERDICT Carillo (Raising Jake) paints Mickey with a wise-cracking flourish that best denotes this Queens, NY, native. The locale is the perfect setting for dreams that never quite make it out of the gate yet still paw the dirt years later. The sex here is of the bittersweet kind; guys really are from another planet. No one-hit wonder, Carillo takes readers on another funny and poignant ride. Recommended for those who like their heroes more flawed than flawless.—Bette-Lee Fox, Library Journal
Chang, Lan Samantha. All Is Forgotten, Nothing Is Lost. Norton. Sept. 2010. c.192p. ISBN 978-0-393-06306-6. $23.95. F
At the heart of this novel are a famous writing school and its director, Miranda Sturgis, whose students include the gifted young poets Roman and Bernard. Roman achieves early success, winning a major prize, while Bernard toils for many years to perfect a single poem. Roman had an affair with Miranda while a student but married classmate Lucy. When the affair is discovered years later, Roman's marriage and his friendship with Bernard are both destroyed, and he starts to question the cost of his success and how much of it he earned. Other topics include the relationship between student and professor; the professor's struggle to suffer mediocre students, giving up valuable creative time to mentor them; and the large question of whether teaching writing entails the dissemination of craft or the nurturing of innately gifted writers. The first woman and first Asian American to be director of the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop, Chang (Inheritance) writes from personal history. Her characters are three-dimensional and not predictable, and with her simple, elegant style she achieves a clarity that few writers accomplish. VERDICT This novel will have strong appeal to those interested in academia in general and writing in particular. Chang is an author worth reading now—and watching in the future.—Lisa Rohrbaugh, National Coll. Lib., Youngstown, OH
Clarke, Brock. Exley. Algonquin. Oct. 2010. c.320p. ISBN 978-1-56512-608-4. $24.95. F
Clarke (An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England) has based another novel on an extended literary allusion, this time Frederick Exley. The novel, set in Exley's Watertown, NY, concerns a precocious young reader, Miller, whose father has disappeared. Miller is convinced that his father has gone to serve in Iraq and is now a seriously wounded patient in the local VA hospital. Because Miller's father was fixated on A Fan's Notes, Exley's memoir of alcoholism and sports obsession, he thinks if he brings Exley to the hospital it will help his father recover. His search for Exley brings him in contact with some of Watertown's low-life characters. Miller's mother, a gorgeous lawyer, sends him to what is probably the worst child therapist in the history of literature—a man so unassertive that he changes his name and therapeutic technique at Miller's urging and eventually channels Frederick Exley in hopes of helping Miller's father. The plot takes some unlikely twists, owing mainly to Miller's naïveté, and he can seem little more than an unreliable narrator epitomized. VERDICT This charming story, at times hilarious, offers a postmodern commentary on the Iraq war, literature, and memoir. For literary fiction and Exley fans. [Featured at the Librarians' Shout and Share program at BEA.—Ed.]—Reba Leiding, James Madison Univ. Lib., Harrisonburg, VA
Coes, Ben. Power Down. St. Martin's.
Oct. 2010. c.432p. ISBN 978-0-312-58074-2. $24.99. F
Massive terrorist attacks on America not only kill hundreds but throw the global economy into chaos. The terrorists are Middle Eastern, but many have been deeply imbedded in Western society for years, including their resident mastermind. Dewey Andreas, a former Special Forces soldier who had become chief of a major oil rig in the Caribbean, survives an attack on his rig and begins to take down the terrorists who killed his crew. VERDICT Timing is everything, and debut author Coes has the good fortune to have written about a topic that concerns everyone—the vulnerability of our energy supply, including offshore oil platforms. As a hero, Andreas is a little too good to be true. He shrugs off major wounds, performs surgery on himself, will not bleed to death, and never misses with gun or knife. Regardless, this well-written thriller will appeal to fans of Vince Flynn and Brad Thor. [Library marketing.]—Robert Conroy, Warren, MI
Cornwell, Bernard. The Fort: A Novel of the Revolutionary War. Harper: HarperCollins. Sept. 2010. c.471p. ISBN 978-0-06-196963-8. $25.99. F
This novel represents something of a departure for Cornwell (Agincourt), set in Revolutionary War–era America instead of his native England. It portrays the efforts of the Massachusetts Militia to expel the British from Penobscot Bay (and the rest of North America) in July and August 1779. Cornwell relates the events of the battle in a straightforward fashion, depicting the British landing and hasty construction of Fort George, the arrival of the American troops, and the unfolding land and naval battles. As with all his books, Cornwell does not flinch from describing in great detail the blood and gore of 18th-century battle. His British heritage provides a fresh perspective; he repeatedly and unfavorably contrasts the leadership of Solomon Lovell and Dudley Saltonstall, the American commanders, with British commander Francis McLean. American readers may be somewhat taken aback by his negative portrayal of the American leadership and of Paul Revere in particular. VERDICT Cornwell fans and readers who enjoy historical military fiction will find this a readable and thoroughly researched account of an obscure Revolutionary War battle.—Douglas Southard, CRA International, Boston
Cossé, Laurence. A Novel Bookstore. Europa, dist. by Penguin. Sept. 2010. c.432p. tr. from French by Alison Andersen. ISBN 978-1-933372-82-2. pap. $15. F
Heiress Francesca and bookseller Ivan don't expect to make a profit when they open a bookstore in Paris that sells nothing but the best fiction. The store's unexpected success produces a powerful backlash: an outcry from pundits, negative ad campaigns, targeted competition, and threats that escalate to physical violence. When members of the store's secret inventory selection committee are attacked, barely escaping with their lives, it becomes imperative for the owners to find out who is behind the intimidation. With this work, French novelist Cossé (A Corner of the Veil) gives readers a truly literary thriller. Eminently readable, it is a love letter to the novel (literature junkies will find within its pages a seemingly endless supply of book suggestions) and a profound exploration of human nature. VERDICT If the success of Muriel Barbery's The Elegance of the Hedgehog, also translated by Andersen, is any indication, this work will be in high demand.—Karen Walton Morse, Univ. at Buffalo Libs.
Cunningham, Michael. By Nightfall. Farrar. Oct. 2010. c.256p. ISBN 978-0-374-29908-8. $25. F
"What do you do when you're no longer the hero of your own story?" That jolt, that upending realization that your life is just a stream of small dreams and small mistakes, is a defining theme in Cunningham's coruscatingly excellent fiction (remember The Hours?), expressed here in a way that makes you ache. Peter has had some success as a gallery owner in New York; his wife, Rebecca, is accomplished and seemingly confident if not the sparkler she once was. She's also from a not quite pleasantly nutty family, with one much younger brother, Mizzy (short for the Mistake; he wasn't planned), who's a brilliant, beautiful screwup now heading toward Peter and Rebecca. Rebecca's committed to saving Mizzy, so in he sweeps—"heartless, cynical, despairing youth"—and shows Peter how ordinary his life is: he's an indifferent parent, he sells art but hasn't achieved beauty or grandeur, he's been "banging on a tub to make a bear dance when we would move the stars to pity"—one of a hundred breath-catching, thought-shaking lines gilding the perfect narrative. VERDICT Mizzy nearly drives Peter and Rebecca to rash acts of their own, but in the end he's no answer, and they find that small might be enough. Extraordinary. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 5/15/10.]—Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal
DeAngelis, Camille. Petty Magic: Being the Memoirs and Confessions of Miss Evelyn Harbinger, Temptress and Troublemaker. Shaye Areheart: Harmony. Sept. 2010. c.336p. ISBN 978-0-307-45423-2. $24. F
New England witch Evelyn "Eve" Harbinger doesn't look a day over 149, especially when she uses her magical "oomph" to make herself look 25. Eve spends her golden years at home with her sisters or going home with younger men. When her neighbor's twentysomething nephew comes to town, Eve finds herself enchanted by the boy and his resemblance to her first love, a dashing World War II spy. DeAngelis (Mary Modern) creates a compelling secondary story line revealing Eve's work behind enemy lines and her tragic love affair with her Allied partner, Jonah. In current-day Blackabbey, an accusation that Eve's oldest sister killed her long-dead husband causes unrest among the coven. VERDICT Part Sara Gruen's Water for Elephants, part Bedknobs and Broomsticks, DeAngelis's second novel uses witchcraft to illuminate a woman whose wrinkles belie the passionate, adventurous girl she still is on the inside. Recommended for fans of magical realism—emphasis on the magic.—Karen Kleckner, Deerfield P.L., IL
Donoghue, Emma. Room. Little, Brown. Sept. 2010. 336p. ISBN 978-0-316-09833-5. $24.99. F
Five-year-old Jack and his Ma enjoy their long days together, playing games, watching TV, and reading favorite stories. Through Jack's narration, it slowly becomes apparent that their pleasant days are shrouded by a horrifying secret. Seven years ago, his 19-year-old Ma was abducted and has since been held captive—in one small room. To her abductor she is nothing more than a sex slave, with Jack as a result, yet she finds the courage to raise her child with constant love under these most abhorrent circumstances. He is a bright child—bright enough, in fact, to help his mother successfully carry out a plan of escape. Once they get to the outside world, the sense of relief is short lived, as Jack is suddenly faced with an entirely new worldview (with things he never imagined, like other people, buildings, and even family) while his mother attempts to deal with her own psychological trauma.
VERDICT Gripping, riveting, and close to the bone, this story grabs you and doesn't let go. Donoghue (The Sealed Letter) skillfully builds a suspenseful narrative evoking fear and hate and hope—but most of all, the triumph of a mother's ferocious love. Highly recommended for readers of popular fiction. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 4/15/10.]—Susanne Wells, P.L. of Cincinnati & Hamilton Cty.
Elliot, Jason. The Network. Bloomsbury, dist. by Macmillan. Sept. 2010. c.352p.
ISBN 978-1-60819-035-5. $24. F
British explosives expert "Ant" Taverner, a linguist and army veteran, is called back into service, this time by the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) for a pre-9/11 mission in the mountains of Afghanistan to retrieve Stinger missiles left over from the Soviet-Afghan conflict. MI6 believes that the weapons are headed for imminent use by Arab terrorists against civilian passenger planes. Taverner becomes part of "The Network," a subset of the British Special Air Service (SAS) designed to ensure supersecrecy, whose activities are not necessarily approved or even known by official MI6. Preparation for the mission includes psychological readiness training, firearms review, and unarmed defense. VERDICT Acclaimed British travel writer Elliot's (An Unexpected Light: Travels in Afghanistan) debut novel is a spy thriller based on real events and real characters, featuring apparently authentic tradecraft, betrayals requisite in this genre, cliff-hanging suspense, and splendid depiction of locations. The author's style is lyrical, and he maintains a narrative discipline (first person, present tense) that few contemporary writers can do well. The complex plot with a world-saving objective, complete with a side-trip romance and lots of derring-do, will appeal to fans of literate spy fiction. Highly recommended.—Jonathan Pearce, California State Univ. at Stanislaus, Stockton
Evans, Nicholas. The Brave. Little, Brown. Oct. 2010. c.368p. ISBN 978-0-316-03378-7. $26.99. F
The author of the best-selling Horse Whisperer brings us the tale of Tom Bedford, from his childhood in an English boarding school to Hollywood with his movie-star mother and now to Montana, where he lives alone after a failed marriage. The news of the arrest of his son, a Marine stationed in Iraq, for war crimes brings up painful memories of Tom's past and a shocking secret he has never told anyone. The story alternates between scenes of Tom's turbulent childhood, as he struggles to understand the hidden depths of events around him, and the present, as he attempts to reconnect with his estranged son and atone for the sins of the past. VERDICT In his first novel in five years Evans displays a sure hand at drawing characters and their motivations and settings as diverse as a gloomy boarding school, glamorous Hollywood, and the wide-open spaces of the West. This should appeal to all lovers of good storytelling.—Dan Forrest, Western Kentucky Univ., Bowling Green
Franck, Julia. The Blindness of the Heart. Grove. Oct. 2010. c.416p. tr. from German by Anthea Bell. ISBN 978-0-8021-1967-4. $24.95. F
This powerful novel opens with Helene, a nurse in Germany throughout World War II, abandoning her seven-year-old son at a train station at the end of the war; the following chapters detail how she came to this point. Faced with the countless horrors of war, we realize, it is sometimes easier to care for strangers than for one's own son. Like the German people collectively during this time and like her Jewish mother before her, Helene is emotionally blinded by her own pain. Franck's writing is deliberately understated, deadened emotionally to reflect the state of the characters. Events are flatly reported without exploring their impact, and what is not said weighs heavily on the narrative. VERDICT Not surprisingly, this book won the German Book Prize and has received international acclaim. Book groups will find plenty to discuss in this gripping novel, but it is not for the fainthearted or anyone who needs books to end on a happy note. There are no easy answers or pat resolutions in this dark novel, just a compelling narrative and solid writing.—Gwen Vredevoogd, Marymount Univ., Arlington, VA
Franzen, Jonathan. Freedom. Farrar.
Sept. 2010. c.576p. ISBN 978-0-374-15846-0. $28. F
"Use Well Thy Freedom": this motto, etched in stone on a college campus, hints at the moral of Franzen's sprawling, darkly comic new novel. The nature of personal freedom, the fluidity of good and evil, the moral relativism of nearly everything—Franzen takes on these thorny issues via the lives of Walter and Patty Berglund of St. Paul. With two kids, a Volvo in the garage, and a strong social conscience, the Berglunds allow their good deeds to be tinged with just a hint of smugness (which eventually comes back to haunt them). Weaving in and out of their lives is old college friend Richard Katz, low-level rock star and ultra-hip antihero. Time goes by, the kids grow up, betrayals occur, and the thin line between right and wrong blurs. Fully utilizing their freedom—to make mistakes, confuse love with lust, and mix up goodness and greed—the Berglunds give Franzen the opportunity to limn the absurdities of our modern culture. Granola moms, raging Republicans, war profiteers, crooked environmentalists, privileged offspring, and poverty-bred rednecks each enjoy the uniquely American freedom to make disastrous choices and continually reinvent themselves. VERDICT As in his National Book Award winner, The Corrections, Franzen reveals a penchant for smart, deceptively simple, and culturally astute writing. Highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 4/15/10.]—Susanne Wells, P.L. of Cincinnati & Hamilton Cty.
Ginsberg, Debra. The Neighbors Are Watching.
Shaye Areheart: Harmony. Nov. 2010. c.336p. ISBN 978-0-307-46386-9. $23.99. F
When pregnant 17-year-old Diana shows up on her biological father's doorstep, Joe must confess to his wife that he has a daughter by an ex-girlfriend. The resulting strain on their marriage lets lonely neighbor Jessalyn finally get her hooks into Joe. Just down the street, lesbian couple Sam and Gail struggle to find comfort in each other when their ex-husbands get custody of their kids. And Neighborhood Watch captains Dorothy and Dick Werner are too concerned with appearances to see their son's dangerous drug addiction. Diana's disappearance during San Diego's wildfire evacuation is the final blow to the quiet neighborhood's facade. In the months following, the neighbors pitch in to raise Diana's abandoned four-week-old infant, as their own lives are falling apart. VERDICT Ginsberg (The Grift) has written a gripping suburban suspense novel with real people at its core. This will appeal to fans of domestic suspense (by, e.g., Mary Higgins Clark, Lisa Gardner) as well as Tom Perrotta's suburban exposés. [Ebook ISBN 978-0-307-46388-3.]—Karen Kleckner, Deerfield P.L., IL
Grossman, David. To the End of the Land. Knopf. Oct. 2010. c.592p. tr. from Hebrew by Jessica Cohen. ISBN 978-0-307-59297-2. $26.95. F
Ora, who has eagerly awaited her son Ofer's release from the Israeli army, is devastated when he voluntarily extends his service; she has a premonition that he will not return alive. To escape what she feels is the inevitable official notification of his death, she decides to undertake a journey planned for the two of them, an adventurous hike in Galilee, a remote mountainous region in northern Israel, telling no one how to contact her. She enlists the company of an old friend and lover, Avram, himself an open war wound, still suffering the ill effects of captivity in a prisoner-of-war camp 20 years earlier. Convinced that talking about Ofer will keep him alive, Ora fills Avram in on her life since Avram's captivity, detailing her relationship with her now-estranged husband, Ilan, the third person in their once three musketeer–like friendship, as well as her childhood and her experience as a mother. VERDICT Glimmers of humanity, life, and hope counterbalance the sense of despair, foreboding, and sadness that permeate this detailed and beautiful chronicle of Ora's, Ofer's, and Avram's lives. A final heartbreaking note from the author makes the story all the more poignant. Highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 4/1/10.]—Sarah Conrad Weisman, Corning Community Coll., NY
Gruen, Sara. Ape House. Spiegel & Grau. Sept. 2010. c.320p. ISBN 978-0-385-52321-9. $26. F
The result of extensive research at the Great Ape Trust research facility in Des Moines, this fourth novel from Gruen (following the phenomenal Water for Elephants) has the dramatic tension of a crime thriller. Isabel Duncan is both scientist and den mother to six bonobos, outgoing, intelligent, and mischievous great apes who use American Sign Language and graphic symbols to communicate. Without warning, an explosion shatters their orderly existence. Were the animal rights protesters, an annoying presence outside the lab, behind this vicious act? Isabel spends weeks in the hospital and then can barely function when she learns that her six much loved bonobos have been stolen. With the help of lab intern Celia and two computer hacker friends, a sympathetic tabloid reporter, and an unforgettable Russian prostitute, Isabel wins out over a porn producer with the hottest reality show idea ever. Twists and turns, lies, and treachery abound in this funny, clever, and perceptive story. VERDICT Although the book is somewhat flawed by an abundance of stock characters, Gruen's achievement is nevertheless significant not only in illuminating the darkest corners of animal research but also in showing the depth of human-animal relationships. This will draw both confirmed and new devotees of Gruen's fiction. A perfectly plotted good read. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 4/15/10.]—Donna Bettencourt, Mesa Cty. P.L., Grand Junction, CO
Henderson, Susan. Up from the Blue. Harper: HarperCollins. Oct. 2010. c.317p. ISBN 978-0-06-198403-7. pap. $13.99. F
This first novel from Henderson (curator, NPR's Dime Stories) opens in 1991 as twentysomething Matilda Harris goes into premature labor in her new Washington, DC, apartment. The only person she can think of to call is her father, with whom she hasn't spoken in three years. The story then turns to eight-year-old Tillie as she and her family relocate to Washington from New Mexico when her father, a weapons system designer, gets a new job at the Pentagon. But Tillie's mother isn't in Washington when she arrives. Tillie's older brother, Phil, isn't much help, and her father just wants her to be a good soldier and avoid the usual chaos that surrounds her. Tillie longs for the bright colors and dancing and joy she associates with her mother. Instead, she basks in the praise from her teacher and feels an affinity for the one black girl in her class, who comes in on the bus. VERDICT Henderson beautifully portrays this family in crisis through its most voluble and consistent member. Rapturous prose reveals young Tillie's heart as she yearns for the mother who will make her world better but who can't seem to mend her own tortured soul. A triumphant debut. [Online reading group guide.]—Bette-Lee Fox, Library Journal
Jones, Melissa. Emily Hudson. Pamela Dorman: Viking. Sept. 2010. c.360p.
ISBN 978-0-670-02180-2. $25.95. F
Jones's (Sick at Heart) new historical novel begins as the book's namesake is expelled from her prestigious boarding school because of her "unsettling effect on the other pupils." From that stunning opener, the narrative follows Emily's attempts to integrate herself into New England high society and her escapes from her dogmatic uncle and later, in London, from her writer cousin to be independent and follow her aspiration to paint professionally. Entertaining though the novel's concept may be, overall it misses the mark. The foundations for Emily's independent spirit are never explained, and it is difficult to comprehend how a sheltered young woman during the Civil War would develop such ideas and concepts; likewise, Emily appears ambivalent about what is professed to be her passion—painting. The constant shifting between letters and characters' points of view and the withholding of key characters until the end make the book feel disconnected and unfocused. VERDICT Unless the British author's previous novels are in high demand by patrons, save the funds. [This novel by the sister of novelist Sadie Jones draws on the life of Henry James's cousin Minnie Temple, who died at age 24 and who inspired James's most memorable female characters.—Ed.]—Audrey M. Johnson, Arlington, VA
Krauss, Nicole. Great House. Norton.
Oct. 2010. c.352p. ISBN 978-0-393-07998-2. $24.95. F
In this latest from Krauss (The History of Love), a huge old desk with many drawers becomes the symbol of love and loss for a host of characters from different countries and time periods. There is the New York woman who has written all her novels at the desk, which she was keeping for a Chilean poet who has since disappeared. Then there are the poet's daughter, who comes back years later to claim the desk; the antiques dealer who tracks down meaningful items from people's pasts; the brother and sister who live isolated in a Jerusalem home filled with other people's furniture; the elderly couple in England who live with the desk and a horrible secret; and the dictatorial father who desperately tries to understand his creative son. VERDICT While each character's story is engrossing, the connection among them is at times impossible to follow. Still, Krauss deals with heavyweight themes—the Holocaust, the different ways people cope with suffering, the special cruelty of fathers, the costs of creativity—with meditative, insightful prose that makes for an intense and memorable reading experience. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 5/15/10.]—Joy Humphrey, Pepperdine Univ. Law Lib., Malibu, CA
Leung, Brian. Take Me Home. Harper: HarperCollins. Oct. 2010. c.304p. ISBN 978-0-06-176907-8. $24.99. F
An award-winning short story writer (World Famous Love Acts) and novelist (Lost Men), Leung here gives us a fascinating depiction of life, love, and racial strife in the mining camps of the 19th-century American West. The novel opens with central character Adele (Addie) Maine traveling back to the Wyoming mining town from which she escaped 40 years ago when things went terribly wrong. She had moved there originally to join her older brother, Tommy, as he attempted to homestead but instead had to work in the nearby coal mine. To Addie's surprise, the miners were Chinese and Americans, and the animosity between the groups permeated working and living conditions. Resourceful and independent Addie was fiercely loyal to her brother; however, when she befriended a Chinese male cook to help her sell meat to the miners, she began a tenuous reach across the threshold of racial propriety. And then her life took an even stranger turn as she deferred to her brother's wishes. VERDICT In this work of insight and sensitivity, Leung succinctly portrays how Chinese miners of the era were resented and what happened to people who crossed the racial barrier. All fiction readers should consider.—Maureen Neville, Trenton P.L., NJ
Lindsay, Jeff. Dexter Is Delicious. Doubleday. Sept. 2010. c.368p. ISBN 978-0-385-53235-8. $25.95. F
Dark and demented Dexter becomes a doting daddy in Lindsay's latest (after Dexter by Design), another outstanding effort about everyone's favorite serial killer. Dexter is celebrating the birth of Lily Anne, his first child, and dealing with feeling as though he is almost human, and his need to hurt bad people having almost disappeared. Order is restored somewhat when a couple of teenage girls go missing, and Dex is drawn into a case involving murder and cannibalism. He has to help his sister Deborah with the case while dealing on the home front not only with his new daughter but also with the suspicious reappearance of his brother and fellow killer, Brian. Lindsay deftly handles Dexter's apparent transition toward becoming more human and prevents the book from being weighed down or dull.
VERDICT With the Showtime series continuing to receive rave reviews, more readers than ever will be drawn to this series. And with this one they will not be disappointed. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 4/1/10.]—Craig Shufelt, Fort McMurray P.L., Alta.
Lippman, Laura. I'd Know You Anywhere. Morrow. Sept. 2010. c.384p. ISBN 978-0-06-170655-4. $25.99. F
Eliza Benedict believed she'd put her adolescence behind her, especially the time she'd spent as a captive of Walter Bowman, until he contacts her from death row. Struggling in her relationship with her own teenage daughter and wrestling with memories of Holly Tackett, the girl who didn't get away from Walter, Eliza finds herself repeatedly coming back to the events of the last night of Holly's life. While she may no longer be his captive, Eliza is clearly anything but free. The mystery in Lippman's latest stand-alone, while still a strong element, takes a backseat to Eliza's story, set against the impending execution of Walter. The fast-paced narrative, with dynamic supporting characters and subplots that feel underused, races to a satisfying if somewhat abrupt conclusion. VERDICT Echoing Lippman's previous stand-alones, What the Dead Know and Life Sentences, this is a solid choice for mystery fans who enjoy a broader view of crime and its aftermath. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 4/15/10.]—Amy Brozio-Andrews, Albany P.L., NY
McCarthy, Tom. C. Knopf. Sept. 2010. c.320p. ISBN 978-0-307-59333-7. $26.95. F
C is for "Carbon: basic element of life," Serge is told near the end of McCarthy's (Remainder) latest; "the C is everywhere." Seeking to illuminate life at its most basic, the novel begins with Serge's birth at the turn of the last century, then follows him to architecture school, the military (he serves during World War I), and a civil service job in Egypt. His gifted sister, with whom he has a questionable relationship, commits suicide. His genius father is obsessed with teaching deaf children and inventing new methods of communication in his private laboratory (though he rarely communicates with family). But Serge is not a genius. This seems to be McCarthy's point—life and communication flow all around Serge, not in him; drugs, women, and war provide only brief bursts of ecstasy, not the "basic elements" necessary for life. McCarthy's attention to the tiny bits of matter around the story (minutiae) heightens Serge's menial existence. VERDICT Recommended for those who read extensively in literary fiction or are devoted to Thomas Pynchon's brand of maximalism. (Though be warned: C is not as entertaining as Pynchon's works.) [See Prepub Alert, LJ 4/1/10.]—Stephen Morrow, Ohio Univ., Athens
Murray, Paul. Skippy Dies. Faber & Faber. Sept. 2010. c.672p. ISBN 978-0-86547-943-2. $28. F
At Dublin's Seabrook College, Skippy survives the daily indignities common to a boarder's life in an elite boys school. Still, something's wrong. Why does he want to quit the swim team? Why are his grades slipping? And who's the dark-haired St. Brigid's girl Skippy is always trying to spy on with his roommate's telescope? Seabrook is the world in miniature, and its gates threaten to burst from the hugger-mugger of cruelty, scandal, and materialism teeming within. It takes Skippy's tragic death and a sequence of events both hilarious and horrifying to recover the consolations provided by sympathy and friendship. Whether these will be enough to redeem Seabrook remains anyone's guess, though Murray suggests that a fleeting sense of grace may be all we can hope for and more than we deserve.
VERDICT Murray's second novel (after An Evening of Long Goodbyes) is almost flawless, a gift for fans of character and plot. In addition to his masterly use of James Joyce and Robert Graves throughout, Murray has created a social realism that holds its own with that of Dickens. Skippy Dies deserves to be widely read and loved. [Also available as a three-volume paperback boxed set, ISBN 978-0-86547-948-7, $30; see Prepub Alert, LJ 4/15/10.]—J. Greg Matthews, Washington State Univ. Lib., Pullman
Nelson, Antonya. Bound. Bloomsbury,
dist. by Macmillan. Oct. 2010. c.240p.
ISBN 978-1-59691-575-6. $25. F
In this captivating novel of complicated relationships, award-winning author Nelson (Nothing Right) explores the ties that bind us. Childless Catherine is surprised to discover that she is the guardian of her high school best friend Misty's teenage daughter, Cattie, after Misty dies in an automobile accident. Catherine's much older husband, Oliver, who has already suffered the dramas of two daughters from two previous marriages, is more interested in his young mistress and his looming 70th birthday. In the meantime, Cattie has run away from her Vermont boarding school with a disturbed soldier and a litter of puppies. When Catherine leaves home to find Cattie, Oliver is left to tend to Catherine's intimidating mother, whose stroke has left her blessedly speechless. Shadowing these events is the serial killer who has resurfaced after decades to haunt this Kansas town. VERDICT In this delightful blend of extraordinary circumstances and ordinary suburban life, Nelson beautifully and humorously exposes the deep connections among these characters. An outstanding voice and an exceptional novel; essential reading. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 6/1/10.]—Joy Humphrey, Pepperdine Univ. Law Lib., Malibu, CA
Nunez, Sigrid. Salvation City. Riverhead: Penguin Group (USA). Sept. 2010. c.288p. ISBN 978-1-59448-766-8. $25.95. F
Teenager Cole Vining had just moved with his parents from Chicago to a rural Indiana college town when a deadly flu epidemic leaves him orphaned and memory impaired. Shuffled from a Dickensian orphanage to a conservative Christian couple, Cole finds his muddled memories of his liberal parents clashing with the new reality of life in Salvation City with Pastor Wyatt, a charismatic preacher with a history of substance abuse, and his wife, Tracy. Cole now has a safe, close-knit community around him, but he feels its limitations as Tracy struggles to homeschool him. Then, an unexpected visitor presents Cole with new options and hope for a more balanced future. Nunez (The Last of Her Kind) has a deft hand with her narrator's simple prose as he recounts horrific events and exposes profound questions. VERDICT A good choice for all contemporary fiction readers. Fans of Cormac McCarthy's The Road will find similar themes of a near-future dystopia and the human capacity for redemption but wrapped in a lighter tone. For YA readers this could serve as an alternative to Pat Frank's Alas, Babylon or Walter M. Miller Jr.'s A Canticle for Leibowitz. Finally, fans of Robin Cook's and Michael Crichton's medical thrillers might appreciate this as a psychological examination of epidemic.—Jenn B. Stidham, Houston Community Coll.–Northeast, TX
Pérez-Reverte, Arturo. Pirates of the Levant. Putnam. (Captain Alatriste, Bk. 6). Sept. 2010. c.384p. tr. by from Spanish by Margaret Jull Costa. ISBN 978-0-399-15664-9. $25.95. F
In Pérez-Reverte's latest adventure featuring utterly honorable soldier of fortune Capt. Diego Alatriste (following The Cavalier in the Yellow Doublet), the captain and his faithful foster son and chronicler, Íñigo, take work aboard a Spanish galleon. Two important things happen: first, the galleon docks at Oran, a rundown Spanish outpost in northern African, where our pair spring old colleague Sebastián Capons from perpetual duty and encounter the Moor Gurriato, who attaches himself to the captain. Second, Íñigo, has grown up enough to chaff under Alatriste's strictures and leaves him—though make no mistake, the captain still has his back. These intriguing developments flicker by with little elaboration, for this is less a novel than a meditation on what a soldier's life was like in the "civilized world" in the early 1600s: absolutely ruthless and absolutely bloody. Pérez-Reverte seems intent on reminding readers that in its fading Golden Age Spain was tough but honorable, unlike the "mean French, the squalid English, or the brutish Germans." Linked to this is the idea that a truly noble man will coolly accept "a certain and irrevocable destiny." VERDICT This tautly written story will work best for those interested in military and historical adventure.—Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal
Reuss, Frederick. A Geography of Secrets. Unbridled. Sept. 2010. c.288p. ISBN 978-1-60953-000-6. $25.95. F
Set in Washington, DC, this latest from Reuss (Horace Afoot) tracks two men—one who makes maps and another who uses them—wrestling with secrets. Ethan, the mapmaker, has secrets that are old, which he hunts down and then decides to keep hidden. Noel, the map user, has secrets that are new, some of which he reveals, some of which he lets lie. The story takes the shape of a parabola, which neatly defines the flight of its dual narrative. Though the takeoff is somewhat slow, as each character is defined, the story has gripping scenes at its apex: Ethan discovers his father's life as a spy, while Noel realizes that he can no longer live with the complications of his classified job. These men don't know each other, though they meet and part as strangers in an opening scene; their slow divergence and the final convergence of their stories add up to a thoughtful examination of the value of keeping secrets. In addition, the descriptions of Noel's golf game are transcendental.
VERDICT An understated but masterly work for fans of cosmopolitan, contemplative, contemporary prose.—Henry Bankhead, Los Gatos Lib., CA
Roth, Philip. Nemesis. Houghton Harcourt. Oct. 2010. c.304p. ISBN 978-0-547-31835-6. $26. F
During the summer of 1944, young men like Bucky Cantor needed good reason not to be fighting overseas. Though he had bad eyesight, was the sole support of his grandmother, and was the best phys ed teacher Newark's Chancellor Avenue School ever saw, Bucky's guilt informed his life that long, hot summer and forever changed its trajectory. With an incredible eye for historical detail, Roth paints a vivid picture of the polio epidemic that hit the Jewish neighborhood of Weequahic on the Fourth of July weekend, pitting ignorance against science, neighbor against neighbor, and fear against common sense. Bucky excels at his job, keeping the kids active and naively believing that he can personally hold the disease at bay. But as one child after another falls ill, he loses faith in God even as he obsesses over the chance to join his girlfriend, Marcia, in the Poconos. VERDICT Roth, one of our greatest American writers, is unrivaled in his mastery at evoking mid-20th-century New Jersey, but it's the thoughtful examination of the toll guilt takes on the psyche, the futility of raging against God or Fate, and the danger of turning blame inward that give this short novel its power. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 5/15/10.]—Sally Bissell, Lee Cty. Lib., Ft. Myers, FL
Saylor, Steven. Empire: The Novel of Imperial Rome. St. Martin's. Sept. 2010. c.608p. ISBN 978-0-312-38101-1. $25.99. F
Toga alert! Saylor resumes the family saga he began in Roma, spanning from the reign of Augustus (27 BCE–17 CE) to the death of Hadrian (138 CE). With the same solid historical research, this new hefty and entertaining installment should please fans of the first volume and draw new readers attracted by the famous names (this period, the author notes, is rather emperor-centric). The Pinarii family are still madly trying to cope with life close to the imperial court and passing their amulet, which now resembles a crucifix to the Christian-wary Romans, through the generations. Historical events provide plenty of depraved details and comparisons that beg to be drawn to today; lions and gladiators in the arena, volcanic eruptions, live burials, and master illusionists abound to fire up any number of dinner conversations. VERDICT Recommended for anyone who enjoys Roman history. At the end Saylor notes that he draws on the writings of Suetonius and Pliny for his material, so curious readers might want to turn to the original sources.—Mary K. Bird-Guilliams, Wichita P.L., KS
Schaefer, Max. Children of the Sun. Soft Skull. Sept. 2010. 400p. ISBN 978-1-59376-297-1. pap. $15.95. F
Moving from 1970, when central character Tony is 14, to the early 1990s, this first novel views the history of the violent and racist British skinhead movement from the perspective of its gay subculture. Interweaving fact and fiction across time, Schaefer tracks the internecine battling of the neo-Nazi movement's ever-changing factions (he intersperses much period journalism between his chapters) and the surprisingly unchanging lives of its members. Contrasted with Tony's story is that of James, a young gay writer who's attempting to write a screenplay about a particularly notorious skinhead, Nicky Crane, who died of AIDS in 1993 after spending most of his two decades closeted in the movement. VERDICT Schaefer has taken on the difficult task of trying to keep his readers interested in characters many might find repugnant and to locate some dramatic movement in lives that seem to change little over time. That Schaefer succeeds as well as he does is a testament to his skill. Still, at 400 pages, this will be a heavy slog for many.—Lawrence Rungren, Merrimack Valley Lib. Consortium, North Andover, MA
Schlink, Bernhard. The Weekend. Pantheon. Oct. 2010. c.224p. tr. from
German by Shaun Whiteside. ISBN 978-0-307-37815-6. $24.95. F
Would you die for a cause? Would you kill for one? Jörg was willing to kill, going after capitalists and anyone else who got in his way back in Eighties Germany. Now, after 24 years in prison, he's being released. Is he contrite? Still a firebrand? In Schlink's probing new work, it's more complicated than that. Jörg's sister Christiane has planned a get-together with old friends at the country house she shares with Margarete—a welcome-home party for a murderer. There's Henner, whom Jörg suspects of having betrayed him; Ulrich, who baits Jörg and whose daughter tries to seduce him; Karin, now an irritatingly patient and loving minister; quiet Ilse, who's writing a fictional account about another member of their group; and assorted spouses. Enter Marko, a crafty young revolutionary who wants Jörg to rejoin the cause, and an anonymous visitor who turns out to have a shattering connection to Jörg. VERDICT Schlink (The Reader) deftly manages his characters' interlocking stories yet refuses to give readers an easy answer to the central dilemma: How are we supposed to feel about Jörg? That might frustrate some readers, but the ambiguity is realistic and the book itself a beautifully crafted and stimulating read. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 5/15/10.]—Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal
Simpson, Mona. My Hollywood. Knopf.
Aug. 2010. c.384p. ISBN 978-0-307-27352-9. $26.95. F
Simpson, who in her first novel, Anywhere but Here, chronicled a dysfunctional mother-daughter relationship, here explores the world of Filipino nannies caring for American children. Writing from two perspectives, she invites us into the minds of Lola, who has left her own family for many years to make enough money to put her children through college, and Claire, whose difficult son Lola helps raise. The setting is Hollywood, where Claire's workaholic husband struggles to find success as a sitcom writer. Most affecting in this story is the portrait of Lola as she comes to love her charges, only to find herself dismissed when her services are no longer needed or become unaffordable. She is caught between her own family, whom she no longer knows, and the employers who don't fully value her contributions. Not quite as interesting is Claire, who can't find success anywhere: as a composer, a mother, or a wife. VERDICT Recommended for fans of Simpson's and for readers intrigued by the rich but unseen lives of the domestic class à la Gosford Park. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 3/1/10.]—Evelyn Beck, Piedmont Technical Coll., Greenwood, SC
Smith, Martin Cruz. Three Stations:
An Arkady Renko Novel. S. & S. Sept. 2010. c.256p. ISBN 978-0-7432-7674-0. $25.99. F
Arkady Renko's reward for his investigative prowess described in five previous novels (from Gorky Park to Stalin's Ghost) is pathetic—he's about to be cashiered from his job as a cop in Moscow. He and his alcoholic detective buddy Viktor find a lovely young woman dead in a filthy trailer in Three Stations, a crime-ridden transportation center. The fate of one prostitute, however young or beautiful, is a trivial matter to their boss, so the investigation is squelched. Renko forges on stubbornly and develops clues that point to a serial killer on the loose. At the same time, Zhenya, Renko's solitary protégée, is embroiled in the kidnapping of another prostitute's infant. At Three Stations these two grim story arcs converge, and Renko's bravery, tenacity, and sheer intelligence are burnished to a warm glow in this compact yet deeply textured and finely written descent into Moscow's lower depths. VERDICT Fans everywhere will be eager to get the latest installment in the Renko saga, a terrific oeuvre for readers in every public library. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 3/15/10.]—Barbara Conaty, Falls Church, VA
Tessaro, Kathleen. The Debutante. Avon.
Oct. 2010. c.400p. ISBN 978-0-06-112578-2. pap. $13.99. F
Cate Albion returns home from New York to London to take a job with her aunt's estate-appraising business. An artist who had been supporting herself painting reproductions for various rich clients, Cate also needs to escape a soured romantic relationship. Her first assignment is to accompany her aunt's longtime business partner, Jack Coates, on a trip to assess the contents of the house of the recently deceased Lady Avondale, née Irene Blythe, a well-known philanthropist. During the appraisal, Cate uncovers a well-hidden shoe box holding an assortment of unusual items and begins to search for clues about what really happened to Irene and to her sister, Diana, who disappeared in 1941. Interspersed with the present-day story, Tessaro (The Flirt) includes letters from Diana to Irene, dating from 1926 through her disappearance. Tessaro deftly tackles a number of themes—history and politics between the wars, mental illness, class issues, and homosexuality—while embedding them in a suspenseful, romantic story with compelling characters. VERDICT Readers who have enjoyed Penny Vincenzi's historical family sagas will like this well-written, intriguing, and haunting novel.—Beth Blakesley, Washington State Univ. Libs., Pullman
Tremain, Rose. Trespass. Norton. Oct. 2010.
c.272p. ISBN 978-0-393-07956-2. $24.95. F
Two pairs of siblings, all in late middle age, are set on a trajectory to collide with one another. The English Vereys meet the French Lunels in the Cévennes region of southern France. Anthony Verey is winding down his once successful career as a dealer in fine antiques now that the bottom has fallen out of the market. On a visit to his sister and her lesbian lover, he makes the fateful decision to buy a home nearby. This puts him in the direct path of Aramon and Audrun, a brother and sister who share an inherited property and whose relationship has been poisoned by years of sexual abuse perpetrated by the brother. He now wants to sell the old stone house left to him by their parents while his sister schemes to get it from him. VERDICT No Tremain novel is like any other. This one is much darker but no less compelling than the celebrated The Road Home. Read her for her lushly descriptive settings, her deeply flawed but intensely interesting characters, and her imaginative plots. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 6/1/10.]—Barbara Love, Kingston Frontenac P.L., Ont.
Weldon, Fay. Chalcot Crescent. Europa,
dist. by Penguin. Oct. 2010. c.280p.
ISBN 978-1-933372-79-2. pap. $15. F
Weldon (The Life and Loves of a She-Devil) invents a life in an easily imagined near future for her younger sister who did not survive birth—her story here closely resembles Weldon's own. At 80, once-popular novelist Frances Prideaux is trapped on the main floor of her London house with failing knees, while her nephew and nieces plot revolution on her upper floors through their participation in Redpeace, a splinter group of Greenpeace. Looking back over her own history, Frances name-drops her famous literary friends, remembers past lovers, and grapples with whom she can trust in the new world order. This is an England of scarcity—food, water, and power shortages necessitate a Big Brother–style National Unity Government (NUG) to monitor the use of precious resources through tightly regulated water rationing, communal gardens, and the widespread distribution of a NUG-sanctioned meatloaf. VERDICT What Margaret Atwood did for the future of reproduction, Weldon plausibly does here for food production. A rollicking story that may inspire readers to greener habits before the apocalypse.—Barbara Love, Kingston Frontenac P.L., Ont.
Winer, Andrew. The Marriage Artist. Holt. Nov. 2010. c.384p. ISBN 978-0-8050-9178-6. $26. F
This novel begins with the deaths of Daniel Lichtman's wife, Aleksandra, and her lover, renowned artist Benjamin Wind. Exploring Aleksandra's secrets leads Daniel to mysteries in Benjamin's past—the ketubot (Jewish marriage contracts) painted by his grandfather in Nazi-era Germany, the American identity change of his father, and the incredible meaning of Benjamin's final artwork. Winer (The Color Midnight Made),a National Endowment for the Arts fellow, examines the meaning of marriage in many situations—war, loss, peace, and prosperity—and as a link between past and present. The story is intimately crafted, with minute dissections of events in the characters' lives. VERDICT This book will appeal to readers interested in the cascading effects of the Holocaust. A beautifully written, sensuous investigation of love and war, recommended for medium and larger libraries.—Amy Ford, Great Mills, MD
Xu, Ruiyan. The Lost and Forgotten Languages
of Shanghai. St. Martin's. Oct. 2010. c.352p. ISBN 978-0-312-58654-6. $24.99. F
While Xu crafts breathtaking prose in her debut, her storytelling doesn't yet match her formidable writing prowess. The book opens with a tantalizing premise: Li Jing—32-year-old Shanghai finance wizard, devoted son, husband, and father—emerges from a horrific accident with Broca's aphasia, which leaves him incapable of speaking the Chinese of his everyday life but "gurgling" the English he hasn't used since age ten, when he emigrated from Virginia to his widowed father's homeland. Oklahoma neurologist Rosalyn Neal spots his problem on an aphasia research discussion list, leaves her recently emptied home, and arrives hoping to heal Li Jing's "virtuoso wound." In a symphonic intersection of "lost and forgotten languages," doctor and patient learn to communicate, although understanding comes with a deleterious price tag. VERDICT Despite her writerly gifts, Xu's convoluted relationships devolve into soap-opera predictability. The endless repetition that "everything will be fine" rings annoyingly hollow. Alternative titles about language/memory that combine superb writing and storytelling include Yoko Ogawa's The Housekeeper and the Professor, Dai Sijie's Once on a Moonless Night, and Chang-Rae Lee's The Surrendered. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 6/1/10.]—Terry Hong, Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program, Washington, DC
Short stories
Bernheimer, Kate. Horse, Flower, Bird. Coffee House, dist. by Consortium. Sept. 2010. c.208p.
illus. ISBN 978-1-56689-247-6. pap. $14.95. F
This is a collection of eight imaginative if not downright unusual tales that will delight readers but also evoke sadness and loneliness. Bernheimer's lean and lyrical writing conceals forceful and spirited stories that will definitely prove disturbing, as in the collection's last, dreamlike tale, "Whitework." Other stories, like the penultimate "A Star Wars Tale," will bring back strong memories of childhood as they communicate an innocent understanding of the world that is simultaneously beautiful and perhaps brutal. Bernheimer's passion for fairy tales is evident in every story she spins, which should come as no surprise—she is founder and editor of Fairy Tale Review, and her previous works (e.g., The Complete Tales of Ketzia Gold) draw heavily on classic fairy tales from many countries to create wonderfully original new ones. VERDICT Bernheimer's work provides a refreshing contrast to most available fiction. It is no stretch to compare her to Aimee Bender or Kelly Link, and fans ought to be on the lookout for My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me: Forty New Fairy Tales, a forthcoming collection that she edited featuring those two authors.—Faye A. Chadwell, Oregon State Univ. Libs., Corvallis
Blatnik, Andrej. You Do Understand. Dalkey Archive. (Slovenian Literature). Sept. 2010. c.112p. tr. from Slovene by Tamara M. Soban. ISBN 978-1-56478-599-2. pap. $12.95. F
Slovenian author Blatnik (Skinswaps) collects short short stories—some as brief as one sentence—that are "concentrated moments of time" that insist readers take an active role in their creation. As when viewing a Kertész photograph, readers are drawn to the shadow, toward the mystery formed by the nameless characters in their familiar yet foreign surroundings. These stories hold your attention long after you've closed the book. In "Voyeur," for instance, Blatnik's spare description of a tabletop and a woman's simple confession provides enough information for an engaged reader to echo the narrator by thinking, "What an appealing story!" The final story, "Marks," gives the greatest clue as to what Blatnik intends his stories to be. Like the piece's bookmarks, his stories are demonstrations of the infinitely possible. Reading a fully conceived story, says the narrator, is pointless. VERDICT These stories are mostly about misunderstanding and dissatisfaction. As imperfect as language is, Blatnik suggests, it's our best hope for connecting with people. The title—expressed as a question in one of the stories, it clearly implores hope—declares that true human connection is within our capacity. Readers who actively participate in Blatnik's imaginative process will be richly rewarded.—K.H. Cumiskey, Duke Univ. Lib., Durham, NC
Bolaño, Roberto. The Insufferable Gaucho. New Directions, dist. by Norton. Aug. 2010. c.144p. tr. from Spanish by Chris Andrews. ISBN 978-0-8112-1716-3. $22.95. F
Another volume extracted from Bolaño's extensive posthumous vault, this highly original but uneven collection of five stories and two essays perpetuates the typical idiosyncrasies of Bolaño's inimitable style. After the opening bagatelle, the eponymous second story, written with thematic strains of Borges, reverses the location of the traditional violent myth of the gaucho from the Argentine pampas to the city. Probably the most unusual contribution is "Rat Police," an allegorical narrative related by rats; after reading this short story, one wonders if Bolaño's creative soul is brilliant or warped. "Alvaro Rousselt's Journey" has as protagonists two of Bolaño's most characteristic types: the expatriate writer and the prostitute. The two-part final story, "Two Catholic Tales," does not measure up to the rest of the volume. The first of the two concluding essays tackles the relationship between literature and illness with fitting reverence to Baudelaire, Mallarmé, and Kafka; the second, "The Myths of Chtulhu," is more desultory and off target. Both are esthetic brain dumps from Bolaño's creative but offbeat mind. VERDICT These short pieces hold the attention of readers, especially those who already know what to expect from Bolaño. For newcomers, these items come across as creative but bizarre.—Lawrence Olszewski, OCLC Lib., Dublin, OH
Gilley, Ted. Bliss and Other Short Stories. Univ. of Nebraska. Sept. 2010. c.136p.
ISBN 978-0-8032-3261-7. pap. $14.95. F
It is easy to see how this debut collection was selected as the winner of this year's Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Fiction. These stories remind us of the attributes that give short fiction its special appeal. Each begins with a great sentence, like this one from the title story—"All my life, I seem to have been mistaken for someone else"—which raises any number of questions. Even when the direction of the narrative is not clear (in this one, for example, the speaker takes a little vacation from reality about midway through), the music of the prose draws us forward, revealing an elegant layering that is lovely to see. Whether by choice or circumstance, this volume is a slim one. None of the stories reads like an "also-ran," and all leave their imprint on the memory. Like the narrator of a story called "Vanishing World," who has taken over the family business of constructing miniatures, Gilley reveals the "small world that sits within and completes other worlds: the little world of oil and gears and heartbeats of joys and vanishings and the silences of the everyday and the every night." VERDICT A remarkable debut for all readers of fiction.—Sue Russell, Bryn Mawr, PA
