Fiction Reviews, November 15, 2010
Nov 15, 2010
Adams, Thelma. Playdate. Thomas Dunne Bks: St. Martin’s. Jan. 2011. c.304p. ISBN 9780312656669. $23.99. F
As the Santa Ana winds fan the flames of brush fires across Southern California, two stay-at-home parents and their working spouses play with fire of their own making. Lance is a former surfer and television weatherman–turned–doting father who wants a second baby, but Darlene, his striving wife, is more focused on future franchise opportunities with her restaurant start-up than scheduling sex for conception. Instead, Lance finds comfort and connection with Wren, who introduces him to yoga and tantric sex. Wren is married to Alec, a confident, egotistical businessman who happens to be Darlene’s business partner. It’s a modern-day tinderbox that somehow fails to ignite. Lance’s ten-year-old daughter, Bella, is unconvincingly precocious; Wren’s son Sam is sweet but simple. One bright spot is Julia, Wren’s snarky, know-it-all nanny whose lack of boundaries provides some zippy dialog. There are several obvious speeches about the validity of stay-at-home parenting and society’s underappreciation for caregivers; worse, the plot is predictable. VERDICT Purchase this debut novel by US Weekly’s film critic only if the publisher’s marketing efforts spark local interest. A stronger and darker version of this tale is Tom Perotta’s Little Children. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 8/10.]— Christine Perkins, Bellingham P.L., WA
Brockmeier, Kevin. The Illumination. Pantheon. Feb. 2011. c.272p. ISBN 9780375425318. $24.95. F
In a familiar but parallel universe, the wounds, diseases, sores, and tumors of the inhabitants begin emitting light, evidently in varying colors and shades. It seems they still hurt but are now visible to others. This work covers the stories of several individuals, from a woman who stabs herself accidently to a photographer who has a car accident; a writer suffering from sores in her mouth to a young boy who is a victim of brutal abuse. Linking the tales is a book, originally compiled by the photographer, of love notes to his now deceased wife, which is passed from one character to the next and conveys a message to each according to their painful circumstances. The novel ends with a homeless man getting thoroughly beaten up by local hoods. VERDICT A capable writer, Brockmeier (The Brief History of the Dead) succeeds in describing the depressing circumstances of the characters, along with passing observations of a fragmentary and disorienting nature. Some readers may find this uplifting and inspiring, but others will feel pained by the suffering the novel seeks to illuminate. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 9/15/10.]—Jim Coan, SUNY Coll. at Oneonta
Cole, Teju. Open City. Random. Feb. 2011. c.272p. ISBN 9781400068098. $25. F
One of the most intriguing novels you’ll likely read, this debut by Nigerian-born Cole is constructed in what appears to be a traditional novel format but is riddled with ambiguity. By the end, there is so much disjuncture that readers will wonder whether the protagonist is the classic unreliable narrator. Julius, a half-Nigerian, half-German psychiatry intern living in New York, takes to walking about the city after breaking up with his girlfriend; his numerous encounters cause him to reflect on his own life. Julius seems depressed, though his story does not depict him as such. The overall weight of the ponderous first-person narrative appears to point to the essential loneliness of the human condition. Most disturbing is Julius’s lack of any reaction to a startling personal revelation in the final pages, and this leaves the impression that the book is meant to show the workings of a highly intelligent yet unstable character. VERDICT The alienated but sophisticated viewpoint is oddly poignant and compelling. Fans of introspection may enjoy this work, which reads like Camus’s L’etranger meets Samuel R. Delaney’s Dahlgren without the sf but with the same lack of closure.—Henry Bankhead, Los Gatos P.L., CA
Dean, Rebecca. The Golden Prince. Broadway. Dec. 2010. c.416p. ISBN 9780767930567. pap. $14.99. F
In her second novel, Dean ( Palace Circle ) mixes historical characters with a fictitious family of four sisters to create a lively story of England in 1912. Sixteen-year-old Edward, the Prince of Wales, lives a constricted life without friends or personal freedom. When he meets the Houghton sisters by accident, he is treated normally, not royally, and falls in love. Rose, the eldest sister and a militant suffragette, believes marriage is incompatible with independence. Plain Iris is a traditionalist, planning marriage with her childhood friend. Striking, sexy Marigold cares nothing for her reputation. The youngest, Lily, is a sensitive artist whose forbidden love affair with the Prince affects the whole family. Living during the tumultuous transition from the staid Victorian/Georgian era to an early 20th century marked by new technologies like automobiles and telephones, the sisters chafe against tradition, seeking voting rights and some measure of freedom for the rigidly controlled Prince. Their dilemmas are resolved with an unexpected but believable ending. VERDICT Well researched and well written, this is romantic historical fiction at its best. —Sally Bickley, Del Mar Coll., Corpus Christi, TX
Dunn, Mark. Under the Harrow. MacAdam/Cage. Dec. 2010. c.350p. ISBN 9781596923690. $24. F
Those familiar with the work of Dunn (Ella Minnow Pea) know that his novels reflect an interest in constrained writing. This latest effort is no exception. Here, Dunn chronicles the final days of Dingley Dell, a society constructed from the pages of Charles Dickens novels, through the voice of a Dinglian expatriate. Each chapter is written in Dinglian parlance, complete with dictionary entries from the Dinglian encyclopedia for clarification. Far from portraying a lighthearted, utopian community existing on the fringes of society, the story actually unfolds into a surprisingly dark tale of social manipulation. Unlike the famous Oulipo writing collective, Dunn uses constrained writing in a way that is always readable and imaginative. The language may be dense for average readers, but after a few chapters the story is engrossing enough to captivate their interest. VERDICT Dunn is a truly unique writer, and his novels will always find fans among bookworms and English professors; recommended.—Joshua Finnell, Denison Univ. Lib., Granville, OH
Espach, Alison. The Adults. Scribner. Feb. 2011. c.320p. ISBN 9781439191859. $25. F
The teens in this novel mimic the worst behavior of the grownups, who pretty much ignore their children. Emily Vidal is a young teen trying to blend in with the mean girls in her suburban Connecticut town in the mid-1990s. In this high school hell, the kids act out, the teachers are ineffectual (one has sex with a 15-year-old girl), and there’s parental infidelity and divorce at home. The novel’s second half follows twentysomething Emily to New York and Prague. Although there’s enough drama, there is too much inane dialog and not enough character development. Incidents such as a death or a suicide feel not so much integral to the plot as just something else for Emily to react to in her emotionally distant way. VERDICT Espach tries so hard to be edgy and ironic in this debut novel that it becomes more tedious than gripping. Not recommended.—Leslie Patterson, Rehoboth, MA
Genova, Lisa. Left Neglected. Gallery: S. & S. Jan. 2011. c.336p. ISBN 9781439164631. $25. F
With a Ph.D. in neuroscience, Genova brings an expertise to this novel about a woman suffering from a little-known neurological syndrome. Sarah Nickerson is a high-powered business executive, juggling 80 hours of work, marriage, and life with three young children. Following a car accident, she wakes up to learn she’s suffering from brain damage, a syndrome called left neglect that leaves her unable to feel or see anything on her left side. As she struggles to recover, Sarah also copes with other aspects of her life “left neglected” owing to her busy lifestyle: her relationship with her mother, her son’s inability to concentrate, and her own quality of life. Once again, the author of Still Alice, a best-selling debut about a woman dealing with early onset Alzheimer’s, has created a character with a compelling voice and perspective in a moving story that shows how brain trauma forces people to change their lives. VERDICT This is a positive novel about hope and strength that should find a market with those who appreciate contemporary women’s fiction and readers who either are coping with brain disorders or have family members with these conditions.—Lesa Holstine, Glendale P.L., AZ
Gibb, Camilla. The Beauty of Humanity Movement. Penguin Pr: Penguin Group (USA). Mar. 2011. c.311p. ISBN 9781594202803. $25.95. F
Much like Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club, this novel takes a journey into the past for answers, giving us a fictional account of real political upheaval. Maggie Ly travels to Vietnam in an attempt to find out anything about her father’s disappearance many years ago. Relying on her own fragments of memory, she meets up with Hung, an elderly street vendor who may have known her father. She also becomes involved with one of Hung’s loyal customers, Tu, who represents the new Vietnam and the type of person Maggie might have become had her family not moved to America. Through a series of scenes moving back and forth in time, Gibb (Sweetness of the Belly) unravels the mystery of Maggie’s past and creates futures for all the characters involved. VERDICT Well written and engaging, with characters that represent the participants and consequences of a country in the middle of great change, this work is recommended where Tan and similar authors are appreciated.—Leann Restaino, Girard, OH
Gortner, C.W. The Tudor Secret. Griffin: St. Martin’s. Feb. 2011. c.336p. ISBN 9780312658502. pap. $14.99. F
Gortner’s (Confessions of Catherine de Medici; The Last Queen) third historical novel and the first in his “Elizabeth I Spymaster Chronicles” details the rivalries struggling for power during the demise of the young King Edward VI. Narrator Brendan Prescott, a lowly page in the employ of the once powerful Dudley family who saved him as a foundling, takes readers into the Tudor court as he is sent on a secret mission to protect the king’s sister, the Princess Elizabeth, from the scheming of King Edward’s uncles. Opening with great promise, the novel begins to disappoint after the first few chapters. Gortner breaks one of the unspoken rules of historical fiction: if it’s not true, it must at least be believable. There is nothing plausible about Brendan being the royal personage he is later discovered to be or his many escapes from danger. Most problematic, though, is the lack of emotion behind Brendan’s supposed love of Elizabeth, who is portrayed as without intelligence or wit. Overall, Gortner’s uninteresting plot goes nowhere, in an unfortunate contrast to his acclaimed previous novels. VERDICT Not worth the money, but as it is part of a series, this title may need to be reconsidered should the second book prove more entertaining. Strictly for the author’s most ardent readers and Tudor fiction fans.—Audrey Johnson, Arlington, VA
Gruenenfelder, Kim. There’s Cake in My Future. Griffin: St. Martin’s. Jan. 2011. c.352p. ISBN 9780312614591. pap. $14.99. F
It’s funny how reading a novel with a chick-lit set-up can differ so much from seeing a movie based on the same idea. What works in a full-length book—where an author can flesh out the story and develop the characters—fails miserably on the screen. This tale by the author of Misery Loves Cabernet works because Gruenenfelder has the space to explore the emotional world of her characters and not just tell a zany story. Her three protagonists—Melissa, Nicole, and Seema—are women at different stages in their romantic and work lives. Soon to be married, Nicole, at her bridal shower, has hidden charms in the cake that will foretell the guests’ futures. When Nicole tries to force fate to give the friends what they each desire, her plan goes awry. Now each woman faces changes that may or may not give them what they ultimately want. VERDICT Though the plot description (and title) make this sound like a frothy concoction, Gruenenfelder writes with surprising depth. Identity issues are the underlying theme, as her characters grapple with their choices. Not quite as dark as the novels of Marian Keyes and Anna McPartlin, which deal with alcoholism and death, this will appeal to those authors’ fans.—Jane Jorgenson, Madison P.L., WI
Hart, Lenore. The Raven’s Bride. Griffin: St. Martin’s. Feb. 2011. c.368p. ISBN 9780312567231. pap. $14.99. F
In her acknowledgements, novelist Hart (Becky) noted that she was named after the young dead woman in Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” and feels a personal connection to the subject of her touching new work. At the age of 13, Virginia “Sissy” Clemm married her cousin Edgar “Eddy” and was his constant companion and friend until her death from consumption at 25. As befits a historical novel about the ill-fated author, there are dark overtones here. The family must struggle through financial difficulties, frequent moves, and poor health, and Hart carries the reader with them every (frequently depressing) step of the way. At the same time, Hart depicts the love and companionship that Eddy and Sissy shared, and their story can’t be told without the presence of Sissy’s indomitable mother, “Muddy,” who remained an integral part of the couple’s household throughout their marriage. VERDICT A supernatural element frames the narrative, providing readers a satisfactory conclusion to a tragic tale. Highly recommended for fans of the slightly spooky and historical.—Donna Shuman, Westerville P.L., OH
Higashino, Keigo. The Devotion of Suspect X. Minotaur: St. Martin’s. Feb. 2011. c.304p. ISBN 9780312375065. tr. from Japanese by Alexander O. Smith. $24.99. F
Yasuko kills her abusive ex-husband in defense of her daughter; the only other witness to the murder is the brilliant mathematician who lives across the hall. He decides to help them conceal the murder and creates the perfect alibi for Yasuko, thus beginning a thrilling cat-and-mouse game among the suspects, the police, and a brilliant physicist who knows the math teacher. As the police chip away at the alibi, it is slowly revealed that the math genius’ devotion to Yasuko is based not only on love but also on the purity of committing the perfect crime. Yasuko has to remain a pawn to the math teacher’s plan, but she wonders how long and how far he will go. VERDICT Winner of Japan’s prestigious Naoki Prize and a best seller there with more than two million copies sold, this literary psychological thriller is a subtle and shifting murder mystery. It will make readers redefine devotion and trust in an otherwise complete stranger. [75,000-copy first printing.]—Ron Samul, New London, CT
Koontz, Dean. What the Night Knows. Bantam. Jan. 2011. c.442p. ISBN 9780553807721. $28. F
The author’s first book, Star Quest, an sf paperback, was published in 1969. Since then, Koontz has written scores of titles in a wide range of genres from children’s books to graphic novels. Yet, from his always-popular body of work there sometimes emerges one of particular merit, one likely to add even more readers to his fan base. This spooky ghost story is such a book. It succeeds as an outstanding work of horror because of several elements: the appeal of the main character, homicide detective John Calvino, whose family was murdered by a serial killer when he was 14; the unstoppable evil of the killer, Alton Turner Blackwood, whose spirit returns from death to embody others so that he can force them to do his bidding; and Koontz’s adherence (as outlined in his 1972 Writing Popular Fiction) to his own creed for writing suspense in which The Chase, The Race Against Time, and The Anticipation of a Violent Event are of equal importance. VERDICT Essential for Koontz’s myriad fans as well as followers of horror in general. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 8/10.]— Nancy McNicol, Hamden P.L., CT
McLain, Paula. The Paris Wife. Ballantine. Mar. 2011. c.324p. ISBN 9780345521309. $25. F
A young Miss Hadley Richardson, with high spirits and lovely auburn hair, meets a handsome aspiring writer named Ernest Hemingway. They marry and make their way to Paris, living in a squalid apartment and spending time in café society with fellow expatriates Gertrude Stein, Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Ezra Pound, and Sylvia Beach. Though the post–World War I years offer a great deal of creative freedom for these idle Americans, self-indulgence is the code of the day. Will Hadley choose to step aside as literary success—and another woman—come to take their place in Ernest’s life? In her second novel (following A Ticket To Ride), McLain creates a compelling, spellbinding portrait of a marriage. Hemingway is a magnetic figure whose charm is tempered by his dark, self-destructive tendencies. Hadley is strong and smart, but she questions herself at every turn. Women of all ages and situations will sympathize as they follow this seemingly charmed union to its inevitable demise. VERDICT Colorful details of the expat life in Jazz Age Paris, combined with the evocative story of the Hemingways’ romance, result in a compelling story that will undoubtedly establish McLain as a writer of substance. Highly recommended for all readers of popular fiction. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 9/1/10.]—Susanne Wells, P.L. of Cincinnati & Hamilton Cty., OH
Oswalt, Patton. Zombie Spaceship Wasteland. Scribner. Jan. 2011. c.208p. ISBN 9781439149089. $24. F
Readers expecting sf might find themselves lost in space with this latest effort from author-cum-actor-cum-comedian Oswalt (The Brannock Doom). His work defies the conventional notion of fiction with a potpourri of memoirs, script notes, poems, comic strips, a wine list, whimsical greeting cards, American history, and diary entries. In fact, it’s nothing short of a postmodern update of Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. There’s no connection between chapters, yet parallels can be drawn among the miscellany. For example, the act of cheating a theater manager by a teenager in a chapter titled “Ticket Booth” is echoed in a later chapter titled “The Victory Tour” about an agent doing the same to one of his clients. Readers will find Oswalt’s narrative innovative and humorous, one laced with clever comments on life. VERDICT Those looking for a coherent story may not find this their cup of tea. For more adventurous minds, Margo Channing’s quote from the film All About Eve may be applied here: “Fasten your seatbelt; it’s going to be a bumpy night.” But what a ride!—Victor Or, Surrey P.L. & North Vancouver City Lib., B.C.
Owen, Howard. The Reckoning. Permanent. Dec. 2010. c.222p. ISBN 9781579622077. $28. F
The ninth novel by Owen (Littlejohn) is by turns a coming-of-age tale, a father-and-son story, and a thriller involving drug dealing and terrorism. Teenaged Jake is slowly recovering emotionally from his mother’s death from cancer while confronting bullying at his new school. Meanwhile, Jake’s father, George, retreats via alcohol. Then George’s college roommate, Freeman Hawk, a former campus radical and draft dodger, shows up at their doorstep, putting them all in danger. The text makes heavy use of flashbacks, which is effective for revealing layers of characterization and how the stories we tell about our past become our present-day truth. Once the gangsters make their appearance in the last half, however, the passages are not nail-biting enough to please thriller fans and yet are too cliché-ridden to appeal to literary fiction readers. VERDICT Sympathy for and identification with Jake is the only thing that pulls the reader through. Optional reading.—Christine DeZelar-Tiedman, Univ. of Minnesota Libs., Minneapolis
Paasilinna, Arto. The Year of the Hare. Penguin. Jan. 2011. c.194p. ISBN 9780143117926. pap. $14. F
While he is out on assignment, Vatanen, an unhappy Helsinki journalist, accidently hits a hare with his car. A sudden urge prompts him to leave the car and follow the animal into the woods where he bandages its injured leg. Then Vatanen keeps going. With the hare as his buddy, the former journalist ditches his wife, sells his boat, and begins anew in northern Finland, making a living doing odd jobs and finding trouble wherever he goes. In a series of hilarious adventures Vatanen and the hare outwit a thieving crow, bloodthirsty hounds, drunken revelers, an angry bear, a religious zealot, and many pompous politicians who wander into the north. VERDICT Although the first English translation appeared in 1995, this is the first of Paasilinna’s works to be released in the United States. With its fiercely independent protagonist and its depiction of Finland’s wild northland, this comic novel will offer readers a rare opportunity to experience Finland and read one of that country’s most popular authors.—Andrea Kempf, Johnson Cty. Community Coll. Lib., Overland Park, KS
Page, Jeremy. Sea Change. Viking. Dec. 2010. c.274p. ISBN 9780143114123. $25.95. F
This haunting, beautifully realized novel concerns perhaps the most devastating loss one can experience—the loss of a child. At the center of the story is a young married man named Guy, a father who loses his beloved daughter in a bizarre and disastrous accident. This event hastens the end of his troubled marriage and sends Guy plunging into a dangerous existential crisis. The story is set in England, and the bulk of the novel focuses on Guy’s travels on the North Sea aboard an old Dutch coastal barge that he has purchased and pilots alone, as he attempts to right himself by working through his grief and loneliness. Page (Salt) depicts Guy’s devastating emotions superbly, engaging the themes of love and loss with remarkable tenderness, sympathy, and compassion. The descriptions of the sea, the weather, and the coastal estuaries that Guy visits are also powerful and poetic. VERDICT A poignant and heartbreaking novel enthusiastically recommended for all readers.—Patrick Sullivan, Manchester Community Coll., CT
Pullinger, Kate. The Mistress of Nothing. Touchstone: S. & S. Jan. 2011. c.256p. ISBN 9781439193860. $24. F
When Lady Duff Gordon, forced to choose between dying a slow consumptive death in England or escaping to a dry, restorative climate, decides on Egypt, her devoted maid, Sally Naldrett, has no difficulty joining her mistress in exile. A previous unsuccessful trip to South Africa gave Sally a love of travel. Both maid and mistress fall in love with Egypt and its people as they journey down the Nile to their home base in Luxor/Thebes. By the time they settle into their house with their guide and dragoman, Omar, they have begun learning the customs and the language and are welcomed warmly by the locals. Slowly they discard their Western ways while forging deep friendships with their neighbors and, in Sally’s case, an affair with her fellow servant. As proof of Egypt’s magic, the prim and proper maid who scrupulously avoided any reputation-destroying entanglements at home now finds herself happily pregnant with Omar’s child. This, however is one sin her ordinarily liberal and generous mistress cannot forgive, and Sally finds herself cast out and “mistress of nothing.” VERDICT While the setting is lovingly and sensuously portrayed, the characters lack the depth and development that would engage the readers’ interest; instead they remain somewhat unsympathetic and uninvolving. This book, which won Canada’s Governor General’s Literary Award, will appeal only to those interested in Egypt or the real-life Lucie Duff Gordon.—Cynthia Johnson, Cary Memorial Lib., Lexington, MA
Rubenfeld, Jed. The Death Instinct. Riverhead: Penguin Group (USA). Jan. 2011. c.480p. ISBN 9781594487828. $26.95. F
This action-packed historical thriller chronicles the real-life unsolved bombing of a Wall Street bank on September 16, 1920, that killed or injured more than 400 people. New York City police officer James Littlemore and World War I veteran Dr. Stratham Younger witness the explosion and get drawn into the investigation. Also present is Frenchwoman Colette Rousseau, who met Younger during the war when she had been trained by Madame Curie to operate a portable X-ray machine on the battlefields. Now she is visiting New York to raise money to buy radium for Curie’s experiments, and several attempts have been made to kidnap her. Rubenfeld weaves together the story lines of the Wall Street bombing and the attacks on Rousseau, along with an extended flashback of Younger’s experiences in France during the war. Sigmund Freud also makes a guest appearance, as he psychoanalyzes both Rousseau and her mute younger brother. VERDICT Rubenfeld’s debut, The Interpretation of Murder, proved his skillful use of historical detail to create a compelling tale of psychological suspense. He’s only gotten better. Strongly recommended for fans of Matthew Pearl, Caleb Carr, and other historical thriller authors. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 8/10.]—Laurel Bliss, San Diego State Univ. Lib., CA
Sackville, Amy. The Still Point. Counterpoint. Jan. 2011. c.320p. ISBN 9781582437095. $25. F
In the attic of a rambling Victorian house, Julia spends a hot summer day labeling memorabilia from her ancestor Edward Mackley, a 19th-century British Arctic explorer who died in the snow before reaching the North Pole. Her attempts to catalog his life are hindered by her emotional attachment to the mythic past, her own painful history, and her tentative relationship with her husband, Simon. The narrative moves among the horrendous frozen trek of Mackley and his crew 100 years earlier; the tedious life of manners endured by his bride, Emily, as she awaits his return in the same Victorian house; Simon’s present-day struggle to resist an affair; and Julia’s languid movements through this single day where she tries to come to terms with the truth of the past and the realities of love. VERDICT Sackville has written a dreamily poetic debut novel that is equally vivid in conjuring up the stark cold of the Arctic and the oppressive heat of an English summer. Captivating and poignant.—Joy Humphrey, Pepperdine Univ. Law Lib., Malibu, CA
Saer, Juan José. The Sixty-Five Years of Washington. Open Letter. Nov. 2010. c.203p. tr. from Spanish by Steve Dolph. ISBN 9781934824207. pap. $14.95. F
Instead of going to work one October day in 1961, Ángel Leto, a bookkeeper at a chemical company, decides to get off the bus and just start walking. Along the way, he meets the Mathematician, an engineer at the company, and they start discussing the 65th birthday party of famous politician Jorge Washington Noriega (hence the title), which neither attended. The novel’s three parts, covering seven blocks each, alternate between the events of the walk (interrupted by mundane occurrences like a near-miss with a bicyclist) and the chronicling of the party. By tossing us more details about the present (Leto’s care for his cancerous mother) and the future (the assassination of the Mathematician’s wife during the repressive 1970s), the author compresses all actions—past, present, and future—into this one-hour walk. Though not very much happens, the power of this work is in the narrative, which emphasizes the literary importance of discourse, be it oral, written, or thought. One should keep in mind that the Spanish title, Glosa, more accurately identifies the narrative’s purpose as a “gloss” of the events. VERDICT A rewarding read from the prize-winning Saer, his fifth novel to appear in English (after The Witness), best read in one sitting.—Lawrence Olszewski, OCLC Lib., Dublin, OH
Shapiro, Elena Mauli. 13, rue Thérèse. Little, Brown. Feb. 2011. c.288p. ISBN 9780316083287. $23.99. F
An American in Paris, Trevor Stratton settles into his new office and discovers a box containing various historical and personal items in the bottom drawer of his filing cabinet. As he examines each article, he’s thrown back in time to the life of Louise Brunet, owner of these artifacts. In particular, letters and postcards from World War I tie Louise to other characters in the novel: Camille, the cousin with whom she is in love; Garance, her young piano student; her husband, Henri; and Xavier Langlais, a new neighbor in her apartment building, with whom she has a steamy affair. As the novel progresses, Trevor finds that he is falling in love with Josianne, the quiet secretary who placed the mysterious box in his filing cabinet, setting the whole mystery afoot. VERDICT Inspired by the woman who lived above the Paris apartment where she was born and raised, Shapiro has written a debut novel reminiscent of Nick Bantock’s fantastic Griffin and Sabine novels, which also use postcards to build a great romance. This wonderfully pieced together bit of time travel, history, and especially many types of love would be an excellent choice for a women’s reading group.—Lisa Rohrbaugh, National Coll. Lib., Youngstown, OH
Turgeon, Carolyn. Mermaid: A Twist on the Classic Tale. Three Rivers: Crown. Mar. 2011. c.288p. ISBN 9780307589972. pap. $14. F
Once upon a time, there was a beautiful mermaid who fell in love with a human prince. She risked everything to be with him, sacrificing her voice and her tail…only to lose him to a rival: a real human princess. So goes Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale The Little Mermaid, the basis for Turgeon’s (Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story) latest novel. The twist in this version is that it is told from alternating perspectives—we get the story as seen through the eyes of both the mermaid and the human princess. Where Turgeon excels is in her lyrical prose and ability to explore different points of view. In giving voice to Andersen’s relatively anonymous human princess and contrasting her story with that of the mermaid’s, Turgeon adds a mature depth to this classic tale of tragic love. The edges are softened; each character’s motives and actions are more complex and less easily judged by the reader. The effect is absorbing, poignant, and heartbreaking. VERDICT Readers who love fairy tale retellings will find this fresh take difficult to put down.—Leigh Wright, Bridgewater, NJ
Short stories
Amnesty International. Freedom: Stories Celebrating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Three Rivers: Crown. Jan. 2011. c.432p. ISBN 9780307588838. pap. $16. F
Thirty-six authors ranging widely in nationality have contributed to this tribute to The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. With an introduction by Archbishop Desmond Tutu discussing literature as an expression of humanity and a moving epilog by Henning Mankell, this compilation includes stories inspired by each of the declaration’s 30 articles. The writers, who include Joyce Carol Oates, Walter Mosley, David Mitchell, Ariel Dorfman, Banana Yoshimoto, Yann Martel, Paulo Coehlo, Nadine Gordimer, and Rohinton Mistry, among many others, interpret the articles as they consider culture, government, religion, law, gender, race, and media in relation to human rights. For instance, in “The Kind of Neighbor You Used To Have,” James Meek writes effectively of a man detained without habeas corpus and confronted by a neighbor who himself has been taken in to custody to persuade the detainee to confess to his crime. Kate Atkinson’s satirical and frightening “The War on Woman” focuses on an apolitical woman whose mundane existence is altered by an increasingly aggressive enforcement of a law against women. VERDICT The stories here are impressive in scope and show that The Universal Declaration of Human Rights can apply to many aspects of the human experience. Valuable reading. —Cristella Bond, Anderson P.L., IN
Best European Fiction 2011. Dalkey Archive. Nov. 2010. c.522p. ed. by Aleksandar Hemon. ISBN 9781564786005. pap. $16.95. F
In only its second year, this series has become one of the most vital literary anthologies around. A whole new group of authors, introduced by editor Hemon and Irish novelist Colum McCann, is on hand to “draw the border line, then step beyond it.” This year’s installment increases the number of countries represented from 30 to 37 (Belarus, Cyprus, Germany, and Montenegro are among the new additions) and arranges the stories in reverse alphabetical order by country. The anthology remains best suited for browsing and cherry-picking a story or two at a time, however, so the order is inconsequential. Highlights for 2011 include a darkly comic clash of cultures by Lucian Dan Teodorovici of Romania, the musings of a Soviet female clown by Anita Konkka of Finland, a literary mystery set in an army barracks by Drago Jancˇar of Slovenia, and explorative feminist fiction by Verena Stefan of Switzerland. VERDICT The quality of the stories is again uniformly excellent, so readers should not be deterred by the lack of household names. A powerful story by England’s Hilary Mantel (Wolf Hall) is the primary exception and provides a good entry point. Greece and Sweden remain absent, the latter a missed opportunity to introduce American readers to an alternative to Stieg Larsson. Maybe next year.—Forest Turner, Suffolk Cty. House of Correction Lib., Boston
Fallon, Siobhan. You Know When the Men Are Gone. Amy Einhorn: Putnam. Jan. 2011. c.240p. ISBN 9780399157202. $23.95. F
Fallon’s accomplished debut short story collection offers a glimpse into a world few civilians will ever experience: Fort Hood, TX. Fort Hood is a place where husbands and fathers pack their gear and leave for deployments of a year or longer. Left behind are the families, and each of the eight stories describes a different spouse or family coping with such a prolonged absence. The wife and mother with breast cancer, the teenage bride, the young mother, the Serbian wife who speaks little English—each deals with the stress and loneliness of her husband’s deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan in her own way. Some isolate themselves, choosing to live off base or move back in with their families. Others embrace the company and support of other army wives and attend Family Readiness Group meetings. This might be a work of fiction, but Fallon’s work is remarkably real, and each story’s characters immediately grip the reader. VERDICT Excellent; even readers who do not usually read short stories should seek out this book.—Shaunna Hunter, Hampden-Sydney Coll. Lib., VA
Tóibín, Colm. The Empty Family: Stories. Scribner. Jan. 2011. c.288p. ISBN 9781439138328. $24. F
This work conveys a remarkable cohesion for a collection of previously published stories. Each tale focuses on people who reckon transformative events from their pasts, or rather, are transformed by remembering. Tóibín’s characteristically lyrical prose seems even more elegantly economical in this volume; this spareness enhances the beauty, sometimes aching, that emerges from observations and dialog. In “The Street,” for example, Tóibín’s tender rendering of the thoughts and routines of a wounded Pakistani man convalescing in a dim, dark garret in Barcelona transmits both the isolation and longing that run through each story like distant birdsong, palpable yet barely perceived. VERDICT In this triumphant follow-up to his award-winning novel Brooklyn, Tóibín exhibits his familiar stylistic simplicity while extending his emotional reach and range in surprising ways. There’s a mastery of romantic eroticism that calls to mind Camus’s lush lyricism in “Return to Tipasa” and Exile and the Kingdom, as well as the seductive strangeness of Katherine Ann Porter’s best-known short stories. For all readers of fiction. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 8/10.]—J. Greg Matthews, Washington State Univ. Libs., Pullman
20 Under 40: Stories from The New Yorker . Farrar. Dec. 2010. c.352p. ed. by Deborah Treisman. ISBN 9780374532871. pap. $16. F
In the summer of 2010, The New Yorker published stories by 20 young North American writers it had identified as standouts; this volume collects those stories. Though the authors’ youth or the publication of their stories in one particular magazine might suggest a sameness, these stories are in fact quite diverse, ranging from the historical to the futuristic, from the personal to the political. And their settings span the globe. Some of the most haunting tales involve abandonment of one kind or another: a boy left behind when his brother escapes their troubled homeland in Daniel Alarcón’s “Second Lives,” a child abandoned in an airport by his soldier father in Salvatore Scibona’s “The Kid,” a woman who must leave her parents and her country to better herself in Nell Freudenberger’s “An Arranged Marriage.” Two of the most touching stories are “The Science of Flight,” in which Yiyun Li introduces us to a lonely woman whose coworkers have no idea how much their shared work life means to her, and ZZ Packer’s “Dayward,” in which a boy risks all to protect his deaf sister as they flee from slavery. VERDICT Highly recommended for readers who enjoy collections such as The Best American Short Stories.—Evelyn Beck, Piedmont Technical Coll., Greenwood, SC
Vonnegut, Kurt. While Mortals Sleep: Unpublished Short Fiction. Delacorte. Feb. 2011. c.272p. illus. ISBN 9780385343732. $27. F
“Uncollected” rather than “unpublished,” these are actually early stories that appeared in magazines such as Collier’s and The Saturday Evening Post. They reveal a more conventional, commercial side of Vonnegut, though we see glimmers of the work that was to come. “Jenny” concerns a lonely researcher–turned–traveling salesman who converts a refrigerator into a walking, talking robot with his ex-wife’s face. The title piece is a Christmas story about an ex-con, now wealthy investor whose garish outdoor display wins a local contest—and reveals the deeper meanings of the holiday after the central figures of the crèche are stolen. “Money Talks” is a charming tale of a nurse left a fortune by an elderly man she cared for and a struggling Cape Cod store owner and how the burden (or in this case, the voice) of the money almost thwarts their mutual desires. VERDICT Though not adding significantly to Vonnegut’s legacy, this is an appealing glimpse of a young writer learning his craft. It deserves an audience among general readers as well as Vonnegut completists.—Lawrence Rungren, Merrimack Valley Lib. Consortium, North Andover, MA
Last-Minute Mystery
Bates, Quentin. Frozen Assets. Soho Crime. Jan. 2011. c.336p. ISBN 9781569478677. $25. M
Set in an Icelandic coastal village, Bates’s debut offers a twist on the Nordic crime wave—the author is a Brit (albeit one who spent a decade living in Iceland). When the body of a young PR executive is discovered in the waters off of sleepy Hvalvík, Sgt. Gunnhildur “Gunna” Gísladóttir, a widow and mother of two, suspects foul play. She slowly pieces together the man’s connection to an aggressive environmental conservation group and their opposition to an aluminum smelter project, a scheme backed by a corrupt government minister. Meanwhile, an anonymous blogger is posting incendiary statements about the minister’s wife, and a group of journalists also sniff around the case. As more secrets come tumbling out, Gunna identifies the probable killer but struggles to catch him before the powers that be shut down her investigation. VERDICT Although the government conspiracy and muckraking angle is reminiscent of Stieg Larsson, the comparison ends there, as flat prose and predictable plotting help evaporate much of the tension. Still, the flinty Gunna is a likable sleuth and should appeal to fans of Helene Tursten’s Detective Inspector Huss.—Annabelle Mortensen, Skokie P.L., IL
Ebersohn, Wessel. The October Killings. Minotaur: St. Martin’s. Jan. 2011. c.336p. ISBN 9780312655952. $24.99. M
Like Deon Meyer, fellow South African Ebersohn shows the new country still tormented by a past of apartheid and liberationist struggles. Abigail Bukula, a beautiful, black, Harvard-educated lawyer, was 15 when her parents and other antiapartheid protesters were murdered by government security forces. She was spared by Leon, a teenage soldier who 20 years later comes to her for help. Those involved in the killings are being assassinated one by one on the anniversary of the massacre, and Abby feels compelled to help him. Aided by Yudel Gordon, a white prison psychologist who has appeared in three earlier novels (Closed Circle; Divide the Night; A Lonely Place To Die), she has only a few days and little government help to find the killer. Ebersohn, a former government bureaucrat, had two novels banned and left South Africa for five years before returning to start a business magazine and resume writing crime fiction. VERDICT Deftly mixing past and present in a complex plot that pits justice against moral ambiguity, he vividly portrays a divided nation in which a national hero may also be a contract killer—still at large. Highly recommended. [Previewed in Wilda Williams’s “Passport to Mystery,” LJ 4/15/10; A Minotaur First Edition Selection; library marketing.]—Roland Person, formerly with Southern Illinois Univ. Lib., Carbondale
Hockensmith, Steve. World’s Greatest Sleuth!: A Holmes on the Range Mystery. Minotaur: St. Martin’s. Jan. 2011. c.336p. ISBN 9780312379438. $24.99. M
The Amlingmeyer brothers are back (after The Crack in the Lens) with a shot at the big time. An urgent telegram from Otto’s publisher, Uriah Smythe, summons the pair from Texas to Chicago for a contest to name “The World’s Greatest Detective” amid the splendor of the 1893 Columbian Exhibition. Their competitors in the battle of wits include other detectives from American pulp fiction, a Brit, a Frenchman, and their old acquaintance Diana Corvus. What begins as a glorified scavenger hunt turns deadly serious as one of the competition’s organizers is found dead, face down in the World’s Largest Cheese. Gustav and Otto track down red herrings, or tuxedoed squirrels in this case, and suss out the identities of a seemingly endless supply of suspicious bearded men until in the end, all is revealed. VERDICT Hockensmith has delivered a fine addition to his “Holmes on the Range” series. Gustav and Otto are appealing heroes, and the “White City” provides a great backdrop. This should satisfy historical mystery readers who enjoy a tale full of clues leavened with humor.—Eric Norton, McMillan Memorial Lib., Wisconsin Rapids
Thomas, Donald. Sherlock Holmes and the Ghosts of Bly: And Other New Adventures of the Great Detective. Pegasus. Dec. 2010. c.368p. ISBN 9781605981345. $25. M
The game’s afoot, Watson! Thomas’s fifth Holmes collection (after Sherlock Holmes and the King’s Evil) finds Dr. Watson, Holmes’s friend and chronicler, journaling three more adventures of the great detective’s feats of sleuthing ingenuity. The titular mystery revolves around a governess found guilty of murdering her ward. She is incarcerated in an insane asylum and convinced she did it, but could the ghosts at Bly have been responsible for the child’s death? The opening story is a case of a poor, young military student’s honor when he is accused of forgery and theft of a classmate’s money. The final case is the murder of a famous, but little loved, actor during his performance of Hamlet. Did the killer pass him a truly poisoned drink? Thomas capably embodies Watson as Holmes’s faithful narrator of these intriguing Doylesque investigations. Holmes himself is drawn perfectly as the brilliant intellect, with a hint of humor, and, above all, a pursuer of justice. VERDICT Highly recommended for Holmes devotees and others who enjoy captivating historical mysteries with a perceptive, ethical detective.— Susan O. Moritz, Montgomery Cty. P.L.s, MD
