Xpress Reviews—First Look at New Books, July 1, 2011
Jul 1, 2011Week ending July 1, 2011
FICTION
Armstrong, Kelley. Spell Bound. Dutton. (Otherworld, Bk. 12). Jul. 2011. c.400p. ISBN 9780525952206. $25.95. FANTASY
Waking the Witch ends with witch/sleuth Savannah Levine declaring she would willingly give up her powers to reverse a child's tragic separation from her grandmother. This sequel opens as Savannah discovers that her fleeting thought was overheard and exploited by an unknown supernatural being who has indeed taken her powers. Through Savannah's struggle without her powers, Armstrong explores the common mistake of defining oneself completely by one specific aspect and excluding other abilities. Readers follow Savannah's maturation as she and a full cast of her Otherworld friends race to stop a complicated plan that could reshape the whole existence of Otherworld as they know it.
Verdict Highly recommended for series fans who will be delighted to see all their favorite characters return. [See Prepub Alert, 2/14/11.]—Crystal Renfro, Georgia Inst. of Technology Lib., Atlanta
Dickens, Charles & Sherri Browning Erwin. Grave Expectations. Gallery: S. & S. Aug. 2011. c.400p. ISBN 9781451617245. pap. $15. FANTASY
Erwin's previous literary mashup, Jane Slayre, embodies the flawless union of supernatural fiction and the best of classic literature. She continues in this captivating and fascinating tradition, here taking on Dickens's Great Expectations. There are no glossy Hollywood creatures of the night within these pages but monsters that seem to have crawled from the darkest corners of Dickens's fertile imagination. The orphaned Pip is an unlikely werewolf, ever pining for the aloof slayer Estella, and Miss Havisham's hermetic existence amplifies her tortured suffering as a brokenhearted vampire. The twists and turns of the plot follow familiar paths into uncharted territory, leaving us reassured and spellbound all at once.
Verdict The original Dickens is eerie and unsettling, and Erwin rises to the challenge, creating another masterpiece by making the strange even stranger. Highly recommended; astounding great fun!—Jennifer Anderson, Texas A&M Univ.–Corpus Christi Lib.
McIntosh, Pat. The Counterfeit Madam: A Gil Cunningham Murder Mystery. Soho Constable. 2011. c.304p. ISBN 9781569479490. $25. M
In the eighth entry in this historical series (after A Pig of Cold Poison) set in 15th-century Glasgow, Gil Cunningham and his wife, Alys, are pulled into another mystery when Gil is asked to look into the outbreak of counterfeit coins in Glasgow and the disputed ownership of two properties being passed down to the goddaughters of Dame Isabella. His two cases become even more entangled after Dame Isabella is murdered. Gil must find her killer even as he closes in on the counterfeiter. McIntosh, a native of Scotland, incorporates a great deal of historical detail into her story and uses both Gaelic and Scots, the native languages of Scotland, in dialog, translating for the reader where necessary.
Verdict This is a good pick for fans of the series and the genre. However, mystery readers looking for a quick read may want to look elsewhere or start at the beginning of the series with The Harper's Quine to get to used the characters and the writing.—Elizabeth Nelson, UOP Lib., Des Plaines, IL
Merullo, Roland. The Talk-Funny Girl. Crown. Jul. 2011. c.320p. ISBN 9780307452924. $23. F
Marjorie Richards lives in rural New Hampshire in a shack in the woods with unemployed parents so socially isolated that they speak their own dialect of English. They are also devoted to a sadistic, self-styled minister who recommends starving children and dumping freezing water on them as punishments. The spring Marjorie turns 17, her aunt arranges for her to work for a young stone mason to learn the trade and earn good money. Although she is afraid he might kidnap her—local teenage girls have been disappearing—as she works, she finally comes to trust him, the world outside her strange family, and herself, while her family life implodes.
Verdict Highly engaging and showing great empathy for the young protagonist, this is a thoughtful examination of rural poverty in New England, fundamentalist Christian sects, and spirituality. Merullo (Breakfast with Buddha) is from Massachusetts, and his familiarity with the region shows. Recommended for contemporary fiction readers, particularly those who like stories of coming-of-age in difficult circumstances, such as Kaye Gibbons's Ellen Foster.—Nancy Fontaine, Dartmouth Coll., Hanover, NH
Verdon, John. Shut Your Eyes Tight. Crown. Jul. 2011. c.528p. ISBN 9780307717894. $24. F
As in Verdon's outstanding debut thriller (Think of a Number), retired NYPD detective Dave Gurney once again, to the dismay of his wife, gets pulled into a bizarre murder case. What starts with the beheading of a bride on her wedding day results in a series of mind-boggling clues that stymie investigators. Police efforts ground to a halt after four months, and Gurney is hired by the bride's wealthy mother to get the case moving again. Why would Scott Ashton, an older celebrity psychiatrist, wealthy in his own right, marry a spoiled, rich girl who is clearly a sociopath? And why would the psychiatrist's gardener, a man he'd molded, Pygmalion-like, from an itinerant worker into a do-it-all assistant, apparently behead the bride during the reception? And what do these events and other murders have to do with a lost Elizabethan play and its author, whose name has become the nom de crime of a sophisticated serial killer? To find out, Gurney will risk his life and marriage.
Verdict Absorbing complications, perfect pacing, a conflicted protagonist (endearing for his introspection), and the author's insight, which imbues the story with tremendous humanity, make this a must-read for thriller fans who enjoy tales that are not only gripping but believable. [See Prepub Alert, 1/17/11.]—Ron Terpening, Univ. of Arizona, Tucson
Wingfield, Jenny. The Homecoming of Samuel Lake. Random. Jul. 2011. c.328p. ISBN 9780385344081. $25. F
This first novel by screenwriter Wingfield (The Man in the Moon) takes readers back to 1950s Arkansas, where children played outside in summer, tent revivals were commonplace, and neighbors got the local news from the telephone party line rather than television. After Samuel Lake, a Methodist minister, is removed from his church in Louisiana, he moves his wife and three children to Arkansas to live with his wife's mother on the family farm. As Samuel searches desperately for a job, first trying his hand at selling tombstones, then organizing a tent revival, and finally truck farming, his children run freely over the farm, making new friends and desperately trying to shuck the "preacher's kid" image they've carried since birth. It doesn't take them long to rout out the querulous owner of the neighboring farm and make their first enemy—an act with far-reaching implications.
Verdict A beautiful look into the recent past, this novel is hard to categorize, as it touches on many genres—family life, Christian fiction, coming-of-age, and suspense—but readers will love it. [See Prepub Alert, 1/10/11.]—Thomas L. Kilpatrick, Southern Illinois Univ., Carbon
NONFICTION
Blavat, Jerry. You Only Rock Once. Running Pr. Aug. 2011. c.384p. photogs. index. ISBN 9780762442157. $23. MUSIC
Although people always remember the music of their youth, they often forget who introduced them to it. For those who grew up in the Philadelphia area, chances are they heard the hits of the 1960s–70s because of Blavat, "The Geator with the Heator." Disc jockey, television personality, and all around musical entrepreneur, Blavat became a pioneer in the oldies radio format after starting out in the early days of Bandstand in Philadelphia. His experiences as a radio personality, nightclub owner, and friend of the local Mafia make his memoir a treasure trove of anecdotes featuring the likes of Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Frankie Valli, and others.
Verdict The writing is conversational and engaging if not exceptional. The only serious drawback to the book is that—although Blavat is a well-known and accomplished figure—his notoriety seems somewhat limited to Pennsylvania and New Jersey. His anecdotes of famous figures are entertaining but do not provide remarkable new material; recommended only for libraries in the region.—Peter Thornell, Hingham P.L., MA
Fischer, Jens Malte. Gustav Mahler. Yale Univ. Aug. 2011. c.768p. tr. from German by Stewart Spencer. illus. bibliog. index. ISBN 9780300134445. $50. MUSIC
First published in Germany in 2003, this is a meticulous study of the Gustav Mahler's (1860–1911) life and major works in terms of the European social and cultural context. Fischer (history & theater, Univ. of Munich), a leading authority on theater, liberally sprinkles his narrative with quotes from letters and diaries of the composer, his wife, and close friends to paint a complex and emotionally charged portrait. The major advantage of this biography is the author's broad knowledge and understanding of cultural life in Europe and the United States at the turn of the 20th century. Discussion of the compositions is aimed at a general readership in that it deals with their inspiration, emotional content, programmatic associations, and reception rather than technical details of musical structure.
Verdict The prose is often stiff and convoluted (Spencer's translation mirrors the original), but the insights make the effort worthwhile. A brilliant if difficult study. Highly recommended.—Timothy J. McGee, Trent Univ., Peterborough, Ont.
Gdula, Steven. Gobba Gobba Hey: A Gob Cookbook. Bloomsbury, dist. by Macmillan. Aug. 2011. c.160p. index. ISBN 9781608194780. $18. COOKING
Food writer Gdula (The Warmest Room in the House: How the Kitchen Became the Heart of the Twentieth-Century American Home) began baking and selling gobs to supplement his income during a slow spell in his career. Soon, buzz spread, and his low-key operation became a part of the San Francisco street vendor scene. Twists on an old Pennsylvania staple, Gdula's gobs, like their more famous cousin, the whoopie pie, are hold-in-the-hand cupcakelike concoctions traditionally made with chocolate cake and vanilla frosting. Intent on spreading the joy of the gob, he created variations from the mild (spiced pumpkin gobs with cream cheese filling) to the nontraditional (vanilla lavender gobs with blackberry filling) using ingredients readily available at the farmers' market. He includes 52 weekly recipes, listing background information, instructions, ingredients, and tips.
Verdict One of few books available on the topic, this intriguing cookbook would be more useful if it included photos, since many will not know what a gob is or how to assemble it. Readers may benefit by visiting Gdula's blog (gobbagobbahey.com) or other websites.—Jane Hebert, Orange Cty. Lib. Syst., Orlando, FL
Hay, Belinda. Style Me Vintage: Hair; Easy Step-by-Step Techniques for Creating Classic Hairstyles. Pavilion, dist. by Trafalgar Square. 2011. 112p. photogs. ISBN 9781862059023. $15.95. PERSONAL GROOMING
Owner of the Painted Lady salon in London, Hay here introduces readers to some of the most iconic hairstyles of the past, from finger waves and pin curls worn by flappers in the 1920s to the Barbarella style made famous by Jane Fonda in the late 1960s. Each style includes step-by-step instructions and photographs of the finished look on models fully styled in period makeup and wardrobe. They are also shown as contemporary looks on celebrities like Christina Aguilera and Scarlett Johansson. The instructional aspect of the book could have been improved with fewer full-page photographs and more pictures of the steps. Readers looking for more variations on these hairstyles may prefer Lauren Rennells's Vintage Hairstyling: Retro Styles with Step-by-Step Techniques. A companion title from Pavilion, Katie Reynolds's Style Me Vintage: Make Up, will be released in the United States in November.
Verdict Fun, informative, and beautifully designed, this is an inspiring introduction to classic hairstyles.—Meagan Storey, Virginia Beach
Morgan, Johnny. Disco: The Music, the Times, the Era. Sterling. Jul. 2011. 256p. illus. index. ISBN 9781402780356. $27.95. MUSIC
With this lavishly illustrated volume, Morgan (Gaga; The Art of the LP) has produced a true love letter to the disco scene. He traces its evolution through venues more than the music; a wise choice given disco's social, dance-centric nature. Far more than a simple best-of overview of musical acts and tracks, this compilation features, in short, compulsively readable sections, all the components of the disco experience—the clubs, the DJs, the drugs, the producers, the performers, the sex, and the styles. Morgan's use of contemporary advertising and articles from underground, music-press, and mainstream sources provides refreshing cultural context. Scores of full-page photos, slick page layouts, and creative uses of colors and fonts perfectly complement the subject matter.
Verdict A party on every page, this is one coffee-table book no disco fan should be without. Highly recommended for anyone who danced their way through the 1970s or just wishes they could have.—Neil Derksen, Gwinnett Cty. P.L., Lawrenceville, GA
