January 2
The Death of Bees, Lisa O'Donnell
Debut novel by Scottish author Lisa O'Donnell. Early reviews are excellent. Two girls bury their parents, but tell no one because they do not want put in the foster care system and separated. A neighbor discovers their secret, but keeps quiet. Sounds like a sort of modern-gothic novel about adults making poor decisions.
Today is Christmas Eve. Today is my birthday. Today I am fifteen. Today I buried my parents in the backyard. Neither of them were beloved.
January 3White Dog Fell From Sky, Eleanor Morse
The story has been compared to Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese (which I finished reading in my driveway, crying,) with a setting (Botswana) reminiscent of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith. A young medical student, Isaac Muthethe, is forced to flee South Africa and is hired as a gardener to an American woman (Alice) in Botswana. When he goes missing, Alice's search for him takes her on an unexpected African journey. Also, for those interested in novels set in Africa during apartheid, A Blade of Grass by Lewis DeSoto is extraordinary.
January 8
The Last Runaway, Tracy Chevalier
Oh, Tracy Chevalier, how I love thee! Vermeer, William Blake, tapestries, fossils, historic cemeteries...you're all over the historical map and it's fabulous. The Last Runaway is the first of her novels set in the United States. It tells the tale of an English Quaker (Honor Bright) who emigrates to Ohio in 1850 to help runaway slaves. I see it on the bestseller shelf today, so I may snag it and have a review soon.
The Aviator's Wife, Melanie Benjamin
Benjamin is the author of Alice I Have Been (great cover, so-so story) and The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb (never read; heard it's good.) The Aviator's Wife tells the story of Anne Morrow Lindbergh, wife of the famed aviator, explorer, and adventurer Charles Lindbergh. Despite her own major achievements in aviation, she is always known as merely Charles Lindbergh's wife. It's a story about a complicated marriage, made more so by publicity, tragedy and fame.
February 5
See Now Then, Jamaica Kincaid
Kincaid is the author of the short story collection At the Bottom of the River, which was nominated for a PEN/Faulkner award. This is her first book in 10 years and I have heard her writing described as cool, fierce, brilliant, and evocative; and I feel like her new book will be no exception. It's the story of a couple and their children living in New England and the joy and despair of domestic life.
A Week in Winter, Maeve Binchy
I have not read too much Binchy, just the basics: Circle of Friends, Light a Penny Candle, and Echoes. This is her last book before her death in July 2012 and that's why I included it. I'm not a huge fan of her books, but I liked her. Her books are always warm and full of great characters and A Week in Winter seems to be no exception. A bunch of strangers are at a beach house in the middle of winter, all with their own secrets and expectations.
I'd like people to think I was a good friend and a reasonable story-teller and to know that thanks to all the great people, family and friends that I met, I was very, very happy when I was here.
The Storyteller, Jodi Picoult
I sometimes find Picoult a little too "precious." Like gag me with a spoon My Sister's Keeper. But then she went and surprised me with Nineteen Minutes. The Storyteller seems to be a bit of a departure from her usual work. A former Nazi SS guard living a quiet life in a small community asks his neighbor, the granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor, to kill him for his crimes. A lot of reviewers (professional and amateur) are saying this is her best novel ever.
A Thousand Pardons, Jonathan Dee
I am working on a post tentatively called, "Characters I Hate." The couple from Jonathan Dee's novel The Privileges (Adam and Cynthia Morey) are on that list. Yes, I know the book was nominated for a Pulitzer and is a "searing portrait" of American greed and materialistic absurdity, but they were so perfect and smug and bleeech. Anyhoo, A Thousand Pardons reenters that world of privilege, but this time from the side of unraveling. Not that I'm huge believer in professional reviews, but Kirkus said it's, "A page turner without sacrificing a smidgen of psychological insight." Well.
April 2
All That Is, James Salter
This is Salter's first book in 7 years and publishers were talking about it 6 months ago. So there is some excitement. All That Is follows the life of Philip Bowman, a WWII veteran and now book editor. There are marriages, divorces, betrayal, while all around him the world is rapidly changing. I'll confess, I've never read any of his books. The over the top reviews ("the author of some of the most esteemed fiction in the past three decades" and "master" of fiction) have me convinced.
The Interestings, Meg Wolitzer
The Interestings follows the lives of six kids who meet at an art camp in 1974. Some become wildly successful in their art, some not so much. Wolitzer explores the meaning of talent, art, envy, fate, and class in what seems like a departure from her normal female dominated casts.
April 23
Maya's Notebook, Isabel Allende
It's Isabel Allende. She could write a car manual and it would be compelling and moving and be nominated for a Pulitzer. Maya's Notebook is new for Allende, who is best known for her magical realism. It is set in present day and includes the drug trade, the FBI and assassins- all on an island off the coast of Chile.
The Childhood of Jesus, J.M. Coetzee
I want to like Coetzee so much. He's won the Booker twice (for The Life and Times of Michael K and Disgrace) and even has a Nobel Prize for freaking Literature. And yet I have never successfully finished even one of his novels, including Disgrace which sounds fantastic and is only 218 pages long. But no. The Childhood of Jesus has an almost dystopian feel to it, so maybe this is the one!
The Woman Upstairs, Claire Messud
I have started The Emperor's Children so many times that I could probably recite the first 10 pages of it. Was never able to get into it, even though it was nominated for and won a boatload of awards and is easily considered her best work. The Woman Upstairs appeals to me in a different way. An artist-turned-schoolteacher falls in love with a family that moves into her New England town.
Dead Ever After, Charlaine Harris
The END of the Sookie Stackhouse series! *tears* I'll admit, the last few books have been a little stale and Harris has sort of jumped the shark (She's probably busy sleeping in her wheelbarrow full of cash.) However, the pure delight of taking the first ten books to the beach and devouring them means the series will always have a warm spot in my heart. I will be super-pissed if she kills everyone. I want my goddamn vampire happily-ever-after. (I also like the television series, True Blood. It has almost nothing to do with the books, but they nailed Eric Northman with Alexander Skarsgard, who is one year older than me; this means I don't feel like a child molester thinking he's hot.)
May 21
And the Mountains Echoed, Khaled Hosseini
Finally! Hosseini is the author of the brilliant novel The Kite Runner (made into an equally as brilliant movie) and the breathtaking, tragic A Thousand Splendid Suns. And the Mountains Echoed is a multi-generational family story about siblings. I'm going to go out on a limb and say it has something to do with Afghanistan.
June
Joyland is about a student who takes a job at a North Carolina amusement park, a tragic (old) murder and a dying child. I do love Stephen King; there are certain things only he can write.
Big Brother, Lionel Shriver
Okay, so I gave a bunch of people PTSD by recommending We Need to Talk About Kevin. I am pleased to report that the movie was just as fucked up. Not too much information about Big Brother yet, but so far I have read that it is about the obesity epidemic and the compromises you make in marriage. Sold.
Fall
The Restoration Artist, Lewis DeSoto
I cannot find any information about this book! I'm frustrated because I LOVED A Blade of Grass (see above) and I am looking forward to something new from him.
Imagining Alexandria, Louis de Bernieres
de Bernieres is one of my favorite writers. If you saw the terrible, terrible movie Captain Corelli's Mandolin, try to unsee it and read the book. It's one of the best books about WWII that I've ever read. No info on the newest book, but I'm sure it will be fantastic.
Diane Setterfield coming out with a "ghost story" novella in the Fall!
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