A Hologram for the King. Louise Erdrich. The Round House. Richard Ford.
Canada. Ben Fountain. Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk. Peter Heller. The Dog
Stars.
The Ridgefield Library ’s Fiction Newsletter
ALA Notable Books 2013
T
he American Library Association’s Notable Books Council has announced their 2013 picks. These titles are selected “for their significant contribution to the expansion of knowledge or for the pleasure they can provide to readers.” Below are the fiction titles they selected:
February 2013
Author in the spotlight Jennifer Haigh Every home in the intimate, characterdriven, and perceptive domestic fiction of Jennifer Haigh seems to have skeletons in its closets. She presents emotionally riveting and suspenseful accounts of often dysfunctional families whose scandals she explores through intricate, complex narratives in which well-developed and plausibly flawed characters fight for readers' sympathies. Haigh's prose is taut, clear, and polished; her thoughtful, nuanced explorations of controversial topics invite readers to ponder difficult questions.
News from Heaven: The Bakerton Stories (2013) Portraying the close-knit community of Bakerton, Pennsylvania through a series of interconnected stories, the author, exploring themes of regret, redemption and acceptance. (See Staff Picks)
Junot Diaz. This Is How You Lose Her. Dave Eggers. A Hologram for the King. Louise Erdrich. The Round House. Richard Ford. Canada. Ben Fountain. Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk. Peter Heller. The Dog Stars. Rachel Joyce. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. Vincent Lam. The Headmaster’s Wager. Jonathan Tropper. One Last Thing Before I Go. Claire Vaye Watkins. Battleborn.
Faith (2011) When her older brother Art--the popular, dynamic pastor of a large suburban parish--finds himself at the center of the scandal, Sheila McGann, estranged from her family for years, returns to Boston, ready to fight for him and his reputation--until she discovers the truth. The Condition (2008) Unaware of the long-standing grievances harbored by their divorced parents, three siblings embark on a tumultuous summer when the oldest, a successful Manhattan doctor, investigates his sister's chromosomal disorder against his mother's wishes. Baker Towers (2005) The decade following World War II becomes one of tragedy, excitement, and unexpected change for the five Novak children and the residents of their western Pennsylvania community of company houses, church festivals, union squabbles, and firemen's parades. Mrs. Kimble (2003) Follows twenty-five years in the life of a charismatic opportunist as seen through the eyes of his three wives.
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The Ridgefield Library’s FICTION Newsletter– Newsletter– Page 2
New Fiction (Annotations from BookLetters) A Week in Winter by Maeve Binchy. In this posthumously published work, Binchy offers a cast of characters readers will never forget when they all spend a winter week together on holiday at Stone House, a restful inn by the sea in Ireland.
See Now Then by Jamaica Kincaid. Kincaid brings her singular lyricism and beautifully recursive tendencies to the inner life of Mrs. Sweet, who is facing the end of her marriage, and who, over the course of the book, considers the distinctions between her nows and her thens, particularly when recounting what was while the memories bleed with a pain that still is.
The Lost Art of Mixing Erica Bauermeister. National bestselling author Bauermeister returns to the enchanting world of The School of Essential Ingredients in this luminous sequel. A beautifully imagined novel about the ties that bind--and links that break--it is a captivating meditation on the power of love, food, and companionship.
Indiscretion by Charles DuBow. With the evocative power of The Paris Wife and the aching vulnerability of John Irving's books, a heady and addictive debut novel in which the idyllic lives of a wealthy and glamorous husband and wife are upended when they meet an impressionable and ambitious young woman.
Schroder by Amity Gaige. Schroder, the heartbreaking tale of a man who kidnaps his 6-year-old daughter, could be O My Darling author Amity Gaige’s breakout work. Starring a doggedly compelling lead character and Gaige’s signature smooth prose, this novel wows with its exacting, subtle grace. Ghostman by Roger Hobbs. The sensation of the 2011 Frankfurt Book Fair: a stunningly dark first novel that is sure to become a major publishing event. When a casino robbery in Atlantic City goes horribly awry the man who orchestrated it is obliged to call in a favor from "Jack, O” who keeps his identity a closely guarded secret.
For a more extensive list of new fiction, mystery, and science fiction and fantasy titles, visit our website at www.ridgefieldlibrary.org
Staff Picks Elise’s Picks The Round House by Louise Erdrich. Winner of this year’s National Book Award, The Round House is a beautiful, moving coming-of-age story about a 13-year old boy’s quest for justice. At the novel’s start, a brutal racial attack on a Native American family rips apart their Ojibwe community and destroys the idyllic home life of the boy. Alarmed by his mother’s withdrawal and frustrated by his father’s faith in the law, young Joe turns to his friends to help him hunt for his mother’s attacker. Lean, poetic, and at times laugh out loud funny, there is magic and wisdom in Louise Erdrich’s storytelling. Somehow she has created a tragic tale that is ultimately uplifting. Paradise City by Archer Mayor. A Beacon Hill robbery that results in the death of a 90-year old woman and a string of break-ins at several Vermont McMansions lead to a tri-state investigation of a clever, security savvy jewelry ring. All clues seem to point to Northampton, MA, as the criminal network’s base, and freewheeling, funky Northampton turns out to be prime resale territory for top of the line artisan jewelry. The 23rd entry in what the Chicago Tribune calls “the best police procedurals” finds Lt. Joe Gunther and his VBI team matching wits with a cunning, vicious mastermind. Enjoyable on so many levels, the latest in this always intelligent series is the perfect antidote for the winter doldrums.
Dorothy’s Picks News from Heaven by Jennifer Haigh. In this collection of interconnected stories, Jennifer Haigh revisits the town and some of the characters from her 2005 novel Baker Towers. Bakertown, Pennsylvania is a blue-collar town down on its luck since the closing of its coal mine, the lifeline for local employment. These beautifully crafted characters and stories explore the challenges of everyday life for those who stay in Bakertown and those who leave it for the promise of a better life. The stories are often breathtaking in their denouements, where the author uses a carefully placed phrase or sentence for a masterly sleight of hand. For her ability to capture a sense of place, critics have compared Jennifer Haigh to Sherwood Anderson. The River Swimmer by Jim Harrison. For me, sitting down with a Jim Harrison book is like spending time with a curmudgeonly uncle, rough on the surface, sharp-witted, and with a heart of gold. In the longer of these two novellas, Clive is a sixty-something former artist, turned academic who returns to the farm where he grew up in order to care for his mother. The journey triggers reflections about his high school sweetheart and the dreams and ambitions that led him to the New York art scene and to the tempering of his youthful idealism. Full of Harrison’s wit and spot on observations about the vagaries of modern life and aging, The River Swimmer is a literary treat. .
