Archive for December, 2009

THE LACUNA by Barbara Kingsolver

In Barbara Kingsolver’s THE LACUNA, Harrison Shepherd’s odyssey through three tumultuous decades of the 20th century begins in a lonely boyhood between two worlds – America and Mexico. It continues through the Depression and World War II, and culminates in the ugly, surreal hysteria of the Red Scare.

Along the way Shepherd mixes plaster for the great Mexican muralist Diego Rivera, becomes a confidant of his colorful wife, the artist Frida Kahlo, serves as secretary to the exiled Bolshevik, Leon Trotsky, and becomes a celebrity in his own right. Readers will bond with his kind soul, his boundless curiosity, his youthful exuberance and his self-deprecating wit as he experiences the best and worst his times have to offer.

December 10, 2009 · Judi Clark · No Comments
Tags: , , ,  Â· Posted in: Latin American/Caribbean, Literary, Mexico, Orange Prize, Unique Narrative

NOCTURNES by Kazuo Ishiguro

Music, musicians, strains of regret and longing for what never will be, come together to form NOCTURNES, a collection of five short stories by Kazuo Ishigiro. Winner of the Booker and the Whitbread Prize, Ishiguro, an established master of the longer form (REMAINS OF THE DAY, THE UNCONSOLED, NEVER LET ME GO) experiments here with lighter, briefer fare and that’s what we get.

December 9, 2009 · Judi Clark · No Comments
Tags: , , ,  Â· Posted in: Short Stories, y Award Winning Author

MILES FROM NOWHERE by Nami Mun

Nami Mun’s MILES FROM NOWHERE is a bold and gritty account of a young girl who leaves home at thirteen and experiences life on the streets, rape, addiction, and a series of horrific life events. She writes with no holds barred and her book reminded me in some ways of LAST EXIT TO BROOKLYN by Hubert Selby, Jr. It’s has that succinct, in-your-face style of writing that is both riveting and painful at the same time.

December 8, 2009 · Judi Clark · One Comment
Tags: , , , ,  Â· Posted in: Contemporary, Debut Novel, New York City, Reading Guide

THE WHITE GARDEN by Stephanie Barron

In Stephanie Barron’s THE WHITE GARDEN, thirty-four year old landscape gardener Jo Bellamy visits Kent, England, in October 2008. She has come to Sissinghurst to see the magnificent home of the writer Vita-Sackville-West, who was an avid gardener herself and a close friend of Virginia Woolf. Jo’s client, the fabulously wealthy Graydon Westlake, has hired her to replicate the famed White Garden on his East Hampton estate. When she arrives at her destination, Jo is greeted with barely concealed disdain by Imogen Cantwell, the head gardener. Cantwell has a bad feeling, “as though a serpent, in the form of this mild American woman, had suddenly slithered through Sissinghurst’s garden.”

December 6, 2009 · Judi Clark · No Comments
Tags: , ,  Â· Posted in: Facing History, Mystery/Suspense

TWILIGHT by Stephanie Meyer

I usually do not read books labeled “young adult.” I am an adult, many years away from being young, (except at heart!!), and, with a few exceptions, i.e., the Harry Potter novels and Wilson Rawl’s WHERE THE RED FERNS GROW,” I read literature for grown-ups. Yet, to my delight Stephenie Meyer has created an extraordinary young adult series, called “The Twilight Saga.” TWILIGHT is also the title of book one. These are original, delightful novels — even for someone who prefers her/his literature a bit more sophisticated. I could not put the first book down, literally…and will begin book two, NEW MOON, as soon as I finish writing this review. Believe me, there’s a reason that more than 10 million “Twilight” series books are in print. They are addictive.

December 5, 2009 · Judi Clark · No Comments
Tags: ,  Â· Posted in: Coming-of-Age, Speculative (Beyond Reality), US Northwest

AMERICAN SALVAGE by Bonnie Jo Campbell

The story of the slow collapse of Michigan’s economy is well known by now. Built around the automotive industry and a core base of manufacturing, the economy started a slow decline as those manufacturing jobs moved out of state. The state now has an astounding unemployment rate of 14.8%.

The characters in AMERICAN SALVAGE, a memorable set of short stories nominated for the National Book Award this year, are all victims of the state’s slow decline. The author Bonnie Jo Campbell narrates stories in which some of the characters have taken to meth or alcohol while still others cling on to jobs that don’t pay much.

December 4, 2009 · Judi Clark · No Comments
Tags: ,  Â· Posted in: Class - Race - Gender, National Book Award Finalist, Reading Guide, Short Stories, US Midwest, y Award Winning Author