THE LAST NIGHT AT THE LOBSTER by Stewart O’Nan
Headquarters has decided to shut down the Red Lobster restaurant in a small mall in New Britain, Connecticut. We spend its last twelve hours in it with the restaurant manager, a Latino man named Manny DeLeon, as he struggles to keep his ship afloat just one more time, in the face of an impending New England snowstorm and an unmotivated crew.
July 25, 2009
· 
Judi Clark · 
One Comment
Tags: Job-centered, Small Town, Stewart O'Nan · Posted in: 2009 Favorites, Contemporary, Drift-of-Life, Literary, NE & New York
THE BLUE NOTEBOOK by James A. Levine
THE BLUE NOTEBOOK is a beautify written novel about the grimmest of subjects – child prostitution. Were it not for author James A. Levine’s exquisite prose and his remarkable protagonist, nine year-old Batuk Ramasdeen, a poem of a girl, this story might be too sad to read. However, Batuk, a precocious, ever optimistic little girl, wins the reader’s heart from page one and makes The Blue Notebook very hard to put down. At 210 pages, I read it in two sittings.
July 7, 2009
· Judi Clark · No Comments
Tags: Arabic World, Job-centered, Prostitution, Spiegel & Grau · Posted in: 2009 Favorites, Class - Race - Gender, Debut Novel, India-Pakistan, Literary, Reading Guide, Unique Narrative, World Lit
ADMISSION by Jean Hanff Korelitz
ADMISSION is a novel that examines the complex process of selecting incoming freshmen for Princeton University from a large pool of eager and often superbly qualified applicants. Jean Hanff Korelitz draws on her experience as an “outside reader” for Princeton to add verisimilitude to her story. She also spoke with deans of admissions and college counselors to gain a broad perspective on what has become, for many, a harrowing and competitive race to the finish line.
May 24, 2009
· Judi Clark · No Comments
Tags: College Setting, Grand Central, Jean Hanff Korelitz, Job-centered, Life Choices, Mid-Life Crisis · Posted in: Contemporary, NE & New York
