Fiction for Adults
Truth and Consequences - Alison Lurie
In this academic romp, Lurie casts her sharp eye and wit on Alan and Jane, a married couple working at fictional Corinth U. He is an architectural historian and she is an administrator. Once of strong body and mind, Alan has degenerated into helplessness after he injures his back. Barely able to work, Alan's vibrant mind has become sodden with painkillers and booze. Good old reliable Jane stoically keeps everything running until visiting poet, femme fatale, and fellow pain sufferer Delia Delaney, enters the scene and becomes Alan's muse. Reviewed by Susan 8/23/10The Space Between Us - Thrity Umrigar
The Space Between Us delineates the clash of two different social classes in contemporary Bombay. Everyday Bhima leaves her shanty in Bombay’s slum to work in the upper class home of Sera Dubash, who she has toiled for for over twenty years. Both have tragic backgrounds, and find solace in each other’s company, only to discover that class makes a difference in the end. Cursed by fate, Bhima sacrifices all for her beautiful, headstrong granddaughter, Maya, a university student whose education -- paid for by Sera -- will enable them to escape the slums. But when an unwed Maya becomes pregnant by a man whose identity she refuses to reveal, Bhima's dreams of a better life for her granddaughter, as well as for herself, may be shattered forever. This novel is poignant and compelling, evocative and unforgettable. Reviewed by Louise 8/17/10Any Bitter Thing - Monica Wood
Call Number: Fic Wood, M.
This is a thought provoking, gripping and very timely novel of faith, family, and hidden truths. A devout, but flawed man undergoes a crisis of priestly commitment as he is falsely accused of impropriety in raising his orphaned niece. Lizzy Mitchell was raised from the age of two by her uncle, a Catholic priest. When she was nine, he was falsely accused of improprieties with her nd
dismissed from his church, and she was sent away to boarding school. Now thirty years old and in a failing marriage, she is nearly killed in a traffic accident. What she discovers when she sets out to find the truths surrounding the accident and about the accusations that led to her uncle's death changes her life. Reviewed by Louise 8/17/10The Plot Against America - Philip Roth
Philip Roth imagines an America in which Charles Lindbergh wins the presidential election of 1940. Lindbergh soon allies with Germany, and the country complies. In the home of a young Jewish boy (named Philip Roth), there is discord: his parents are panicked; his older cousin angrily joins the Canadian military; and his brother is a tool in Lindbergh’s thinly veiled program to remove Jewish children from their homes. Knowing that it is alternative history does not make this book any less chilling. As events escalate, the book is increasingly difficult to put down. Reviewed by Liz 8/16/10Ragtime - E. L. Doctorow
Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award, National Book Award, PEN/ Faulkner Award, and Pulitzer Prize, in this book E. L. Doctorow paints a textured picture of life in New York during the bustling years before World War I. He incorporates the stories of fictional characters with historical figures such as J. P. Morgan, Houdini, Emma Goldman, Henry Ford, and Evelyn Nesbit. The book follows three families: an upper-middle-class Westchester County family, a poor European immigrant family, and the family of a black ragtime musician. He weaves their stories with those of their famous acquaintances to fascinating effect, giving the reader a fun ride through events both historical and fanciful. Will you be able to tell which is which? Reviewed by Liz 8/16/10Ransom - Davild Malouf
Arguably Australia’s greatest living writer, David Malouf reimagines the final episode of the Iliad in which Priam, King of Troy, confronts the Greek hero Achilles. The ancient tale is rendered with fresh and modern imagery and characters, yet retains the lyricism of Homer’s epic poem. Ransom is not about war or grief as much as it is about humility, and humanity, and an aging man’s redemptive journey. Malouf opens up vast territories in this slim book that The New Yorker calls “subtle and extremely moving.” Malouf’s Remembering Babylon was short-listed for the Booker Prize in 1993. Reviewed by Patrick 5/18/10.The Magicians - Lev Grossman
If you're curious about what might happen if Holden Caulfield attended Hogwarts, then read this excellent fantasy for adults. Grossman pays homage to all the great fantasy novels we love, including the Narnia series and Harry Potter, but this book is darker, edgier, and more satisfying. Reviewed by Michele 3/8/10.Charity Girl - Michael Lowenthal
Tension-filled and brimming with period detail, this work about the WWI era US government plot to prevent the spread of venereal disease to soldiers by imprisoning women (in many cases detaining them in converted brothels) is one of the best novels I've read in years. The story is told from the point of view of naive Frieda Mintz, who grows up and perseveres even as she is branded as "...a far greater menace to the welfare of society than many murderers serving life sentences..." reviewed by Michele 12/3/09South of the Border, West of the Sun - Haruki Murakami
Written by one of Japan’s most highly regarded authors, this book follows the life of Hajime from childhood to middle age as he negotiates love and its disappointments. Existential in tone, this story explores lost love and what happens when it is partially regained. Murakami makes Hajime’s struggle against a deep well of loneliness palpable, pulling the reader into this tale of obsession and loss. Reviewed by Liz 11/3/09Tess of the D'Urbervilles : a Pure Woman Faithfully Presented - Thomas Hardy
Hardy’s tragic story of innocence lost and true love thwarted manages to be both heartbreaking and a page-turner. The characters are finely drawn, particularly Tess as she changes and adapts to her life’s challenges. Hardy writes in lush language of the nature of the English countryside and juxtaposes this richness with his evocation of a time of momentous change in the lives of agricultural workers, from ancient folkways to modern economic dislocation. As one chapter led to the next, I couldn’t wait to learn more about this particular time and place and how Tess negotiates her way through it. Reviewed by Liz 11/3/09
Beat the Reaper - Josh Bazell
Dr. Peter Brown, once Pietro Brwna, is now in the witness protection program for his, shall we say, questionable past employment as mafia hitman extraordinaire. Aside from being a target for the occasional mugger hoping to score a pill or two off of the guy in a lab coat, the biggest challenge he faces these days is staying awake during his rounds. Until he encounters a patient that recognizes him, that is. This book is the perfect, if not odd, mixture of medicine, martial arts, and the mob. Throw in plenty of dark humor, and let the action begin! Reviewed by Shireen 9/03/09.
All About Lulu - Jonathan Evison
Jonathan Evison’s debut novel is an intensely funny coming-of-age tale about Will, a vegetarian misfit growing up in 1970s Southern California in a motherless household swelling with meat-eating body-builders. Will goes mute after his mother dies, but later regains and beefs up his voice when his new step-mother, a grief counselor, and her daughter, Lulu (the object of Will’s decades-long obsession) move in. Will and Lulu form a geek alliance, which abruptly ends when something forever changes Lulu while she’s away at camp. The rest of the story follows Will in his quest for truth and reveals the devastating impact of family secrets. David Sedaris & Wes Anderson fans should enjoy this book! Reviewed by Melanie, 05/09.
The Maytrees - Annie Dillard
With a childhood recollection of being drawn to the appearance of a barefoot bohemian-type carrying a canvas across a Cape Cod street and later having established residency in New England, I was drawn to this poetic and spare novel depicting artists living among the Provincetown dunes. Annie Dillard sketches a loving portrait of beautiful yet flawed characters, but it is not so much the plot as the description of the natural environment and setting of this story that made it a worthy read for me. Dillard’s command of language is marvelous. Reviewed by Susan 3/24/09
The Feast of Love - Charles Baxter
Having read Charles Baxter’s, The Soul Thief, and immediately wanting more by this literary novelist and short story writer, I checked out his Feast of Love. This novel, a collection of extraordinary first person narratives of love, loss, and longing told by ordinary people in Ann Arbor, evokes shades of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Reviewed by Susan 3/16/09The Blind Assassin - Margaret Atwood
A deliciously intricate story full of family drama, suspense, and romance. Atwood's writing made me want to savor every word, while her mesmerizing story made me want to quickly get to the next page. Especially intriguing for me was the mysterious sci-fi tale being told within the story. Take a look at the First Chapter Excerpts in our catalog and you'll see what I mean. Reviewed by Theresa 10/16/08
A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini
This is the best fiction I have ever read! Dedicated to the women of Afghanistan, this novel depicts the journey of two girls who have lived through the evils of war. This book is very well written Hosseini draws the reader into the lives of each character. If you like novels that are based on historical events I strongly recommend this read.The author gives every afghan woman a voice through Myriam and Laila. I do want to warn future readers that there is strong content so if you're brave enough to take the journey with these two afghan women hop on board! Reviewed by Noelia 10/10/08The Tortilla Curtain - T.C Boyle
Tortilla Curtain follows two story lines which cross paths in Southern California. Two migrant workers struggle to survive in the shadows of a community that wants to build a wall around its houses while a family inside the community struggles to feel secure in their world which they feel is being encroached on by both nature and immigrants. T.C. Boyle is a true talent and takes on a topic hard pressed to produce a happy ending, and is well worth the read. Reviewed by AJ Garza 10/10/08
Nonfiction for Adults
Everybody into the Pool: TrueTales - Beth Lisick
A memoir, this book traces Lisick's life as a South Bay suburban teen track star, through her years as a San Francisco artist living in a squat, and on into her life as a Berkeley writer and mother. She writes with a non-snarky humor that is still sharp. Not many people can pull off a description of their newborn son dressed in a filthy sleeper with onion skins sticking to it and come across sympathetically. It is a testament to Lisick’s skill that she does. Reviewed by Liz 8/16/10
Sin in the Second City: Madams, Ministers, Playboys, and the Battle for America's Soul - Karen Abbott
Chicago in the early 20th century comes alive in this well-researched and lively read about two sisters and their famous Everleigh Club, a bordello in an ornate mansion catering to the elite with its themed boudoirs and women lovingly referred to as “butterflies.” The sisters, who kept close tabs on their customers and fought off rival madams, provided their workers with nutritious meals, generous wages, and medical care. Eventually, Progressive Era reformers set out to reform white slavery and the “social evil” of the times leading to the establishment of the Mann act. This book is a great follow up to Devil in the White City. Reviewed by Susan 6/25/10
Eminent Dogs, Dangerous Men - Donald McCaig
This story of one farmer's search for a border collie to complete the man, dog, sheep trinity. McCaig's experiences at his own farm in Virginia and his travels to Scotland and the sheepdog trials there reveal the crusty, lovable characters of dogs and men. Black and White photographs enhance the reading experience. reviewed by Michele 2/1/10Free: The Future of a Radical Price - Chris Anderson
In the tradition of Gladwell’s The Tipping Point and Surowiecki’s The Wisdom of Crowds, this provocative and accessible book upturns our conceptions about business, technology, and the future. Anderson, chief editor of Wired Magazine and author of the bestselling The Long Tail, investigates how Google, Facebook, YouTube, Radiohead, and Linux have reshaped our expectations and marketplaces by giving away the goods. Anderson suggests that the twentieth century notion of ‘no free lunches’ is growing obsolete in a digital world where the cost of storing and delivering products and services online is so close to zero that we have started rounding down. Reviewed by Patrick 12/1/09
Finding Oz: How L. Frank Baum discovered the Great American Story - Evan I. Schwartz
With the resurgence of interest in all things wizard and Oz in recent years, this timely examination of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is fascinating. L. Frank Baum reached adulthood during the Gilded Age and tried his hand at many occupations: playwriting and acting, publishing, retail merchandising. His initial success was always followed by failure. Shaped by personal and historical places and events, and the spiritual influence of his mother-in-law, Matilda Joslyn Gage, a noted feminist of the era, Frank finally found his true self in storytelling. The characters and ideas in his signature work, from Dorothy to Toto to the Wizard himself are a distillation of late 19th century people and ideas. Part biography, part literary analysis, part history, and always informative, I recommend Finding Oz for adults and teens. Reviewed by DM 11/04/2009Best American Nonrequired Reading 2008 - Edited by David Eggers
This is a great collection of essays, fiction, blogs, and more collected by students at 826 Valencia writing workshop. I was fascinated by Pearls Before Breakfast by Gene Weingarten, who writes about what happened during a covert performance in a DC Metro station by violinist Joshua Bell. There's something in this collection for everyone, and even some local interest in the form of the Kensington, CA police blotter. Reviewed by Michele 2/2/2009.Why the Dalai Lama matters: his act of truth as the solution for China, Tibet, and the World - Robert Thurman
This is a critical book to read even if one is not Buddhist. China will play an important role in the 21st century. How it has dealt, and could deal, with cultural diversity at its doorstep has profound implications for our global future. The Dalai Lama is for the world what Martin Luther King, Jr. was for the U.S. We would do well to become educated about the issue of Tibet, that we may become better advocates abroad for the human rights that we hold so dear here. Reviewed by Carol 11/10/08Muqtada: Muqtada al-Sadr, the Shia revival, and the struggle for Iraq - Patrick Cockburn
A valuable book if you want to understand the religious context behind the political struggle in Iraq today. Violent circumstances forged the personality of the "firebrand cleric" and precipitated his rise to the leadership of the major grassroots political movement in Iraq. Accessible, informative, but not fun reading.Reviewed by Carol 11/01/08
Four Queens: the Provencal sisters who ruled Europe - Nancy Bazelon Goldstone
This is a great women's history title! It's engaging and full of detail about life in 13th century Europe. These four sisters, daughters of the Count and Countess of Provence, became the Queens of France, England, Germany and Sicily and did a lot more than sitting around looking fancy! They formed alliances, waged war, and helped redraw the borders of Europe. Get to know them!. Reviewed by PJ 10/10/08Everything Conceivable: How Assisted Reproduction is Changing Men, Women, and the World - Liza Mundy
I can't decide if this book was frightening or inspiring, but it was certainly enlightening. I've never thought much about fertility and assisted reproduction before and this book was a well written, thought provoking introduction to the topic. The author is clear, and provides plenty of interesting anecdotes that keep the story from being too technical. Mundy does a great job at presenting the facts without providing any moral judgements on what she's learning. A must read for all women! Reviewed by Catherine 10/10/08
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