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July/August
2003 Book Sense 76 Picks
Unique and provocative selections from a great diversity of voices...all personally recommended by the independent booksellers of America.
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 Bangkok 8
by John Burdett
"Bangkok 8 is set in Thailand and experienced through the eyes of
an earnest half-breed Bangkok police officer. His Buddhism informs everything
that happens in this thrilling multi-cultural cop novel, from his relationship
to the FBI agents with whom he works, to his use of all manner of drugs, to the
occasional heavy hand he must wield in the course of his job. A meeting of the
East and West from the viewpoint of The Other, to be read slowly, then reread."
-- Paul Ingram, Prairie Lights Books, Iowa City, IA
 Blessed Are the Cheesemakers
by Sara-Kate Lynch
"Cheese artisans, great friendship, love of the rarest sort, and the romance of Ireland make this novel one to read this summer. Lynch presents the challenges affecting young and old with seriousness and humor, and offers solutions that bring hope to everyone. The reader can taste the unique cheeses, smell the countryside, and enjoy the people we meet in this wonderful story." -- Joci Tilsen, Valley Bookseller, Stillwater, MN
 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
by Mark Haddon
"This novel takes you right into the world of a 15-year-old autistic savant boy who is obsessed with solving the mystery of who killed his neighbor's dog. In his search, he discovers much more about his family than he ever wanted to know. Very engaging and written in a true voice of innocence." -- Luanne Kreutzer, St. Helens Book Shop, St. Helens, OR
 Distant Music
by Lee Langely
"I could hardly set down this truly memorable book. Combining plot twists through different time periods with an ongoing and never-ending love story, Langley's lovely writing was eloquent and captivating." -- Sally Dumont, Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Lexington, KY
 Evidence of Things Unseen
by Marianne Wiggins
"As Turner captured the infinite qualities of light upon canvas, so Wiggins captures them on the page. In one of the best books I have ever read, she weaves a tale of wonder, tragedy, and, above all, love through the lives of Fos and Opal as they traverse the land and history of early-20th-century Tennessee and North Carolina. As I read the last word, my mouth was agape in wonder at the beauty I had just experienced." -- Sarah Carr, McIntyre's Fine Books, Pittsboro, NC
 Fleur de Leigh in Exile
by Diane Leslie
"Somehow, some way, Fleur de Leigh has survived her serial-nannied childhood,
only to find her teenage self shipped off to a miserable Arizona boarding school
in Diane Leslie's latest novel, Fleur de Leigh in Exile. As in the first
book (Fleur
de Leigh's Life of Crime), Fleur is both charming and pure of heart, and,
despite her loneliness, she eventually finds friends, first love, and the strongest
parts of herself. Do yourself a favor, Cherie, and get to know this terrific young
heroine." -- Linda Urban, Vroman's Bookstore, Pasadena, CA
 For Matrimonial Purposes
by Kavita Daswani
"If you read fiction to be transported into new landscapes and cultures, you can't go wrong with this charming, funny, heartachy, and warm story of Anju, daughter of a wealthy Bombay family. Submissive yet independent, loving yet shy, she can't seem to get a suitor. Anju talks her way into studying in New York, bounces back and forth between cultures, a Cinderella in the wings. Will her prince ever come? What a portrait of Bombay and upper-crust Hindu life plus the New York fashion scene! I was captivated." -- Barbara Peters, The Poisoned Pen, Scottsdale, AZ
 Hey, Nostradamus!
by Douglas Coupland
"As its evocative title suggests, Hey Nostradamus! is cast with characters
searching for meaning among a multitude of tragedies. The voices who tell this
story -- beginning with a victim of a high school massacre -- have their convictions
shaken, and must reassemble their beliefs as best they can. Their stories -- and
the oddly dark conclusions they arrive at -- are some of Coupland's best writing."
-- Patrick Nevins, Hawley-Cooke Booksellers, Louisville, KY
 I Love You Like a Tomato
by Marie Giordano
" Giordano is an original voice who has created an aromatic and nutty world
set in post-World War II Chicago. Told from the perspective of ChiChi, who as
a young child crossed the Atlantic from Southern Italy, and surrounded by the
backdrop of Italian-American Chicago, I Love You Like a Tomato is a vibrant
example of an immigrant family's struggle to find the American Dream."
-- Genevieve Heater, Scott's Bookstore, Mount Vernon, WA
 The Laws of Evening
by Mary Yukari Waters
"This is a beautiful collection of short stories with artfully painted prose that contrasts the pain and horror of war, loss, and cultural change with beauty, strength, and hope in postwar Japan." -- Debbi Montisano, UCSD Bookstore, La Jolla, CA
 The Middle of the Night
by Daniel Stolar
"These stories are fully realized, filled with characters equally authentic in their yearning and their self-sabotage. Stoler invites us into their world with economy, elegance, and unfailing intelligence." -- Suellen Brown, Midsummer Books, Galveston, TX
 A Mouthful of Air
by Amy Koppelman
"It took a while after finishing A Mouthful of Air to recover from
it impact. The devastating story of a young mother who, after a failed suicide
attempt, finds herself pregnant with a second child and fighting depression, is
moving and heartbreaking. The insights into depression, and particularly postpartum
depression, are well delivered." -- Susan Whittaker, Viewpoint of Columbus,
Columbus, IN
 My Father Had a Daughter
by Grace Tiffany
"How would you deal with an absentee father who is a famous playwright, the death of your beloved twin brother, and that your father has used your grief to create a comedy play? These events shaped Tiffany's Judith Shakespeare, the second daughter of William Shakespeare. Beginning with the joy and exuberance of youth, and then moving through sorrow, vengeance, and, finally, forgiveness, this is a must-read for anyone who has loved a Shakespeare play." -- Jenny Luscher, Bohannons' Books With a Past, Georgetown, KY
 Nature Lessons: A Novel
by Lynette Brasfield
"In response to a cryptic letter from her seemingly paranoid mother, Kate
returns reluctantly to her childhood South Africa only to discover that her mother
has gone missing. Nature Lessons almost reads like a memoir: Loose strands,
broken threads, and innocent childhood memories are slowly knotted together to
form a troubled family's history during the apartheid era in the 1960s. I was
totally absorbed in the story -- what a great debut for a first-time author."
-- Elly Smith, Madison Park Books, Seattle, WA
 1929: A Novel of the Jazz Age
by Frederick Turner
"The stylized cover of 1929 first attracted me to this fictionalized story of the tragically short life of Jazz Age musician Bix Beiderbecke. After reading this great mood piece of a novel, a first by this acclaimed nonfiction writer, I want to hear Beiderbecke 's music and read more about him." -- Susan Schenone, The Book Bag, Valparaiso, IN
 The Only Good Thing Anyone Has Ever Done
by Sandra Newman
"Newman has created one of the most original pieces of fiction that I have
read, a world from which I could not escape. She stretches the limits of form,
language, and time, all the while offering characters with whom I fell in love,
hated, cried for, and laughed with. The Only Good Thing Anyone Has Ever Done
carries with it the force from which classics are made." -- Gabriel Haman,
Longfellow Books, Portland, ME
 Oryx and Crake
by Margaret Atwood
"This is a superbly crafted, compelling novel set in a dystopian future,
where people live in gated communities, watch Noodie News, and are terrified
of disease. The similarities to our own world are striking and disturbing, but
Atwood is too good a writer to let this become a simple morality tale. The questions
she raises about science and society are complex and uncomfortable, and every
day more pressing." -- Tish Hayes, Women & Children First, Chicago, IL
 Personality
by Andrew O'Hagan
" O'Hagan, featured in Granta's 'Best of Young British Novelists'
this year, has been steadily gaining recognition in the U.K., and with his new
novel, Personality, he is poised to steal the hearts of American audiences.
Maria Tambini, an Italian by descent who grows up in Scotland becomes a famous
singer, but her personal demons threaten to destroy everything that she has accomplished.
O'Hagan's storytelling subtly reveals the struggles of this remarkable woman,
thereby illuminating her humanity." -- Stephanie Good, Canterbury Booksellers,
Madison, WI
 The Pursuit of Alice Thrift
by Elinor Lipman
"A romance minus sappy or sordid details, a mystery without a dastardly crime, and an exploration of family dynamics that's not maudlin -- all this and good laughs, too, means we have a new Elinor Lipman novel to enjoy! Alice Thrift is a brilliant intern in surgery from a wealthy, loving family, who seems to have it all -- except personality. When she falls for candy salesman Ray Russo, her friends set out to remake Alice, and set her on the path to true happiness." -- Cheryl McKeon, Third Place Books, Lake Forest Park, WA
 The Quality of Life Report
by Meghan Daum
"Lucinda Trout truly proves herself to be a fish out of water when she leaves New York for Paradise City to do 'Quality of Life' reports for a morning talk show. A smart and humorous look at just how complicated the simple life can be." -- Tara O'Donnell, Paperbacks Plus, Bronx, NY
 Reunion: A Novel
by Alan Lightman
"Lightman has beautifully rendered that moment in time when the sweet taste of a first love is made that much sweeter by the hopefulness of youth, when there is no limit to what is possible. But, as he has done in his previous work, Lightman presents a cautionary story, wonderfully and mysteriously told, all the while reiterating the illusive and fragile nature of happiness." -- Mitchell Kaplan, Books & Books, Coral Gables, FL
 The
Rice Mother
by Rani Manicka
"Set in Malaysia before, during, and after the Japanese occupation, The
Rice Mother gives the reader an indelible glimpse into the lives of one family,
and the cruelties perpetrated, witnessed or endured by each member. The redemption
Manicka offers with subtlety and skill arrives in the form of forgiveness and
leaves with the assuredness of hope. This novel, which can't help but touch the
soul, will remain with me for a long time." -- Joan Scott, The Country
Bookshop, Southern Pines, NC
 Someplace Like This: A Novel
by Renee Ashely
"Someplace Like This is very well written and a good read throughout."
-- Marlene Ladjias, Annie's Book Stop, Bloomingdale, NJ
 Sushi for Beginners
by Marian Keyes
"Why is lying on the beach even more heavenly when you are reading a book about the miserable travails of a downtrodden staff, as they are bullied and abused by the ice queen editor from hell, while attempting to launch a new, fashion magazine in Ireland? The pleasure is almost sinful, when the mousy employee gets stepped on once too often, the ice queen cracks, and the meek inherit the earth, all in the endlessly depressing rain and cold. What fun!" -- Ellen Davis, Dragonwings Bookstore, Waupaca, WI
 War Against the Animals
by Paul Russell
"Russell's generous exploration of a disparate -- and, in many ways, a desperate -- group of characters makes clear how hard it is to love at all, let alone to love well. I never quite decided who the 'hero' of the book is, and that, I think, is a testament to how alive and complex these characters are. This is a novel that lingers in the heart long after one reads the closing lines." -- Joe Pilla, Paperbacks Plus, Bronx, NY
 The Water Dancers
by Terry Gamble
"The Water Dancers is a story of a young man, wounded in World War
II, who returns to his family's idyllic summer home in the northern lake district
of Michigan to find that, because of the war, he has changed. Now, seeing differently
his family and the people who make their leisure possible, he becomes open to
love." -- Julie Norcross, McLean & Eakin Booksellers, Petoskey, MI
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