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September/October
2002 Book Sense 76 Picks
76 unique and provocative
selections from a great diversity of voices...all personally recommended by
the independent booksellers of America.
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About
the Author
by John
Colapinto
"This mystery about a 'borrowed' manuscript, a lie and the cover-up, and
the price of fame is a roller coaster ride. Just when you think you've reached
the last curve, there's another dip that puts a knot in your stomach."
- Donna Kane, Powell's Books, Portland, OR
 The
Archer's Tale
by Bernard
Cornwell
"Cornwell makes the 14th century come alive with sight, sound, and smell,
as he recreates the pivotal battle of Crecy into bloody reality. This is the first
of another series that Cornwell does so well. This is very exciting reading."
- Jack Scrivner, McKinzey-White Bookstore, Colorado Springs, CO
 Austerlitz
by W.
G. Sebald
"Austerlitz, Sebald's eponymous hero, is an historian for whom time stopped
long before his birth. Late in life, he struggles to recover his own personal
history and comes face to face with the Holocaust. Sebald's narration is gripping,
even harrowing, yet in the end, surprisingly uplifting." - Ray Keifetz,
Diesel: A Bookstore, Oakland, CA
The
Book of Fred
by Abby
Bardi"A girl protagonist, religion, Waco, cults, and the mysterious Book
of Fred. With the lightest of touches on current events, this is one fun novel."
- Karen Wendler, World Eye Bookshop, Greenfield, MA
 Bread
Alone
by Judith
Ryan Hendricks
"During a visit to her best friend in Seattle, a scorned wife rediscovers
the therapeutic process of breadmaking, as she recalls her apprenticeship in a
French boulangerie. This is a polished first novel filled with tantalizing
descriptions of places and foods." - Mary Burns, The BookWorks, Marysville,
WA
Carter
Beats the Devil
by Glen
David Gold
"What a terrific book! Full of fascinating detail about the life of a magician
in the early 20th century, it's a rollicking adventure as well as a love story,
with a little mystery thrown in." - Karen Spengler, I Love A Mystery,
Mission, KS
The
Cheese Monkeys
by Chip
Kidd
"It's all here: the dysfunctional parents, the instructors who can't teach,
and the one person with the power to lift you to heavenly reaches, or cast you
into the pit of despair. I think that it is safe to say that I have never read
anything so clever and funny." - Paul Haskins, Village Books, Bellingham,
WA
The
Death of Sweet Mister
by Dan
Woodrell
"This book is a stunner. The story of the blighted lives of people in this
Missouri Ozark town remind me of Faulkner,
but there is something more real and haunting about Woodrell's desperate and
courageous people. The eloquent, simple prose and dead-on dialogue are perfect
for this amazing story." - Pat Kehde, Raven Bookstore, Lawrence, KS
 The
Distant Land of My Father
by Bo
Caldwell
"Anna is a child of privilege and her father a millionaire, but those riches
become ephemera as the Japanese threaten to invade Shanghai, and Anna and her
mother are forced to flee to California. This is a novel writ large, a saga of
love and war, but also a story about the ties that bind generations together."
- Kathy Ashton, The King's English Bookshop, Salt Lake City, UT
 Embers
by Sandor
Marai
"This newly translated novel, written in 1942 by a forgotten Hungarian novelist,
is a true literary gift. When an aristocrat sees a friend after a 41-year absence,
questions of honor, friendship and courage emerge against the luminous backdrop
of a castle at the foot of the Carpathians. At once a mystery with tragic consequences
and a delicious rumination on love, this is a sensual, seductive read."
- Jenn Ramage, Capitola Book Caf‰, Capitola, CA
 Ex
Libris
by Ross
King
"This is one of the best books I've read in the past year. The world of Restoration
London unfolds before you in King's atmospheric tale of lost libraries, rare manuscripts,
secret societies, and the hunger for knowledge in the Enlightenment. An enthralling
and evocative novel." - Barry Deitz, Quail Ridge Books, Raleigh, NC
 I
Cannot Tell a Lie, Exactly
by Mary
Ladd Gavell
"This book of short stories, published posthumously, is a collection of small
gems. One of them graced Updike's selection of The
Best American Short Stories of the Century. Upon finishing this book,
I was torn between being grateful that the stories had been discovered and published,
and saddened that there will be no more from this talented author." -
Susan Mayes, Hawley-Cooke Booksellers, Louisville, KY
 Lost
by Gregory
Maguire
"This combines the substance of Maguire's first book and the fun of his second.
The ghost story nicely augments the 'real life' trials of the protagonist, and
I was on the edge of my seat as it all unfolded." - Crissa Cummings,
Books Inc., San Francisco, CA
 Love
Among the Ruins
by Robert
Clark
"This novel is a stunner. It's the story of two high school students who
fall in love in the summer of 1968, their idealism and innocence juxtaposed against
the world run amok. There is a sweetness and tenderness in Clark's language that
is extraordinary." - Mary Gleysteen, Eagle Harbor Book Co., Bainbridge
Island, WA
 Martin
Sloane
by Michael
Redhill
"Jolene and Martin create boxes reminiscent of the art of Joseph Cornell.
When Martin vanishes, the love story turns into a mystery, the essential mystery
that other people always are, even to those who love them most. A moving first
novel." - Laurie Greer, Politics and Prose, Washington, D.C.
 My
Name Is Red
by Orhan
Pamuk
"A fascinating and challenging murder mystery/love story set in the competitive
community of manuscript illustrators in Istanbul. If you're in the mood for something
very different, try this soon-to-be classic." - Leigh Winterbottom, Verbatim
Booksellers, Vail, CO
 Powder
by Kevin
Sampson
"The Grams are tabbed to be the next kings of British pop, but can the band
survive the drugs, sex, egos, and industry execs that come with success? If you
love rock and roll, you really don't want to miss out on this thrill ride of a
book." - Candler Hunt, Olsson's, Washington, DC
 Remembrance
of Things Past: Combray
by Marcel
Proust, adapted by Stephane Heuet
"Heuet has lovingly visualized the lost world of Proust, capturing all the
primary episodes with a cinematic flair, and topping off the galloping Classics
Illustrated narrative with a taste of Proust's meditations on time and memory.
Admirers of Proust will approve of Heuet's passionate retelling; newcomers will
find this book a guide into a masterpiece." - Nick DiMartino, University
Books, Seattle, WA
 Salem
Falls
by Jodi
Picoult
"What makes Picoult's stories different is how she always manages to throw
in a twist regarding one religion or another; in this case, the Wiccan religion.
This is a great page-turner in which the author once again weaves a tale of ordinary
people meeting life's obstacles head-on." - Sarah Parker, Scott's Bookstore,
Mt. Vernon, WA
 The
World Below
by Sue
Miller
"Imagine finding out long-held secrets about a close relative whose life
seems to parallel your own. This is a look at someone's life with all its blemishes,
yet it still leaves enough to inspire one to continue. I highly recommend this
book." " - Linda Johnson, Books at Stonehenge, Raleigh, NC
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