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September/October
2003 Book Sense 76 Picks
Here are the 76
most noteworthy new and recent books, as compiled from hundreds of recommendations
by independent booksellers across America. One bookseller's quote has been
chosen to represent each of these top vote-getters.
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 Uniform Justice: A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery
by Donna Leon
"A riveting mystery set in Venice captures the heart and mood of this beautiful
city. Commissario Brunetti proves a likeable, intelligent detective, and his family
and other characters in the book stay with you long after the book is completed."
-- Susan Diffenderfer, Tall Tales Book Shop, Atlanta, GA
 Orchard: A Novel
by Larry Watson
"This beautiful and uncompromising portrait of three lives delves into the
mysteries of human connection and artistic inspiration. With a deceptively simple
style, Watson lays out the lives of Sonja and Henry House, from their courtship
through the births of their children, to the depths of their grief. With the intersection
of the artist Ned Weaver into their lives comes the question of what holds a marriage
together or breaks it apart." -- Alayne Hopkins, Ruminator Books, Saint
Paul, MN
 The Known World
by Edward Jones
"I am in awe of Edward Jones' precise language and the weave of the story,
but what I most admire is his brutal honesty. Every reader will again have to
confront the horrors of slavery and how it brutalized every individual who was
involved. That the slave owners are themselves black adds a new, terrifying dimension.
This is a masterful novel." -- Carla Cohen, Politics and Prose Bookstore
and Coffeehouse, Washington, D.C.
 The Mammoth Cheese: A Novel
by Sheri Holman
"This is an amazing and unforgettable book, peopled with the most bizarre
and unusual characters. Imagine a Thomas Jefferson impersonator, a hormonal teenager,
and a "decatuptlet" plus one birth, and that's only the beginning of
this wonderful cast of characters. Say bye-bye American Pie and welcome to American
Cheese!" -- Fern Jaffe, Paperbacks Plus, Bronx, NY
 Deafening
by Frances Itani
"Deafening is a beautiful book. The juxtaposition of Grania O'Neill's
silent world with the unceasing thunder of the siege guns at the Somme was striking,
and Itani makes the pathos of those waiting for news on the home front as dramatic
as the events in the muddy trenches of Flanders." -- Marian Nielsen, Orinda
Books, Orinda, CA
 The Valley of Light
by Terry Kay
"It isn't very often that you read a book, fall in love with it, pass it
on to your coworkers, and they love it as much as you do! This is a book of soft,
evocative writing that pulls the reader into the lives of all the characters (not
just the major ones) in this story set in a small North Carolina community in
the late 1940s. Absolutely one of the best books we have read in quite some time."
-- Sue Richardson & Frank Slack, Maine Coast Book Shop, Inc., Damariscotta,
ME
 American Woman
by Susan Choi
"This is the most exciting piece of fiction about the American 60s and 70s
radical movement that I have read to date. It captures both the idealism and the
paranoia of the time. If it's possible, she has elevated her writing from The
Foreign Student, which was an outstanding debut." -- Paul Ingram,
Prairie Lights Books, Iowa City, IA
 Mountains Beyond Mountains
by Tracy Kidder
"Dr. Paul Farmer is an infectious-disease expert, anthropologist, winner
of a MacArthur genius grant, founder of Partners in Health, and a brilliant and
tireless worker in bringing health care to the world's poorest people. He proved
radical change is possible with his work in Haiti. If Kidder brings wider attention
to this remarkable man, it will be one of the most important books published this
year." -- Carole Horne, Harvard Book Store, Cambridge, MA
 Not Fade Away: A Life Lived with Passion and Joy
by Laurence Shames; Peter Barton
"Peter Barton lived large, and, faced with an incurable cancer, he decided
to bear witness to his dying in a way that he hoped would help others to understand
the incomprehensible a bit better. The result is this collaboration, with chapters
alternating between Barton's musings on both his life and his dying, and Shames's
observations and commentary. The sum is a terrifically affecting and inspiring
look at a subject we'd all rather avoid, and a book that achieves Barton's goal,
without a doubt." -- Donna Urey, White Birch Books, North Conway, NH
 Strapless: John Singer Sargent and the Fall of Madame X
by Deborah Davis
"Strapless is gossipy entertainment and heartbreaking biography
stirred together to deliver a colorful portrait of the belle epoque. Art fans
and others should savor this delicious concoction." -- Elizabeth Cook,
Emerson and Cook Book Company, Old Saybrook, CT
 Almost French: Love and a New Life in Paris
by Sarah Turnbull
"Thanks to Sarah Turnbull, I now know why the French are so...French! Her
struggles to make new friends, start a new career, and nurture a relationship
with a dyed-in-the-wool Frenchman are by turns hilarious and thought-provoking.
A must-read for anyone thinking of moving to France, for a few weeks or forever."
-- Susan Hickman, Distant Lands Travel Books, Pasadena, CA
 In Me Own Words: The Autobiography of Bigfoot
by Graham Roumieu
"Bigfoot's journals show his life is at once more complex and more bizarrely
humorous than I ever suspected. Make sure to read this one with people around
so you can share your favorite lines and pictures! (On his political career--'This
picture ruin Bigfoot.')" -- Maryelizabeth Hart, Mysterious Galaxy Books,
San Diego, CA
 Stone Garden : A Novel
by Molly Moynahan
"Moynahan's debut novel is a literate, painful, and realistic accounting
of the inner life and resiliency of modern teenagers. Perhaps The
Catcher in the Rye for this generation, Stone Garden should be
on the short list for mature teens ready to head out into the world." --
Nan Carmack, Bookends, Forest, VA
 The Time Traveler's Wife: A Novel
by Audrey Niffenegger
"The love story of Henry and Clare is complicated by Henry's strange genetic
affliction--involuntary time travel as unpredictable and uncontrollable as a
sneeze. This is a complex and captivating novel of love, loss, and acceptance,
with an amazing twist at its end." -- Sharon Miller, Vista Book Gallery,
Boise, ID
 Beans: Four Principles for Running a Business in Good Times or Bad
by Leslie A. Yerkes; Charles Decker
"I found this book to be very insightful, and I was so impressed that I have
passed it on to my local chamber of commerce and job service. It should be helpful
to many businesses." -- Lee Musgjerd, Lee's Book Emporium, Glasgow, MT
 Big Lies: The Right-Wing Propaganda Machine and How It Distorts the Truth
by Joe Conason
"This handy little compendium takes each of the right-wing's lies ('Conservatives
are fiscal conservatives'; 'Democrats are not pro-defense'; etc.) and rebuts them
in witty and well-researched detail. Perfect for that argument around the dinner
table at the in-laws." -- Matthew Lage, Iowa Book L.L.C., Iowa City,
IA
 Brief Intervals of Horrible Sanity: One Season in a Progressive School
by Elizabeth Gold
"Think of this as the perfect back-to-school book: a thought-provoking look
at how theory plays havoc with reality in one 'progressive' school. Gold's book
should be to teachers what Nickel
and Dimed was to the working class." -- Tara O'Donnell, Paperbacks
Plus, Bronx, NY
 Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why
by Laurence Gonzales
"Accidents and survival are the subjects of Gonzales' gripping account of
why some people survive impossible conditions while others die. Drawing on personal
interviews of survivors, accident reports from various high-risk activities, and
his own experiences as an outdoorsman and aerobatics pilot, he has crafted a fascinating
book from which all readers can benefit." -- Joe Monroe, The Country Bookshop,
Southern Pines, NC
 An Execution in the Family: One Son's Journey
by Robert Meeropol
"Robert Meeropol was three years old when his parents, Ethel and Julius Rosenberg,
were arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit espionage. His memoir shows
us a child trying to survive a nightmare, a young man struggling to understand
and honor his parents' legacy, and his reflections on patriotism and treason today."
-- Joan Grenier, Odyssey Bookshop, South Hadley, MA
 The
Middle Mind : Why Americans Don't Think for Themselves
by Curtis
White
"White shows how our world, filled with devices he calls 'prostheses,' handicap
us because we experience the world through machines--that we even adapt ourselves
to our machines. Not only is The Middle Mind great, but, after finishing
it, I want to go and read up on the authors White mentions throughout the book."
-- Walter Conklin, The Putnam Book Center, Carmel, NY
 The
Oath: The Remarkable Story of a Surgeon's Life Under Fire in Chechnya
by Khassan Baiev
"Dr. Baiev gives voice to the Chechen people who have suffered generations
of terror largely in isolation. Through Chechen wars, he heroically lives the
Hippocratic oath, treating Russians and Chechens with equal measures of humanity,
until he becomes a hunted man by extremists from both sides. The Oath brings
depth and understanding to a part of the world we often encounter only in passing
headlines." -- Linda Ramsdell, The Galaxy Bookshop, Hardwick, VT
 Raising a Reader: A Mother's Tale of Desperation and Delight
by Jennie
Nash
"Raising a Reader contains great hints on helping your child develop
a love of reading. I really enjoyed this delightful book and will recommend it
to my customers." -- Linda Vinstra, Great Northern Bookstore, Oscoda,
MI
 Sickened: The Memoir of a Munchausen by Proxy Childhood
by Julie
Gregory
"I'll never understand how Gregory survived her childhood, much less went
to college and now freely shares details of her childhood horrors in order to
save others. Her story is so mesmerizing that, as hard as it is to read the details,
you can't stop." -- Susan Wasson, Bookworks, Albuquerque, NM
 They Marched Into Sunlight : War and Peace Vietnam and America October 1967
by David Maraniss
"This is a compelling narrative that reconstructs two battles that occurred
during the same seven days -- one in Vietnam and one on the campus of the University
of Wisconsin -- to present an in-depth analysis of what it was like to be alive
in America in October of 1967. Like a seismic fissure, the effects of this era
permeate contemporary American politics." -- Miriam Sontz, Powell's Books,
Inc, Portland, OR
 Ticket to Ride: Inside the Beatles' 1964 World Tour that Changed the World
by Larry Kane
"Legendary broadcast journalist Larry Kane, the only American reporter in
the official Beatles entourage during their history-making tours of 1964 and 1965,
offers up a memorable account that is revelatory, fun, and refreshingly self-effacing.
This book will ring in your heart like the opening chord of 'A Hard Day's Night'!"
-- Joe Drabyak, Chester County Book & Music Company, West Chester, PA
 Triangle: The Fire That Changed America
by David Von Drehle
"Triangle is an engaging look at the heroes, martyrs, and villains
of this infamous chapter in the history of the American labor movement. Von Drehle
has created something rare--a history that reads like fiction." -- Jennifer
Laughran, Cover To Cover Booksellers, San Francisco, CA
 True Notebooks: A Writer's Year at Juvenile Hall
by Mark Salzman
"Salzman's account of a writing course he taught at a juvenile detention
facility in Los Angeles is surprising in every way. The stories of the teenage
writers exhibit a great depth and array of feelings, and Salzman allows them
to speak for themselves through dialogue and their writing. This book will almost
certainly open eyes to how society's outcasts are redeemable simply as human
beings." -- Stan Hynds, Northshire Bookstore, Manchester Center, VT
 Brick Lane
by Monica Ali
"Brick Lane has two of the best characters I've come across in a long time--Nazneen
and her husband, Chanu. In some ways, this novel is reminiscent of A
Suitable Boy; it has that same sweetness and humor. I loved, loved, loved
it!" -- Felice Farrell, Ariel Booksellers, New Paltz, NY
 Coiled in the Heart
by Scott Elliott
"What a great story of the redemptive power of love. With writing as eloquent
and as detailed as this, we can all hope that this debut novel is a portent of
great things to come." -- Mike Jones, Hawley-Cooke Booksellers, Louisville,
KY
 Daughter
by Asha Bandele
"Bandele writes of the cost of silences and the redemptive power of putting
memory into words, and interwoven seamlessly into the story are the harsh realities
of everyday racism and the sometimes quiet brutality of family expectations. Yet,
when the last page is read, what the reader is left with is the possibility of
hope." -- Linda Bryant, Charis Books & More, Atlanta, GA
 Daughter's Keeper
by Ayelet Waldman
"In Waldman's wonderful novel--the first outside the Mommy-Track Mysteries--she
brings a huge amount of her professional knowledge (as a defense attorney) to
bear on a story of a young woman--and her family--caught in the drug war this
country continues to wage. There's redemption, there is forthrightness; there
is a messy lot of love, and there is a ringing indictment of how we go about dealing
with drugs in our country." -- Melissa Mytinger, Cody's Books, Berkeley,
CA
 The Distance from Normandy
by Jonathan Hull
"I love The Distance from Normandy. This story of a widowed World
War II veteran and his grandson who are struggling one summer to understand each
other should be required reading for anyone who has, knows, or teaches teenage
boys." -- Liz Murphy, Learned Owl Book Shop, Hudson, OH
 Fortress of Solitude
by Jonathan Lethem
"Everything Jonathan Lethem has written thus far has been extraordinary.
What he does in this novel tops even what he has previously done, however, as
he has delivered an unusually rich, dense, compelling whirlwind of a book, a story
that takes readers through several life-altering, threshold moments in its central
characters' lives. This book flies." -- Rick Simonson, The Elliott Bay
Book Company, Seattle, WA
 Four Spirits
by Sena Jeter Naslund
"With this powerful new novel of the civil rights struggle, Sena Jeter Naslund
has topped the literary magic she created in Ahab's
Wife. Four Spirits will move you." -- Jake Reiss,The Alabama
Booksmith, Birmingham, AL
 How to Breathe Underwater: Stories
by Julie Orringer
"Orringer's luminous debut collection takes us into the lives of young girls
finding their way through the emotional minefields of childhood and adolescence.
These nine stories resonate with compassion and intelligence. Welcome one of this
fall's freshest and brightest voices." -- Karl Kilian, Brazos Bookstore,
Houston, TX
 Idlewild
by Nick Sagan
"Idlewild opens in a Tim Burton-esque world, flowing into The Matrix,
and ending in a world reminiscent of Philip
K. Dick. Our narrator, Halloween, awakes with a bout of amnesia and the feeling
that someone is trying to kill him. As he slowly regains his memory, he learns
that life--real and virtual--is not what he thinks. Sagan's brilliant!" --
Erin Coston, Davis-Kidd Booksellers, Memphis, TN
 Isle of Palms: A Lowcountry Tale
by Dorothea Benton Frank
"Isle of Palms was good from the first page. The writing is seamless
through changes of time, and it is full of the wonderful humor that's a signature
of the author. I love it." -- Christine Stanley, Bay Street Trading Co.,
Beaufort, SC
 Jamesland
by Michelle Huneven
"In a riff on The
Varieties of Religious Experience, Huneven follows a group of soul-searching
folks, including William James' great-great granddaughter, her semi-senile aunt,
and the Unitarian minister who is doing battle with the church elders for being
too churchy. In their quest for life's answers, whether religious, psychiatric,
or just plain psychic, Alice and her cohorts bounce off each other like protons,
finding solace and even some answers in each other's friendship." -- Daniel
Goldin, Harry W. Schwartz Bookshop, Milwaukee, WI
 The Lord of Castle Black: Book Two of the Viscount of Adrilankha
by Steven Brust
"Return to Brust's Dragearea, where the adventure continues! From the ashes
of the fallen empire a new empire is struggling to rise--with swashbuckling nobles
and opportunistic highwaymen, witchcraft and sorcery, revenge, battle, and true
love! Brust spins a tale worthy of Dumas' The
Three Musketeers (complete with courtly manners and intrigue). I cannot
recommend this series highly enough." -- Scott Werbin, The Tudor Book
Shop and Cafe, Kingston, PA
 Lucky Girls: Stories
by Nell Freudenberger
"The five longish stories in this book luminously describe the lives of five
women--all expatriates in one way or another--making their ways through worlds
they may not have chosen, but which they are determined to own. Freudenberger
is definitely an author to watch." -- Catherine Weller, Sam Weller's Books,
Salt Lake City, UT
 Lunch at the Piccadilly
by Clyde Edgerton
"In our store we have a one-sentence review for Edgerton's Walking
Across Egypt --'This is one of the funniest books I've ever read!' Now,
we have Lunch at the Piccadilly, which is even funnier. I can't wait to
hand sell this one." -- Linda Johnson, Books at Stonehenge Market, Raleigh,
NC
 Mailman
by J. Robert Lennon
"The manic, hypnotic obsessiveness of this novel as displayed through its
wildly engaging main character, Albert Lippincott (the mailman in question), mirrors
the reader's kinetic attachment to this funny, disturbing, and exhilarating novel.
This is the kind of book you enjoy so much you wonder if there is something wrong
with you." -- Robert Sindelar, Third Place Books, Lake Forest Park, WA
 My Cold War
by Tom Piazza
"The legacy of family, the inexorable grip of the past on the present, history
itself and how we struggle to understand it--these are the themes that inform
Piazza's compelling and memorable debut novel. His story resonates with emotional
intelligence, humor, and insight." -- Lily Bartels, The Open Door Bookstore,
Schenectady, NY
 The
Namesake: A Novel
by Jhumpa Lahiri
"The Namesake is a beautifully written novel about two generation
of Bengali-Americans facing the challenges of assimilation and identity that have
confronted immigrants from many countries who have come here seeking the 'good
life.' This is a good tale, admirably told." -- Bob Sommer, Changing Hands
Bookstore, Tempe, AZ
 The Polished Hoe: A Novel
by Austin Clarke
"Set on the island of Bimshire in the West Indies, The Polished Hoe
occurs in just 24 hours as Mary-Mathilda gives her statement about murdering Mr.
Bellfeels, the plantation owner to whom she is mistress. The statement encompasses
the entire colonial and post-colonial history of Bimshire, and, as I read this
novel, I felt amazed wonder at the intricate, sustained power of this complex,
tour de force." -- Helen Sinoradzki, Annie Bloom's Books, Portland, OR
 Prairie Nocturne
by Ivan Doig
"Tucked in chronologically between Dancing
at the Rascal Fair and English
Creek and featuring many familiar characters, Doig's newest effort moves
from the Montana Rockies to 1920s Harlem, touching on themes of racism and the
inescapable presence of the past in our lives. His characteristic handcrafting
of each sentence remains, as always, a hallmark of his writing." -- Russ
Lawrence, Chapter One Book Store, Hamilton, MT
 Present Value
by Sabin Willett
"A decent man is caught up in the downfall of both his Fortune 100 Company
and his personal life in this witty novel about corporate greed. Willet's social
commentary is both hilarious and profoundly sad. A truly American novel, and maybe
a great one." -- Terry Whittaker, Viewpoint of Columbus, Columbus, IN
 The Rabbit Factory
by Larry Brown
"Larry Brown's latest novel is a wild departure from his previous work. It
begins in Memphis with a man rescuing a stud dog who is no longer able to perform
his duties, and, then, like a Robert Altman film, we follow various characters
and their stories -- a prostitute, a boxing sailor, an incompetent gangster, and
others who may never meet, but whose lives are connected nonetheless. Readers
have an excellent view from above as we watch these savagely funny stories of
the human comedy unfold." -- Lyn Roberts, Square Books, Oxford, MS
 Saul and Patsy
by Charles Baxter
"Charles Baxter continues to cement his place in the upper echelon of current
authors. Saul and Patsy is a brilliant novel of obsession and the toll
it can take upon faith and belief." -- Bill Cusumano, Nicola's Books,
Ann Arbor, MI
 Second Sunday
by Michele Andrea Bowen
"Second Sunday takes a hilarious look at the politics, players, and
inner workings of African-American church life. Gethsemane Missionary Baptist
Church members are faced with an unexpected turn of events just as the church
is preparing for its 100th Anniversary. The feuding begins, sides are selected,
and each camp wants the other to 'bring it on.' Bowen opens our hearts to appreciate
people who are generally not associated with the right looks or lifestyle, and
Second Sunday demonstrates how when spiderwebs unite the lion can be conquered."
-- Emma Rodgers, Black Images Book Bazaar, Dallas, TX
 Secret Father
by James Carroll
"Carroll's novel is a fast-paced thriller, an historical novel, and a wonderful
study of what it means to be a father. Set in the '60s in the divided city of
Berlin, Secret Father is elegantly written, with wonderfully drawn characters.
I can't think of anyone I know who wouldn't enjoy it." -- Mary Gleysteen,
Eagle Harbor Book Company, Bainbridge Island, WA
 The 6th Lamentation: A Novel
by William Brodrick
"An older woman in London, knowing she has not long to live, sees a familiar
face on TV and decides that she wants her beloved granddaughter to know about
the secrets of her past: namely, that she worked for the French resistance to
help Jewish children escape, but that things went terribly wrong. Then a German
SS officer seeks refuge in an Episcopal priory in rural England. These two compelling
stories are deftly tied together, and you will find this novel hard to put down."
-- Pat Kehde, The Raven Bookstore, Lawrence, KS
 Theater of the Stars
by N. M. Kelby
"This beautiful, mysterious, and frightening book has me under its spell.
This story about the tragedy of war, the Manhattan Project's impact on the world
of physicists, and mothers and daughters, will interest a wide range of readers.
Kelby is a gifted and intelligent writer." -- Joci Tilsen, Valley Bookseller,
Stillwater, MN
 Well
by Matthew McIntosh
"Structured as a series of short stories focused on the working-class Pacific
Northwest suburb of Federal Way, Well begins with interlaced narratives revolving
around minor obsessions but escalates into more stunning, emotionally rewarding
vignettes of profound addiction, heartbreak, and loss." -- Peter Mayo,
Square Books, Oxford, MS
 The Bitch in the House
by Cathi Hanauer
"If there's a better snapshot of middle-class white women's lives today,
I'd like to see it. The essays collected in The Bitch in the House are
funny, smart, and meaningful. Read it for the absorbing peer inspiration; read
it to understand women in your life and the complexities they sometimes shield
from you; read it for an unabashed and clear vision of what family, love, self,
and work mean to these women." -- Joan Barberich, Food For Thought Books,
Amherst, MA
 Blue Latitudes : Boldly Going Where Captain Cook Has Gone Before
by Tony Horwitz
"What a fantastic book. It is a well-written, fascinating account of Captain
Cook and the colonization and devastation of the Pacific. And, of course, mixed
in with the grim and tragic is Horwitz's characteristic wit. I couldn't put it
down." -- Julia Green, Front Street Books, Alpine, TX
 Last Train to Paradise: Henry Flagler and the Spectacular Rise and Fall of the Railroad That Crossed Anocean
by Les Standiford
"I am as excited about this as I was about Longitude
and Isaac's
Storm. Standiford's narrative is as driven and engrossing as one of his
well-crafted mysteries. There is a keen and abundant interest in the histories
that happen between the lines." -- Mitchell Kaplan, Books & Books, Coral
Gables, FL
 Need for the Bike
by Paul Fournel
"Paul Fournel is an award-winning French novelist and a publisher, but equal
to these interests for him is his lifelong love of biking, which he whimsically
chronicles in this fun(ny) and fascinating book. Written in short, two- to four-page
chapters, it is the perfect book to take along on a ride, for reading during water
(wine?) breaks." -- Curt Witteveen, Annie Bloom's Books, Portland, OR
 Off to the Side: A Memoir
by Jim Harrison
"This is my favorite book by Harrison (I say that about each of his books)
because this beautifully written memoir is most like listening to him speak. I
found sentences on each page that break the world open, that glitter in the darkness.
The French are masters of the aphorism, but I don't know of any other contemporary
American writer who does it as well as Jim Harrison." -- Karl Pohrt, Shaman
Drum Bookshop, Ann Arbor, MI
 The Plot Thickens: 8 Ways to Bring Fiction to Life
by Noah Lukeman
"The
First Five Pages
has been on my shelf for a few years now; I always re-read it before I declare
anything done. The Plot Thickens, with all the intense character work,
is sure to become the book I read before I start anything. Lukeman's two titles
are enjoyable to read and teach me something every time I pick them up."
-- Scottie Hill, Kepler's Books & Magazines, Menlo Park, CA
 Dawn Over Kitty Hawk: The Novel of the Wright Brothers
by Walter J. Boyne
"This novelization of the historical record forms an engaging narrative that
animates the era when several parties vied to be the first to achieve heavier-than-air
powered flight. " -- Chris Wilcox, City Lights Bookstore, Sylva, NC
 Wings of Madness: Alberto Santos-Dumont and the Invention of Flight
by Paul Hoffman
"A bit character in Dawn
over Kitty Hawk, Santos-Dumont is the subject of this lively biography
about a wealthy and eccentric Brazilian expatriate in Paris who made many innovations
in lighter-than-air powered flight at about the same time the Wright Brothers
were cracking the heavier-than-air problem." -- Chris Wilcox, City Lights
Bookstore, Sylva, NC
 The Book of Illusions
by Paul Auster
"Auster splices together the stories of a bereaved college professor and
an enigmatic silent film comedian who becomes the object of his obsessive study.
With customary deftness, he blurs the distinctions between life and art, and we
are left wondering what is real and what is merely a flickering illusion."
-- Jennifer Gay, Book People, Austin, TX
 Coastliners
by Joanne Harris
"This is about a classic father-daughter struggle, set on an island off the
coast of France. Half-truths and partially understood family legends lead to an
explosive display of tempers involving the entire island. Scenic, beautiful, and
wild -- this is Harris' best yet." -- Maryann Eastman, White Birch Books,
North Conway, NH
 The Crimson Petal and the White
by Michel Faber
"Set in the London of Queen Victoria in the early 1870s, this brings the
sights, sounds, and odors of the era vividly to life. Sugar is the crimson petal,
a whore known for her willingness to do anything a customer wants, and Agnes is
the white, a married woman still so innocent that she has no idea how she could
be the mother of a little girl. Lovers of Dickens
will enjoy the tale, as will everyone else who enjoys old-fashioned storytelling."
-- Susan Taylor, Wellesley Booksmith, Wellesley, MA
 The Heaven of Mercury
by Brad Watson
"All the elements of the very best in Southern fiction unfold in this brilliant
novel like kudzu spreading over an old cotton field. Here are rich characters
rooted and shaped by place and history, a love story, a mystery, and a whiff of
the supernatural alongside the scent of bourbon and honeysuckle. Watson is a writer
of enormous talent and sensitivity." -- Tom Campbell, The Regulator Bookshop,
Durham, NC
 The Last Girls
by Lee Smith
"Based on a real-life raft journey down the Mississippi that the author took
with her buddies, this novel imagines four of those friends 35 years later as
they undertake another journey to spread the ashes of a fifth friend. A delicious
read, this is Smith at her prime!" -- Julie Jacobson, The Book Stall At
Chestnut Court, Winnetka, IL
 Moon's Crossing: A Novel
by Barbara Croft
"This historical fiction takes us from the 19th century, when the affluent
were cultured and in quiet control, to the roaring, fast-advancing, industrial
modern age. Jim Moon, a gentle, simple man, reads about the White City in Chicago
and is so drawn to it that he leaves his wife and son to travel there. Weaving
together three stories, this is the story of the kinds of people who worked at
the fair, came to the fair to see the dream city, and became lost in its wonder."
-- Dorie Schultz, Harry W. Schwartz Bookshop, Mequon, WI
 A Sack of Teeth
by Grant Buday
"It is a rare moment in literature when a writer can capture the voice and
internal world of a child, and rarer still to sustain this voice for the length
of a novel. Buday achieves this feat, seemingly effortlessly, in his portrayal
of six-year-old Jack Klein, on his harrowing first day of school. The characters
in A Sack of Teeth, along with the lilt of its language and the pacing
of its dialogue, will stay with you long after you slowly, regretfully turn the
last page." -- Andrea Tetrick, Spellbinder of Bishop Books & Coffee Bar,
Bishop, CA
 The True Story of Hansel and Gretel
by Louise Murphy
"Murphy deftly weaves the tale of Hansel and Gretel into the story of a
family in Nazi-occupied Poland, giving meaning to one of the most meaningless
periods of history. At times beautiful and horrifying, this is a powerful story
not easily forgotten." -- Kimberly Fox, Schuler Books & Music, Grand
Rapids, MI
 Dead Famous
by Carol O'Connell
"Kay Scarpetta, Sara Linton, and Dr. Temperance Brennan take a back seat
to Kathy Mallory, who has to be the most interesting and complicated character
in suspense fiction today! Take the phone off the hook, close the window blinds,
and settle in for some great entertainment." -- Emery Pinter, Chapter
11, Atlanta, GA
 Every Secret Thing
by Laura Lippman
"Writing outside her Tess Monaghan series, Lippman has created a fast-paced
novel that will have you on the edge of your chair. With mystery, murder, intrigue,
and betrayal, this is a wow of a book!" -- Virginia Hobson Hicks, Books
on the Bluff, Townsend, GA
 Last Car to Elysian Fields
by James Lee Burke
"A long-missing blues singer, a wealthy writer and her wealthier father and
husband, an Irish killer, and an assortment of Louisiana lowlifes pull Robicheaux
into a viscous roux of angst and murder in one of Burke's best mysteries in years."
-- Betsy Burton, The King's English, Salt Lake City, UT
 The Last Nazi
by Stan Pottinger
"Another well-written thriller by Stan Pottinger. The specter of biological
warfare is all too real in these troubled times. I could not put it down and
stayed up until one in the morning to finish it." -- Alec Milner, Vintage
Books, Vancouver, WA
 Grass for His Pillow: Tales of the Otori, Book Two
by Lian Hearn
"I loved the first book of this fast-paced trilogy set in medieval Japan,
and I couldn't put this one (Book Two) down. Fans of Tolkien's Lord
of the Rings and Pullman's His
Dark Materials will love these books. They have it all: love, war, suspense,
mystery, and adventure." -- Suzanne Droppert, Liberty Bay Books, Poulsbo,
WA
And the first book is now in paperback
 Across the Nightingale Floor: Tales of the Otori, Book One
by Lian Hearn
"This is my pick for page-turner of the season. It's got action, romance,
sword fights, big scope, and dastardly villains." -- Kelly Justice,
The Fountain Bookstore, Richmond, VA
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