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 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
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