The Dogs of Babel is a strange and interesting book by Carolyn Parkhurst. It is the story of Paul, a man whose wife has died, and the only witness is their dog Lorelei. In his grief, he decides to try to teach Lorelei to talk, so he can uncover the truth about his wife’s death. The novel was strangely compelling until it took a turn towards the gruesome. Reading Parkhurst’s comments at the end of the book, she says she…
A Wedding in December is the first of Anita Shreve‘s many books that I have read. It tells of school friends reuniting for a weekend in the Berkshires for a wedding. It is the wedding of their friends who were high school sweethearts and are now together again after 27 years. The story brings to mind the movie The Big Chill. Although in the book, they are not gathered for a funeral, there is the long ago death of their…
The Midwife of Venice by Roberta Rich takes the reader deep into the sights and smells of 16th century Venice. I’m not entirely sure that is a good thing, as it was so real I could almost smell all the filth brought to life in these pages. Through much research, Rich has created a highly imaginative story of a Jewish midwife, who breaks the law by delivering a Christian baby and has to flee for her life, while escaping the…
The Ruins of Us is a debut novel by Keija Parssinen. It tells the story of Rosalie, an American woman living in Saudi Arabia with her wealthy Saudi husband for almost three decades. When he decides to take a second wife, which is his right by law, their family slowly begins to fall apart. Having been raised in Saudi Arabia by American parents, Parssinen tells her tale with an inside view, yet always that of a foreigner, no matter how…
I was really enjoying Lost and Found by Jacqueline Sheehan until its totally unnecessary and creepy climax. It is the story of Rocky, a young woman whose life falls apart after failing to save her husband with CPR after he has a heart attack. She moves to a small island off the coast of Maine, takes a job as an Animal Control Warden, and tries to heal. A black Labrador comes into her life, and as the story of his…
Life of Pi by Yann Martel is being made into a movie directed by Ang Lee. I thought I better read the book before seeing the movie. Life of Pi is the remarkable story of Pi Patel who became a castaway after the ship he was sailing on from India to Canada with his family sank. He, along with a Bengal tiger from his father’s zoo, are the only survivors. Martel writes this as an incredible true story, one that…
I love Susan Vreeland’s novels. She brings to light wonderful works of art, often by women who were unacknowledged in their time, and creates wonderful works of historical fiction. Her latest offering is Clara and Mr. Tiffany. It is the story of Clara Driscoll and her women’s department, who were responsible for designing and creating many of the most famous Tiffany lamps. We are taken into the art world of New York City at the turn of the century, and…
Caleb’s Crossing is the new book by Geraldine Brooks, Pulitzer Prize winning author of March and People of the Book. Caleb’s Crossing tells the little known story of Caleb Cheeshahteaumauk, the first Native American to graduate from Harvard in 1665. There is little known about this extraordinary man and his life growing up on what is today Martha’s Vinyard, and then finally travelling to Cambridge. Brooks has created a wonderful piece of historical fiction imagining his life and times, as two cultures…
The Descendants by Kaui Hart Hemmings is a wonderful novel that was turned into a great movie starring George Clooney. The novel is set in Hawaii, but not the tourist Hawaii, the real Hawaii, with all the pain and loss, heartbreak and struggle one finds anywhere in the world. Matt King, our protagonist, is coming to terms with the fact that his wife is in a coma and might never recover. He has two daughters, 10 and 17, that have…
The Sea is My Brother is the lost novel by Jack Kerouac. It has just been published 70 years after it was written. Kerouac wrote this novel when he was only 21, seven years before his first novel The Town and the City was published. In true Kerouac style we have been given a glimpse into the writer that he would be become. Themes that he wrote about his whole life are present here in this early work. Kerouac’s struggle…