| Fiction A to Z September 2006 |
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"A room without books is like a body without a soul."
~ Marcus Tullius Cicero, Roman orator (106-43 B.C.) |
| New and recently released! |
| Winkie - by Clifford Chase |
| Publisher: Grove Press |
| Pub Date: 08/30/2006 |
Check library catalog |
| ISBN: 0802118305 |
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Here's a different kind of book for readers who like out-of-the-ordinary stories. Winkie, the eponymous hero, is a mild-mannered teddy bear who is a suspected terrorist. During Winkie's trial, a host of surprising individuals appear in the witness box, including Socrates, Galileo, and Oscar Wilde. Masterfully exploring what it means to be human, sharply critiquing the world around us, and commenting on the war on terror in the U.S., Winkie is, as Entertainment Weekly says, a "bizarre, exhilarating, captivatingly creative, and extremely ridiculous" novel. | |
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| The Emperor's Children - by Claire Messud |
| Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf |
| Pub Date: 08/29/2006 |
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| ISBN: 030726419X |
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Three college classmates now on the verge of their 30s--beautiful, aspiring writer Marina Thwaite, daughter of a noted journalist; Danielle, a TV producer; and Julius, a cash-poor freelance critic--are making it (or trying to) in New York City on the eve of 9/11. Their lives are changed dramatically when Marina's idealistic, college dropout cousin Bootie arrives to complicate all of their lives. This story about fate, intersecting lives, and New York's glitterati is for fans of character-driven novels and anyone who likes stories about modern, urban life in all its glory and darkness. | |
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| Pound for Pound: A Novel - by F.X. Toole; foreword by James Ellroy |
| Publisher: Ecco Press |
| Pub Date: 08/01/2006 |
Check library catalog |
| ISBN: 006088133X |
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The late F.X. Toole was a boxing trainer as well as the author of the short story upon which the Oscar-winning film Million Dollar Baby was based. In the posthumously published Pound for Pound, Toole revisits the boxing world. Dan Cooley is a legendary but broken L.A. trainer who struggles with grief and anger over the accidental death of his grandson; Chicky Garza is a talented young man battling to make a name for himself. When Dan agrees to train Chicky, their lives intertwine as they cope with their pasts and overcome obstacles in the present. Publishers Weekly says this tale of redemption is "a stunning cap to a short but brilliant writing career." |
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| Winter's Bone: A Novel - by Daniel Woodrell |
| Publisher: Little, Brown and Co. |
| Pub Date: 08/07/2006 |
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| ISBN: 031605755X |
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Sixteen-year old Ree Dolly has grown up in the poverty-stricken Missouri Ozarks, raised in a family of crystal meth dealers and producers. When Ree's father jumps bail, she learns that her family will lose their house unless her father can be found and made to appear at an upcoming court date. Ree sets out to find her father, but in the process she must navigate the tangled relationships among her relatives and survive a harsh, unforgiving winter. Winter's Bone has received incredible reviews; Booklist says "one runs out of superlatives to describe Woodrell's fiction." A startling and sharply accurate portrait of rural America and the compelling tale of a vulnerable, courageous and determined young woman. | |
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| School Stories: Life on Campus |
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| Juno & Juliet: A Novel - by Julian Gough |
| Publisher: Anchor Books |
| Pub Date: 07/01/2002 |
Check library catalog |
| ISBN: 0385721617 |
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Identical twin sisters Juno and Juliet Taylor experience the challenges, triumphs, and tragedies of campus life when they leave behind their small Irish town and enroll at a university in Galway. Amidst plenty of scholarly lectures, inspiring professors, colorful friends, and fraternizing with the opposite sex, Juliet describes how she and her sister came-of-age and found independence on campus. The city of Galway is also brightly depicted; Publishers Weekly says that the town "is a character in its own right." | |
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| Joe College - by Tom Perrotta |
| Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin |
| Pub Date: 10/01/2001 |
Check library catalog |
| ISBN: 031228327X |
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It is 1982, and Danny, who hails from blue-collar, suburban New Jersey, is a Yale junior who spends his college breaks working for his father's small business--the Roach Coach lunch wagon, which services construction sites. While on vacation, Danny must battle with a rival lunch crew, the Lunch Monsters, and cope with an increasingly complicated love life. Back on campus, Danny makes friends, has Jodie Foster sightings, ponders Middlemarch, and has a good time partying among his preppy classmates. Library Journal says Joe College is a "witty exploration of young men becoming adults in spite of themselves." | |
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| Straight Man - by Richard Russo |
| Publisher: Random House Inc. |
| Pub Date: 06/01/1998 |
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| ISBN: 0375701907 |
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William Henry "Hank" Devereaux, Jr., a once-promising novelist, is now the middle-aged interim chair of the English department at a small, second-tier Pennsylvania college. Author Richard Russo (Nobody's Fool) chronicles an eventful week in Hank's life, complete with squabbling faculty members, fears over losing departmental funding, accusations that Hank killed a goose, and a variety of other hilarious and improbable situations. Booklist says that Straight Man is full of "wry comedy, endearing characters, and an artful blend of high jinks and heartache." Readers who like to laugh out loud at the joys, traumas, and inanities of life will enjoy this campus tale. | |
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| Moo - by Jane Smiley |
| Publisher: Ivy Books |
| Pub Date: 04/01/1998 |
Check library catalog |
| ISBN: 0804117683 |
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This campus send-up by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Thousand Acres is set at a huge midwestern agricultural school (nicknamed "Moo U") that is home to devious plots, lusty liaisons, and a hog named Earl Butz. At Moo U, the faculty, administration, and staff search for a solution to their economic woes; participate in myriad power struggles; watch McDonald's take over the dining system; and maneuver through a host of individual, political, sexual, and academic agendas. Featuring a huge cast of characters and genuine midwestern local color, this academic farce is a "tour de force" (Publishers Weekly). | |
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| Life on the Continent: Expats in Europe |
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| The House in Amalfi - by Elizabeth Adler |
| Publisher: St. Martin's Press |
| Pub Date: 08/01/2005 |
Check library catalog |
| ISBN: 0312339631 |
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Landscape architect Lamour Harrigon has struggled since the death of her husband two years ago. She decides to leave Chicago behind and return to her childhood home in southern Italy, where she uncovers old secrets, is wooed by two men, and finds a renewed sense of courage. Bringing together vivid imagery of the Italian countryside, the possibility of new love, a touch of suspense, and self-discovery, this book is for fans of women's fiction. Readers who like armchair travel will also enjoy The House in Amalfi; Booklist says that Elizabeth Adler's descriptions are so vibrant that "one could wander her cities with only this book as the map." | |
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| Mademoiselle Benoir - by Christine Conrad |
| Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Co. |
| Pub Date: 01/04/2006 |
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| ISBN: 0618574794 |
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Tim Reinhart, a New York math professor, has abandoned academia so that he can pursue his lifelong dream of becoming an artist. He heads to rural France, where he purchases a run-down farmhouse: "From the moment I saw this property, I had a bead on it. I can't completely explain why, but I had an intense feeling of belonging." In letters home to his family, Tim describes how he settles in and becomes enamored of all things French: he embraces the provincial French lifestyle; befriends his quirky neighbors; and falls in love with Mademoiselle Benoir, a beautiful, aristocratic woman 20 years his senior. Inspired by a true story, Mademoiselle Benoir is perfect for readers who liked the memoir Under the Tuscan Sun. | |
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| Tuscany for Beginners: A Novel - by Imogen Edwards-Jones |
| Publisher: Ballantine Books |
| Pub Date: 04/26/2005 |
Check library catalog |
| ISBN: 0345478800 |
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If satire is more your style, check out this farcical look at the Tuscan bed-and-breakfast jungle. Belinda Smith, a divorced Brit, has moved to Italy to remake herself as an Italian domestic goddess in her own cheaply remodeled B&B. By steaming labels off of jam jars and engaging in other deceits, Belinda creates an "authentic" lodging that attracts a variety of tourists--until American Lauren purchases a nearby villa and plans to open her own rival B&B. Things get even rockier when Belinda's daughter Mary falls in love with--gasp--Lauren's son Kyle. Tuscany for Beginners is a fun and fresh read for anyone who likes to poke fun at tales of frolicking expats in Europe. | |
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| Le Divorce - by Diane Johnson |
| Publisher: Plume |
| Pub Date: 12/01/1997 |
Check library catalog |
| ISBN: 0452277337 |
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Alone in Paris after being abandoned by her French husband, pregnant American expatriate and young mother Roxeanne Walker de Persand is being pressured for a divorce by her in-laws, especially since Roxy has a Walker family painting worth millions in her possession. Just in time, Roxy's college dropout sister, Isabel, comes from California to help her. However, while in the City of Light, Isabel does more than lend a helping hand with Roxy's three year old and offer a shoulder to cry on...she begins an affair with an elderly Persand relation. A witty and sharp coming-of-age tale as well as a look at the French-American culture clash, Le Divorce has been compared to Henry James' Portrait of a Lady and was a National Book Award finalist. | |
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| Still looking for the right book? Contact your librarian. |
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