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Here is the second half of the stack of notable books I pulled from the Page-a-Day Book Lovers Calendar from 2008. Again - I don't have time to give each book the full treatment, so I am just quoting from reviews or the calendar and linking to the books. I just can't bear to come back in 2009 to a stack of books from the 2008 calendar - too depressing.
The Strangeness of Beauty, by Lydia Minatoya (2001). From Page-a-Day: A quiet half-light illuminates this story of three generations of Japanese women who settle in Seattle in 1918 and then move back to Japan. Minatoya draws us into deep waters, outlining subtle relationships among vivid personalities constrained within rigid social structures and struggling to find satisfying expression. The consolations of art, patience, love, and history bear beautiful fruit for the characters, as well as for the reader.
Get a Life, by Nadine Gordimer (2005). From The New Yorker via Amazon: "Here [Gordimer] exposes the complacency of politically aware, upper-middle-class whites in post-apartheid South Africa. The central figure is an ecologist who is battling plans for a nuclear reactor when he gets a diagnosis of thyroid cancer; ironically, his treatment leaves him temporarily radioactive. He begins to brood about his marriage to a chipper advertising executive, whom he suddenly sees as a person 'who has no need of convictions.' Gordimer is more concerned with ideas than with character, and her dense syntax saps feeling from even the most dramatic events. Still, she is capable of the lacerating truth, as when an adulterer muses, 'Surely there is a humane principle that lies save if not lives then the good order of life.'"
Dream Boy by Jim Grimsley (1995). From Amazon: With this heartbreaking story of first love, Grimsley... works [the theme of] a father's abuse of his son into his sensitive depiction of a love affair between two high-school boys in the rural South. Nathan, a sophomore and the only child of an abusive, scripture-quoting, booze-guzzling father and a nearly invisible mother, becomes smitten with Roy, a senior who lives next door. Almost without realizing it (and with some reluctance on both sides), they begin an achingly tender romance. Ultimately, peer pressure leads to tragedy, and to a sort of metaphysical denouement that may strike some readers as over-the-top. But by that time, Grimsley's scenario has become so poignant and credible that the ending seems almost inevitable. He clearly understands the pain and confusion of budding love, and his present-tense narrative adds urgency and a touching immediacy to his tale. Without ever succumbing to cliche, Grimsley cuts with surgical precision to the heart of these characters' inchoate longings and barely repressed fears. Deceptively simple descriptive passages are hauntingly elegiac, and things left unsaid become as important as words expressed: these players' silences speak volumes. Romantic passion, violence and ultimate liberation coalesce in this singular display of literary craftsmanship.
Some Fun: Stories and a Novella, by Antonya Nelson (2006). From Page-a-Day: "Tales of childhood and middle age, of love and loss, and gritty, totally real dialogue - there's a new(ish) writer on the block for those who love Lorrie Moore or Alice Munro or any good woman who can tell a good story. Antonya Nelson is a name to remember and a force to be reckoned with."
Evenings at Five: A Novel and Five New Stories, by Gail Godwin. From Amazon: "Celebrated novelist Godwin (Father Melancholy's Daughter) lost her companion of nearly 30 years, the composer Robert Starer, two years ago, and this book is a devoted, quirky, wry and surprisingly powerful fictionalization of aspects of their life together as working artists. It takes its text, as Godwin might like to say, from the cocktail hour the pair observed, well, religiously, at the end of their working day, exchanging their jokes, their thoughts, their sense of themselves and their friends and neighbors. It swiftly and seamlessly moves into husband Rudy's long illness, nobly borne, and wife Christina's profound sense of loss after his death, tempered frequently by flashes of hilarity and sweet sense. The book has an elusive tone, somber but never mawkish, with a delight in words and the ways people use and abuse them that is typical of this urbane author. For a book that can be read in an hour, it is remarkably dense."
Song of the Cuckoo Bird, by Amulya Malladi (2005). From Amazon:"Malladi's fourth novel transports readers on a cinematic journey through late-twentieth-century India as seen through the eyes of the inhabitants of Tella Meda, a religious community on the Bay of Bengal. Kokila comes to the ashram in 1961 as an 11-year-old orphan. She later renounces her arranged marriage to stay within Tella Meda's restrictive walls, a move she comes to regret. The ashram's guru attracts a cast of misfits from near and far--widows, abused wives and their neglected children, the daughter of a prostitute, a father guilty over his daughter's suicide--each illuminated by Malladi in her kaleidoscopic perusal of both the ills of India's caste system and the repercussions of rigid moral dicta. Running historical updates on India's wars, elections, and assassinations introduce each chapter. But the crux of the novel is how Malladi's female characters struggle with the stifling effects of caste and gradually respond to the movement for women's rights that surges as the century draws to a close."
I have the Book Lovers Page-a-Day Calendar in my office, and whenever I see a book that looks like it might be worth featuring on the blog, I save the page instead of throwing it away. It's now December 23rd, and I have a pile of pages that I saved from the calendar but never got around to featuring here on the blog this year. Rather than walk in on January 5 to a pile of last year's books, I thought I'd do a few posts listing the books that caught my eye, with a very short description. I don't have time do my usual level of research into each book, so apologies for the brevity!
Marrying Mozart, by Stephanie Cowell (2004). Amazon: "Cowell's novel portrays Mozart as a passionate, determined young man and focuses on his relationships with the four Weber sisters. The second eldest girl, Aloysia, captivates Mozart, who finds her singing talent is matched by her beauty. Against the wishes of his mother, Mozart proposes to Aloysia, but he can't marry her until he makes his fortune. His dream is to be able to compose operas for a living, but when Idomeneo closes after just a few performances, Mozart is forced to beg the arrogant archbishop of Salzburg for a position. Aloysia, who dreams of fame and fortune as an opera singer, elopes with a portraitist. Mozart is heartbroken, but little does he know that true love lies with another Weber sister. As much about the four Weber sisters as it is about Mozart, Cowell's novel is an engaging look at Mozart's colorful world and his struggles during his early twenties." [Is this based on real life? I'm not sure.]
Just Friends, by Robyn Sisman (2002). Amazon: "Thirtysomething Freya, a British art dealer, gets dumped by a boring lawyer just when she thought he was going to propose. She didn't even like him, but the humiliation is devastating. Suddenly homeless, Freya moves in with her old friend Jack, who is a struggling writer with an allowance from his wealthy family. With smart-mouth bickering, banter, and dirty tricks, they explore the perilous proposition of a man and woman being 'just friends.'" Page-a-Day calls Just Friends "delightful", with "winning and witty characters."
Behind the Scenes at the Museum, by Kate Atkinson (1999). Amazon: "'I exist!' exclaims Ruby Lennox upon her conception in 1951, setting the tone for this humorous and poignant first novel in which Ruby at once celebrates and mercilessly skewers her middle-class English family. Peppered with tales of flawed family traits passed on from previous generations, Ruby's narrative examines the lives in her disjointed clan, which revolve around the family pet shop. But beneath the antics of her philandering father, her intensely irritable mother, her overly emotional sisters, and a gaggle of eccentric relatives are darker secrets--including an odd 'feeling of something long forgotten' --that will haunt Ruby for the rest of her life."
Intuition, by Allegra Goodman (2006). Page-a-Day: "This excellent novel is set in the Boston-Cambridge area, where a prominent cancer laboratory is the petri dish for the ambitions, betrayals, ideals and passions of scientific researchers Cliff and Robin (who are ex-lovers) and administrators Sandy and Marion. This is what happens when powerful, dissonant personalities are forced to coexist in a crisis of their own making."
A Long Way Down, by Nick Hornby (2006). Amazon: "Four different people find themselves on the same roof on New Year's Eve, but they have one thing in common–they're all there to jump to their deaths. A scandal-plagued talk-show host, a single mom of a disabled young man, a troubled teen, and an aging American musician soon unite in a common cause, to find out why Jess (the teen) can't get her ex-boyfriend to return her calls. Down the stairs they go, and thoughts of suicide gradually subside. It all sounds so high concept, but each strand of the plot draws readers into Hornby's web. The novel is so simply written that its depths don't come to full view until well into the reading."
Boy Meets Girl, by Meg Cabot (2004). Amazon: "Kate, an earnest young human resources representative at the New York Journal, must handle a dreadful case. Her evil boss, Amy, is forcing her to fire the beloved Ida Lopez, whose desserts are famous in the senior staff room, just because Ida refused a second dessert to the detestable Stuart Hertzog, Amy's beau and the paper's lawyer. When Ida Lopez sues the paper for wrongful termination, the case goes to Mitchell, Stuart's handsome, unconventional brother. Kate is charmed by Mitch, despite the fact that she is sure he is just like his brother. Despite the forces standing in their way, Mitch and Kate are falling for each other until Mitch tries to catch Amy in a lie during a deposition, which has disastrous consequences for Kate. Told in a series of e-mails, phone messages, instant messages, and journal entries, Cabot's novel is delightfully fun to read."
Round 2 tomorrow...
I read a review last month in the Washington Post Book World of The Northern Clemency, by Philip Hensher. It's a long review, but it caught my eye. First, it mentions that The Northern Clemency (which I'd never heard of before) was named Amazon's Best Book of 2008. Second, I liked this description of the book: "It presents a continuously evolving panorama of two middle-class families in Sheffield, where the author grew up, about 150 miles from London. In 1974, when the city 'was entering on the last phase of its industrial greatness,' this was, Hensher writes, a place that 'made its money from steel; it was driven by its waters; it was built on coal.' But those elemental foundations are about to shift dramatically, and over the next 20 years, the gossipy citizens who live on an ordinary Sheffield street will endure upheaval they could not have imagined."
According to the Post, "[Hensher] writes with such illuminating attention to the flutterings of everyday hope and despair that you come away from these pages feeling like a more insightful person. That's all we ask from the best books of the year."
This sounds like a meaty, satisfying period book - the kind that always sounds appealing to me in person but which I regularly pass over on the TBR list. With so many books on the list, I would probably opt for something shorter and quicker, though I admit that I am intrigued by this one. Has anyone out there read it yet?
Lionel Shriver's We Need To Talk About Kevin is one of most intense, disturbing, well-written, and deeply affecting books I have ever read. I finished it in awe of Shriver's considerable writing talent, as well as the horrifyingly real, unforgettable story she created. I've struggled with this review, which is unlike me - usually I am eager to write about a book as soon as I finish it. With Kevin, though, I have found myself starting this review over and over, not entirely sure how to talk about it without giving too much away, while still giving it the credit it is due.
We Need To Talk About Kevin is the story of Eva, a woman who entered motherhood with deep ambivalence and gave birth to Kevin, a difficult baby with whom she never bonded. The book is told through letters from Eva to her husband, Franklin, in which she looks back on their marriage, Kevin's birth, and his difficult childhood and adolescence, recounting with frank honesty her experience as a mother.
Kevin is more than just a difficult child, however - he is deeply disturbed and, in the end, psychopathic. The book culminates with him executing a mass murder at his high school - a fact that is revealed in the first chapter. His first 15 years of existence are filled with incidents that grow increasingly more hateful and demonic, and the book explores how Eva feels about her son, her role as his mother, her possible cuplability in how he turned out, and her relationship with Franklin, who consistently turns a blind eye to Kevin's evil nature and the danger he poses to his family. There is some truly horrifying stuff in here, which I won't reveal in this review for fear of spoiling it for readers.
I know people who won't read this book based on the subject matter, and I can understand why. But they are missing out on Shriver's writing. She is a beautiful, eloquent writer, as I also learned from her most recent book, The Post Birthday World (reviewed here). Here is just one passage out of many that I marked purely for their craftsmanship:
[On] the birth of both of my chidren, I could immediately discern a dominant emotional tone, like the top note of a chord or the foreground color of a canvas. In Kevin, the note was the shrill high pitch of a rape whistle, the color was a pulsing, aortal red, and the feeling was fury. The shriek and pump of all that rage was unsustainable, so as he grew older the note would descend to the uninflected blare of a leaned-on car horn; the paint in the foreground would gradually thicken, its hue coagulating to the sluggish black-purple of liver, and his prevailing emotion would subside from fitful wrath to steady, unabating resentment.
So, what is the purpose of this book, other than being what is at heart a real-life horror story? It is a thorough, modern examination of motherhood, the nature of the sacrifice of identity, and of course, an exploration of the role that parents play in shaping their children. Was Kevin's personality ultimately a product of Eva's ambivalence? Or was her tortured introduction to motherhood caused by a son whose antisocial and alienating personality was formed in the womb? Were Kevin's actions meant to impress his mother, punish her, or neither? What loyalty do parents owe to their children, even at their own great personal expense?
I feel like I could go on and on about this book and still never exhaust my thoughts and questions.
A few things to add:
Thank you to everyone who participated in this online book club. Please share your thoughts below. I am very much looking forward to the discussion!
Mark Haddon: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Jill Bialosky: History of a Suicide: My Sister's Unfinished Life
Lee Kravitz: Unfinished Business: One Man's Extraordinary Year of Trying to Do the Right Things
Mary Ann Shaffer: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Elyse Schein & Paula Bernstein: Identical Strangers: Memoir of Twins Separated & Reunited
Margaret Sartor: Miss American Pie: A Diary of Love, Secrets and Growing Up in the 1970s