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 In a naturally beautiful town in Pennyslvania, the steel industry has fallen. Factories are abandoned everywhere and jobs are scarce, providing only minimum wage in a place which was once booming with unions and families. Many people have moved on. For the ones that stay, things aren’t so easy. Enter Isaac English and Billy Poe, who both nearly escaped but then chose to stay in their unhappy, small-town poor lives. Both harbor hopes of escape despite doing nothing to act on them, until one evening when violence changes everything.
I’ve seen this compared elsewhere to The Grapes of Wrath, and while I’m not sure this guy is going to be the next Steinbeck, I do think the comparison is valid. This is a picture of an economy falling down, with people trapped in lives that no longer function the way they’re supposed to. Rusting factories feature prominently in the text and are foci for major plot points. It’s very easy to see how the loss of American industry deeply affects those who rely on it most and what those same blue-collar workers now have to do just to support their families.
The narrative is split between several characters – Isaac, his sister Lee, his father Henry, Billy Poe, his mother Grace, and the policeman Bud Harris. I didn’t realize that at first, but did not find it disorienting as I sometimes do. Each character had their own voice, so to speak, despite the novel being in 3rd person, and you could tell whose head you’d landed in without looking at chapter headings. (I almost never look at chapter headings. I have no idea if that’s weird, but I never know what chapter I’m on. I always know what page I’m on, though.) Some of the chapters are extremely introspective and you can almost tell the education level of the characters by how they’re thinking. Thoughts in real life almost never come in complete sentences and I really enjoy how Meyer moves from subject to subject so abruptly, almost like Virginia Woolf in Mrs Dalloway but without the connections between people that Woolf excels at there. It’s definitely stream of thought, but usually in a way that is easily followed, with sequences of proper well-constructed prose to balance out the novel and keep it from being too experimental.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I felt that it elucidated the difficult situation going on in many of our old industry towns and as such is a really valuable insight into a part of society that no one cares to think about these days. It forces us to think about the consequences of moving jobs overseas and leaving many Americans without a living wage. This is the best kind of fiction, to my mind; it is not only a deep and significant story but it also reveals an aspect of our country that is perhaps not politically correct to express otherwise. I highly recommend it and I do suspect that it may become a classic in its own time given what a picture it is of that rusting world.
Buy American Rust on Amazon.
 Etsuko, a Japanese woman living alone in England, has just recently lost her elder daughter to suicide. When her younger daughter comes for a visit, Etsuko can’t help but be reminded of her, and think of her own past in Japan, the devastation of the war and time with a friend who leads a very perplexing life.
This book was interesting in that I could see where Kazuo Ishiguro’s style originated. We have a very unreliable narrator in Etsuko, whose story doesn’t add up. In all honesty she doesn’t even seem sad that her daughter has passed away, she mostly wonders where she went wrong. This book doesn’t quite have the impact his other books have; there is a slow build-up and a revelation, but the revelation isn’t obvious and half the internet disagrees on exactly what Ishiguro is getting across here. I did like the haunting depictions of a Japan after World War II; they were a perfect backdrop to Etsuko’s own story.
I could see myself enjoying this more if I’d not read Ishiguro’s other works yet. This one embraces and deals with complex themes, but it feels very much like practice for the greatness he’ll achieve later on. Also, despite the fact that all of his stories are different in many ways, it feels like his central narrators are one-trick ponies and mostly the same. I think that’s diminished his work for me, and reading the first one where he’s not the best at it was probably not a good idea when the others are so fresh in my mind.
In the end, a bit of a disappointment. Also, whoever has read this book, do you want to share what you think happened at the end and what it all meant? I want to, but only if enough people have read the book that I’m not spoiling the story for anyone who comes back to check my comments.
Buy A Pale View of Hills on Amazon today.
 Beautiful, smart, but a little too determined, Fatima Shihabi flees Iraq when she learns that she is a target for Saddam Hussein’s secret police. Once she finally gets out, she realizes that no one will grant her asylum, and that she is trapped. Her brother, a college professor working in the United States, is desperate to save her and calls up a law firm in New York City. That’s how Fatima’s case ends up in the hands of Charles Sherman, and together they fight to free her and find a way out from underneath the power of tyrants – and veils – of all kinds.
I enjoyed this book. While the prose is occasionally awkward, for the most part the writing disappears into the page as the reader gets swept into this passionate, compelling story. It would be difficult not to feel for Charles and Fatima – here they are, fully fleshed out, determined, flawed human beings. I particularly liked Charles, who seemed very like a person I would know on the street. I also liked that since the characters were drawn together by crisis, it was easier to imagine them loving each other than otherwise. When you are that close to dying, things and priorities change, something I think Murphy expressed well. The plot was never predictable until just before the end, and I have to say that I didn’t see that ending coming, although perhaps I should have given that it fits the tone of the book very well.
I will admit that I skipped the poetry, but I almost always do that, and at least there wasn’t much for me to skip here. It didn’t seem to matter, either, as the story functioned well without such props. I also really liked how the veils were woven into the story and how we don’t face the truth of ourselves very often. Very cleverly done.
Overall, I recommend it. This book is a very compelling tale of what’s happening in Iraq and how hard it is for the citizens there, not to mention the characters and their struggle. I’m glad I read it. More, I sincerely hope that if Mr. Murphy chooses to write another book that he is picked up by a mainstream publisher. I think he deserves it – he has that talent.
Buy A Thousand Veils on Amazon today.
 This multi-generational saga starts out with Henna, who is perfectly happy to spin a complex network of lies if it means she can get out of school and make a brilliant marriage at 14. Even though her in-laws find out and she is forgiven, the lying is compulsive and carries on throughout the family, until Henna’s daughter, Shona, living in London years later, is confronted with the many lies and truths that her life has been built upon and takes strides to rescue her family from the webs they have woven.
Bitter Sweets did not start out very promising. I found it hard to relate to Henna, who was so glib and dispassionate about everything in her family and found lying so easy. When, eventually, Shona became the center of the book, I liked it much better, and around the halfway point I fell in love. Each of the characters is so sympathetic, so human, and has their own struggles and passionate feelings. It was easy to relate to these people and watch their characters develop. I particularly enjoyed the literary parts revolving around Shona. I was compelled to keep reading and I wanted them all to be happy. And I enjoyed the ending, too.
Another recommendation from me. This is a good read. Probably forgettable, but worth the time I spent reading it. Check it out on Amazon.
 In 1942, a small French girl locks her little brother in a hidden cabinet, promising she’ll return for him soon. The French police have come for her family and she doesn’t know how else to keep him safe; she is too naive to suspect where they are really going. In the modern day, Julia’s life in France is eroding around her but she has one thing to cling to: what happened to the men, women, and children who were whisked away in July 1942? Did any survive? More intriguingly, what does it have to do with her?
I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect with this book, either – I feel like I’ve been saying that a lot lately. As you probably know, I try to avoid spoilers of any kind and go into a book knowing virtually nothing of what it’s about, aside from a cursory glance at the back cover. I read reviews, but by the time I read the book in question I’ve usually forgotten any plot details. In this case, I’m pleased with my avoidance, because I just loved the way this book came together and I wouldn’t have wanted it spoiled. In the beginning I had no idea what Julia was doing in the story, but the dual narrators fit together beautifully and I was very pleased with the end and how it all wrapped up. I also thought the author did a great job keeping the strands separate until they were intertwined; each section was written to fit its period. Yes, the story was extremely sad and haunting, but that only makes it even more important considering its content.
I’d definitely recommend this book. I’m not sure what category to place it in, but it’s a beautiful work of literature that shouldn’t be missed.
Buy Sarah’s Key on Amazon today.
 When Truly Plaice’s mother was pregnant, her belly was so enormous that everyone was sure she was having a baby boy. The child was not a boy, it was a girl, but so big that her birth killed her mother, who was already dying from secret breast cancer. So began Truly’s life; always large, ugly, and unwanted, especially in comparison with her beautiful, perfect, and desired sister Serena Jane. But Truly’s heart is bigger than her body and as the novel moves forward, even Truly realizes that beauty may be on the inside.
It took me a little while to get into this book, especially given that it starts out with Truly taunting Dr. Robert Morgan. “Wait, this is the girl with the heart?” I thought. When we finally got into the more linear story with Truly’s birth, not too far in, and the progression of her life, I started to enjoy it. I loved Truly after a while. She’s a wonderful girl but her life experiences, based solely on her appearance, really scar her. Somehow, she manages to rise above that and become someone worth a great deal more love than she gets. Her friends, Amelia and Marcus, are similarly endearing. The story itself is compelling, even though we know she’s going to end up taking care of Robert Morgan. The questions are how she gets there – and what she does after his death. I thought the conclusion was perfectly suited to Truly’s journey and just what she needed to work out who she was.
Recommended for those who enjoy literary fiction. I really enjoyed this, you might too!
The Little Giant of Aberdeen County is released today. Thanks to Miriam Parker at Hachette Book Group USA for my copy!
 A dinner party held in celebration of Japanese businessman Katsumi Hosokawa, with his favorite opera singer Roxane Coss as entertainment, goes horribly awry when a group of terrorists capture all of the guests. Their target, the president, is not at the party. At a loss, the terrorists continue to hold the hostages and to everyone’s surprise, an entire world develops in this one large house.
This is a compelling and intricate novel, full of unexpected little details. I’m not sure that it’s realistic, but it tries its best to show us the universality of human nature. Terrorists got on just well with multi-millionaires; people are more than just their day jobs. I think that’s really what this book is about. People have vast dimensions that are invisible to those around them until crisis brings them out.
Not much else to say really; this book left me reeling for a few days and I struggled to get into my next read; I’m not sure I’ll call it one of my favorites of the year, but it’s deeply moving and I would definitely recommend it.
Buy Bel Canto on Amazon today.
 Theodore Mead Fegley has always been the smartest kid he knows. He’s played a waiting game his entire life because he knows he will one day enter the exalted land of academics, the people that he believes are his own kind. As a result, he is isolated from his classmates, who are frequently older than him, and suffers greatly and on his own for most of his childhood. Strangely, however, he returns home just a week before his college graduation, before he can present his important paper on the Riemann hypothesis. No one knows why, so for us to find out, we must take a trip back through his life; only the past will reveal to us just what has motivated Mead to give up his dream so close to its accomplishment.
This is quite an emotional book. Mead makes several realizations that are painful, for him and for the reader who can empathize with him. I could, though of course I never suffered nearly so much; still, I think nearly every child understands what it is to be teased and left out and as adults we do remember. Mead’s journey towards figuring out who he is and what he has lost is fascinating. He is completely bereft of social skills, which makes it difficult to watch him muddle around the people that he meets and the other students who could have been his friends.
I’m not sure, however, that I was content with the ending. It is one of those open-ended, anything could happen after this endings, and while part of me likes that and can see the meaning in it, the other larger part really wants to know what actually happened and where Mead was going with his life. If you prefer ambiguity, this book is certainly for you.
That minor qualm aside, I enjoyed Life After Genius and I found it absorbing and compelling while I was reading it. I’d recommend it if you’re not that intent on resolution and are looking for an engrossing, thoughtful read. Buy it on Amazon.
This review is part of the Life After Genius blog tour sponsored by Hachette Book Group USA. Thanks go out to Miriam Parker for organizing it and sending me this review copy!
 When Mike Borden, the headmaster of a prestigious private school in Vermont, is handed a tape by his secretary, he isn’t sure what to expect. He certainly doesn’t expect to see two highly respected students and a third post-graduate student engaging in sexual intercourse with a 14 year old girl, but that’s precisely what he does see. The last thing he anticipates is the explosive effect that this single tape – that this single evening – will have on so many lives, both in and out of the small town in which the private school is located.
This is quite an overwhelming book. The story is immensely more complex than I’ve just described, but it’s very difficult not to give away any details and still write a summary. The author rotates viewpoints, featuring the girl, the boys, the headmaster, some of the parents, and other related people. It really reads like a collection of testimonies from all the players in the very serious events of those few days that determined many futures. At times this is disorienting. Each person’s narrative is written in a distinct style so that they’re easily distinguished, but it’s very easy to lose track of where you are in the story, particularly when a person’s chapter is only two or three pages long. They also skip around in the book’s timeline, and as I read quickly, occasionally I’d wonder just what was happening with the other people at the time because it didn’t seem clear to me. Perhaps if I had spent more time on each perspective, this wouldn’t have mattered, but I also really wanted to work out just what happened.
On the other hand, the emotional power of this book is not to be missed. Anita Shreve carefully gathers in all the threads of her tale and brings it to a startling climax that you don’t expect until only a page or two before it happens; looking back, however, you can see how the rest of the day’s events led to it. It feels carefully crafted to evoke this particular outcome and to minutely examine how everyone felt about the tape.
In the end, I’d call this a very good book. It has compelling characters, a riveting plotline, and terrific attention to detail. The rotating viewpoints are a minor problem, but one that I could get past to enjoy the book. And I’m now compelled to add Anita Shreve to my “authors whose work I should read” list. Check this book out on Amazon. It’s released today!
Finally, many thanks to Miriam Parker at Hachette for sending me this review copy!
 Pecola Breedlove believes that she is ugly and fervently desires blue eyes, the symbol of loveliness for her. This extraordinary novel examines why she, an innocent little black girl, is convinced that she is ugly and insignificant, while contrasting her situation with the ideal of both white girls and light-skinned black girls. Pecola’s story both begins and ends with her father’s rape of her and the death of her child.
This novel is stunning. Morrison goes into the heads of five different characters, carefully showing us their effect on Pecola with prose matched to each person’s status in life. The only time we witness Pecola’s own thoughts is when she has gone mad, talking to herself about how blue her new eyes are.
Before I continue, let me explain a little about me: racism has never existed in my life. I am from a very white town but I had always assumed when I was little that it was a foregone conclusion that no matter the color of your skin, you are another person just like me. I had no preference between black and white dolls as a child. I have never witnessed any acts of racism. Ever. The black kids in my school were treated the same way as everyone else, and the same went in my universities, both home and abroad. That may make me naive and sheltered, but most of all it means I need a reminder that racism has existed so recently and still does exist. Every time I read a book like this, or a book like To Kill a Mockingbird, it hurts and I can’t believe that people really think like that, even though I know they must have and do. It’s important to read this and experience just how completely wrong was the idea that only white girls were beautiful – that only white families were perfect and deserving of idealization – that blue eyes were necessary to be lovely.
Of course, Pecola’s family is not every black family by far and there are white families that are just as destructive. Regardless, the racism in this book is deeply moving. Why would every little black girl want a white baby doll? It makes no sense. Why is a light-skinned, rich little girl more valued and more popular than the darker little girls? By writing this from the viewpoint of children, Morrison shows us how the attitudes of adults deeply affect and form racism before the child can understand what he or she is feeling; how black children are automatically put on the defensive when they’ve done nothing wrong.
This is an extremely valuable book and I think it should be very widely read. I believe it is now actually, thanks to Oprah and the Nobel Prize. These are the sort of books that cast essential light on the human experience; what we do to each other and what we do to ourselves, even if we believe this sort of behavior is behind or below us. It has been banned in many places apparently because of the sexual content, the racism, and the incest. I think, however, that it is threatening to many people’s ideals. After all, it is a book at its core about racism and how racism affects a little girl who doesn’t know any better; it threatens by showing what the world once was and what may lay latent in many minds today, or by reminding people of the repercussions that their past actions may have had. I’m going to stop here because my review isn’t doing this book justice, and in fact it doesn’t need my review at all. It should be read; it will speak for itself. Toni Morrison is brilliant; I’m off to read more of hers. Buy this book on Amazon.
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