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Category: Great Fiction

Review: Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

[ 11 ] August 11, 2011

Reviewed by Lauren Kirk

It has been a long time since I have been so stirred and enamored by a novel. I could not put Rules of Civility down and when the book ended, I wanted more. Amor Towles throws the reader into New York City society of the 1930’s and beyond in a manner that makes you feel as if you are right at the table with the characters, having your own gin and tonic. The metaphors in the novel are simply beautiful, and the story flows at an easy, enjoyable pace.

Katey Kontent is a quick-witted, smart and fun working girl trying to get by in the city. With her friend Eve, the two take the city by storm and even when they have no more than three dollars to their names, they still manage to have a great time in the dives of New York. When the two meet Tinker Grey, their world suddenly includes the upper tiers of New York society and all of the secrets that lie within that realm. The relationships and encounters change as the novel progresses, but Katey remains true to herself and she continues to thrive. She is a warm and easy to like as a main character and her ambition and good humor make her an ideal leading lady.

Rules of Civility drew me right in and I think that the fantastic character development paired with the flowing story really made this novel fly.

Amor Towles not only made me want to become best friends with Katey, he made me want to sip gin and tonics while enjoying life after a long day at work. I firmly believe that there are books that remind us that in life, beauty and interest lie all around us even if we ignore them while we are caught in our mundane routines. These books remind us of a simpler, yet more elegant times and teach us a lot about ourselves in the process. Rules of Civility was certainly one of those books.

Rating: 5/5

Lauren Kirk is a graduate student, freelance writer, wine lover, and avid reader. Random musings can be found over at www.goldiesays.com.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Viking Adult. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review: Alice Bliss by Laura Harrington

[ 10 ] August 8, 2011

Reviewed by Colleen Turner

Alice Bliss is in many ways a typical fifteen year old: she argues with her mother, tries hard to take care of her little, precocious sister and is a daddy’s girl of the highest caliber. She has spent her life following her father around, learning how to garden, building things in his workshop and going with him on roofing jobs. He has also taught her to be meticulous, gracious and to never let her fears get the best of her. She loves her father beyond all others and has always tried hard to make him proud.

When Matt Bliss decides to enlist in the military, his family is devastated. Alice’s mother tries to convince him that this was not part of the plan but has to relent when he makes up his mind that this is something he needs to do. Matt works hard to instill in Alice and her sister, Ellie, all the life lessons he can before shipping out to Iraq, just in case they are needed. He tries hard to convince everyone that he will be home before they know it but also needs to make sure that they will be okay no matter what.

When he leaves, a huge hole opens up in the Bliss family. The glue that so often bound them together and mediated when they began to unravel has been taken away and no one knows quite what to do. As Alice tries hard to pick up the slack of chores, cooking and keeping Ellie from falling apart, she isn’t quite sure what to do with her feelings of loss, anger and emptiness. She begins to run track which seems, for a fraction of the time, to clear her mind and make her feel normal. When her feet stop running, though, the pain floods in.

While Matt is away Alice continues to bloom into her own, fighting it tooth and nail and waiting for her father to come home and stop missing out. She learns to drive and begins the tenuous steps of first love. She wants desperately to share all of this with her father but the letters and phone calls are becoming few and far between and she is left to navigate her newly developing world by the good sense her father gave her and his whispered voice in her head. She wants to be strong for Matt and help hold the family together so when he gets home everything – her mother and sister, his workshop, their garden – is as he left it. Can she hold her family, and herself, together until and if that happens?

Warning: do not read Alice Bliss without tissues! It has been awhile since a book moved me to tears, but here I am. Alice Bliss is so tender and such a raw story of growing up amidst war that I have a new appreciation for the loved ones left behind. With all the awkwardness that being a teenager entails, this heaped on top seems too much for anyone to bear. But strong, smart, brave Alice Bliss is a testament to how to move through the pain, the loss and the sadness when the one you love most isn’t there.

Rating: 4.5/5

Colleen lives in Tampa, Florida with her husband, son and pet fish. When not working or taking care of her family she has her nose stuck in a book (and, let’s face it, often when she is working or taking care of her family as well). Nothing excites her more than discovering a new author to obsess over or a hidden jewel of a book to worship.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Pamela Dorman Books. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review: The Double Life of Alfred Buber by David Schmahmann

[ 5 ] July 9, 2011

Reviewed by Claudia Robinson

“I will go back to where I belong, and sitting in my white ice chamber I will think this through, process what has happened, figure out a way to merge my life as it has been with this detour I have taken, this excursion gone wrong, gone right, that has filled a void that haunted and haunted without reprise. ” Alfie Buber, The Double Life of Alfred Buber

After war breaks out in Rhodesia, Alfred Buber is shipped off in to the care of Nigel and his wife, in America, in order to pursue a better life. Over time, and with hard work, he manages to work his way up the ladder in a respectable Law firm, and become a model citizen amongst his peers. Eccentric, slightly off, with decidedly unique people skills, particularly when it comes to women and relationships with them, Buber finds himself seeking comfort, refuge and love, of a very different kind, in the arms of a Bangkok prostitute. Written as a memoir to his daughter, The Double Life of Alfred Buber describes the journey that begins with an unforgettable, blurry, trip overseas, and his first meeting with the beautiful, young, imperfectly perfect, Nok and the subsequent return visits that become a mission to bring back the love of his life, and integrate her in to his pillar of community lifestyle. Or not.

On the one hand, Alfred is strong, frugal, smart and, as his mansion certainly proves, at the pinnacle of his career. Successful. In control of his life. BUT – on the other hand, there is a hole in his life that anything Western America has to offer, can’t seem to fill. His lust and desires lead him to pursue that which will amend the emptiness, and place him in a position in which he becomes vulnerable and completely OUT of control. As Alfie falls for Nok, a woman, a secret, he can never share with those in his ‘other’ life, his mental health declines, and the careful balance between his two worlds begins to shift and crumble.

Exquisitely written, detailed, fierily emotional and yet completely cold and callous, The Double Life of Alfred Buber is a unique read that will settle around a reader like a cloying dust and linger, even after a long, hot shower, in the pores. It’s a confusing, delicious, is he or isn’t he, can he or can’t he, will he or won’t he, story of love, lust, power, money and lack of. Of two worlds and a crash course collision that may or may not bring them together in the end for a happy ever after. Or not.

Not a subtle or easy read, The Double Life of Alfred Buber won’t please everyone. It’s intelligent, debauched and detached all at once. The taste it leaves in the mouth varies. Each confession, each moment meted out with a precise slice of madness that hovers on the edge of normal and not, and personal perception. A calamitous kaleidoscope of a book. Take a bite, you might just like it.

Rating: 4/5

Claudia lives on beautiful Cape Cod with her husband and two children.

The review copy of this book was provided free of any obligation by Permanent Press. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review: In Zanesville by Jo Ann Beard

[ 3 ] May 12, 2011

Reviewed by Nina Longfield

Jo Ann Beard’s novel, In Zanesville, is an enjoyable and poignant read. The story follows the exploits of an unnamed narrator, who is a self-pronounced sidekick, and her best friend Felicia. As the girls traverse the streets and hallways of Zanesville, Illinois, we, the readers, get a look at this world through the girls’ fourteen year old eyes. It’s a world where teens strive for adulthood, while adults seek refuge in alcohol, work, discontent, and even in death. Yet our narrator’s obsession remains one of not bringing attention on herself.

In Zanesville begins with a fire. The young narrator and her friend, Felicia, are babysitting the six unmanageable children of two bikers. This is the summer before they enter high school, where the world they’ve come to be comfortable in begins to change. Jo Ann Beard navigates the halls of an anywhere American high school of the seventies with skill and humor. The young characters are thrust from the content anonymous identities of those existing in the background to the forefront with a jarring push. Along with the social upheavals prevalent in high school, both girls begin to see and comprehend the world around them with less naiveté. Boys become something other than strange beings that make strange noises. As she watches Felicia bloom, the narrator questions a person’s ability to be a sidekick without a side. Other observations begin to form in the young narrator’s conception of the world around her, such as her father’s increasing reliance on alcohol to get him through his days. She seems shocked once she realizes that her mother’s growing discontent with the family existence is interrelated with her father’s methodical self-destruction.

Jo Ann Beard is a master of the narrative story. Her writing flows seamlessly between light hearted, tense, awkward, and heart wrenching scenes with a fluidity that keeps the reader in the moment of the story. Beard brings the harsh realities of young adulthood into clear focus through her sometimes bittersweet and often outright hilarious story telling.

I found myself relating too well with the young narrator of In Zanesville. She was funny and sassy and smart and forever trying to hide behind others, yet her vulnerability shines through her awkwardness for being the class ‘late bloomer’. Despite trying, she never fully fits into her own life.

This coming of age tale is not just a nostalgic look backwards; it is fraught with the difficulties of change throughout life. In Zanesville shows the reader that ‘yes’ life is problematic, but mixed throughout there are also episodes of friendship, love, and hilarity. I thoroughly enjoyed In Zanesville from the fire on the first page to its satisfying conclusion.

Rating: 5/5

Nina Longfield is a writer living in Oregon’s fertile wine country. When she is not reading or writing in her spare time, Nina enjoys hiking in the hills surrounding her cabin.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Little, Brown and Company. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review & Giveaway: The Midwife’s Confession by Diane Chamberlain

[ 160 ] April 25, 2011

Reviewed by Colleen Turner

On the surface Noelle seems to have a fulfilling life: she is a trusted midwife, is surrounded by friends that love her and has developed an organization to help sick and poor babies. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, she commits suicide and leaves her two best friends – Tara and Emerson – wondering what they missed and what could have driven their optimistic, loving friend to take her life. No one can believe that the Noelle they knew would do such a thing. They are right. What they learn is they didn’t really know Noelle after all.

Tara and Emerson set off to uncover what could have caused their friend to commit such a desperate act. While cleaning out the house she rented to Noelle, Emerson finds a partially completed letter to someone named Anna in which Noelle confesses committing a horrible act against this woman. Working through this shock the two friends continue to dig and discover more secrets their friend was keeping from them, secrets that not only affect this Anna but their lives as well. These two remaining friends keep each other afloat, while their daughters, who are also best friends, do the same for each other. Still, when the final ball is dropped and the worst secret is discovered, none of their lives will ever be the same.

The Midwife’s Confession is not for the faint at heart. It is about secrets, lies and heinous crimes hidden away. It is about how far someone will go to keep their true identity and secret past from those they love, and will leave you wondering how well you actually know those around you. Diane Chamberlain sensitively presents a series of truths that many of us could not imagine dealing with in our own lives. She somehow does it in a way that allows you into the heads and hearts of each of the central characters, even Noelle who I desperately wanted to hate but just couldn’t seem to do. I have to admit that what she reveals made me cringe and I fleetingly wanted to turn away and stop reading, but the book unwinds so skillfully that I couldn’t stop from continuing on this path that could only lead to something hard to digest.

Read The Midwife’s Confession if you want a well written study in humanity and loss, just be prepared for the emotions it might elicit within you.

Rating: 4.5/5

Colleen lives in Tampa, Florida with her husband, son and pet fish. When not working or taking care of her family she has her nose stuck in a book (and, let’s face it, often when she is working or taking care of her family as well). Nothing excites her more than discovering a new author to obsess over or a hidden jewel of a book to worship.

Giveaway:
I have 1 copy of The Midwife’s Confession to give away!

Mandatory entry: Please comment here and include your e-mail address.

Extra entries (please post each entry separately, i.e. 2 posts for subscribing):
- Subscribe via e-mail, follow or subscribe to the feed. You must verify the subscriptions. (1 entry each)
- Enter another current giveaway and tell me which one you entered (1 entry each)
- Share this giveaway on a social network of your choice. Click the “Share/Save” button at the bottom of this post (1 entry each)

This giveaway is open to US and Canada residents only. Deadline to enter is midnight on May 6, 2011.

Review and giveaway copies were provided free of any obligation by Meryl L. Moss Media Relations. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review: Amaryllis in Blueberry by Christina Meldrum

[ 4 ] February 23, 2011

Reviewed by Amelie L.

“Because truth is capricious. It may be hovering there all the while, but one moment you think you see it-it seems so clear, so well defined, as if you could catch it and hold it steady in your hand. But the next moemnt it’s gone, or at least so fast moving it’s a blur, at best. That’s the thing Africal taught me about truth. Your know it’s truth because it’s busy. Any seeming truth that’s idle? Well that’s just not truth.” – Amaryllis in Blueberry

I resisted choosing Amaryllis in Blueberry, worried that three characters sharing the same first name, “Mary’” would be too confusing. How would I remember which was which, who was who?

It doesn’t take long. These women are drawn so eloquently and with such atention to the finer details of their middle names-Grace, Tessa and Catherine, that it becomes as clear as the blueberry eyes of the single sister named Amaryllis, whose Mary hides inside her full name and is called Yllis. Their mother is Seena, short for Christina and their father, Dick.

In many ways Amaryllis in Blueberry is a book about strong, interesting women and the men who fall under their spell. The story winds its way through geography, morality, truth, beliefs, and finally, ultimately, love, with both a visceral beauty and spellbinding tension. It takes on life’s big questions and answers them by not, leaving us to ask and answer for ourselves, or maybe, more genuinely, just keep wondering.

The sense of place, whether it is the mirror lake of Danish Landing, Michigan or the dusty red clay of Avone, West Africa, is rich and vivid. Where one holds depression and predictability, the other brins joy-a constant surprise. America, the land of plenty, seems to miss the real point of life while West Africa, as poor as the dirt that creeps into every crevice, overflows with vibrant color and a pulsating appreciation for the gift that is walking the earth.

[amazonify]1439156891[/amazonify]The white bread boredom of one’s subruban predictability breeds almost scripted sinning and is powerfully juxtaposed against the other’s outrageous rituals that reek of danger. The contrast and foreigness goes deeper with every page and leads us, along with this family, into new insights and understandings. One is simple, black and white, rich and poor, the other a riot of color and culture that appears primitive but for that very reason leaves us questioning our values and judgements. What is right what is wrong, sacred or profane? We are initiated into a humbling understanding much as the girls and their parents are, left to embrace life for its mysteries. Africa is fascinating and dangerous, dark shot through with brilliant, wise light.

There is forbidden love here, one that tests faith and hides in plain sight. There is murder and proof of a mother’s love, powerful but also ambivalent, torn between what is and what could be. Reading this book I felt the pull was really between what we take for granted and Africa, or those things we may never be able to understand only sense. Like Yllis, we become sentient, drawn into the spell of color, form, sound.

I loved this book and couldn’t put it down which is, perhaps the highest praise for any piece of literature. It is beautifully written and fully realized, wrapped in spirituality but never preachy.

Rating: 5/5

Amelie lives and works on a pond in Cape Cod. She shares her home with her husband and two sons and both reads and writes whenever possible. Her ‘day job’ is in social services.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Gallery Books. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Blog Tour & Giveaway: The Bird House by Kelly Simmons

[ 221 ] February 21, 2011

Please join Kelly Simmons, author of The Bird House, as she tours the blogosphere with TLC Book Tours!

Reviewed by Claudia R.

“It wasn’t more complicated or mysterious than I have recalled. My entry didn’t offer much more detail than my memory, but there was enough. Enough that Theo wanted to erase it, to cut it out of my heart, to keep me from remembering what I remembered.” – The Bird House

Forty years ago, Ann’s daughter died, tragically, at the age of three. Now, her surviving son’s daughter, 8-year-old Ellie, is enlisting her help with a family history class project and Ann is forced back in to the darkness of her past. Determined to forge a bond, previously non-existant, with her precious granddaughter, Ann accepts the role of story-teller, despite, or in-spite, of her worsening Alzheimer’s, and together with Ellie and an attic full of memories, the two embark on a journey that will open old wounds, reveal shocking secrets and create a disturbance of epic proportions for everyone involved.

As the matriarch, Ann understands the importance of imparting the family legacy accurately, including tales of death, infidelity, despair, and family tragedy, but at what cost, will their revelations demand? When Ellie and Ann inadvertently discover Tinsley, her daughter-in-law, in the midst of a torrid affair, the past and future seem to be more parallel than anyone could have known, and whether she likes it or not, Ann’s hand is forced to show Ellie all the cards.

Along with the help of her best friend Betsy and past love, Peter, Ann manages to discover a few hidden truths of her own, secrets altered, covered and even created by a mind mottled by disease, that will, in the end, offer Ann the closure and healing she’s never admitted to needing.

Kelly Simmons writes with eloquence, passion and an intimacy that allows the reader to truly feel the story from the main character’s perspective. Ann’s pain, confusion and desire to scratch past the surface and find answers, becomes as personal a battle for the reader, as for Ann. Woven between two timelines, present and past, Kelly manages to seamlessly blend the two and create a poignant, breathtaking story of loss, disillusion, tenacity and brutal honesty that is scary-sweet, rough-tender exactly when and where it needs to be.

Every detail, every situation is written so perfectly, and with such eloquence, rendering The Bird House a definite must read, for anyone who understands, all to well, the danger of harboring one too many skeletons in the proverbial closet.

Rating: 5/5

Claudia lives on Cape Cod with her husband and two children. She entertains her passion for reading in between being a full-time Mom, aspiring writer, avid photographer & co-leader of the Cape Cod Community Angels, a non-profit organization for young girls involved in volunteering in their Community.

Giveaway:
I have 1 signed copy of The Bird House to give away, courtesy of Kelly Simmons!

Mandatory entry: Please comment here and include your e-mail address.

Extra entries (please post each entry separately, i.e. 2 posts for subscribing):
- Subscribe via e-mail, follow or subscribe to the feed. You must verify the subscriptions. (1 entry each)
- Enter another current giveaway and tell me which one you entered (1 entry each)
- Share this giveaway on a social network of your choice. Click the “Share/Save” button at the bottom of this post (1 entry each)

This giveaway is open to US and Canada residents only. Deadline to enter is midnight on March 11, 2011.

Review and giveaway copies were provided free of any obligation by Washington Square Press. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Blog Tour: The Oracle of Stamboul by Michael David Lukas

[ 14 ] February 17, 2011

Please join Michael David Lukas, author of the amazing new novel, The Oracle of Stamboul, as he tours the blogosphere with TLC Book Tours!

Reviewed by Erin N.

At the end of the Ottoman Empire, a little girl and her flock of birds hold the key to setting history on the right path. As predicted by the last Tartar King, there would be signs at the birth of this feminine savior: “a sea of horses, a conference of birds, the North Star in alignment with the moon,” and two Tartar women shall arrive to midwife her birth.

On the day Eleanora Cohen was born in Constanta, a flock of Hoopoes congregated around her house, the Tsar’s Royal Calvary rode into town to claim it for Russia, and Mrs. Damakan and her niece arrived just in time from the next village to help Leah Cohen deliver herself of her one and only child. But did this mean that Eleanor is fated to save the world?

The only daughter of a Jewish carpet merchant, Eleanora’s genius intellect and devotion to her father bring her to the city of Stamboul, and ultimately to the notice of His Excellency Sultan Abdulhamid II, the 34th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. Fascinated by her understanding of literature and history at such a young age, Abdulhamid invites Eleanora to the palace.

Much to the dismay of his Grand Vizier, the Sultan sought for and took Eleanor’s advice on matters of political import. Much to Eleanora’s dismay, the Sultan’s interest captured the imagination of an American reporter, and ultimately that of the empire. Was Eleanora ready to step into the role that seemed fated for her or was this a case of mistaken identity?

Michael David Lukas creates a fascinating tale about old world prophesies and responsibilities as that old world fades away before the rise of our modern society. Using the late 19th century history of Romania and Istanbul as a backdrop, he brings forth a magical world where prophesies are real, Sultans and Tsars quest for power, and the masses come to the court of a little girl for council.

In The Oracle of Stamboul, readers of all ages will experience the end of an era and the beginning of a strange new world.

Rating: 5/5

To learn more about Michael David Lukas and The Oracle of Stamboul, please visit his website!

Check out some of the other blog stops on the tour:

Jenny’s Books – February 16th

Book Sake – February 17th

Jen’s Book Thoughts – February 18th

Rundpinne – February 21st

Chocolate & Croissants – February 21st

Journey of a Bookseller – February 22nd

Erin fell in love with the written word as a small child and subsequently spent most of her life happily devouring literature. She works as a freelance news, marketing, and technical writer as well as a full-time researcher/investigator in the sign industry. Erin lives just outside of Cleveland, Ohio enjoying the beauty of life with her children and grandchildren.

Review and giveaway copies were provided free of any obligation by Harper. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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