Monthly Archives: September 2015

Language Arts by Stepanie Kallos

30 Wednesday Sep 2015

Posted by in Fiction

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What good fortune – the discovery of a very fine author –  new to me! Recommended by another Weston librarian who remembered so fondly Kallos’ first book,  Broken for You.  I opened the covers of this book and was immersed in storytelling at its finest, unpredictable connections of characters, mastery of the words that made me pause to reread and savor, and something close to the divine fleetingly reveals itself.  Prepare to embrace a fine author for your reading pleasure.

“A riveting read…Kallos moves back and forth in time, and among characters, in a story that deftly mixes family drama, neuroscience, mystery and an exploration of the dying art of handwriting that is far more intriguing than it sounds…You’re likely to find yourself rereading it at least once to fully absorb what you may have missed the first time around.”—Bookpage

 “Language Arts was like yoga for my heart—my sentiments were stretched and strengthened, my imagination challenged and contorted, and when I finished, I felt grateful for this beautifully honest, lyrical journey. I loved this book.” — Jamie Ford, best-selling author of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

 “Kallos’ earlier novels, Broken for You (2004) and Sing Them Home (2009), have been widely praised, and her third deserves all of those kudos and more. This novel, masterfully plotted and written, is a wondrously beautiful story of love and loss, offering hope in the face of the harshest reality.”—Booklist, starred review

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Gertrude Bell: Queen of the Desert, Shaper of Nations by Georgina Howell

21 Monday Sep 2015

Posted by in Biography, Non-fiction, Travel

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The Weston Library Non-Fiction Book Discussion Group enjoyed this book immensely and had a riveting discussion of the book and the impact that Gertrude Bell had on the current state of affairs in Iraq and the Middle East.

Gertrude Bell (1868-1926) traveled the globe several times, but her passion was the desert, where she traveled with only her guns and her servants and a Wedge ware dinner service. Her vast knowledge of the region made her indispensable to the Cairo Intelligence Office of the British government during World War I. She advised the Viceroy of India; then, as an army major, she traveled to the front lines in Mesopotamia. There, she supported the creation of an autonomous Arab nation for Iraq, promoting and manipulating the election of King Faisal to the throne and helping to draw the borders of the fledgling state. Gertrude Bell, vividly told and impeccably researched by Georgina Howell, is a richly compelling portrait of a woman who transcended the restrictions of her class and times, and in so doing, created a remarkable and enduring legacy.

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Nora Webster by Colm Toibin

14 Monday Sep 2015

Posted by in Fiction, Historical Fiction

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Rural Ireland’s recent past is the setting for this novel about a 40-year-old mother of four, Nora Webster, who struggles to adjust emotionally after a fatal illness takes the life of her husband of 20 years.  Burdened by straitened finances, distracted by grief and by turns worried about or detached from her children, she is weighed down by the dullness of her days without her husband.  Nora’s circumstances are not entirely hopeless though as she is capable, independent-minded and supported by well-meaning family and acquaintances.  Her pessimism about the future begins to recede as she permits herself to take pleasure in small moments of happiness. A chance encounter with a local voice teacher leads to a new focus on music as a means to recovery as she crafts a new life on her own.

“Fascinating… Revelatory… More thoughtful than Emma Bovary and less self-destructive, in the end far and away a better parent than the doomed Anna Karenina for all the latter’s dramatic posturing, Nora Webster is easily as memorable as either—and far more believable. To say more would spoil a masterful— and unforgettable—novel.” (Betsy Burton NPR)

“The Ireland of four decades ago is beautifully evoked… Completely absorbing [and] remarkably heart-affecting.” (Booklist (starred review))

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Spinster: Making a Life of One’s Own by Kate Bolick

09 Wednesday Sep 2015

Posted by in Biography, Non-fiction

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Don’t let the title and cover deceive you: this is a well written, thought-provoking book about much more than the concept of the “spinster” (or unmarried woman). The author uses that subject as a starting point to explore her own life and career along with those of several female authors with New England connections, including Edna St. Vincent Millay and Edith Wharton. This is a great book on its own, as well as a nice introduction to a group of talented writers and their works.

“What’s surprising about Spinster is how, in its charmingly digressive style, the book sets forth a clear vision not just for single women, but for all women: to disregard the reigning views of how women should live, to know their own hearts and to carve out a little space for their dreams.” —New York Times Book Review

 “Spinster is a triumph, a provocative and moving exploration of what it means for a woman to chart her own course.” —Malcolm Gladwell, author of David and Goliath

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The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino

02 Wednesday Sep 2015

Posted by in Fiction, mystery

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In this thriller by bestselling Japanese novelist Higashino, a distressed single mother has a tough time freeing herself and her daughter from her abusive ex-husband.  Her requests to the police for protection from this deadbeat go unheeded and she attempts to escape him by relocating.  Settling into her new apartment she and her daughter introduce themselves to their next-door neighbor, a lonely math teacher for whom this meeting proves to be tragically fateful.

Veteran police detective matches wits with a brilliant rookie criminal. This character-driven mystery by the prolific Higashino has much to recommend, including a droll Columbo-like sleuth and a great surprise ending. (Kirkus Reviews (starred review))

Winner of Japan’s prestigious Naoki Prize and a bestseller there with more than two million copies sold, this literary psychological thriller is a subtle and shifting murder mystery. It will make readers redefine devotion and trust in an otherwise complete stranger. (Library Journal (starred review))

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