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Monthly Archives: July 2016

Redeployment by Phil Klay

29 Friday Jul 2016

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in Fiction

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Afghan War 2001-, Iraq War 2003-2011, short stories, US soldiers, war stories

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This collection of short stories gives a visceral explanation of the power of the war experience on a soldier and his/her inner life.  Take a look at the searing effects of the recent wars on our newest combat soldiers.  Winner of the 2014 National Book Award for Fiction.

“A sharp set of stories….Klay’s grasp of bureaucracy and bitter irony here rivals Joseph Heller and George Orwell….A no-nonsense and informed reckoning with combat.” – Kirkus Reviews (starred)

“[Klay captures] on an intimate scale the ways in which the war in Iraq evoked a unique array of emotion, predicament and heartbreak. In Klay’s hands, Iraq comes across not merely as a theater of war but as a laboratory of the human condition in extremis. Redeployment is hilarious, biting, whipsawing and sad. It’s the best thing written so far on what the war did to people’s souls.”  – Dexter Filkins, The New York Times Book Review

“Klay grasps both tough-guy characterization and life spent in the field, yet he also mines the struggle of soldiers to be emotionally freed from the images they can’t stop seeing. It’s clear that Klay, himself a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps who served in Iraq, has parlayed his insider’s knowledge of soldier-bonding and emotional scarring into a collection that proves a powerful statement on the nature of war, violence, and the nuances of human nature.” – Publisher’s Weekly (starred)

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Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan

25 Monday Jul 2016

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family relationships, family secrets, Maine, women

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Led by matriarch Kathleen, a charismatic, cruel, and complicated woman now in her 80s, the Kelleher family has spent decades of summers at their Maine summer property. Maine alternates chapters between four women in the Irish Catholic family as they converge at the summer house and confront each other. While the book’s title is Maine, there are also many references to Boston history and locations. Maine is a good book to take on your own summer vacation, with a little more substance than the average beach book.

“I have never stayed at this cottage in Maine, or any cottage in Maine, but no matter: I now feel I know what it’s like being in a family that comes to the same place summer after summer, unpacking their familiar longings, slights, shorthand conversation, and ways of being together. J. Courtney Sullivan’s Maine is evocative, funny, close-quartered, and highly appealing.” —Meg Wolitzer, author of The Uncoupling

“Ah, family. Isn’t it satisfying to leave your own briefly behind to drop in on another—and see how thoroughly they bungle it all up? This is the pleasure of Maine, J. Courtney Sullivan’s second novel, which delves into the secrets and simmering emotions of one dysfunctional family over the course of a single summer month. . . . The dialogue sizzles as the tension between the women’s love and anger toward one another tightens. . . . You don’t want the novel to end.” —Lily King, The New York Times Book Review

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Vinegar Girl : The Taming of the Shrew Retold by Anne Tyler

18 Monday Jul 2016

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in Comedy, Fiction, Humor

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man-woman relationships, married people, sex role

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I loved Anne Tyler’s newest, a lighthearted, super adorable farce full of quirky characters. A friend told me she thought it was the perfect summer read and I agree.

“Resplendent storyteller Tyler (A Spool of Blue Thread, 2015) is perfectly paired with The Taming of the Shrew…Deeply and pleasurably inspired by her source, Tyler is marvelously nimble and effervescent in this charming, hilarious, and wickedly shrewd tale of reversal and revelation.”—Booklist (starred review)

“[A] screwball comedy of manners that actually channels Jane Austen more than Shakespeare. It’s clear that [Tyler] had fun with Vinegar Girl, and readers will too…A fizzy cocktail of a romantic comedy, far more sweet than acidic, about finding a mate who appreciates you for your idiosyncratic, principled self — no taming necessary.”—NPR.org

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Like Family by Paolo Giordano, translated by Anne Milano Appel

11 Monday Jul 2016

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household employees, lung cancer, married people, romance, widows

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A spare and elegant novel that explores the topics of family and loneliness.  A poignant and melancholy (but not sad) book about Mrs. A, a dynamic nanny and caretaker who is the glue that holds a young family together. A good book to read on a rainy afternoon.

“Combining the edginess of modern life with the touching theme of losing someone who has become just like family, [this book] confirms Giordano as a writer who understands the complexities of human relationships.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) 

“Beautifully crafted…its themes are universal and it will appeal to anyone who treasures the gifts of others.” —Library Journal (starred review)

“[A] short work of fiction can resonate more deeply than longer volumes. That’s the case with LIKE FAMILY, the elegiac new novella by Paolo Giordano…. This poignant work points out that there is no one way to define a family, and that, in any definition, the primary ingredient is the ability to love.”—BookPage

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In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware

06 Wednesday Jul 2016

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in Fiction, mystery

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female friendship, female novelists, murder investigation, psychological, suspense

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Nora lives a quiet life in London as a writer when she receives an invitation to her old friend Clare’s hen (bachelorette) party. Nora hasn’t seen Clare in ten years, since a traumatic event during high school caused Nora to leave her past behind. The small hen party group assembles at an unusual house made of glass in an English forest, where strange things begin happening. The book is a little bit mystery, a little bit thriller, but mostly a psychological novel about friendship and memory. I listened to the audio book and found the narrator’s performance really enhanced the story. The dark, snowy setting and suspenseful plot will keep you cold this summer.

“WARNING: This book is hot. Do not pick it up late at night or if you are in a dark, dark wood…Ruth Ware has a gift. This British author’s first foray into fiction is a hit…it delivers a punch and keeps you guessing—an ideal August psychodrama that reminds us why mysteries remain such fun—except at night.” –The New York Journal of Books

“Ware slowly unspools the mystery, setting a truly spooky scene … with a constant undercurrent of danger. Read it on a dark and stormy night—with all the lights on.” –Kirkus Reviews

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