Category Archives: Fiction

The Hanging Judge by Michael Ponsor

10 Monday Nov 2014

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This extraordinary thriller written by Michael Ponsor, a senior judge in the U.S. District Court in Springfield, Massachusetts, offers an unprecedented inside view of a death penalty trial.  The novel is based on the experience of the author who presided over the first capital case in Massachusetts in more than fifty years.  Massachusetts readers will be rewarded with many references to the towns of Amherst, Holyoke, Northampton as well as Springfield.

The Honorable Michael A. Ponsor will speak at the Weston Public Library on Thursday, November 13 at 7 pm in the Community Room.

“There are plenty of surprises to keep readers turning pages. Ponsor gives readers a unique look into the workings of a courtroom. But more than that, he demonstrates a feel for how ordinary families are affected by the legal system. Ponsor’s debut would make a great movie.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“A marvelous entertainment, a page-turning mystery full of romance and humor, which takes us inside the fraught and rather secretive world of a judge’s chambers. In the best way—that is, indirectly—Ponsor informs us about the facts that ought to inform debate on the death penalty. What impressed me most of all was the book’s authority; it has the heft of authenticity.” —Tracy Kidder, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Mountains Beyond Mountains

 “A compelling tale, with a cast of vividly drawn characters and a plot that twists and turns—it entertains, as a good novel should, but even better, it also informs, as only the best ones do.” —Jonathan Harr, author of A Civil Action

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The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean

05 Wednesday Nov 2014

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The author of this novel offers a poignant but marvelous glimpse into the life of Marina Buriakov, a former docent at the Hermitage Art Museum in Leningrad during World War II, whose mind is now slipping into the shadows of Alzheimer’s.

“Dean writes with passion and compelling drama about a grotesque chapter of World War II.” (People)

“Elegant and poetic, the rare kind of book that you want to keep but you have to share.” (Isabel Allende, New York Times bestselling author of Zorro)

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One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories by B.J. Novak

06 Monday Oct 2014

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Prior to reading this book, I knew that B.J. Novak was an actor and writer on the TV show The Office (and that he grew up in Newton). I had no idea he was an author, and I was surprised and impressed by this collection of short stories. Some were stronger than others, but I really enjoyed his writing and sense of humor. I recommend the audiobook, which Novak reads along with several guest narrators including Emma Thompson, Julianne Moore, and Mindy Kaling.

*Starred Review* Novak’s high-concept, hilarious, and disarmingly commiserative fiction debut stems from his stand-up performances and his Emmy Award–winning work on the comedy series, The Office, as writer, actor, director, and executive producer. Accordingly, his more concise stories come across as brainy comedy bits, while his sustained tales covertly encompass deep emotional and psychological dimensions. An adept zeitgeist miner, Novak excels at topsy-turvy improvisations on a dizzying array of subjects, from Aesop’s fables to tabloid Elvis to our oracular enthrallment to the stock market. A master of cringe, Novak imagines a blind date with a warlord, a Comedy Central TV roast of Nelson Mandela, and a mortifying misunderstanding between mega-best-selling novelist John Grisham and his new editor. Writing with zing and humor in the spirit of Woody Allen and Steve Martin, Novak also ventures into the realm of George Saunders and David Foster Wallace. A boy wins a breakfast-cereal contest and discovers a shocking family secret. A sex robot falls in love. A man reveals the heartbreak behind the universally dreaded math problem about the two trains leaving the stations at different times. Baseline clever and fresh, at best spectacularly perceptive, and always commanding, Novak’s ingeniously ambushing stories of longing, fear, pretension, and confusion reveal the quintessential absurdities and transcendent beauty of our catch-as-catch-can lives.
–Donna Seaman, Booklist

The Orphan Train by Christine Baker Kline

10 Wednesday Sep 2014

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A poignant and heartbreaking tale of two orphaned or foster children separated in time by several generations but who share common experiences. They have both been left at a young age to fend for themselves in a grim adult world.  The lives of Vivian, a ten year old Irish immigrant girl placed on an orphan train from New York City to Minnesota in the 1930’s and of Molly, a present day Goth teenager from Maine who is maxing out of the foster care system, intersect as they both become strong and resilient women.

The historical aspect of the novel is particularly compelling. Between 1854 and 1929, the real orphan trains relocated more than 200,000 orphaned, abandoned or homeless children from large East Coast cities to foster homes in the Midwest where many of the children lived lives of indentured servitude.

In conjunction with reading the book, The Orphan Train, the reader might also be interested in viewing the PBS dvd entitled The Orphan Trains, introduced by David McCullough.

“A gem.” (Huffington Post)

“Absorbing…a heartfelt page-turner about two women finding a sense of home…Kline lets us live the characters’ experiences vividly through their skin…The growth from instinct to conscious understanding to partnership between the two is the foundation for a moving tale.” (Publishers Weekly)

“Kline draws a dramatic, emotional story from a neglected corner of American history.” (Kirkus Reviews)

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The Family Tree by Barbara Delinsky

26 Tuesday Aug 2014

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Hugh and Dana Clarke are expecting their first child.  They have a loving marriage, successful jobs and a beautiful house.  Hugh is the descendant of an ancient and illustrious New England family.  Dana is practically an orphan; her mother died tragically when she was young and her father has not been part of her life.  So, when their daughter Lizzie is born with definite African American traits, each parent looks to the other with questions.  This is a fascinating tale of genealogy, family relations, trust, mistrust and race.

“Full of complex and fascinating family dynamics as its characters are forced to come to terms with issues such as faith, race, and loyalty, Family Tree is thought provoking and memorable. . . . Delinksy will be ‘discovered’ by a new generation of readers.”—Bookpage

“Delinksy smoothly challenges characters and readers alike to confront their hidden hypocrisies.”
—Publishers Weekly

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Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill

15 Tuesday Jul 2014

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Many of us have been exposed to slave narratives from the Civil War era.  How about this one set during Revolutionary days?  Aminata Diallo is 6 years old when the traders take her from somewhere in Sierra Leone to the south in America. Eventually she finds her way to New York, is befriended and befriends the British. After the War of Independence, she is sent by the British to New Zealand and finally to the UK where she speaks for the Abolitionists.  All my instincts wanted to shout to her not to return to her Africa – her life time dream.   Not to be missed, this author gorgeously celebrates the resilience of one profound human being in the midst of a tumultuous and terribly unkind time in history.

“I found myself surprised on occasion to catch sight of Mr. Hill’s name on the cover…. He had me believing that this tale came not from the imagination and research of a 21st-century male author, but from the experience of an 18th-century African woman.” (Kim Lundstrom – Real Change)

“An inspirational novel of imaginative excellence and captivating power…. Every step of the way, Lawrence Hill offers readers a vivid portrayal of the emotional landscape that brings Aminata’s tale to life. I highly recommend reading this poignant book.” (Charles Shea LeMone – Roanoke Times)

“Astonishing in scope, humanity and beauty, this is one of those very rare novels in which the deep joy of reading transcends its time and place. Like ?To Kill a Mockingbird?, ?Someone Knows My Name? lets readers experience a life, one footstep at a time, beside an unforgettable protagonist.” (Eileen Charbonneau – Historical Novels Review)

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Longbourn by Jo Baker

02 Wednesday Jul 2014

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This new book is set in the same world as Jane Austen’s classic Pride and Prejudice, but the author re-imagines the story from the servants’ perspective, particularly the lives of a young maid and footman who fall in love. Fans of Pride and Prejudice will appreciate all the allusions, but even if you’ve never read it, Longbourn works on its own as thoughtful, well-written historical fiction.

“Longbourn is a really special book, and not only because its author writes like an angel. . . . There are some wildly sad and romantic moments; I was sobbing by the end. . . . Beautiful.” —Wendy Holden, Daily Mail (London)

“A triumph: a splendid tribute to Austen’s original but, more importantly, a joy in its own right, a novel that contrives both to provoke the intellect and, ultimately, to stop the heart.” —The Guardian (London)

“A New York Times Book Review Notable Book, a Seattle Times Best Title, a Christian Science Monitor Best Fiction Book, a Miami Herald Favorite Book, and a Kirkus Best Book of the Year”

*Starred Review* Elizabeth and Darcy take a backseat in this engrossing Austen homage, which focuses on the lives of the servants of Longbourn rather than the Bennet family. Baker’s (The Undertow, 2012) novel finds Sarah, the Bennets’ young, pretty housemaid, yearning for something more than washing soiled dresses and undergarments. The arrival of a handsome new footman, James Smith, creates quite a stir as he’s hired after a heated discussion between Mrs. Hill, the cook and head of the servants, and Mr. Bennet. Sarah isn’t sure what to make of the enigmatic new member of the household staff, but she’s soon distracted by the Bingleys’ charismatic footman, Ptolemy, who takes an interest in Sarah and regales her with his dreams of opening up a tobacco shop. Baker vividly evokes the lives of the lower classes in nineteenth-century England, from trips in the rain to distant shops to the struggles of an infantryman in the Napoleonic Wars. She takes a few liberties with Austen’s characters—Wickham’s behavior takes on a more sinister aspect here—but mostly Austen’s novel serves as a backdrop for the compelling stories of the characters who keep the Bennet household running. –Kristine Huntley for Booklist

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The Other Side of the Bridge by Mary Lawson

24 Tuesday Jun 2014

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I found myself recommending this favorite book to a patron the other day after a conversation about siblings.  Tension travels from page to page as two brothers working the family farm in northern Canada virtually despise the other and his ways.  Each day one taunts the other, cries wolf, plans pranks, needles relentlessly.   We all probably have experienced all-in-good-fun-go-suddenly-wrong… in seconds.  Siblings never let you forget ….ever.  Crow Lake is also an excellent read.   My name is already on the Holds list for her new book coming out this summer!

“Lawson’s gifts are enormous, especially her ability to write a literary work in a popular style. Her dialogue has perfect pitch, yet I’ve never read anyone better at articulating silence. Best of all, Lawson creates the most quotable images in Canadian literature.” —Toronto Star

 “[Lawson] returns to several of the themes that marked her brilliantly successful first novel, Crow Lake. . . . Lawson’s cornucopia of novelistic gifts, even more bounteously on display in her second book, includes handsome, satisfying sentences, vivid descriptions of physical work and landscape and an almost fiendish efficiency in building the feeling that something very bad is about to happen.” —National Post

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The Summer Guest by Justin Cronin

02 Friday May 2014

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Each time I opened this book I was transported to the quaint fishing camp in northwestern Maine and completely engaged in the lives of the first owner, Joe, the WWII war hero and his wife, son Joe, the Vietnam draft dodger and his girlfriend, Lucy, and finally, as their tale unravels,  what lay in store for young Kate and Jordan.  Through these characters’ lives I finally came to understand the impact and unexpected consequences of one particular guest who had spent a week or more at the camp every summer for thirty years.  Don’t wait for the summer, read it now!

 “Luminous.”—Booklist


“The Summer Guest is a jewel, the best book I’ve read in a long, long time…. By all means take it to the beach, but be warned that it’s more than entertainment – it’s a work of art. Justin Cronin has written a great American novel…. reading this novel, I couldn’t help but think of Hemingway, Andre Dubus and Wallace Stegner.”—Susan Balee, The Philadelphia Inquirer

“Here is a gifted and assured writer whose work reveals a fine sense of place and thoughtful characters who have something worth saying…. The Summer Guest is a haunting story about the way time changes us and about what endures.”—Houston Chronicle

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Homer and Langley by E.L. Doctorow

16 Wednesday Apr 2014

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9780812975635_p0_v1_s114x166Inside a 5th Avenue mansion filled with early, loving childhood memories, Homer (soon to become blind) and brother, Langley, suddenly lose both their parents to the 1918 flu. Their world shrinks and they bar the doors. Exposed to mustard gas during the war, Langley in a somewhat altered state, cares for his brother but also extravagantly collects the detritus of the city that they have shut out. This is a fascinating story about eccentricity, aloofness, and a lifetime of collecting.

“A sweeping masterpiece about the infamous New York hermits, the Collyer brothers…. Occasionally, outsiders wander through the house, exposing it as a living museum of artifacts, Americana, obscurity and simmering madness. Doctorow’s achievement is in not undermining the dignity of two brothers who share a lush landscape built on imagination and incapacities. It’s a feat of distillation, vision and sympathy.” «–Publishers Weekly

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