Deacon King Kong by James McBride

28 Sunday Jun 2020

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in 20th century, Fiction, Historical Fiction

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20th century, crimes against, deacons, drug dealers, neighborhoods, New York (N.Y.), public housing, social life and customs

Set in a Brooklyn neighborhood in 1969, this novel follows a large cast of characters, all of whom are connected in some way. The main one is Sportcoat, an older widower who drinks too much and mourns his late wife, along with his friends, members of his church, local criminals, police officers, and more. This book is really funny and well written, with surprisingly emotional moments too. I grew to love all of the characters, no matter how flawed each one is.

“Much is unpacked by the time the book reaches its lovely and heartfelt climax, as McBride shows what can happen when people set aside their differences. Highly recommended.” —Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW

“McBride has a flair for fashioning comedy whose buoyant outrageousness barely conceals both a steely command of big and small narrative elements and a river-deep supply of humane intelligence. An exuberant comic opera set to the music of life.” —Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW

“While historical fiction fans will appreciate the richly detailed approach to Brooklyn’s grittiness, McBride’s neighborhood saga ultimately sets a new standard for multidimensional fiction about people of color.” —Booklist, STARRED REVIEW

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Travel Light, Move fast by Alexandra Fuller

10 Tuesday Dec 2019

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in Biography, memoir, Non-fiction

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Africa, British family, fathers, history 1960-1985, mothers and daughters, social life and customs, Zimbabwe

This is her 4^th memoir about her eccentric English family growing up in Africa. I recommend all the earlier ones: Don’t Lets Go to the Dogs Tonight, Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness, and Leaving Before the Rains Come. This one is her good-by to her father. Try them all. Gutsy, humorous, not a bit sentimental.

“Travel Light, Move Fast is a sensitive, meticulously wrought portrait of one family’s sometimes-challenging dynamics, set against an unforgiving African backdrop. Fuller’s beautiful prose juxtaposes the grieving process with the lessons she learned from the man whose adventures shaped her.” —BookPage

“[Fuller’s] family remains endlessly fascinating and delightful companions for long-time readers and new ones alike. . . A gorgeously written tribute to a life well lived and the resilience of the human spirit in the face of unimaginable loss and grief.” — Booklist, starred review

“[Fuller] sifted through a lifetime of memories in order to pen this celebration of the man whose profound influence helped shape her own worldview. [She]writes gracefully about embracing grief as an indelible part of the human experience. Another elegant memoir from a talented storyteller.” — Kirkus Reviews

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Small Fry: a Memoir by Lisa Brennan-Jobs

04 Friday Jan 2019

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in 20th century, Biography, memoir, Non-fiction, United States

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Brennan-Lisa Jobs (1978 - ), children of single parents, father and daughters, mothers and daughters, Northern California, Santa Clara Valley (CA), single parent families, social life and customs, Steve Jobs (1955-2011)

A tender coming of age story about a young girl trying to reconcile two very different lifestyles between her mother and father….. who just happens to be Steve Jobs. This is not a celebrity biography. She is true to her young voice throughout plus you will fall in love with her snapshots of 1970’s-80’s northern California.

“Entrancing… Brennan-Jobs is a deeply gifted writer… Her inner landscape is depicted in such exquisitely granular detail that it feels as if no one else could have possibly written it. Indeed, it has that defining aspect of a literary work: the stamp of a singular sensibility… Beautiful, literary, and devastating.”―New York Times Book Review

“Brennan-Jobs skillfully relays her past without judgement… staying true to her younger self. It is a testament to her fine writing and journalistic approach that her memoir never turns maudlin or gossipy. Rather than a celebrity biography, this is Brennan-Jobs’s authentic story of growing up in two very different environments, neither of which felt quite like home.”―Booklist (starred review)

“Brennan-Jobs’s narrative is tinged with awe, yearning, and disappointment… Bringing the reader into the heart of the child who admired Jobs’s genius, craved his love, and feared his unpredictability.”―Publishers Weekly (starred review)

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