Blog Post
Fabulous Fiction Firsts #263
by muffy
Touch *, Alexi Zentner's debut is set in Sawgamet, a north woods boomtown gone bust, where the cold of winter breaks the glass of the schoolhouse thermometer, and the dangers of working in the cuts are overshadowed by the mysteries and magic lurking in the woods. Stephen, a pastor, is at home on the eve of his mother's funeral, thirty years after the mythic summer his grandfather returned to the town in search of his beloved but long-dead wife. And like his grandfather, Stephen is forced to confront the losses of his past.
"Touch introduces you to a world where monsters and witches oppose singing dogs and golden caribou, where the living and the dead part and meet again in the crippling beauty of winter and the surreal haze of summer."
It brings to mind another powerful debut Three Day Road by fellow Canadian Joseph Boyden. It is a stunning tale of brutality, survival, and rebirth set in Northern Ontario where Niska, an Oji-Cree medicine woman journeyed to retrieve Xavier Bird, her only relation, who has returned from the trenches of Europe, gravely wounded and addicted to morphine.
Sharron Smith, a librarian who knows everything Canadian (mostly books and authors), also suggests Gil Adamson's The Outlander as a readalike for its setting (wilderness); the suspense (the deadly pursuit of a young woman accused of murder); the style (slow and lyrical unfolding of the storyline); and the elements of magical realism.
* = Starred review
Blog Post
Fabulous Fiction Firsts #262
by muffy
After the second ice age, America Pacifica is one of the last habitable places and it is the only home that 18 year-old Darcy ever known. The island is ruled by a mysterious dictator named Tyson where education, food and the basic means of survival are strictly rationed and controlled by the "chosen" few.
Darcy lives a hand-to-mouth existence with her mother Sarah, a pearl diver by trade, in a leaky apartment. When Sarah disappears, Darcy embarks on a quest to find her. Along the way, Darcy learns about her island home's history, the secrets her mother guarded fiercely, and the same secrets that now put Darcy in mortal danger.
In Anna North's richly imagined debut novel set in the near future, she chooses to downplay the "science" aspects in favor of a more naturalist and realistic narrative, from the perspective of a likable heroine who is plucky and resourceful as she is melancholic and vulnerable. "An entertaining, stylishly written doomsday novel."
Readers looking for a readalike to Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games might find Darcy a new protagonist to root for.
Fans of post-apocalyptic dystopian, global-disaster survival story might also enjoy the Flood series by Stephen Baxter.
Blog Post
Fabulous Fiction Firsts #261
by muffy
Amanda Hodgkinson's debut 22 Britannia Road * is "... (a) tour de force that echoes modern classics like Suite Francaise and The Postmistress". It is an eloquent, heart-wrenching account of one couple's struggle to reunite as a family after devastating wartime experiences.
When Janusz Nowak brings his wife and young son to the little house at 22 Britannia Road (Ipswich), they meet again after years of separation, almost as strangers. When Germany invaded Warsaw in 1939 Janusz enlisted, leaving Silvana and Aurek living lean and rough in the forest with other survivors. Finally liberated, they hope desperately for a fresh start as a family, only to find that their reunion is marred by mistrust, guilty secrets and things they thought they had left behind.
"Hodgkinson enters boldly into well-trodden, sensitive territory and distinguishes herself with freshness and empathy". A stellar example of literary WWII fiction.
Amanda Hodgkinson will be at Nicola Books, for reading and signing on May 12th.
* = Starred review
Blog Post
Fabulous Fiction Firsts #260
by muffy
The title of both Steve Earle's new album and debut novel I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive * is taken from the Hank Williams song by the same name - his last single released during his lifetime. On January 1,1953 on the way to a concert, Williams suffered a fatal heart attack. He was only 29.
The novel opens in 1963 with Doc Ebersole, haunted by guilt (he is rumored to have given his good friend Hank the fatal morphine dose), wracked by addiction (morphine), a habit he supports by performing illegal abortions and other services in the seedy neighborhood of South San Antonio. Then he meets Graciela, a young Mexican immigrant in need of his services, and miraculous things begin to happen. Though Graciela sustains a wound on her wrist that never heals, she could heals others with the touch of her hand, even Doc.
Veteran singer-songwriter-actor, and author of an earlier collection of short stories Doghouse Roses, Steve Earle writes about what his knows, from his hometown of San Antonio, the music industry, to the hard & fast life on the road - morphine, mortality and once in a great while if luck would have it, miracles.
Check out Steve's tour dates this spring/summer to promote the album and the novel. He will be playing at The Majestic Theater in Detroit on July 30th, 2011.
* = Starred review
Blog Post
Fabulous Fiction Firsts #259
by muffy
Who could resist a love story?
The Story of Beautiful Girl, Rachel Simon's fiction debut comes on the heel of her well-received memoir - Riding the Bus with My Sister: A True Life Journey, that chronicles the year-long series of bus journeys through a Pennsylvania city alongside her mentally disabled sister and the lessons she learned. It has been adapted for a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie, starring Rosie O'Donnell and Andie MacDowell.
Her novel is the love story between a developmentally disabled young white woman and a deaf African American that span 40 years, despite insurmountable obstacles. On a rainy night in 1968, Lynnie Goldberg and Homan Wilson escaped from The School for the Incurable and Feebleminded, and found short-lived refuge with a retired schoolteacher, Martha. When Lynnie was being recaptured, Homan fled, leaving Martha to care for their infant daughter delivered in her attic. Over the next 40 years, Lynnie and Homan never stopped searching for each other.
While the description of life for the institutionalized is bleak and heartbreaking, one is sustained by the overwhelming love and faith between Lynnie and Homan, and the fortuitous (and inspiring) kindness of strangers.
For other titles about the developmentally disabled, try Like Normal People by Karen E. Bender and Small Victories : a novel by Sallie Bingham.
Blog Post
Fabulous Fiction Firsts #258
by muffy
In Jael McHenry's The Kitchen Daughter Ginny Selvaggio, a young woman living with Asperger's syndrome, in the attic of her family's enormous and historic home must learn to care for herself with her parents' unexpected death. Now her yuppie sister, Amanda wants to sell the house. Grieving Ginny retreats into her obsession with cooking, and at the wake, a batch of her Nonna's ribollita conjures up not only rich aroma and old family secrets, but also a ghost or two.
McHenry's debut novel is a "sensitive and realistic portrait of someone living with Asperger's,... (and) a touching tale about loss and grief, love and acceptance".
The author is an amateur cook who grew up in Michigan and Iowa. She now lives in New York, blogging about food and cooking at the Simmer blog.
Fans of foodie/culinary-themed Women's Fiction are no doubt familiar with Erica Bauermeister's The School of Essential Ingredients, Melissa Senate's The Love Goddess' Cooking School, and the lovely (and ghostly/magical) confections of Sarah Addison Allen.
Also hot-off-the-press in this genre are: Friendship Bread by Darien Gee (Pub. April 2011) and (audio) The Provence Cure for the Brokenhearted: A Novel by Bridget Asher (Pub. March 2011).
Blog Post
Fabulous Fiction Firsts #257
by muffy
In Paul Elwork's atmospheric debut The Girl Who Would Speak for the Dead * 13 year-old twins Emily and Michael Stewart, privileged, precocious and orphaned from the Great War are allowed to roam aimlessly around their family's estate along the Delaware River until one day Emily discovers a special "gift" that they take to fool the neighborhood children as "spirit knockings".
Somehow this game of contacting the dead catches on with adults reeling from loss and grief, desperate to believe in life after death. In the meantime, Emily is trying to piece together her own family's history, reaching back to plantation life in Virginia, and discovering family secrets planted along the way.
Loosely based on true events from the early 20th century, this "subtle and moving portrayal of people in the grip of powerful emotions that overwhelm rational thinking will haunt readers long after they put the book down." "Family secrets, a love triangle, and a duplicitous magician add to the darkening atmosphere of a thought-provoking novel that blurs the boundaries between faith and trickery."
* = starred review
Blog Post
Fabulous Fiction Firsts #256
by muffy
Harvard grad Edward Conlon is a former detective with the New York City Police Department. His memoir Blue Blood (2004) was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award; a New York Times Notable Book; and has been adapted into a popular television series.
His highly anticipated debut novel Red on Red * * * * tells the story of two NYPD detectives, Meehan and Esposito and their fierce and unlikely friendship. One damaged and introspective, the other ambitious and unscrupulous, they nevertheless prove to be complimentary and a successful team working the rough Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, handling gritty crimes of suicides, rapes, gang wars, and the disappearance of a troubled Catholic schoolgirl who is a mystery in her own right.
A potent mix of strong story line, police jargon, crisp dialog, black humor, with complicated romances thrown in for good measure, makes this a captivating thrill ride. A readalike for Lou Manfredo's Rizzo's War (and its follow-up Rizzo's Fire), and gritty police/crime thrillers of Joseph Wambaugh, George Pelecanos, and Dennis Lehane.
* * * * = starred reviews
Blog Post
Fabulous Fiction Firsts # 255
by muffy
Rebecca Rasmussen's masterfully written debut novel The Bird Sisters * is full of hope and beauty, heartbreak and sacrifice, love and the power of sisterhood, and offers wonderful surprises at every turn.
Elderly spinster sisters, known around Spring Green, Wisconsin for their interest in "bird repair" look back on their lives spent in the same house, and especially the summer of 1947. Then, sweet Milly was known as a great beauty, and Twiss a brazen wild child who never wore a dress or did what she was told. It was the summer of the accident that ended their father's prospects as a golf pro; their mother's despair of her reduced circumstances; the local priest ran off to Mexico as a loss of faith; and Asa, the young man who played a part in their adolescence awakening . More importantly, it was the summer of Bett, their older cousin whose visit forever changed their lives.
"Achingly authentic and almost completely character driven, ...this wistful but wise story is enchanting and timeless. A splendid choice for those searching for literary coming-of-age novels".
While novels about sisters abound, this is, nevertheless a welcomed addition.
* = starred review
Blog Post
Fabulous Fiction Firsts #254
by muffy
There are FFFs that you are determined to hand-sell every chance you get, and then there are some you want to shout "You don't want to miss this!". Guilt by Association : a novel * * * is just such a debut (out mid April).
First, there is the author. A former L.A. Deputy District Attorney, the lead prosecutor in the O.J. Simpson murder case, Marcia Clark is the author of Without a Doubt (1997) her memoir of the trial.
Next, there is the story. Los Angeles D.A. Rachel Knight is a tenacious, wise-cracking, and fiercely intelligent prosecutor. When her colleague, Jake Pahlmeyer is found shot to death in a sleazy motel along with a 17-year-old boy, she must take over his toughest case: the rape of the teenage daughter from a prominent family. Though having been warned-off by the top brass against delving into Jake's death, Rachel teams up with LAPD Detective Bailey Keller to pursue both cases, risking not only her career but also her life.
And then, there is the writing. "Marcia Clark combines intimate detail, riotous humor, and visceral action" in a real twisty, top-notched legal thriller.
For fans of Linda Fairstein and Meg Gardiner. Maximum girl power.
* * * = Starred reviews