A Beautiful Story About Isolation

I know.  The title to this blog post sounds a bit off.  But pick up a copy of Ten White Geese by Gerbrand Bakker and see if you don't agree with me.  This story, orginally published in Dutch, is finally being made available here in the US in late February.  It already has quite a following, being an international bestseller.

We find Emilie, an Emily Dickinson scholar who has fled her husband in Amsterdam, settling in a remote farmhouse in Wales.  She has admitted to an affair, but the reader will quickly get the sense that there is more to her escape.  The farmhouse does not have many amenities.  And, as you may have guessed, there are ten white geese on the property.  Emilie makes the best of her situation, though loneliness creeps in at times and the reader sees her through her worst moments.

She does meet a few people along the way.  Rhys Jones has a history with the property and stops in whenever he likes.  There is also what Emilie describes as a young boy who stumbles upon Emilie while he is surveying the land.  We find that there is more to these characters, the same as with Emilie. 

Emilie's husband is left in Amsterdam (with her parents) wondering why his wife has decided to completely leave him.  He is almost arrested after a truly odd moment at Emilie's university and befriends the police officer who speaks to him.  Together, they look to find out the truth behind the disappearance.

There is so much going on in this little book that it's impossible to get through it all.  Emilie's story is beautifully written and told.  I am always skeptical when a male author tries to write about a female protagonist but Bakker has done a wonderful job. 

You may also wish to pick up Bakker's first book, The Twin, which was also an international bestseller.

A History of the Present Illness

I just finished A History of the Present Illness: Stories by Louise Aronson, due out later this month.  Wow.  This is a fantastic debut work of fiction by a very talented author.  Aronson not only holds an MFA from the Warren Wilson College Program for Writers but also an MD from Harvard.  That is talent on another level.

The stories are centered in the hospitals, nursing homes, neighborhoods, and sights around San Francisco.  We follow the lives of random individuals affected by disease in different ways.  The elderly deal with the loss of freedom.  Doctors and nurses come to terms with the horrific things they see day in and day out and the cost of making a mistake.  Medical students make the tough decision of becoming a doctor or having the luxury of not being on call 24/7. 

I was intrigued and a bit nervous going in to this one.  Would the book be too technical?  I am not exactly an expert on medical procedures.  Fear not as Aronson writes with beautiful clarity and focuses on the human struggle of patients as well as doctors and nurses.  I found myself re-reading passages which is a rarity.

"Becoming a Doctor" is a particular interesting tale of a young woman going through her medical training.  She details her relationships with the members of her class.  The mix of compassion, competition, understanding, and sexism show how truly difficult it is to train for this profession.  "Lucky You" shows us an extremely talented medical student who, despite being perhaps the most worthy of her group, drops out of med school and spends her days walking dogs.  Her reaction to an accident shows why she may have made the right decision.  "Vital Signs Stable" is a heartbreaking story of a family making a decision about its matriarch. 

Aronson has written a beautiful selection of short stories that are sure to make you think.  It will stick with you long after you finish the final page.

Debut Novels for Coffee By the Book

We recently finished our fourth meeting of Coffee By the Book at Bailiwicks Coffee Company!  This month's title was Turn of Mind by Alice LaPlante.

This book group is focused on debut authors.  Many of the titles are quirky and may have flown under your radar.  Past titles have included Bed, The Night Circus, and The Family Fang.  But what other titles have we considered or are considering?  Glad you asked!  Here are just a few:

Taft 2012 by Jason Heller- This is a hilarious look at modern politics through the eyes of a recently returned William Howard Taft.

The Light Between Oceans by ML Stedman- A heartbreaking and beautifully written debut.

The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson- Seriously.  How could you not want to read this one with a title like that?

In Between Days by Andrew Porter- This one offers more depth than your typical dysfunctional family fare.

The Dinner by Herman Koch- This one is not out in the U.S., but I did get an opportunity to read an advance copy.  Similar to We Need to Talk About Kevin but excecuted better, in my opinion.

The Story of a Marriage by Andrew Sean Greer- This is a very lyrical story about a couple having to deal with a devastating secret.

Join us on February 21 at Bailiwicks from 6:00-7:00 when we will discuss The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown.  Copies will be available at the Tiffin-Seneca Public Library.  Email maych@oplin.org if you have any questions.

Too Bright to Hear Too Loud to See

Juliann Garey has written a powerful debut novel in Too Bright to Hear Too Loud to See.  The story centers on a film executive, Greyson Todd, and his struggle with bipolar disorder.  Disclaimer: This is a terrific novel, however, it can be a difficult read at times due to the subject matter.

The "story" takes place during Todd's twelve shock therapy sessions.  Many of his memories, specifically painful ones, will be erased, or perhaps it's more appropriate to say they will be hidden.  He relives his ups and downs from his entire life, but everything revolves around one specific moment: the day he walked out on his wife and young daughter in the middle of the night, never to return.

We find interesting tidbits from Greyson's childhood, with much of it being what you might expect.  His extremely successful career is outlined, as well as his resulting emptyness from it.  Greyson spends much of his post-family time wandering around abroad.  I don't want to give away too much, but the reader can certainly feel his many ups and downs.

I was especially pleased with the ending to this debut.  My nerves were working as I got close to the end, but Garey does a magnificent job of concluding Todd's story.

Check Out Our New Readers' Advisory Page!

We recently updated our Readers' Advisory page on the Tiffin-Seneca Public Library website!  There is a little bit of everything on this page that you can use to find books that suit your personal interests.

Links to social networking sites LibraryThing and Goodreads are available.  Use these sites to catalog your books as well as to write reviews and have conversations with other book lovers.  There are links to major book awards like the National Book Awards and Man Booker Prizes.  We also give you other book links tailored to help you find interesting titles.  Fantastic Fiction is a great website to find series information (specifically, the order of titles in a series), author information, and publication date info.  ReadingGroupGuides.com is exactly what you are thinking; a wealth of book discussion guides to ensure your next book group meeting is the best!

Our personal Goodreads page and Readers' Corner blog are listed here.  Find out what we have been reading and what we thought about each title.  If you are looking for book lists, you're in luck!  BookLetters offers multiple monthly lists that are delivered straight to your Inbox!  Finally, we have included print titles available in the library on series and genre information.

Use these terrific resources to find your next great read!

A Land More Kind Than Home

Children are extremely curious about the world around them.  If an adult tells them, "You're not supposed to go there," guess what, they are immediately heading to the forbidden area.  They are also always wondering what those adults are doing all day.

Wiley Cash's extraordinary debut novel A Land More Kind Than Home shows how a child's curiosity leads to disaster.  Young Jess Hall and his mute brother, Christopher, like spying on people.  They watch their father working in the barn.  They watch their mother hanging laundry.  But when Christopher sees something he shouldn't, and gets caught, the consequences throw the whole family into a dire situation.

I really like how Cash chose to tell this story.  He alternates first person narrators between Jess, local midwife Adelaide, and the sherrif Clem.  They each bring their own particular knowledge about the main characters.  But the story also involves a local preacher who uses less than conventional methods of getting locals involved in his church.  This is the character you will want to read about in this debut novel.  I had the immediate feeling that there was more to him than what the locals knew about, but his story is sure to astound. 

Two questions come out of this story:  What would you do if you saw something you weren't supposed to see and got caught in the act?  More importantly, if you were on the other end and wanted to keep it a secret, how far would you go to make sure it never gets out?  Find out how Jess, Adelaide and Clem deal with these questions.  And don't forget that we will be discussing this book at the April 4 meeting of the Let's Talk About It book group.

Costa Book Awards

The Costa Book Awards, based in the UK, is a very prestigious honor for any writer.  The 2012 award winners were recently announced and will be recognized at a ceremony in London later this month.  Since 1971, the awards have recognized writers in five categories: Novel, Biography, First Novel (you know my love of debut novels), Poetry, and Children's Book.

This year is especially notable as the winner of each category is a female author.  Hilary Mantel won in the Novel category for Bringing Up the Bodies.  You may remember Mantel for her extremely popular 2010 title, Wolf Hall.  Francesca Segal takes home the prize in the New Novel category with her debut, The Innocents.  I have to admit that I have not read this debut, yet, which is based upon Wharton's The Age of Innocence.  If you have read it, I would love to hear your thoughts.

Mary Talbot won the Biography award for Dotter of Her Father's Eyes.  This is the first graphic work to ever win a Costa.  The Poetry award went to Kathleen Jamie for The Overhaul and Sally Gardner won the Children's Book award for Maggot Moon.

Check out the Costa Book Awards website for more information.

Mallory's Everest Obsession

Above All Things, a historical novel about George Mallory's third attempt to reach the summit of Mount Everest,  by Tanis Rideout, is due out in February.  I was able to obtain an advanced copy by the publisher and just finished this impressive debut novel.

"Because it's there."  That is George Mallory's explanation to a reporter as to why he is determined to venture to Everest for a third attempt.  He sees it as a challenge that only he can meet.  While this story obviously details Mallory's third ascent and what might have taken place, the bulk of the story is really about his relationship with his wife, Ruth.  Mallory promised her that he would not make another attempt after returning from a disastrous second trip.  But the opportunity to be the first person to climb to the peak is too great, leading Mallory to break his promise to his wife.

This book shows us an important lesson when it comes to obsession.  It can hurt those around you and, ultimately, can destroy you in the process.  We are shown vignettes of Ruth's time spent with her children, telling them that their father is strong enough to make it home.  Some of these scenes are so heartbreaking because we see the hope that Ruth holds on to, but we also know what the end result will ultimately be.  We also follow George as he struggles to climb to the peak and realizing that he has let his family down.  This highly emotional story is told with compassion and grace, but it is also told in a way to teach the reader a lesson not only about Mallory but about ourselves.

Most Anticipated Books of 2013

2013 is finally here and with it comes a crop of new books!  I have been seeing quite a few lists making the rounds of the most anticipated books of the new year and I wanted to share some of those with you.

BookPage has their list of the 20 most anticipated titles.  I'm intrigued by a few of these, namely The Love Song of Jonny Valentine and Schroder.  The Huffington Post has a terrific list of potential 2013 blockbusters.  NPR has some great info on 2013 releases as well as their favorite books from 2012.  Publishers Weekly always has new book announcements, too.

For a look back at 2012, check out the New York Times 10 Best Books of 2012.

There are several titles I cannot wait to read in 2013.  I am currently reading an advance copy of Ten White Geese by Gerbrand Bakker.  This title was actually published in 2010, but this is the first English translation.  I just finished reading A History of the Present Illness by Louise Aronson, slated for a late January release.  A full review of this will be published here soon, but I will tell you now that I was very impressed with this short story collection.  The Dinner by Herman Koch will be available in English for the first time later this year.  You should definitely put that on your list as it does not disappoint.  It is along the lines of The Good Father and We Need to Talk About Kevin, but this one had a bit more substance.  The Unchangeable Spots of Leopards, due for a late March release, is one of the best debut novels I have read in some time.  This could be an addition to the Coffee By the Book series later this year.

What books are you looking forward to in 2013?