Last Tattered Cover Post!
By Kristen on Apr 1, 2008 in Book Club Favorites, Future Classics...?
Here is the sixth installment of Tattered Cover’s recommended titles for book clubs from last year. If you are interested in reading the first five, either go to the Book Club Favorites category, or scroll down to the links at the bottom of this post. I’m particularly excited about this week’s offerings since one of my favorites from last year is included.
Beneath a Marble Sky by John Shors
From Tattered Cover: Award-winning Colorado author John Shors takes us back to 1632, the height of the Mughal Empire in India. There, distraught from the loss of his wife, empress, and true love, Emperor Shah Jahan orders that a grand building and mausoleum, the Taj Mahal, be built in her honor. The story is told by their daughter Princess Jahanara, who describes the fateful events surrounding the buildings completion including her own escape from an arranged marriage, the betrayal by her brother, and near ruination of the empire.
I heard so much about this work last year, and meant to read it so many times, that I’m surprised I never actually did. Here is Tattered Cover’s take: On Beauty is the story of two families, the Belseys and the Kipps, on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean and the political spectrum. The fathers are academic rivals in the field of art history. Howard Belsey, husband, father, professor, is floundering in his career and his marriage. Kiki Belsey, wife and mother, knows herself and her family to the core. Their three almost-grown children are Jerome, a student at Brown, in love with the Kipps’ daughter; Zora, an academic go-getter with plenty of energy for any cause she supports; and Levi, the adolescent, struggling to find his place more in the inner city than in his family’s pristine Boston suburb. Winner of the 2006 Orange Prize, On Beauty could fairly be defined as reflections on spouses, on siblings, on parents, on teachers, on students, on friends.
Once Upon a Day by Lisa Tucker
Never heard of this one, but Tattered Cover’s summary sounds interesting: After his wife’s death, a father takes his children from busy Los Angeles to rural New Mexico. There, he builds a sanctuary area where they live. He gives them books, encyclopedias, records, and a piano, but chooses to keep the real world and technology like TV, newspaper, and radio out of their lives. The children, Dorthea and Jimmy, grow up sheltered until Jimmy decides to run away. At 19, Dorthea leaves the sanctuary to search for her brother. This is where her voyage of discovery begins. It is an interesting story and the characters are compelling. It will bring up many discussion points of what if?
Digging to America by Anne Tyler
If you haven’t read this one, please do! It was one of my very favorites from last year, and even if you aren’t a huge fan of Tyler’s quirky, complex Baltimore families, I suggest you give this one a try. The plot follows the experience of two couples (originally strangers) who adopt girls from Korea who arrive on the same day. The couples become friends and Tyler charts their very different experiences of becoming parents, as well as the development of two girls. Beautifully written, as always, and great for discussion!
The Hummingbird’s Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea
Tattered Cover’s review has me hooked: Luis Alberto Urrea grew up hearing family stories of Tia Teresita, the “flying Yaqui aunt,” who lived at the turn of the century in Mexico. He thought they were legends, but in researching her background, he found that many in Mexico still revere her and her power. This novel is based on Teresita’s life, from becoming a healer to finding her destiny as Mexico begins its revolution. Urrea’s fiction has been compared to that of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. This novel is passionate and mesmerizing.
Love and Other Impossible Pursuits by Ayelet Waldman
Great title… Here’s Tattered Covers take: Emila, on the surface, has everything: a degree from Harvard, a marriage to her soul mate, a home on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. But she also has a stepson, William, and Jack’s ex-wife, the overly protective, overly critical Carolyn. This is enough to make any family dysfunctional. Emila takes charge of William every Wednesday, only to find that the joys of step-parenting seem to be non-existent. When Emila and Jack’s newborn daughter succumbs to SIDS, Emila is inconsolable and the Wednesdays with William become impossible. As she wallows in self-pity, her husband withdraws to his work. Only after making an effort to bond with William does Emila finally begin to heal.
Second Language by Ronna Wineberg
A collection of short stories with a reading guide available at RonnaGroup@aol.com. Short stories are a great pick during the holidays, when we’re all a little short on time.
Apex Hides the Hurt by Colson Whitehead
The second novel by the author of The Intuitionist, the author has won a MacArthur Genius Grant and has been nominated for a National Book Award (for John Henry Days). Apex is about a name consultant who is brought to the town of Whinthrop to help them find a new name. I think it’s time to check this writer out…
Around the Next Corner by Elizabeth Wrenn
Here’s one for the dog lovers!! Colorado author Elizabeth Wrenn writes with humor and understanding the plight of Deena Munger, who feels like an obsolete mother and wife. With her marriage disintegrating and her children almost grown, she wants something more. She decides to raise a dog for K-9 Eyes for the Blind. Enter Heloise, a rambunctious yellow Lab puppy. With all the pitfalls and problems of dog training, Deena not only succeeds, she finds herself (Tattered Covers).
Next week… Best Book Club Books from Book Lust’s Nancy Pearl.
Happy April!
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