Brief Reviews
We do our very best to provide high-quality, in-depth reviews of current books covering a variety of topics that will interest fans of both nonfiction and fiction. While we can’t review everything, here are some current releases that the editors think are worth mentioning. We welcome recommendations from readers. If you’d like to send one to us, please click here.
NONFICTION
FORBIDDEN BREAD
By Erica Johnson Debeljak
304 pp. North Atlantic Books $15.95
Slovenia was a toddler of a country when Erica Johnson arrived there in 1993 to marry her black-haired poet lover, Aleš Debeljak. Slovenia had won its independence from Yugoslavia just two years earlier; war still raged in Croatia and Bosnia to the south. What was she thinking?
Debeljak answers that question in Forbidden Bread, her engrossing memoir about abandoning her life as a Manhattan commercial banker to move to a nascent post-communist state where most people still grew their own cabbage and considered themselves lucky to have a tiny Soviet car to drive.
She uses her own story as the backdrop for Slovenia’s story, with its tumultuous history and rich, poetry-filled culture. From her battles with power-abusing bureaucrats, to worries about bombs falling on her wedding day, to ethnic jokes and fussing in-laws, Debeljak provides layers of detail that let the reader really understand what it would be like to live in a land so foreign. This is arm-chair travel at its best—a trip to the true heart of a country. (Reviewed by Gilion Dumas)
THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT:
A Memoir
By Diana Welch and Liz Welch
352 pp. Harmony $24.99
The Kids Are All Right is a memoir in four-part harmony. Four sibling voices combine to make this memoir particularly poignant: bold, brash Amanda; considerate, responsible Liz; troubled, rebellious Dan; and shy, insecure Diana. The result is a comprehensive family tale—sad, but ultimately, triumphant.
The kids are “all right” until the fateful night in 1983 when their father dies in a car crash, leaving considerable debt, along with questions about his death—was it an accident or murder? Their mother, famed soap star Ann Williams, deep in grief, is forced to sell their home and move the children to a house that strains to hold the family of five.
Then Williams is diagnosed with cancer, and the children take care of their progressively ailing mother—cooking, cleaning, and shopping squeezed in during after-school hours. The weakened family foundation finally crumbles when Williams dies and the children, ranging in age from seven to nineteen, are dispersed to live with separate families, an arrangement planned by Williams before her death.
This memoir pieces together the fragments of their lives and shares the good, the bad, and the ugly with the honesty and strength of survivors. Growing up is never easy. Growing up orphaned, harder still. But all four Welch children make it to productive adulthood. The kids are indeed all right. Tough to put down, and tougher still to forget. (Reviewed by Ruth Douillette)
LOSING CONFIDENCE:
Power, Politics and the Crisis in Canadian Democracy
By Elizabeth May
280 pp. McClelland & Stewart $16.85
Most Americans know almost nothing about Canadian politics. They’d be horrified to learn that our neighbors manage to make of their democracy at least as much of a mess as we do ours, complete with violent disagreements that leave them as much at odds as we are. This book could help us start learning what’s up in the Great White North.
Elizabeth May, Canada’s Green party leader, is far from a neutral observer, but I doubt that an unbiased person exists in Canada. You think U. S. political parties are in disarray? So are Canada’s, and they have a lot more of them than we do—at least five that actually count, plus the hulking Bloc Quebecois. May passionately argues for the building of a coalition of left-wing parties that might oust the ruling Conservatives and dislodge Stephen Harper, the prime minister a majority cordially hates.
She rails against a government she believes is controlled by corporations and bought media pundits: “Money means influence and power. Money dictates winners and losers.” Sound familiar? Reading May’s book made me peruse the Canadian newspapers online, and I’ve found out a lot more. Whether you’re Green, liberal, progressive, conservative, or whatever, her book is a fine primer for anyone who wants to begin to learn about Canadian politics. Since Canada sells us more than twice as much oil than does Saudi Arabia, perhaps we should know a little about the place. (Reviewed by Carter Jefferson)
FICTION
THE EMBERS
By Hyatt Bass
304 pp. Henry Holt $25
The Embers is a portrait of the Ascher family that depicts the influence family as a whole has on its members. Each life story is tangled in the context of the family’s larger tale; each personality is shaped within the family mold. And is this not the way of all families? It is to Bass’s credit that her first novel declares this truth so poignantly.
Bass introduces the Aschers as Emily prepares for her wedding. Her mother Laura is divorced and remarried, her father Joe is an alcoholic, her brother Thomas is dead, and Emily will be married on the site where his ashes are scattered.
Alternating flashback chapters fill in the years when Laura, an aspiring actress, married an actor-playwright and gave up her career when the children were young. These were the years the family looked solid, but Bass expertly foreshadows subtle cracks that will grow larger and more obvious until the marriage falters then fails.
Misunderstandings and lack of communication weaken the family ties. Thomas’s illness is a precipitating factor, and his death is the point of no return, although even at the end no one knows the truth of Thomas’s death except guilt-ridden Joe. The family remains broken, but understanding and forgiveness come in time for Emily to dare to step into her own marriage.
Those wanting a fast-paced plot won’t find it; The Embers is a character driven tale. The characters themselves are not altogether likable and are a bit stereotyped, but the larger theme of family’s imprint upon its members carries the story easily. (Reviewed by Ruth Douillette)
SWEET MARY
By Liz Balmaseda
256 pp. Atria $24.95
Find a comfy couch in front of a fireplace and jump into Sweet Mary. Two-time Pulitzer prize winning author Liz Balmaseda tells the fast-paced story of Maria Guevara, a top real estate agent in South Florida, willing to do what it takes to make sales, including twirling around a stripper pole. She’s Mom to her son Max and is the underappreciated success in her Cuban family of origin.
Living the good life, Mary’s ready to buy the house of her dreams, until she becomes the victim of mistaken identity. DEA agents believe she’s the head of a notorious drug ring and parade her out of her home in handcuffs and chains. Her arrest means she’s put on leave from her job, her ex-husband wins temporary custody of her son, and her reputation in the community is seriously damaged. After time in jail, Maria is released, but not truly cleared. She must find Mary Patillo, the actual drug lord, to save her name and rescue her son.
Maria contacts her first love to ask for help. Within minutes of seeing him, she knows she still has feelings for him. Thus the themes of personal ruin, child custody, romance, and life-threatening adventure are in place.
The author pushes readers’ willingness to suspend belief to its outer limits and perhaps a little beyond, but the characters are so wonderfully developed we don’t particularly care.
Mix another mango sour, Sweet Mary’s signature drink, and hold on for a wild ride. (Reviewed by Karyn Hall)
TIERRA RED
By Kathy Vorenberg
428 pp. Outskirts Press $21.95
The title of Kathy Vorenberg’s debut novel, Tierra Red, doesn’t come from the blood soaking into the land, but from a Spanish phrase that translates as Land Snare. But in this fast-moving tale of love, greed, and violence in the New Mexico Territory of the 1890s, the title could well refer to puddles of corpuscles. Lord knows, blood flows.
However one interprets the title, this yarn centers around Lily Preston, a beautiful and independent woman who had better be tough to survive all the treachery that besets her. At the heart of the plot is a set of forged land grants through which conniving malefactors plan to control vast stretches of New Mexico. Lily is plunked in the middle of brewing trouble when she arrives in Las Cruces and learns that her betrothed is—how shall I put this?—a disappointment. Not that her own father is any better, the rat. His last name is Vandermeer, and Lily refuses to even keep the name, opting instead for Preston. The characters don’t have great depth, being in large measure either honorable or rotten, but this isn’t a character-driven story. For Lily there is a puzzle to solve, a man to fall in love with, and death to cheat. Along the way, readers taste a good deal of the flavor of the old southwest.
The author modeled Lily after the Gibson Girls, the idealized version of the American woman of the 1890s. In fact, Vorenberg’s inspiration for Tierra Red came from the Gibson Girl member of her large doll collection.
Part romance, part mystery, part historical novel, Tierra Red will appeal to a wide range of readers. It’s well researched, generally well written—though a bit melodramatic at times—and above all, it’s an easy and fun summer read. Vorenberg ends the story with enough untied threads that readers will demand a sequel. (Reviewed by Bob Sanchez)
KILLER CAREER
By Morgan Mandel
300 pp. One Choice Publishing $13.95
There’s something a little creepy when the main character of a murder mystery bears your name. But I have to admit that I definitely wanted to read all about smart, sexy Julie McGuire, a burned-out attorney who really wants to be a writer. More creepiness—I work for lawyers and want to be a writer.
Julie decides that she is going to forego her career and pursue her passion for writing. She attends a writer’s conference where she is charmed by her idol, best-selling author Tyler Jenson. And Jenson is equally captivated by Ms. McGuire. Her law partner—they’re just friends—Dade Donovan isn’t too happy about the attention that Julie is getting from the author. As Julie learns that Jenson does much more than just write about murder, and Dade realizes his feelings for his partner, the reader is treated to a fast-paced murder mystery, and sweet love.
Mandel is a fine writer, with a great sense of character, timing, and setting (Mandel’s Chicago is its own unique character). Her third novel, Killer Career, is perfect for those who’ve read one too many downers lately. (Reviewed by Julie McGuire)
Mail this page