Small books can leave big impressions

IMG_2929While you can’t tell a book by its cover, it certainly can encourage you to look inside.  Deborah Levy-Bertherat’s The Travels of Daniel Ascher, newly translated from French and published on May 26, certainly piqued my curiosity. The cover resembles an old-fashioned valise, promising mysteries within.

We meet Hélenè as she moves into her great-uncle’s home in Paris where she is studying archeology. Her great-uncle, Daniel Roche, is an author and adventurer writing under the nom de plume of H.R. Sanders.  Through words and sketches, Daniel created an extensive series of world-traveling adventures, capturing the hearts of legions of young boys and girls. Hélenè is quite disinterested until she realizes their impact on those around her.

Daniel’s life is eccentric at best, disappearing and reappearing on his travels with no notice.  And his home is reflective of his unusual and secretive life. Bit by bit, Hélenè begins uncovering the layers of Daniel’s life as if it were an archeological excavation. Some of the family secrets Hélenè uncovers harken back to WWII.

Despite having the size and typography often found in YA novels, the revelations at times presume an understanding of world affairs and are handled with a very subtle hand not in keeping with the style of YA works. The sketches interspersed with the text help draw the story along.

Regardless of his name, Daniel is a complicated figure, imaginative, considerate in many ways but with a pervasive air of mystery and unexplained detachment. Levy-Bertherat brings the reader along with Hélenè on a journey of discovery. It was definitely worth the trip.

IN A NUTSHELLUnknown - Version 2

  • Genre: Fiction
  • Locale: Paris
  • Time: 1999-2000
  • Book Group Potential: Better suited for sharing with friends than a full-blown discussion.

*********

IMG_2930Jenny Offill’s Dept. of Speculation topped many “Best of” lists for 2014. Unusual in style and format, the entire book is the interior voice of an unnamed woman as she moves through the trials of early adulthood. It is almost as if the reader jumps into her skull and wanders among her thoughts as she explores the early days of her marriage, the arrival of her daughter and the travails of developing a career as an untenured academic and writer.  Each of these bits of information is gathered through her silent dialogue and classic quotations that give voice to her internal conflicts.

As  the book progresses, the tasks of daily living often appear overwhelming. She becomes suspicious of her husband’s inattention and concludes, correctly, that he is having an affair. Offill captures the anger, fear and self-doubt while reporting on the progress and dissolution of the affair. While distinctly modern in tone, this is not a feminist work by any means. In fact, there is little interaction with the world beyond her immediate challenges.

And then there is a shift, a detachment, as her life veers off course once again and the narrative shifts to the third person. There is an odd juxtaposition of emotional distancing despite more normal interactions as the family relationships move to a new equilibrium. Throughout, our narrator seems alone with her thoughts.

While it is not so unusual to jump into a story with both feet, a la double-Dutch jump roping, there is often a flashback or recap to catch the reader up.  Offill does a good job of keeping the reader as off-balance as our nameless woman, with constant forward motion, except for an occasional memory as in real life. The language pops in short bursts of sentences and paragraphs.

Far more than the story itself, I am impressed by the design of the novel. I kept turning the pages to see the progress and transitions of the work. While I could marvel at the brilliance of the literary conceit, I finished this short book so sad for a woman whose private thoughts were spread out for every reader to see.

  • Genre: Fiction
  • Locale: New York (I think)
  • Time: now
  • Book Group Potential: Great for groups interested in literary construction/analysis or feminism (or the lack thereof) in contemporary literature.

 

Facebooktwitterlinkedinmailby feather

Grab a glass of iced tea, settle in and read “The Truth According to Us”

images
Annie Barrows

There are some books that beg for a summer day, a screen porch or a hammock. Even if your reading spot is a subway seat, Annie Barrows’ The Truth According to Us will whisk you off to the fictional town of Macedonia, West Virginia in the summer of 1938.

The Romeyn family, long the elite of Macedonia’s business and social circles, has fallen on hard times. Twelve year-old Willa is an astute observer of her family and those around her, unafraid to follow her instincts in search of understanding. Willa and her younger sister, Bird, are raised in the family manse by their Aunt Jottie, who attends to the needs of others while setting aside a life of her own. Divorced, Willa’s father, Felix, is often away as a salesman, or so they have been told. Felix is charismatic, has a way with the ladies, and, in today’s terms, is a “Teflon man.” He is at the center of a tragedy that changed the family’s fortunes and destroyed the dreams of those closest to him. Continue reading Grab a glass of iced tea, settle in and read “The Truth According to Us”

Facebooktwitterlinkedinmailby feather

Ellen in Wonderland- The Last Hurrah

By the third day of BEA15 I had totes filled with unread titles and a blister or two on my swollen feet. It wasn’t a “more is better” philosophy that kept me coming back – it was the prospect of the Book Group Speed Dating event on Friday afternoon. With that knowledge, I was very particular about the booths I visited beforehand. Continue reading Ellen in Wonderland- The Last Hurrah

Facebooktwitterlinkedinmailby feather

Ellen in Wonderland – Day 3

This partial view of the floor at Book Expo provides an inkling of the vast territory we explored each day.  IMG_2905While you’d think it’s all about the books, the reality is a conference of this size is also about all the many people, from the author to the publisher to the bookseller and reviewer who help bring it to life. Everyday there was an extensive agenda of presentations and a far larger lists of author signings. The publisher’s goal is to get their books into the hands of broadest range of consumers. My goal is to search out great titles I can share with readers, through book groups, topical presentations or book reviews on this blog.  To do this, I hone in first on smaller publishers whose lists have proven to be well-written and thought-provoking. Continue reading Ellen in Wonderland – Day 3

Facebooktwitterlinkedinmailby feather

Ellen in Wonderland – Day 2

imageThe best laid plans…  I learned that hotel wifi isn’t up to the needs of a blogger so I am catching up. I apologize for the posting delay!

Thanks to Dan, the good spouse, I stayed not far from an entrance to The High Line, the magnificent above ground urban park on the west side of Manhattan. A recent extension brings it to 34th Street, a stone’s throw from the entrance to the Javits Convention Center, home to Book Expo America.

So before walking the endless aisles at BEA15, I took the opportunity to see how The High Line had changed since my visit in frigid March. IMG_2881Lush green replaced the dormant winter brown and occasional flowering plants are blooming. And the crowds! Even on a sticky, overcast morning, there were people everywhere – more power-dodging than power walking.

Arriving in the main entry, it’s clear which books the publishers want on a REALLY big stage. Notice the enormous Go Set A Watchman cover art for Harper Lee’s upcoming title and the itty-bitty ant-people below.

IMG_2906 As a true bookie, being at BEA makes me feel like a kid in a candy shop. No calories but with all the book giveaways, lots of extra weight. The day is spent going from booth to booth getting a sense of what new authors are writing and then racing back to pick up a galley from a favorite author.  Lines are long for author signings but all are quite gracious in the 10-second encounters with each of several hundred readers.

For some authors, tickets are required.  Each year I try to get at least one special title for each of my parents.  This year my pick for Dad is Al Roker’s The Storm of the Century.  IMG_2885Talk about a hardworking man – here he is signing the advance copy at 4 in the afternoon.

 

 

 

 

And there are truly books for everyone. Here I am posing before I pick up a children’s title for my great-nephews.IMG_2886 - Version 2

For the evening I went back to Mom-mode and helped my daughter finish moving out of her apartment and cleaning up.  My reward?  A late night (at least for me) dinner at Diner in Williamsburg. It is a very hip modern restaurant with wonderful food.  Then back to Chelsea, rinse and repeat on Thursday.

 

 

 

Facebooktwitterlinkedinmailby feather