When I set out to write a book about the natural history of breasts, I knew I'd have to answer some awkward questions about my book topic. At a...
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Retired spook Jack Teller returns to service to meet with a Colonel in the East German Stasi in a divided Berlin. President Kennedy is due to deliver his Ich bin ein Berliner speech in a matter of days. In the meantime Jack has to unravel a complex plot--in which the deceptions are thick and it's nearly impossible to tell the good guys from the bad--with nothing less than the fate of the world hanging in the balance. The plot of Gabbay's debut novel is complex, though not edge-of-your-seat gripping. It's a quick read, the chapters divided into easily digested chunks, the prose straightforward. Unfortunately, Teller is not a particularly sympathetic character, so the perils Jack faces don't affect the reader viscerally. Still, it's a decent read, which I can imagine working well as an action movie.
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Firmin, the literate rat who gives Sam Savage's book its title, was born in the cellar of a bookstore in Boston's blighted Scollay Square. Born the 13th of 13 children to a 12-teated, alcoholic mother, Firmin was often compelled to assuage his hunger by gnawing on books--a pathetic situation which resulted in the singular fact of Firmin's life, his ability to read. Firmin is not a rodent in the Stuart Little mold: he is caustic and cynical, his story imbued with a sense of tragedy. Savage exhibits an uncanny ability to channel Firmin's inner life: he emerges a very believable character, a creature of elevated sensibilities mired in the ugly realities of a rat's world. Savage's writing, moreover, is exquisite. If it is true, as Firmin explains, that a book's literary quality is directly related to its taste, then you might want to give your copy of Firmin a nibble.
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The principal action of Elin Hildebrand's The Love Season takes place over the course of a single day: 63-year-old Marguerite Beale prepares an elaborate dinner for her goddaughter, Renata Knox, whom Marguerite has not seen since Renata's mother Candace was hit and killed by a car 14 years earlier. Marguerite is a professional chef, but she hasn't cooked for anyone since Candace's death. The mystery of that event, how it came to have such an effect on Marguerite, is slowly revealed to the reader as Marguerite allows herself to remember. Hilderbrand has done a wonderful job of fleshing out her characters and their histories, even the minor ones. This is a very good read. You're likely to live with these characters in your head for some time.
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(7 of 13 readers found this comment helpful)
Nancy Taylor Robson's debut novel tells the story of seventeen-year-old Bailey Kraft, whose family has been fishing on Maryland's Eastern Shore for generations. Like the Kraft men before him, Bailey has river water in his veins, and a peculiar talent for finding fish: the Krafts are river royalty. But supporting a family by fishing is becoming increasingly difficult, and Bailey's father announces that he wants his son to go to college. Responding to this bombshell is only the first challenge Bailey must meet in the course of Robson's book. Bailey is surrounded in the story by a handful of characters who are as vividly imagined as he is: Robson has fleshed out her characters and explored their interlocking relationships more fully than most authors can in twice as many pages. The Course of the Waterman is a must read, for adults and young adults alike.
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Rubenfeld has written a fictional account of Sigmund Freud's visit to the United States in 1909, taking the real-life riddle of Freud's subsequent animosity to the U.S. as his starting point: despite an ostensibly successful visit, Freud later referred to Americans as "savages." Rubenfeld weaves two fictional mysteries around Freud's visit. The more engaging of the two concerns the murder of a young woman found in a high-class hotel. The second involves a plot to sabotage Freud's reception in the U.S. Rubenfeld's story is well-researched and complex--to the point of being a little confusing. His characters are not on the whole emotionally compelling. This isn't a book that will grab you by the throat, but one you'll come to appreciate instead intellectually. Not perfect, but worth the read.
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Debra Hamel has commented on (8) products.
The Berlin Conspiracy by Tom Gabbay
Debra Hamel, September 18, 2006
Retired spook Jack Teller returns to service to meet with a Colonel in the East German Stasi in a divided Berlin. President Kennedy is due to deliver his Ich bin ein Berliner speech in a matter of days. In the meantime Jack has to unravel a complex plot--in which the deceptions are thick and it's nearly impossible to tell the good guys from the bad--with nothing less than the fate of the world hanging in the balance. The plot of Gabbay's debut novel is complex, though not edge-of-your-seat gripping. It's a quick read, the chapters divided into easily digested chunks, the prose straightforward. Unfortunately, Teller is not a particularly sympathetic character, so the perils Jack faces don't affect the reader viscerally. Still, it's a decent read, which I can imagine working well as an action movie.(8 of 15 readers found this comment helpful)
Firmin: Adventures of a Metropolitan Lowlife by Sam Savage
Debra Hamel, September 13, 2006
Firmin, the literate rat who gives Sam Savage's book its title, was born in the cellar of a bookstore in Boston's blighted Scollay Square. Born the 13th of 13 children to a 12-teated, alcoholic mother, Firmin was often compelled to assuage his hunger by gnawing on books--a pathetic situation which resulted in the singular fact of Firmin's life, his ability to read. Firmin is not a rodent in the Stuart Little mold: he is caustic and cynical, his story imbued with a sense of tragedy. Savage exhibits an uncanny ability to channel Firmin's inner life: he emerges a very believable character, a creature of elevated sensibilities mired in the ugly realities of a rat's world. Savage's writing, moreover, is exquisite. If it is true, as Firmin explains, that a book's literary quality is directly related to its taste, then you might want to give your copy of Firmin a nibble.(13 of 20 readers found this comment helpful)
The Love Season by Elin Hilderbrand
Debra Hamel, September 10, 2006
The principal action of Elin Hildebrand's The Love Season takes place over the course of a single day: 63-year-old Marguerite Beale prepares an elaborate dinner for her goddaughter, Renata Knox, whom Marguerite has not seen since Renata's mother Candace was hit and killed by a car 14 years earlier. Marguerite is a professional chef, but she hasn't cooked for anyone since Candace's death. The mystery of that event, how it came to have such an effect on Marguerite, is slowly revealed to the reader as Marguerite allows herself to remember. Hilderbrand has done a wonderful job of fleshing out her characters and their histories, even the minor ones. This is a very good read. You're likely to live with these characters in your head for some time.(7 of 13 readers found this comment helpful)
Course of the Waterman by Nancy Taylor Robson
Debra Hamel, September 7, 2006
Nancy Taylor Robson's debut novel tells the story of seventeen-year-old Bailey Kraft, whose family has been fishing on Maryland's Eastern Shore for generations. Like the Kraft men before him, Bailey has river water in his veins, and a peculiar talent for finding fish: the Krafts are river royalty. But supporting a family by fishing is becoming increasingly difficult, and Bailey's father announces that he wants his son to go to college. Responding to this bombshell is only the first challenge Bailey must meet in the course of Robson's book. Bailey is surrounded in the story by a handful of characters who are as vividly imagined as he is: Robson has fleshed out her characters and explored their interlocking relationships more fully than most authors can in twice as many pages. The Course of the Waterman is a must read, for adults and young adults alike.(5 of 11 readers found this comment helpful)
The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld
Debra Hamel, September 6, 2006
Rubenfeld has written a fictional account of Sigmund Freud's visit to the United States in 1909, taking the real-life riddle of Freud's subsequent animosity to the U.S. as his starting point: despite an ostensibly successful visit, Freud later referred to Americans as "savages." Rubenfeld weaves two fictional mysteries around Freud's visit. The more engaging of the two concerns the murder of a young woman found in a high-class hotel. The second involves a plot to sabotage Freud's reception in the U.S. Rubenfeld's story is well-researched and complex--to the point of being a little confusing. His characters are not on the whole emotionally compelling. This isn't a book that will grab you by the throat, but one you'll come to appreciate instead intellectually. Not perfect, but worth the read.(5 of 12 readers found this comment helpful)
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