Any Requests, Part II
Categories: Romance , Rediscoveries , Science Fiction & Fantasy , Staff Picks , Nonfiction , Fiction
Last week I dug through my piles and files of books and reviews to post about some titles I thought you might have missed.
I got a little bit of response, including a few emails, from people who were curious about what the titles might be (no guesses, though!). No one commented about what kind of books they'd like to see more of in these posts, though, so I just want to repeat--don't be shy if there's something you're looking for. There's always more where these came from!
Anyway, read on if you were curious about any of the little blurbs and what the titles were. Did any of you recognize these titles?
The small town novel of law, conscience, and courage is Bow’s Boy, by Richard Babcock. Set in 1960s Wisconsin, it’s narrated by Charlie Stuart, a drunk and failure who has been adopted by prominent appeals lawyer Bowman Epps as a research assistant. Charlie watches as Bow adopts another local character, Ginger Piper—a scrawny, impoverished high school basketball player whose moment of fame (a game-winning shot) and flash of genius have attracted the lawyer’s patronage. But Ginger and Bow could hardly be more different. Their passionate disagreements about the Vietnam War and about the technicalities and the spirit of the law lead to tragedy, which Charlie narrates painfully from the sidelines. The novel is beautifully crafted, moving, and as quintessentially American as the Miranda decision that figures importantly in its plot.
The science fiction novel of interplanetary intrigue and religious war is Carve the Sky, by Alexander Jablokov. Anton Lindgren, seneschal to a high-ranking official and patron of the arts, acquires for his employer an exquisite carving, apparently an unknown work by Karl Ozaki, one of the greatest artists in human history. It is inset with gems of ngomite, an incomparably rare and valuable alien mineral. So tracking the figurine’s origin is doubly of interest to Anton’s employer—and to many others, as well. The search, which takes Anton to distant corners of the Earth, the Moon, and a remote asteroid, brings to light an ancient religious brotherhood, uncovers the secrets of a lost alien science, and brings two rival human civilizations to the brink of war. As gorgeously intricate as the tiny Ozaki figurine, this is almost dizzyingly complicated. But its appealing characters and above all its dazzling originality make the novel a richly rewarding read.
The literary love story that starts with a sheep in distress? That’s An Imaginative Experience, by Mary Wesley. Almost-divorced Sylvester Wykes is on a train in the English countryside when a woman pulls the emergency stop and jumps out to rescue a sheep. Annoyed by the prurient interest another passenger is taking in her, Sylvester finds his own interest piqued. So is the reader’s. As we gradually learn the woman’s story (and Sylvester’s, and the other passenger’s), a series of marvelous coincidences begins to draw them together. Sylvester comments that “all these connections and meetings” would never be believable in the novel he is writing, but fans of sophisticated fiction will be delighted to suspend disbelief—and they’ll be still more delighted by the wonderfully indulgent ending Wesley caps it all with.
The Scottish coming-of-age novel is Blackden, by Duncan McLean. Eighteen-year-old Paddy Hunter has never been out of Blackden, the declining rural highland town where he was born. He has a decent job as an auctioneer’s apprentice, some friends, and no real worries, but suddenly he’s restless. His mates seem to want nothing more out of life than another drink and another joke; his boss shows no sign of letting him do anything more responsible than hold up the goods for sale; and the girl he’s interested in is seeing someone else. Paddy realizes it’s not enough for him. McLean is one of the writers who have formed the nucleus of a new Scottish literature focusing on the voice and experience of a generation disenfranchised by economic change in Great Britain. This novel doesn’t share the urban settings of most of the others, but it’s just as strongly vernacular and vivid.
That's half of the titles--were you able to guess? I'll post the rest tomorrow so you won't have to wait another week.
