Literature Chick

The Concubine of Shanghai by Hong Ying

2008-07-04T10:13:00.001-07:00

Hong Ying is a controversial Chinese author who is known for her honest work focusing on the sexuality of women in China, both the positive and negative aspects. In her new work, Ying introduces us the world of the concubine - the women who lived in brothels (many times because they have been sold by their families into sexual slavery) and were at the mercy of powerful men and brothel owners. Ying's heroine is a woman sold into sexual slavery to a Shanghai brothel; she finds herself in love with a powerful member of the Chinese Triad, a mob organization that controlled illegal activities in China. When her lover is killed in front of her, she is left out in the cold and must fend for herself. A strong woman who can only rely on her sexuality to survive in the China of the 19th Century, the story spans a huge historic period as the reader journeys through her life. Ying's beautiful, poetic writings keeps the reader intrigued and devoted. We want our heroine to succeed and overcome. This is a beautiful book with import that should be read by all.

2008-07-04T10:12:00.001-07:00

There's been loads of press about this book, including the recent Showtime series. Heralded as the tell all of a high priced call girl and one of the best-selling books in Europe, this book left me truly bewildered. Told in a series of diary entries, our anonymous writer (her pen name is Belle du Jour) outlines her sexual escapades with no stone left unturned. We are "flies on the wall" at her various jobs and learn just how a call girl treats her clients. With a minimal plot line (Belle does have a boyfriend, N, who is okay with her career choice), this is nothing more than a book meant to sexually entice and titillate. Half-way through, I had enough and put it aside; there was no way I could continue to read about anal sex or blow jobs. Personally, readers - take a pass.

The Crazy School by Cornelia Read

2008-07-04T10:10:00.001-07:00

Cornelia Read is truly one of my favorite authors. Not only does she deliver intriguing story lines, she writes with clarity and strength. In her new work, Read tells the story of a young woman who teaches in a school for problem teens. It is clear from the outset that something is terribly wrong at this institution; the students are terrorized by the head of the school whose methods are akin to CIA techniques used on terrorists. As the mystery unravels, our heroine must save not only herself but her students from a system that is meant to destroy rather than help. Read's storytelling is what sets this book apart from the typical "them against us" teen tale. A talent, Read is a must "read" this summer.

Must Read...Summer Suggestions

2008-06-16T17:07:00.001-07:00

Little Brown
In 2000, a dorm at Seton Hall University in NJ was destroyed by a fire. Two young men, in the prime of their lives, made it out of the building badly burned; they were faced with months of rehabilitation and emotional ups and downs. In her new non-fiction book, Robin Gaby Fisher (a two time Pulitzer Prize finalist) tells the story of Shawn Simons and Alvaro Llanos, roommates, friends and burn victims. A journey through the halls of Saint Barnabas Hospital and the tale of the extraordinary staff that help to bring the boys back from the brink of death, this book is at times heartbreaking, at times hopeful. Fisher paints such a human portrait of these boys and their families that the reader feels as though they have walked the pathways with them. A must read this summer.

While you're at the beach this summer, check out these summer reads:I'm with Stupid by Elaine Szewczyck (5 Spot)A Summer Affair by Elin Hildebrand (Little Brown)The Crimson Portrait by Jody Shields (Back Bay Books)

CONTEST!

2008-06-16T17:05:00.000-07:00

Wellness Central

Okay it's summer time...and that means we have to put ourselves into bathing suits. Check out this fun diet book courtesy of India Knight and Neris Thomas! It's smart, entertaining and funny while setting forth a diet that makes sense. From now until August 1st, Lit Chick will be running a give-away contest - send your name to us and it will be entered into a drawing to win a book!

Beach Book!

2008-05-26T15:16:00.001-07:00

Check out How the Other Half Hamptons (5 Spot, June 2008) by Jasmin Rosenberg. Rosenberg, a former NY Post Hamptons columnist, has written a slight, humorous novel about summering in the Hamptons; although our three heroines share a house with some forty others and have to deal with filth, drunks and no bathroom space. If you want a true beach book, this is it!

Writing Contest!

2008-05-26T15:14:00.000-07:00

The Warren Adler Short Story Contest – Summer 2008 –
Theme is HUMOR
To enter see: www.warrenadler.com
Suggested by the recent publication of Warren Adler's latest novel, FUNNY BOYS, the theme for the Summer 2008 Warren Adler Short Story Contest is humor. We're looking for humorous stories in all their varied forms. From satire to farce, from the whimsical to the uproarious, all writers looking to get a laugh (in a good way!) should enter. We are looking for the subtle and the pungent, the black and dark, the sporty, the salty, the waggish, or whatever can spark a knowing smile, a sly chuckle, or a hysterical belly laugh. In other words, anything goes, just as long as it falls into this category, however one stretches its elastic boundaries.
Entries must not exceed 2,500 words, and there is a minimum length of 1,000 words. As in the previous contests, all stories will be judged on the basis of character authenticity, plotting, narrative drive, and the skillful manipulation of the short story literary form.
Submissions will be accepted from May 1st to August 15th. Entry fee up until August 1st is $15. After August 1st, a late entry fee is $20.
Five cash prizes will be awarded.
The winning story will be awarded the $1,000 grand prize and a personalized first edition of FUNNY BOYS. Mr. Adler will also choose his top five for a People's Choice award that will also be awarded personalized first editions.
Although Mr. Adler will have already chosen the winner, five finalists' stories will be posted on the Warren Adler website on September 1st and the People's Choice winner will be determined by public voting. Warren Adler's top choice, along with the People's Choice winner, will be announced 15 September. Prizes will be as follows:
1st Prize: $1,000
People's Choice Prize $500
Remaining finalists receive $150 each

Interview with Jim Bowen, Author of Just Another Mzungu Passing Through (Parthian Books, 2008)

2008-05-26T15:09:00.000-07:00

Explain for our readers what a mzungu is? Definition.

A mzungu is a term for white person in kiSwahili which is the tongue most commonly used in East Africa. Mzungu is used in a slightly dismissive way, like gringo in Central America or honky elsewhere.

Tell us a bit about the semi-autobiographical nature of the book - how did a nice Welsh boy end up in Kenya?

I was working as a part time cricket coach for the London Inner City Schools cricket project about 13 years ago for want of anything else to do. I didn't want to come back home to my family's farm at that stage and didn't feel driven to do anything very much. I was living in a tent in a friend's garden in Eastbourne on the south coast using the cricket coaching to pay the bills and having a jolly old time. A friend showed told me that the Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association were advertising for a development officer with the help of the VSO, which is the British equivalent of the Peace Corps. I was lucky to be the only person to apply for the job in over a year so, got the job and off I went in January 1996 with a two year contract to teach cricket in Kenya.

My novel is based upon my experiences there, the things I saw and the things people told me, but it is very much about Kenya rather than about me. I wanted people to know about Kenya--that is why I wrote the book. I wanted my friends and family (and later, the readers) to understand why Kenya is as it is, what the average people face, what we in the west have imposed on them and really quite how incredible the people and the country are. It is a novel, and I hope a good read, but it is informative too, I hope, like The Grapes of Wrath is a good read and is also a fantastic way of learning about what the Great Depression meant to the US and people then. Steinbeck could have written a factual account of what he witnessed, but I'm glad he didn't. I wrote my story from the first person 'Griff', and the general narrative follows his time there, but Kenya is really the main character in the story.

What do you think is the biggest issue facing Africa today and how can literature help to educate people about same?

Wow, I've tried answering this question about twenty times but deleted them all as can't seem to get it down right. I don't want to claim I know any answers.

The issues are vast and numerous. Open any international paper and you can read about HIV, famine, corruption, genocide, poverty... These are all massive issues in Africa today and one would hope the rest of the world knows about them and that we are REALLY trying to help instead of taking advantage and using their suffering to boost our own worth.

Literature has a place today, as it always has done, in letting people know about social injustice everywhere. Chinu Achebe, Charles Dickens, Harper Lee, Laurens van der Post, Mark Twain, George Orwell, James Baldwin, Ngugi wa Thiongo... Many writers have helped educate and bring about changes through their writing. They tell important stories brilliantly.

Today we are so clever that we can cause massive injustice to many people from many thousands of miles away, and we can then close our eyes to it, think about something else without ever having to face what we have caused ourselves. There are many, many examples, and one could mention the people who are still suffering from the Union Carbide industrial disaster in Bhopal, India. Over twenty thousand people were killed after that explosion and children are still born seriously deformed over twenty years later. Union Carbide were bought out by Dow Chemicals in 2001 and Dow Chemicals say they have no duty to clean up the mess as the plant is on government land and while the legal battles over who is responsible go on, the shareholders forget all about it and the poor still suffer as a result.

To the north of Cardiff, here in Wales, over twenty years ago, seventy five different toxic substances were brought from a Monsanto factory near Newport and dumped in a quarry on the Brofiscin Farm . 80,000 tonnes of contaminated produce were buried there. Chemically unstable, non-degradable carcinogens that no one would take responsibility for leached out of the quarry, contaminating the local area. Polyaromatic hydrocarbons and acrylonitrile, dioxins created during the production of PCP which had been banned in the US years before were knowingly dumped by one of the US's most bullying companies. A vast number of cattle on neighbouring farms started aborting shortly afterwards . Some lost muscular control while others became lethargic, sterile and suffered from flaccidity. Local people now have highly toxic, unusual pollutant substances in their fatty tissue. They are very ill. And yet no one will take responsibility. Monsanto have fourteen similar dumping sites around the UK all full off dioxins and virulent toxins that they claim are safe but which the Environment Agency consider far too dangerous to open and analyse. And what happens...

I go on too much, and I'm sorry. These are the sorts of stories that are in the newspapers one day and then forgotten about the next.

Some could say that writers have a duty to write about these sorts of stories, to bring them to the attention of the general public who will hopefully one day bring to account those that have benefited through the suffering of others.

To me, good writing should be attractive and inclusive but educational too and if it can make a difference, like the writers I've mentioned earlier, then I believe it can be world changing. Big Business is clever enough to slip free through the courts, but a truthfully told story is always there to point the finger of guilt. I think writers, musicians, artists in general have an important role to play in this. Let's not go softly softly. Pen is stronger, and all that!

Writing coming out of Wales right now is truly extraordinary (same amazing young writers) - why do you think this is so (if you agree, of course)?

Wales has always been a heartland of artisitic expression. We feel affinity with our land and our place in it more than people in many other parts of Britain, I believe. People of my generation were brought up listening to amazing music from people who were proud to be Welsh and who were keen to demonstrate their art through their Welshness. The Super Furry Animals, Catatonia, The Alarm, Manic Street Preachers, even Shakin' Stevens and Bonny Tyler are all proudly Welsh first and foremost. We also have a massive back catalogue of Welsh writers to inspire us. Dylan Thomas, of course, Raymond Williams, Alexander Cordell, Dannie Abse, Bernice Rubens, Gwylon Phillips, WH Davies, RS Thomas and so many others that I really don't know enough about. If only there were more hours in the day...

I think the past has given our generation the courage to be active in our creativity now, and we are lucky that there are publishers willing to give our jottings air. I was very fortunate to have my first story taken up by Parthian Press who are based in the small town of Cardigan just down the River Teifi from where my family farm. Parthian is an excellent publishing house--the stories they have produced over the past few years speak for themselves, stories by young writers like Lewis Davies, Cynan Jones, Rachel Trezise, Tristan Hughes, Lloyd Robson and many others too, are set in a Wales the writers know of as home. The stories are not always that flattering of the place, but that doesn't mean we don't love it! Stories can be more powerful when they are constructively critical of things we care greatly about.

Being Welsh is important to me. My family have farmed this piece of land for over 250 years and we have lived within twenty miles of here for over a thousand. I am not alone in this feeling rooted. It means a great deal.

Do you believe there is a difference between Welsh authors and American authors? If so, what is it?

I don't know. There are links with some writers in both places writing of a sense of pride and love for their plot of land.When America was opening up the writing seemed to wow about the place and the wilderness and the adventure. Writers like Stephen Crane and Jack London... That seems to have changed a bit now maybe. We don't have the vast spaces here in Wales in the same way, though we do write lovingly about the wild places that we have.
I'm afraid I don't know enough about either to have much of value to say.

Influences? Why?

My grandmother wrote stories. She had nine novels published in the 1940/50s under the name Parr Cooper. She is an influence even though she died when I was a young child. She let me know that it was possible to write long stories. She did it, so so could I! Why not? I still love her writing. I can hear her voice in the words. She wrote about India during the war and what it was like coming back to Wales afterwards. Very powerful stuff some of it but she had such humour and decency in what she wrote.

Other influences include:
-John Steinbeck for his clarity, focus and lines like (in East of Eden) 'her smile flashed and disappeared the way a trout crosses a knife of sunshine in a pool' which make me go yeah, that's it! That's why people write!
-Jack London and Jack Kerouac meant a lot to me when I was younger and travelling. London published too much, but a lot of it is brilliant in its simplicity, its brutality and, boy, did he have good material to write about. As for Kerouac, I loved On the Road, Maggie Cassidy, Dharma Bums and one or two other, while the long wibbly ones went over my head a bit. I had a first edition Maggie Cassidy but somebody sole it.
-As a child I loved London, Twain, Victor Canning, Tolkein. Stories with things happening all the time. There were so many others--Richard Adams, William Horwood...
-Graham Greene, William Golding, Dervla Kirwan, Solzhenitsyn, Conrad, Hemmingway, Achebe. I read them when I was in Kenya and unable to go out all that much especially after dark when it wasn't safe. They took me away from the present like a teevee never could have. Good stories, simply told. Something to say. And then there are the Les Norton stories by the Australian Robert G. Barrett who is occasionally worth a read when you're a young fellow with the blues!
-I love East of the Mountains by David Gutterson.

Future Plans?

We have a one year old daughter, I am farming and running a holiday centre for people with disabilities so there isn't a lot of time for writing at the moment. I'm working on a story called Welshrats which is about a horrible man who is the director of social services in a Welsh coastal city which I think might be quite good when I finally get it done. Apart from that I have a bunch of short stories that need a good polish and... well, if only there was more time.

Mrs. Perfect by Jane Porter (5 Spot, May 2008)

2008-05-07T07:24:00.001-07:00

Urgh...Jane Porter made me stay up all night, yet again. And how does she always know exactly what I am thinking? Porter, in a sort-of-sequel to her last work, Odd Mom Out, has continued to delve into the world of modern day women in suburbia as they deal with the conflict of being good mothers, working mothers and perfect mothers.

Taylor Young is a woman defined by her looks, her house, her volunteerism and her high-class friends. Coiffed and coutured, Taylor is so afraid of being exposed for the real person underneath (one that is fragile, fearful and bulimic) that she treats others with disdain; including Marta, the main character of Porter's former work. When Taylor's life suddenly and swiftly falls apart, she soon realizes that she has always been stronger than she has believed and that life can not be defined by things but by those who stick around when the chips are down. Marta, someone Taylor once viewed as "strange," becomes the person that Taylor learns to rely upon in economic and emotional ways.

Porter has an uncanny knack for getting to the heart and soul of the modern American woman. Her ability to tell it like it is without judgment but with a sense of compassion and honesty makes her writing leap from the page and into our hearts. Jane...I am so tired today because of you but I am thankful for the read!

Beautiful Children by Charles Bock (Random House)

2008-05-07T07:13:00.001-07:00

I have a new favorite author and it is Charles Bock. His new work, Beautiful Children, is a tour de force, a novel that is not only literary (in the best sense of the word) but important in its topic matter. Bock writes with a combination of grace and force that each word stands alone; his ability to paint a visual story of present day Las Vegas and its residents is remarkable and signals the debut of a brilliant writer.

Newell, a young boy growing up with the trappings of upper middle class, has disappeared after a night out with Kenny, his much older friend. This story of his disappearance (but not the tale of his discovery) is told via flashbacks of numerous characters - Newell's father, runaways living on the streets of Sin City, a downtrodden comic book artist, a stripper with a heart of gold. Each character is suffering with their own past and a future that seems to be headed nowhere; their lives are filled with the lights of the casinos and the sounds of slot machines but have little meaning or focus. A story of such heartache that the reader can actually feel the pain and suffering of the storytellers.

Even when the book is heavy handed in its delivery, Bock has the ability to bring words to life. One can see the scenes play out, can become one with the people described even if one's experience is very different. This is a tale of 21st Century decay and loneliness that we can all relate to.

The Host by Stephanie Meyer (Little, Brown, May 2008)

2008-05-07T07:03:00.000-07:00

I am not a huge fan of sci-fi/futuristic novels (although I have to say that I do love my friend, Orson Scott Card's work); so when I was given Stephanie Meyer's newest work, The Host, to review, I was a bit reticent. The first fifty page left me confused and ready to walk away from the book. However, I always finish what I start and continued on; soon I found myself unable to put down this interesting, well written book.

In a futuristic America, human beings have been invaded by souls who are only able to love and act peacefully. When the Wanderer invades the body of Melanie Stryder, the two beings are in conflict. Melanie, leaving behind her brother and her lover, is stubborn and refuses to fade away causing the Wanderer unbearable pain and suffering. When Melanie convinces the soul to run into the desert to find the remaining family members (the remaining human beings now hidden underground), the Wanderer is forced to confront what it means to love, what it means to be human. Meyer, best known for her YA vampire series, has crafted a compelling and humane story with a plot that asks the reader to think, to feel and to question.

2008-04-07T17:41:00.000-07:00

5 Spot Books, April 2008

In Frenemies, author Megan Crane addressed the way women treat one another; specifically, the way we treat friends who do us wrong. With her newest work, Crane takes on the subject of sisterhood, of actual siblings who can't seem to forget the past. Told primarily through the eyes of Courtney, a successful musician who is about to marry the love of her life, this is a story of three sisters with extremely different outlooks on life, love and family. Norah is the hard working, type A sister who lives her life by the rule book and holds her grudges close to her heart. Raine is the free spirited sister who ran off to San Francisco to live the life of a poor artist, her best friend and sometime boyfriend in tow. When Courtney goes to visit Raine with the hope that she will return home for her engagement party, her life and that of her family is thrown into chaos.

What does sisterhood really mean and do you have to love your family simply because you were born into it? These are the important questions that Crane addresses in this enjoyable and worthwhile read.

The Ten Year Nap by Meg Wolitzer

2008-04-07T17:36:00.000-07:00

Riverhead Books, 2008

When my daughter turned three and my son six, I was faced with the fact that I had to return to work. Recently separated and in financially precarious straits, I could no longer rely on my freelance writing to pay the mortgage or put food on the table. Even though I had worked off and on while raising my children, it proved exceedingly difficult to find a full time job. I was competing against younger people who were willing to take a lower salary, who had not yet defined their skill set and who were able to be easily molded. The realization that I might not be able to return to work full time was like a punch in the gut; it was maddening and frustrating – a tough pill to swallow.

In her newest work, The Ten-Year Nap, author Meg Wolitzer addresses this exact scenario. Told from the points of view of four friends, but primarily through the viewpoint of Amy, the book focuses on the crossroads a woman experiences when her children no longer need her full time but she is unable to re-enter the workforce. Amy, a Manhattanite married to a mildly successful attorney, wakes up one morning to discover that her ten-year old son is self-sufficient and that she no longer has anything to fill her days with. Jill adopts a child from Siberia, moves to the suburbs and is unable to fit in with the women of Holly Hills. Roberta, an artist, whose son attends his Manhattan private school on financial aid, feels she is at the mercy of the school PTA for fear of being a social outcast. Karen, a brilliant Chinese woman and mother of twins, lives with the constant fear of being left out even as she fails to hide her disdain for others. Add to the mix, brilliant, hard working Penny Ramsey, whose life seems perfect (but is far from it) and you have the typical, if not stereotypical, 21st Century woman. These are women who have been raised to believe that they could do it all; take care of their family, hold down a great job, be perfectly coiffed and well-read.

Wolitzer delivers a book that teeters on the edge of being the Feminist Mystique of our day. Her voice and message are important ones – do women give up a part of themselves upon becoming mothers? Can women re-enter the workforce after taking a long sabbatical? Does there always have to be a choice between motherhood and career? Where Wolitzer leaves the reader a bit flat is in the meandering plot line; the story does not truly move forward until the middle, until a true conflict occurs. Prior to that, the book is slow and almost devoid of dimension with characters that seem a bit pathetic and irritating. When Amy finds herself in the middle of Penny’s marital problems, the book takes on interest as we begin to see these characters as three dimensional. While a reader wants to see herself in the author’s words, it is still essential that a book has conflict that is not only mental but visual.

Women will find a piece of themselves in The Ten-Year Nap, whether they are the stay-at-home mother or the working mother. Wolitzer has taken a topic of such import that, even where the book falters, one can argue the worth of this novel and possibly its place on the shelf next to Betty Friedan.

Erotomania by Francis Levy

2008-04-07T17:21:00.000-07:00

Two Dollar Radio, August 2008

Imagine that you engage in passionate, feral sex with someone. After the sex is over and you have left the building, you can not remember what your lover looked like; your amnesia of everything but the sexual act is complete. In a truly original literary work, Francis Levy introduces the memorable characters of Monica and James. Told through James' eyes, the story unfolds as James realizes that he wants to know his lover, wants to be able to recognize her on the street (her face, not simply her sexual organs) and may actually be in love, rather than simply lust. Monica, a woman who looks much like Peter Pan, has a sexual appetite that is insatiable and confusing. When James tries to have a "normal" relationship with her, she seems to become enraged, frustrated by his unrelenting pursuit.

Levy writes with honesty and a dry sense of humor that adds to the unique tone of the book. While our characters seem without empathy at the beginning, it soon becomes clear that with sex may come love and a type of relationship that is meaningful and filled with worth.

Girls in Trucks by Katie Crouch

2008-03-22T08:29:00.000-07:00

Little, Brown April 2008

My younger brother chose years ago to move from the East coast to the South; specifically, he moved to Savannah, Georgia where he practiced medicine, raised a family and lived on the edge of a swampy, wood in a large home. At first they loved Savannah but soon he found that the difference between South and East was as large as the crevices that define the Grand Canyon. Savannah was made up of people who had lived their entire lives in the South, people who distrusted Northerners, people who defined themselves by the homes they owned and the families they had come from. My brother and family soon sold their home and moved to a college town in Virginia where they were accepted.

Katie Crouch in her new work, Girls in Trucks, relates the story of Sarah Walters, a Charleston debutante, who is determined to leave behind her Camellia Society past and start anew. Crouch, a talented writer with a honest voice, moves through time and space quickly; Sarah is a college student, an aspiring writer in New York City, a woman grappling with a failed relationship. The reader moves through Sarah's experiences and roots for her to succeed. Crouch has created a character that the reader adores and understands. When tragedy brings Sarah home, it is clear that she can not run from her past; that she must accept her roots in order to become the person who she needs to be.

I can't wait for the next Katie Crouch book.

Keeper and the Kid by Ed Hardy

2008-03-22T08:11:00.000-07:00

Thomas Dunne Books/St Martin's Press(2007)

James Keeper is a man who finds himself emotionally at odds. After his marriage ends, he moves to Rhode Island to work with his best male friend selling antiques at a store called Love and Death. His girlfriend, Leah, is wonderful - smart, funny, filled with a sense of life that keeps James on his toes and passionately in love. Things seem to be going extremely well, at last.

Of course, life always throws curve balls. Keeper receives a phone call from his former mother-in-law advising him that his ex is ill and asking him to come to Boston to pick up the dog. It soon becomes clear that the dog is not a four legged animal but a two legged boy. Keeper has a son, Leo, who is now without a mother and forced to live with his inept and terrified father. Exhibiting all of the traits of a man who never wanted to or dreamed of being a father, James lets Leo eat what he wants, sleep in his clothes and bath once a week. As the relationship between father and son tenuously strengthens, Keeper's relationship with Leah ends. She can not allow this child into her life, a life that she has become comfortable with and has no intent on changing. Turning the typical genre on its head, Hardy's bad guy is the woman who can't commit to family versus the man who must.

Hardy's writing is at times poignant, at times humorous. The author succeeds when he focuses on Keeper's character arc. The author falters on story line - it is difficult, if not impossible to emphatize with many of the characters. Leah, at first likeable, becomes so disagreeable that a reader's first instinct is to put the book down and walk away. Keeper's initial inability to accept his son is offputting, if not absolutely frustrating.

Ed Hardy's writing falls into the new genre of male lit, a challenge to the chick lit genre that was huge years back. Whether or not men will actually pick up a book such as this will remain to be seen.

Sway by Zachary Lazar

2008-02-19T17:13:00.001-08:00

Little Brown, January 2008

Thank goodness for Zachary Lazar!! For awhile there I was ready to throw my book critic hat into the ring and wait for someone to stomp on it - there was a long period there where I was positive that the publishing industry was done for. Then along came Sway by Zachary Lazar. Tackling three separate story lines set in the late 1960s - the founding of the Rolling Stones, the Manson family and the strange life of filmmaker Kenneth Anger - Lazar leads the reader on a historical, emotional and physical journey that is at times unsettling but is always remarkable.

A fictionalized account of these three events, the reader enters the back halls of poverty ridden London, the mansions of the British countryside, the Laurel Canyon ranches of record producers and movie stars, the hippie commune of Manson. As each narrator takes us on a journey into the lives, both tragic and profound, we are propelled into their world, a world that we want to learn about, a world filled with freedome and a sense of absolute angst. Lazar's careful use of words adds imagery to each story - this is not simply a book we read but rather one we live. Lazar is my new hero.

The Turnaround by George Pelecanos

2008-02-19T16:57:00.000-08:00

Little Brown, August 2008

Imagine if one event in your life was so unforgettable, so unforgiveable as to define the rest of your waking days. That is the dilemma addressed in George Pelecanos' The Turnaround. Pelecanos, a writer who seems to have one of the keenest insights into the human soul, tells the story of two boys, one from the right side of the tracks and one from the wrong side of the tracks. When a prank leads the young white Greek boy into the African American side of town, a crime occurs that will mark both boys for life.

Time passes and these young men grow into adults; adults who wish to forgive and forget the past before their lives are over. This notion of redemption echoes throughout this beautifully written novel; Pelecanos takes us deep inside the lives of men who have journeyed down a path that seemed fated for each. Hailed as a mystery writer, Pelecanos, a television writer, brakes genre labels - his writing combines the human insight of Steinbeck and the keen sense of timing of Stephen King. Pelecanos is truly one of the great writers of our time.

Mata Hari by Yannick Murphy

2008-02-19T16:46:00.000-08:00

Little Brown and Company, February 2008.

Yannick Murphy, author of Signed, Mata Hari, is one of those critically acclaimed authors that most readers know nothing of. Winner of a National Endowment for the Arts grant and recipient of the MacDowell Colony Fellowship, Murphy is a literate and innovative writer who does not shy away from stories that appear difficult. In this recent release, Murphy takes on the story of the great, illusive Mata Hari, a woman of mystery and legend.

Telling the story with alternating pasts and presents, Murphy takes us into the life of Margaretha, a young woman who marries a man she does not truly love as a way to leave her family home. Margaretha is filled with dreams, hopes and a sensuality that pours from her soul; it is the sensuality that ultimately turns her life upside down. While there has always been speculation that Mata Hari was a spy, Murphy does not directly answer this question but rather shows this secretive soul stuck inside a prison where her pleas for freedom go unheard.

In breathtaking prose, Murphy illuminates a story that must be told for this story is that of every woman who has ever searched for love and been turned away, for every woman who tries to express her own desires but is tossed aside. With this work, Murphy may soon be the author everyone is talking about.

Carpool Diem by Nancy Star

2008-02-19T16:35:00.000-08:00

5 Spot, March 2008

Annie Fleming is juggling it all - work, a family, a marriage where communication has become rare. When she loses her job (a job that defines her), she soon realizes how much of her daughter's life she has missed...including her love of soccer and her desire to be a member of the best team in town, run by soccer fanatic Winslow West. Soon Annie finds herself focusing her misplaced energy towards daughter Charlotte's sport and before long she has become one of those soccer moms she always hated.

Star, a former entertainment executive, effectively captures the importance of sport in suburbia. With characters who manipulate, undermine and commit crimes to further their children's soccer careers, the author delivers a fun and honest portrayal of community in the 21st century. Check out Star's recent interview in the New York Times where she discusses how she came to write the book.

The Woman Who is Always Tan and has a Flat Stomach

2008-01-07T17:42:00.000-08:00

The Woman Who is Always Tan and has a Flat Stomach, Lauren Allison and Lisa Perry. Grand Central Publishing, March 2008.

I have to admit that I’ve stopped attending PTA functions, ceased accepting invitations to book clubs and scrapbooking parties, and have firmly decided not to attend the school gala this coming spring. Why, you may ask, have I become a hermit in my own backyard? Truth be told, it’s all the other moms; you know, the Alpha moms who never have a hair out of place, dress impeccably (even at morning drop-off) and can bake fifty cupcakes while developing a plan to end world hunger. Although I consider myself a pretty confident woman, when in the company of these perfect females, I pale and slither back into my shell. It’s easier to just stay away and hang with all the other turtles.

Lauren Allison and Lisa Perry address these annoyances and others in their humorous collection of essays, The Woman Who is Always Tan and has a Flat Stomach (Grand Central Publishing, 2008). There’s the “nutrition mom” who has a heart attack when she discovers you’ve fed your child trans fat; the “scrapbooking mom” who spends her hours documenting every action of her well manicured children; the “knitting mom” who crafts clothing out of yarn; and the woman who never gains an ounce, her stomach perpetually flat, her face always tan. Allison and Perry are not sexist in their diatribes – a good portion of the book focuses on husbands who ask or give inane instructions or the man who chooses to repaint the house right before company arrives. A light-hearted read, the book is one we can all relate to, for surely we’ve met one of these caricatures along the road.

Insightful and funny, these authors write what most of us (I’m speaking for myself here) want to say but don’t…because of course, we’re the woman who is always nice on the outside but is seething on the inside.

Midori by Moonlight

2008-01-07T17:39:00.000-08:00

Midori by Moonlight
Wendy Nelson Tokunaga
St. Martin’s Griffin, 2007

Midori Saito has always dreamed of marrying an American man; so when Kevin, an American teaching in English in Japan asks for her hand, Midori follows him to San Francisco. Unfortunately, Midori’s dream soon becomes a nightmare when Kevin breaks off the engagement, leaving her to fend for herself. In Midori by Moonlight, author Wendy Nelson Tokunaga delivers a funny, heart-warming take on the typical “fish out of water” story.

Midori, determined to stay in America, calls upon the assistance of Shinji, a friend of Kevin’s and a Japanese ex-patriate working and living in the city. Like Midori, Shinji favors American woman especially his current girlfriend, the Japan obsessed Tracy. Although Shinji offers Midori a share in his apartment, he is clear that she must pay the rent. Unable to get a job as a pastry chef (throughout the novel, Midori creates exquisite deserts and downs huge quantities of pastries), she takes a job as a hostess in a karaoke bar in Japantown: a job that humiliates her but pays the bills and does not require a green card. While the odds are clearly stacked against our heroine, she refuses to give up and soon finds that she has chosen (even in the face of difficulties) the path she was always meant to take. The fish soon finds that the American dream can be grasped by anyone determined to reach for it.

Tokunaga explores the life of an immigrant and the nature of the dream of freedom, both internally and externally, in this work. Via a plot that is certainly a chick lit format, the work delivers on its goals

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2008-01-01T17:38:00.000-08:00

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The Sinner

2007-12-25T07:51:00.000-08:00

Bitter Lemon Press, February 2008

Cora Bender, a German mother and housewife, teeters on the edge of madness in the brilliant, psychological thriller, The Sinner by bestselling German author Petra Hammesfahr. Unhappy with her marriage, unable to feel any love towards her son, Cora muddles through life as she attempts to forget a tortured past.

As Cora and family picnic at the beach, Cora becomes enraged over the sexually overt behavior of a young couple sitting next to them. Without warning, Cora attacks the male and kills him; so begins the unraveling of her past; a past which is inextricably linked to the man she has murdered. Although it is clear that Cora has committed the crime, Police Commissioner Rudolf Grovian is determined to discover why, even if it means uncovering that which Cora can not face.

Hammesfahr, considered one of the greatest German crime authors, deftly explores how our past serves to define us and how one can never truly run from what was. Lyrical prose and concise wording creates a novel that hits at one's very soul; each word is rift with meaning and purpose. This is a book created by a master of the genre - one that an American public would be wise to embrace.

ODD MOM OUT

2007-12-24T12:13:00.000-08:00

5 Spot, 9/2007

As a single mom of two, I find there are many instances where I feel like a fish out of water. Take for example the annual school fundraiser, a black tie event where everyone attends with their spouse. I've never gone as I no longer have a spouse and lack a significant other. In her new book, Odd Mom Out, author Jane Porter tells the story of Marta Zinsser, a single mom by choice, who feels like an outsider in her Seattle suburb. Like me, Marta is a working mother who can't be bothered to wear the garb of the suburban mom, doesn't get her nails done weekly and finds it hard to make time for PTA meetings. While Marta is comfortable with who she is (at least at the beginning of the book), she begins to question herself when her nine year old daughter, Eva, takes her to task for not being more like the other moms.

Porter writes for those of us who are entering (if not already there) our mid-life - a demographic that is normally ignored in the typical chic lit arena. Recognizing that we all get older (readers of books included), Porter dissects the lives of women who have succeeded in their careers but may find themselves feeling empty in their personal lives. When Marta meets the gorgeous, rich Luke (please will someone write a chic lit book with a man who is imperfect!), she must question her determination to go it alone and succumb to both the needs of her daughter and the inner desires in herself.

This is a book that is not only fun to read but one that deals with the turmoil of single mothers everywhere. Bravo Jane Porter!