Linda Olsson

“See, you must know, that all that lives
Is deep inside of equal kind.
Like trees and herbs it seeks to grow—
Pulled forward by its inner laws.
And trees may fall and flowers wilt
And branches break, their power lost,
Still the dream remains—awaits the call—
In every living drop of sap.”

A poem by Karin Boye, as quoted by Astrid in the novel.

This is the story of two wounded souls, both of whom are living on the edge of society in an effort to move beyond grief. On the verge of turning thirty, Veronika has returned to her native Sweden to rent a country house and write a book in isolation. Astrid, the mysterious elderly woman who is her only neighbor, harbors her own untold tale. Both women possess the power to heal the other, though neither can initially see it in their woundedness.

Winding through the seasons from one Winter to the next, Astrid & Veronika is largely a story of place, focusing on how our leaving and returning affects our internal landscape as well as our external view. Olsson’s gentle story telling has an unhurried pace that forces the reader to slow her breath and to tread more carefully. Her strength as a writer is largely her sense of detail, and both people and landscape come into vivid view through her narrative. Olsson’s Swedish roots do much to imbue this story with the moodiness required for living where the days, like stories, sometimes stretch out indeterminately, and sometimes move by in a flash. (Something readers in Seattle and Copenhagen are likely to relate to, which may explain what drew me to this novel!)

An author interview–something that is featured quite often in newer paperbacks–provides an interesting read, especially when Olsson talks about the difference between writing a short story and writing a novel.

Overall, this books is a good choice for a Winter read, or for a study of how to capture place in one’s writing

Janis Cooke Newman

I’ve been enamored of late by good historical fiction, and this novel about Mary Todd Lincoln doesn’t fail to satisfy. Told in the voice of Mr. Lincoln, her story moves back and forth through time, alternating between her life with the President and her post-presidential stay in a mental institution. Author Janis Cooke Newman used letters penned by Mrs. Lincoln during her stay in the sanatorium to piece together the dire and dramatic story of her life and the life of her family.

The first woman to be referred to as “The First Lady,” Mary Todd Lincoln moved from poverty to prominence, and single-handedly made the White House (then referred to as “The President’s House”) the national symbol it is today. As a woman with a keen political mind, Mary Todd Lincoln had little place to exercise her passions. If she assisted her husband in his campaigning she was criticized for “unsexing” herself. Not content to live within the confines of housewife and mother, Mary struggled to carve out a place of her own in an unforgiving cultural landscape.

In one of my favorite scenes Mary, having helped her husband prepare for a campaign speech, then proceeds to make a cake “requiring no less than twelve steps” as penance for moving outside her feminine boundaries. It’s strangely comforting to know that even the First Lady struggled to create a balance between two much loved vocations—motherhood and _______________. (Insert your career of choice here.)

Although Mary is at times quite melancholy, the historical setting and underlying themes of feminism, mental health, and sexuality provide the novel with enough revitalizing energy to counterpoint the sadder moments. This is historical fiction that is both education and entertaining.

Water for Elephants
Sara Gruen

When I finished all the books I’d brought on vacation, I wandered into Cloud and Leaf (Manzanita, Oregon) to find a new read. A long day on the beach and one late night reading-fest later, I’d already finished the whimsical, romantic Water for Elephants.

I’m an unabashed fan of all things circus-y : Circus Contraption, Cirque de Flambé, and the Aerialistas being three of our favorite local haunts. But after the second season of Carnivale turned out to be a disappointingly creepy follow up to its fabulous first season beginnings, I’ve been left high and dry for stories of redemption and belonging among the freaks and roustabouts. The historically-backed folklore of Sara Gruen’s third novel was just the thing to feed my jones for dust bowl era tales of traveling with The Show.

Water for Elephants features Jacob, an ivy-league trained vet who starts riding the rails after a personal tragedy and ends up living the life fantastic with Benzinzi Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Brutal, psychotic managers take Jacob into their motley crew where he finds himself embroiled in a tale of wonder, mystery, murder and romance. A quick but yummy read, this 300+ page novel reads like a short story. Some reviewers have found the twist-ending a bit too neat given the dire realities of the setting, but I say there’s nothing wrong with a bit of a potboiler ending and a little romance when you are reading in the dog days of summer. You’ll be glad to have read this in paperback or from the libary, and eager to pass it on to a friend. In fact, I’ll pass my copy on to one lucky reader who submits their favorite summer read in the comments below. (I’ll draw a name next Wednesday.) Happy Reading!

Hear an NPR review of this book here.

Angel and Apostle
Deborah Noyes

Don’t you just love it when you pick a book up from the “new in paperback” table at your local independent bookseller and you actually love it? That’s what happened for me with Deborah Noyes’ well-crafted piece of literary fiction, Angel and Apostle

Picking up where Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic The Scarlet Letter leaves off, Noyes follows the life of fatherless Pearl who has immigrated with her mother to the New World. In the hands of many writers this would turn into a soulless gimmick, but under Noyes’ fine hand Pearl’s story unfolds in a believable, tragic, beautiful way. Touching on themes of righteousness and redemption, social norms and cultural vices, Angel and Apostle woos you with its beautiful language and snags you with its philosophical subplots. It’s the kind of satisfying novel that you can read for the shear beauty of the words, or carefully savor the ideas that cocooned within the broader brush strokes of the story. Even those who have never read The Scarlet Letter can appreciate this lovely novel.

The Devil in the White City
Erik Larson

Paul and I could hardly put down this page turner of a book, eventually buying it in paperback so we could stop fighting over whose turn it was to read the library’s copy. In The Devil in the White City, Erik Larson uses his journalism chops to research the story of America’s first documented serial killer, and the simultaneous construction of the world’s fair that brought him such a large choice of prey. This unappealing topic is shaped into a tastefully written true crime story that is cunningly juxtaposed with the tale of massive cultural change during the building of Chicago’s 1893 World’s Fair. The fair, nicknamed “The White City” for its opulent architectural center piece, has since been lost to the great Chicago fire, but Larson manages to bring it back to life only to have it steal the show from the gorier biography of Dr. H. H. Holmes, sociopath M.D. Sensitive readers can easily skim over the relatively few graphic details and sink into the fascinating tale of determination which brought the Chicago Exposition to life.

Audrey Niggenegger

Warning: If you are on a deadline for work, or just need to catch up on some sleep, don’t buy this book! The Time Traveler’s Wife is one of those reads you just won’t want to put down! I read it in about three days, then passed it on to a friend who got in done in two — and both of us had toddlers to look after!

This is the story of Henry and Clare, a librarian/art student couple who have never met…yet Clare has known the grown-up Henry since she was six. Hmmm…. This is a beautiful love story and a neat metaphysical mystery. The nice thing about this novel is that although it is a real page turner, it’s also a beautifully written book. Great for high-quality Summer reading.

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

Ten years old and it still address the political and religious climate of America today. Wicked harkens back slightly to Tolkien, with multiple creatures and their cultures (Gilkinese, the Munchkinlanders, the Quadlings, etc.) weaving together a complex and satisfying tale. Read the rest of this entry »

The Darrow Series

What’s more intriguing than a handsome psychic? A handsome psychic with a clerical collar, of course! Howatch writes a riveting stories about father and son ministers who struggles to follow their twin callings as both a healer-priests. Set in the Church of England, this series spans two generations and multiple decades. Dishy love affairs, intriguing psychic mysteries, and well-research theological and psychological theory peg these books with the oxymoronic classification of “intellectual potboilers.” My favorite? Glamorous Powers, but start with Glittering Images to start the Jonathan Darrow series, or pick up the more modern The Wonder Worker to read up on his son, Nicholas Darrow.

Chocolat to the earthy Blackberry Wine: A Novel, Harris never fails to perform an act of alchemy as finely woven stories emerge out of the vapors of rich foods, plush words, and appealing characters. Being a migrainuer, I empathize with the migraine-wrecked family in Five Quarters of the Orange, but the feminine mysticism of Juliette, the French actress-turned-nun makes Holy Fools : A Novel (Harris, Joanne) my favorite.
Even if you’ve seen the movie, don’t skip over the many-layered Chocolat. For a similar, if less nuanced tale, try the enjoyable Coastliners: A Novel, which blends elements of Chocolat and Holy Fools : A Novel (Harris, Joanne). Blackberry Wine: A Novel is a picturesque comforting read, while the least satisfying but still worth reading Gentlemen and Players: A Novel is a murder mystery of the most high-brow variety.