Staff Picks Category: Fiction

Map Of Ireland by Stephanie Grant [Book]

view/request

Recently we had a display of books by Massachusetts writers and this particular book caught my attention. Set in the South Boston busing crisis of 1974, it is the story of Ann Ahern, a high school junior and her growing awareness of her surroundings as well as her personal coming out as a lesbian. Through her growing infatuation with her beautiful substitute French teacher Mademoiselle Eugenie who hails from Paris and is of African descent, she is drawn into the conflict of her times – both personal and political. An overall impressive view of a young woman caught in the struggle of identification as a Southie as well as her initial exposure to the world beyond her limited family and neighborhood.

The Rook by Daniel O’Malley [Book]

view/request

The body you are wearing used to be mine.
So begins the letter Myfanwy Thomas is holding when she awakes in a London park surrounded by bodies all wearing latex gloves. With no recollection of who she is, Myfanwy must follow the instructions her former self left behind to discover her identity and track down the agents who want to destroy her.  Set in an alternate London, Myfanwy discovers that her former self was/is a high-ranking officer of the secret organization, the Chequy, which battles supernatural forces in Britain. She quickly scrambles to (re)learn her job, while trying to figure out who in the organization wants to kill her. The character of Myfanwy is wonderful, and she handles her unusual situation with a wry wit.

The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens [Book]

view/request

This was the first novel by Charles Dickens and really a pleasure to read. It tells the story of Mr. Pickwick and his fellow Pickwick Club members as they travel the English countryside and describes their adventures in a very humorous manner but also with a keen eye into the social and political landscape of the time. It was a great re-introduction to Dickens for me and I am looking forward to reading many of his other works.

There Is No Dog by Meg Rosoff [Book]

view/request

I confess: I borrowed this book because the title reminded me of my favorite bumper sticker: DOG IS MY CO-PILOT. Also, that cloud poodle was kind of cute. You just can’t go wrong judging a book by its cover.
Anyway, this young adult novel gives the most convincing explanation yet of why the world is plagued with war, famine, bad weather, and carnivores that eat each other. In short, God is a self-absorbed teenage boy who is not paying attention. He can’t even pick up his clothes off the floor, let alone answer the mail from his billions of creations. When he’s moody, the earth erupts in natural disasters, and when he falls in love with a human, all hell breaks loose. This is my first acquaintance with the witty and irreverent Meg Rosoff and I’ll be looking forward to reading more, for the laughs, the originality and the covers.

Julie and Romeo by Jeanne Ray [Book]

view/request

This light romance turns Romeo and Juliet on its head. Julie is struggling to keep her family’s flower business in Somerville, MA afloat after her husband of 35 years left her (for a younger woman) and moved to Seattle. She runs into her rival, Romeo Cacciamani, at a small business conference. Although he is the other florist in Somerville, and their families have been feuding for years, she finds that not only does she no longer hate him, but they quickly fall in love. In a reversal, it is their children who are against the relationship, and insist on continuing the grudge, even though no one knows why or how it began. Will Julie and Romeo find true love the second time around, or will their children prevail in keeping them apart?

Snuff by Terry Pratchett [Book]

view/request

One Terry Pratchett Discworld novel is much like another, and I mean that as a compliment, the way I would about the Marx Brothers or P.G. Wodehouse.  Pratchett is reliably funny, satirical, detailed, and quick, coming at you from all sides (including footnotes).  In Discworld there are no sacred cows, and in this latest installment cows feature prominently since streetwise city detective Sam Vimes has been lured by his formidable wife to her country estate on vacation.
Pretty soon the deceptively sleepy village reveals there’s more than manure to meet the eye, and Vimes is entangled in crimes and secrets that rival his usual pastimes in the metropolis.
Start anywhere; you won’t regret it.

Telegraph Avenue by Michael Chabon [Audiobook]

view/request

Michael Chabon’s mastery of language alone is enough to recommend anything he writes.  But the characters in Telegraph Avenue provide much more to enjoy. The story centers around two friends in Oakland, California who own a used record store that is “nearly the last of its kind.” Archy is black, Nat is Jewish, and their wives are also partners in a midwifery practice.  All of them are beleaguered by cultural and economic realities that endanger their livelihoods, but they keep doing what they believe in.  Meanwhile their children have their own troubles which are drawn sympathetically yet realistically.  The neighborhood, customers, relatives, friends and enemies are portrayed with a warts-and-all detail that makes them very multi-dimensional, believable and relatable.  The story unfolds at a deliberate pace but the humanness of the characters and the joy of Chabon’s writing will draw you in.  For music buffs, there’s an extra nostalgic delight in vintage vinyl.  Clarke Peters reads for Recorded Books in a rich, deep voice, delivering Chabon’s metaphors and dialogue with the power, humor and sly intelligence they deserve.

Christmas Wedding by James Patterson and Richard DiLallo [Book]

view/request

Widow Gabby Summerhill invites her 4 children and their families home to Stockbridge, Massachusetts to celebrate Christmas together, their first holiday together since their father died 3 years ago. Gabby announced in a video message to her children that she will be getting married on Christmas but the identity of the groom will remain a secret until the wedding. While the book is not a typical James Patterson thriller, it has many emotional twists and turns.

Murder Your Darlings by J.J. Murphy [Book]

view/request

Winter’s Bone by Daniel Woodrell [Book]

view/request

Set in the Ozarks in the unforgiving winter. Ree Dolly, a 16-year-old who is the de facto head-of-household, has taken on the responsibility of raising her two younger brothers and caring for her mentally withdrawn mother. A knock on the door informs her that her father has skipped bail, and she will lose the house that has been in her family for generations unless he is found, dead or alive. This book is very atmosopheric, with the winter hanging over the story. It has an older feel, partially because of the poverty and living conditions that are treated as commonplace, until you realize that Jessup Dolly had been arrested for running a meth lab. Ree Dolly is a strong girl, old beyond her years, trying to fight for her family in an unforgiving landscape.

Widow’s War by Sally Gunning [Book]

view/request

Set on Cape Cod (in the area which is now Brewster), in the year 1761 we meet Lyddie Berry, whose husband drowns while whaling. She defies convention and chooses not to live with her son-in-law (and who could blame her), and holds onto the law of being able to use (but not own) 1/3 of her husband’s property. She defies social, legal and religious strictures of her time, and makes her way through a world that is not made for independent women. Throw in some romance and intrigue with the details of daily life and you have a very captivating story. The author was led to the subject by her own historical research into her family, and her familiarity with the area is clear in the book.

That is All by John Hodgman [Book]

view/request