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Gab Bags -
Books for Book GroupsWilliamsburg Regional Library has collected multiple copies of the following titles for use by reading groups. The books are packaged in a tote bag, and can be checked out for up to eight weeks. Many of the titles have questions and supplementary material to stimulate thoughtful discussion. Bags are available at both the Scotland Street and Croaker Road libraries. You may place a hold on the title you want and pick it up at the most convenient location. For a complete list of titles (without descriptions), click here.
The purchase of the initial nine titles was made possible through a grant from the Friends of the Library to support library-sponsored book groups. Since then, support has come from Jane and Robert McGaw, the Williamsburg Community Trust, and the Gladys and Franklin Clark Foundation. By sharing these group resources with community readers, the Gab Bags program extends the success of those grants.
If you have any questions about the program, or would like to learn about other book group resources available through the Williamsburg Regional Library, please contact Andrew Smith, Readers Services Librarian, or call 259-4050.
Jump to titles starting with: A-C | D-G | H-L | M-R | S-Z
In pre-World War I Azerbaijan the cultural chasms are as deep as the oil wells that surround the city. Muslim Ali Khan, the scion of the wealthy and powerful Shirvanshir family, has fallen in love with Princess Nino Kipiani, the daughter of a rich Christian merchant family. Their courtship, opposed by family and friends, is disrupted by the outbreak of war. A time of great change is coming for Russia and for the Middle East, and the young lovers must decide whether they belong to Europe or Asia. Rich with depictions of the people of the Caucasus and affecting in its portrayal of youthful romance, Ali and Nino has been called “a jewel of a book” by the New York Times Book Review. (20 copies in 2 bags)The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay - Michael Chabon
The Golden Age of Comics is the backdrop for this stunning examination of America in the years just before and after World War II. Cousins Josef Kavalier (a refugee from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia) and Sam Clay (a Brooklyn-born dreamer with big ideas) combine forces to create The Escapist, arch-nemesis of a Hitler-style regime and centerpiece character of a successful line of comics. Kavalier only wants to make enough money to bring his family out of Europe, while Clay struggles to discover his own identity; when both dreams are shattered on the same night the men take very different paths into a suddenly uncertain future. (13 copies in 1 Bag)
Angle of Repose - Wallace Stegner
Stegner's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel follows the tale of Susan and Oliver Ward, pioneers to the American West following engineering jobs from mining camp to mining camp until their marriage falls apart. Their story is narrated by their grandson, Lyman, a retired historian wracked with a crippling disease that leaves him reliant on family friends. By studying his grandmother's letters and drawings he delves beneath the public surface of her marriage to the pain and individuality of her life. At the same time, he draws comfort and insight into his own troubled life. Slow, intense and deeply rewarding reading. (10 copies)
Atlantic travel correspondent Tayler made a promise to himself in 1997 as he stood on a high dune overlooking the vast wasteland of the Sahel - that he would come back and explore the people and countries that exist between the desert north and the temperate center of Africa. While the attacks of September 11th opened many Western eyes to the Muslim populations of the Mideast and Central Asia, Tayler was reminded of the people of the Sahel - black, predominately Muslim, and with a poverty level incomprehensible to most outsiders. His travels through this area, following the "Harmattan", or "angry wind", introduce readers to the places and attitudes of this almost-unknown region. (This Gab Bag was made possible through a grant from the Glady I. and Franklin W. Clark Foundation.)
The Archer's Tale - Bernard Cornwell
First in a new series by a master of historical fiction, The Archer's Tale delves into the violent and treacherous world of fourteenth century England and France at the beginning of the Hundred Years' War. Following the travels and travails of Thomas of Hookton as he sets out to reclaim a stolen relic and revenge himself on the Norman raider who stole it, the meticulously detailed and action-packed story also raises questions about honor and loyalty, the effectiveness of symbols on ordinary people and the nature of aristocracy. (A WRL Staff Genre Book Discussion pick - Historical Fiction). (10 copies)
Briony Tallis, at three stages of her life, narrates this searing account of lives ruined and, perhaps, salvaged. Told with an exquisite detail that captures the heat of an English day, the passion of young lovers, the chaos of war and retreat, and a conscience that tries to right past wrongs, McEwan is at his best as he recreates Briony's life and her struggle to tell the truth about a childhood error that ruined many lives. Short-listed for the Booker Prize, which McEwan won for Amsterdam. (8 copies)
Back When We Were Grownups - Anne Tyler
Fifty-three year old Rebecca thinks she has turned into the wrong person. Widowed for 27 years, mother to three stepdaughters and one daughter, running her dead husband's family business, and taking care of his 99-year old uncle, she wonders how she got to this place. Going back to the first major decision of her life, she rekindles her relationship with the man she almost married. Filled with the small details, quirky characters, and gently comic scenes that make Tyler a singular writer, Back When We Were Grownups gives Rebecca, and readers, a chance to see what might have been. (This Gab Bag was made possible through a grant from the Glady I. and Franklin W. Clark Foundation.)
Smiley's first novel is the story of an Indiana family under the spell of mother Kate's obsession with raising and training horses, and conveying her certain ideas of riding to everyone she meets. Her four adolescent children struggle with their identities and awareness of their limited horizons; her husband tries to reignite the love they used to have. Strong personalities clash in an ultimately tragic portrait of a family. (These Williamsburg Regional Library's Book Discussion groups are made possible with a grant from the Williamsburg Community Trust.)
Beautiful Swimmers - William W. Warner
Warner's classic is a must-read for anyone whose life is affected by, or affects, the Chesapeake Bay. Following the blue crab (callinectes sapidus, or beautiful savory swimmer), Warner details a life cycle that is still mysterious to the scientists and watermen who see the crab at every point on the Bay. He also writes eloquently and lovingly about the lives of the watermen who once worked year-round harvesting the shallow waters of the Bay, and about the changes that would drive all but the hardiest out of work. A Pulitzer Prize-winner in 1977, this edition adds an update about the decline of crabs, as well as an introduction by John Barth.
Beekeeper's Apprentice - Laurie R. King
First in the series, Apprentice recounts the first meeting between the gangly, bookish Mary Russell and the legendary consulting detective Sherlock Holmes. Mary's innate skills of observation and logical thinking entice Holmes into training her in his own methods of detection, and the pair's initial adventures confirm her abilities. But when a frighteningly capable adversary arises, the duo must split up or risk their lives and relationship. (A WRL Staff Genre Book Discussion pick - Mystery)
Bird's-eye View - J.F. Freedman
Fritz Tullis, a disgraced academic, is hiding from the world on the fringe of his family's estate, drinking too much, smoking pot, and sleeping around. He's also protecting two secrets - a rare whooping crane thousands of miles from home, and photographs of a foreign diplomat's murder that he took on a neighbor's property while on a bird-watching expedition. Poking around into his neighbor's background convinces him that he's stumbled onto a high-level conspiracy, and he begins to wonder who he can trust.
Rex and Meg Van Dorn lose their 6-year old son in an accident caused by drunken neighbor Cindy Ann Kreisler. When grief and the revenge of a lawsuit don't help them to heal, they set off to live aboard their sailboat, but even the ocean and the idyllic settings of a Caribbean island find ways to remind them of their son. As Meg tries to find a way to let go or to live with her sorrow and anger, memories of her youthful friendship with Cindy Ann make her question her own responsibility for the accident. A powerful tale of anguish transformed into forgiveness, and of friendship lost and renewed, told in Ansay's clear and detailed language. (13 copies) (This Gab Bag was made possible through a grant from the Glady I. and Franklin W. Clark Foundation.)
The Bonesetter’s Daughter - Amy Tan
In this follow-up to The Joy Luck Club, Tan continues to explore themes of mother-daughter relationships. Ruth is a 40-something ghostwriter caring for her difficult and demanding mother, who may have Alzheimer’s. The discovery of her mother’s diary, written in Chinese, prompts Ruth’s rediscovery of her mother, her heritage and her true family. (10 copies)
Cabinet of Curiosities - Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
During construction on a New York City highrise, the hidden burial place of 36 19th century murder victims is unearthed. Suddenly, the city is plagued by a series of murders using the identical, brutal methods of the 100-year old victims. Is an immortal serial killer stalking the metropolis? Under pressure from the mayor and the developer, FBI agent Pendergast (from Preston and Child's Relic), reporter William Smithback and his girlfriend, museum curator Nora Kelly (from Thunderhead) must investigate both sets of murders before they become victims themselves. (A WRL Staff Genre Book Discussion pick - Horror) (15 copies)
Based on the oral and historical record of the author’s family, this story of four generations of powerful African-American women goes to the heart of racial identity and relationships in the United States. Beginning in 1834, these women, and the white men who sometimes use and sometimes love them, build families, faith and a community while struggling to live with both black and white racism. (10 copies)Canone Inverso - Paolo Maurensig
An antique violin is the heart of this exploration of art and the artist. The question is: who is the greater artist? The one who owns his art or the one who is owned by it? Structured almost like "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner", the buyer of the violin is accosted by a stranger who relays the history of the instrument, the rivalry between budding artists Kuno and Jeno at a horrific music school, and the playing out of their lives against the backdrop of the Nazi occupation of Europe. Deeply layered, full of symbols and themes, this is an ideal book for discussion. (7 copies)
Carter Beats the Devil - Glen David Gold
After attending a magic show in 1923 San Francisco, President Warren Harding suddenly dies. A suspicious Secret Service immediately focuses their attention on magician Carter the Great, who made a lion "eat" the President onstage. But who is Charles Carter? The answer to that question, and Carter's transformation from a lonely showman to a heroic magician, makes for a wonderful tale. Full of rollicking magic, backstage views of vaudeville, and the emergence of a world-changing invention, Carter Beats the Devil carries the reader on a whirlwind journey to the depths of sorrow and the heights of love. (11 copies)
Catch Me If You Can- Frank Abagnale
At the tender age of sixteen, he claims, he embarked on a life of con games, bad checks and impersonation that netted him $2.5 million, countless free miles on airlines, and women, women, women. Along the way, he was a pilot, a lawyer, a doctor, a wealthy developer; by his early twenties, he was in the hell of a French prison. Written more as a memoir than a true crime investigation, this takes the unique viewpoint of the criminal, not the investigator, and gives a new slant on identity theft, security, and the making of a criminal. (A WRL Staff Genre Book Discussion pick - True Crime 10 copies)
Come Back - Claire and Mia Fontaine
Claire Fontaine (not her real name) had a pretty good life going - a successful screenwriter married to a good man, living in Los Angeles - until her daughter Mia got into trouble. Suddenly, all the signs of trouble were out in the open: the biological father accused of molesting Mia, Mia's drug use and self-mutilation, Claire's need to control the people around her. Honest, sometimes even brutal, mother and daughter take turns telling their stories of redemption and reconciliation, adding to an already-powerful story.
The Confessions of Nat Turner - William Styron
In August of 1831, a group of slaves rose up in Southampton, Virginia, around what is now Courtland. Almost 60 white people were killed in the initial insurrection; in its aftermath, over 200 blacks were executed or lynched in retaliation. The revolt was led by a slave preacher, Nat Turner, who was captured two months later, and who gave an account of his life and activities during the uprising. From that brief account, William Styron created a brilliant and controversial work of fiction, told in Nat Turner's voice, for which he received the 1967 Pulitzer Prize. Told in flowing and ever-changing language, with rich and disturbing details of slave life, this challenging book is sure to yield good discussions. (These Williamsburg Regional Library's Book Discussion groups are made possible with a grant from the Williamsburg Community Trust.) 15 copies in 1 Bag
Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis de Bernieres
Written in the magical realist style of his hero Gabriel Garcia Marquez, de Bernieres weaves together the tales of the inhabitants of the Greek island of Cephalonia, the Italian and German soldiers who occupy the island during World War II, and the historical characters whose actions bring these common people into contact and conflict. Kept apart by the potential consequences of a relationship between occupier and villager, then torn apart by the war, Pelagia Iannis, the independent daughter of an island doctor, and Captain Antonio Corelli, musician, artist and reluctant soldier are the heart of the story, but voices of the myriad of supporting characters weave a beautiful cloth with both light and dark threads. (19 copies in 2 bags)
Count Magnus and Other Ghost Stories - M.R. James
This collection brings together 18 of the most atmospheric, and scariest, of the traditional English ghost stories, a form perfected by medieval scholar James. Country settings, ordinary lives intersecting with the supernatural, ancient objects that summon things from the beyond - all these elements blend together in a way that has directly influenced writers from H.P. Lovecraft to Stephen King. James' stories were traditionally read over the BBC on Christmas Eve, solidifying his name and reputation among fans of the horror story.
Dance Hall of the Dead - Tony Hillerman
A Zuni boy preparing to be initiated into the mysteries of his religion disappears, leaving a pool of blood on the desert sand; his friend, a Navajo teen, also disappears before the police can talk with him. Joe Leaphorn, a tribal cop representing the Navajo, must work with the Zuni police, the FBI, and a mysterious government agent to find both boys. Is someone killing to protect the Zuni secrets, or is there another secret that Leaphorn must uncover? (A WRL Staff Genre Book Discussion - Mystery) (13 copies)
Devil in the White City - Erik Larson
It was the event of the century - the 1893 Chicago World's Fair that would show the world the energy and genius of America, with icons like Buffalo Bill Cody, Susan B. Anthony, and Thomas Edison enchanting visitors. Architect Daniel H. Burnham, working against a two-year deadline, overcame countless obstacles to create The White City as a showcase. But Chicago had a darker side: Dr. H. H. Holmes, an entrepreneur who conned his way into building the World's Fair Hotel, including in his construction a laboratory for murdering and dismembering young women - perhaps as many as 200. Larson alternates stories, creating suspense and awe at the accomplishments - both good and evil - of these energetic and charismatic men.
Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight - Alexandra Fuller
A difficult, beautiful, and moving memoir of growing up poor and white in post-colonial Africa. The Fuller family was rocked by disease, death, alcoholism and instability, moving from farm to farm and country to country in the wake of social and political upheaval. Laugh-out-loud moments of humor vie with heart-breaking losses as Fuller narrates vignettes from her African life in evocative prose, examining her parents, her sister and her homeland with a loving yet unsparing eye. (12 copies)
Down These Mean Streets - Piri Thomas
Thomas' 1967 memoir of growing up on the streets of Spanish Harlem is infused with the language and music of a long-gone era that still echoes in our world today. A dark-skinned Puerto Rican lost in the cultural crossroads of New York, where he was neither black, Spanish, nor Anglo, Thomas took to drugs and crime, before being sent to Sing Sing at the age of 22. Thomas survived to write of his experiences and provide an authentic view into the modern urban world - poverty, despair, and triumph included.
Three men. One city. Three troubled times. One manuscript. From 5th century Provence, where imperial governor Manlius tries to defend his land from barbarian invasions, to an 11th century troubadour who dies protecting the woman he admires during the Black Death, to the 20th century scholar who learns about both of them during the German occupation, the ideal of a Greek wise woman echoes through the centuries in a poem written by Manlius. Unfortunately, events mock idealism as anarchy leads to anti-Semitic pogroms.
Dreaming in Cuban - Cristina Garcia
Three generations of Cuban women, blessed with clairvoyance, fight over their attachments to Castro and their homeland. Mother Celia lives in Cuba and supports the revolution; daughter Felicia is in New York plagued by visions and syphilis; granddaughter Lourdes craves the Cuba she does not know while listening to the anarchic punk music of her youth. Magical writing, love letters, and monologues tell this rich story of women who love but don't understand one another.
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Empire Falls tells the story of a Maine mill town devastated by the loss of industry, and waiting for the town's leading citizen to create new opportunities. Told through the eyes of several characters, the story mostly focuses on Miles Roby, a college drop-out who returned to Empire Falls to nurse his mother. Now in his 40's, Miles manages the Empire Grill and copes with his teenaged daughter, the wife who left him for another man, an alcoholic father, and a variety of people who test his patience and resolve.
Encounters With the Archdruid - John McPhee
In the late 1960's, journalist McPhee put environmentalist David Brower in a series of trips with developers, and recorded their conversation and debates. A trip into the Glacier Peak Wilderness with mining engineer Charles Park created a discussion about the purpose of wild places where natural resources might be exploited. A second journey to the South Carolina coast with Hilton Head developer Charles Fraser looked at the desirability of planned development in growing areas. And a third trip on the Colorado River with Reclamation Commissioner Floyd Dominy showed the deep divide between preservationists and dam builders in the West. Brower was a controversial figure, and McPhee also chronicles his ouster as the leader of the Sierra Club. McPhee's clear and evocative language create portraits of both men and environments, and raises questions we still haven't answered. (14 copies in 1 bag)
The dynamics of a chamber music quartet, the stress of a revived romance, and the secrets that they harbor create the vivid narrative told in language that reveals Seth’s background as a poet. The details of the music, the temporary madness that defines the musicians and the vagaries of an illicit passion combine to make a dark, moody, occasionally uplifting piece. (20 copies in 2 bags)
An African-American writer of unsuccessful experimental fiction pens a raw tale of street life under a pen name, and becomes an overnight sensation. That is, his literary persona does. Thelonius "Monk" Ellison is also struggling with his sister's murder, his brother's coming out, and his mother's slow descent into Alzheimer's when he pens the graphic and disturbing My Pafology, (which is reproduced in its entirety). The money is a definite plus even if he doesn't want to be identified with the book. But when his book is nominated for a prestigious award, Monk struggles with the consequences. Everett creates layers of irony and literary references - even My Pafology is more than it seems - that make this both poignant and darkly humorous.
Face of a Stranger - Anne Perry
Perry, who also writes the Thomas and Charlotte Pitt detective series, began the Inspector William Monk series with this psychologically satisfying entry. Waking up in hospital after a carriage accident, Monk has no memory of who he was, or of the work he does. When assigned to investigate the murder of a Crimean War hero, Monk gradually puts together his own identity along with the details of the crime. Filled with period details of Victorian life, this is a great detective story and a great study of personality. (A WRL Staff Genre Book Discussion pick - Mystery) (14 copies)
50 years after its first publication, is Bradbury's science fiction classic still relevant? Censorship rules Guy Montag's world - as a fireman, his job is to burn the houses of people found with books. But Montag has a secret: unconsciously, inadvertently, he has been stealing books and hiding them in his own home. Contact with a young girl shows him the emptiness of his own life, until he sets off on a collision course with the culture that allowed censorship to wipe out any idea that might make someone uncomfortable. (A WRL Staff Genre Book Discussion pick - Science Fiction) (10 copies)
Fast Food Nation - Eric Schlosser
Looking at "the dark side of the American meal", Schlosser follows the roots, history, and current state of the fast food industry. From the iconoclastic founders of fast service and dependable flavors to the modern minimum wage employees and chemically-enhanced factory-produced meals, Schlosser raises questions about how fast food is made, marketed, and sold, all the while acknowledging that people like it, and eat it in huge quantities. (A WRL Staff Genre Book Discussion pick - narrative nonfiction) (14 copies in one Bag)
Vonnegut's satirical eye takes on the future of human evolution, telling the story of a doomed 'Cruise of the Century' to the Galapagos Islands. His narrator - the ghost of a young worker killed building the cruise ship - looks back ten million years to the events that brought the ancestors of 'modern' humans to the most remote place on earth, where they have changed beyond recognition. Examining ideas of social, cultural, and physical 'fitness', he compares the standards of current society with the traits needed to survive in a real world.
Flashman - George McDonald Fraser
Calculated to offend almost everybody, Flashman is nonetheless a hysterically funny, historically accurate story of the British Army in Afghanistan. Based on a minor character in Tom Brown's School Days, Flashy is a cad, a coward, an opportunist, and relentless social climber; his good (or bad) luck places him in harm's way, forcing the craven Flashman to save his skin at many a turn. This he does unfailingly, becoming a hero in the process. (A WRL Staff Genre Book Discussion pick - Historical Fiction)
A Game of Thrones - George R.R. Martin
In a world where summer lasts a lifetime and winter lasts for generations, struggles for power occupy the ruling families - and "in the game of thrones, losers die". In a saga that could be modeled on the English War of the Roses, this first entry in an epic trilogy introduces readers to the dour and honorable Stark family; the appetite-driven Baratheons; the wealthy, devious Lannisters; and the end of the exiled Targaryen line plotting its return to the throne. (A WRL Staff Genre Book Discussion pick - Fantasy) (11 copies)
A Gathering of Old Men - Ernest J. Gaines
Rural Louisiana in the 1970's: a group of elderly black men summon the local sheriff to take responsibility for the murder of a violent and racist white man. After a lifetime of mistreatment at the hands of whites, they are prepared to stand up to the sheriff and to fight to protect the identity of the true killer. But times have changed - people in both communities have turned their backs on the ways of the past and must come to grips with this defiant, honorable stand which promises open confrontation. Made possible by donations from the William and Mary Law and Society Book Group. (10 copies)
Getting Mother's Body - Suzan-Lori Parks
Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Parks uses a multitude of characters to narrate the tale of teenager Billy Beede, black, unmarried, and pregnant, and the lengths she goes to to get money to pay for an abortion. Her mother, blues singer Willa Mae Beede, is reputed to have been buried with pearls and diamonds, and Billy is determined to get them. The cast of characters, including Billy's luckless aunt and uncle, Willa Mae's former lover (who may or may not be a man), and the hometown oddball, chases Billy across Texas and into Arizona before reuniting at Willa Mae's grave. The characters all have their own voices, and their experiences - heartbreaking and humorous alike - show their essential humanity.
Second in the futuristic detective series penned by Robb (a pseudonym for bestselling author Nora Roberts), homicide detective Eve Dallas pursues the killer of successful women, regardless of where the clues lead. Her wealthy and mysterious lover, her boss, the son of a rich and politically connected family - all come under suspicion as the killings continue. The culture and setting of the mid-21st century, where a huge gulf separates rich and poor, and the aftereffects of an unnamed disaster still color the world, are an integral part of this dark and violent mystery series. (A WRL Staff Genre Book Discussion pick - Romance) (15 copies in one Bag)
Realtor Joe Stratford is an unassuming, unambitious small-town businessman content with his life, his home, and his adopted family. When Marcus Burns, former IRS agent, comes to town with big dreams and plans to manipulate the tax code to finance a billion-dollar development, Joe is first drawn in, then jumps in, to Marcus' scheme. Smiley uses the go-go days of the S&L / real estate boom of the 1980's to examine attitudes towards money, property, and "good faith" with both hilarious and touching results. (These Williamsburg Regional Library's Book Discussion groups are made possible with a grant from the Williamsburg Community Trust.)
The Good Soldier - Ford Madox Ford
Two couples live respectable lives of wealth and idleness in Europe before World War I - but beneath the surface lies infidelity, manipulation, bigotry, madness, and suicide. Ford's masterful examination gradually reveals the depths of human passion as the narrator tells 'the saddest story I have ever heard' in a meandering style that slowly reveals the tragedies that overtook five people. This edition has the authoritative text (161 pages), critical evaluations, and contemporary reviews, so there is no resource kit. (13 copies)
Growing Up Latino - edited by Harold Augenbraum and Ilan Stavans
Autobiographies, short stories, and excerpts from major Latino figures including Oscar Hijuelos, Jose Antonio Villareal, Sandra Cisneros, and Oscar Acosta deal with Hispanics coming of age in the United States, and show that not all Latinos have the same experiences. These authors find their ways, and their voices, between very different cultures, and the impact of those discoveries on themselves and their families.
Small-town insurance agent Raleigh Hayes is in control. But when his father skips town in a yellow Cadillac convertible, accompanied only by a teenaged mental patient, Raleigh has to wonder if his fortune cookie was right when it predicted "You will go completely to pieces by the end of the month". On the way to meet his father in New Orleans, Raleigh will encounter a junkyard saxophonist, a vanful of thugs, an escaped convict and his standup bass, and a mobster who wants to fight an old-fashioned duel. Raleigh will also find his way back into his family and his hometown, and learn more about both of them than he ever dreamed. A comic masterpiece. (2 Bags with 7 copies each)
Holidays on Ice - David Sedaris
Playwright and frequent NPR contributor Sedaris turns his gimlet eye on the Christmas Experience, skewering all who would try to live up to an impossible vision of the holiday. From a family newsletter that goes astray to his own experiences as a Macy's elf in SantaLand, Sedaris' sardonic wit makes the reader laugh out loud while remembering the times we behaved the same way. A WRL Staff Genre Book Discussion pick - Short Stories (15 copies)
An isolated Austrian village high in the Alps is the setting for this collection of linked stories. From 1909, when a misaddressed postcard disrupts one woman's placid life, to 1977, when a young wife struggles with her place on the family farm, the women of Rosenau marry, bear and lose children, suffer losses in both World Wars, and make their own way in a place where everyone knows their families but can't see the rich interior lives they lead. A lovely book about identity and community, about struggling to escape and settling in, Homestead won the 1999 PEN/Hemingway Award for a first novel. (20 copies)
House of Sand and Fog - Andre Dubus III
The American Dream becomes a nightmare for two people struggling over ownership of the same house. Colonel Behrani, an exiled Iranian forced to work menial jobs to support his family in the United States, buys a house at a foreclosure auction. The house is owned by Kathy, a recovering addict who doesn't take the necessary steps to correct a minor bureaucratic mistake before its consequences overwhelm her. The house is all either of them has, and their determination to hold onto it escalates into an explosive confrontation with tragic results.
The Ice Master: The Doomed 1913 Voyage of the Karluk - Jennifer Niven
Under the leadership of renowned explorer Vilhjammur Stefansson, a scientific expedition to map and collect data on the polar region was mounted by the Canadian government. When one of the ships, the Karluk, became icebound, Stefansson left it behind with an inexperienced crew and staff of scientists, whose struggle for survival began almost immediately. Captain Robert Bartlett led them to the closest land, then embarked on a 200 mile walk for help, while the ill-prepared and untrained remnant fought for their lives in the bitter cold and deprivation of a makeshift Arctic camp. Lesser-known but equal to the drama of Ernest Shackleton, this is a wonderful telling of true survivors. (10 copies)
In the Time of the Butterflies - Julia Alvarez
Las Mariposas, the pretty, talented daughters of a conservative Dominican family, become revolutionaries under the rule of the dictator Trujillo. In this affecting novel, each of the sisters tells the story of her growing up and turning towards overthrowing the brutal government. Along with each sister's story, Alvarez illustrates the characters of the others, until we have a complete portrait of a family, and a country, that would be destroyed by Trujillo. (This Gab Bag was made possible through a grant from the Glady I. and Franklin W. Clark Foundation.)
Mount Everest dominated the imagination of the world even before Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reached the summit in 1953. Now, 50 years later, it is a destination for adventurers of all stripes. But in 1996, 12 climbers, some of them the best in the world, died on the mountain. Was it bad luck, bad judgment, bad timing, bad leadership? Krakauer, a journalist, was among the climbers who survived that trip, and this unsparing account of the ascent and its torturous aftermath was written shortly after his return. (10 copies)
Island of Heavenly Daze - Lori Copeland
A feud between aunt and niece; a minister who thinks he's on the verge of losing his job; and a wayward dog who rides the ferry to beg for goodies are only a few of the characters living on a small island off the coast of Maine. A picturesque spot attractive to tourists, Heavenly Daze only has a few year-round residents. Among them, though, are seven angels, assigned by decree to guard the inhabitants of the island in response to a deathbed prayer by the island's founder. So what happens when Reverend Winslow Waldo Wickman buys a mail-order toupee to look younger? Will the unyielding Olympia de Cuvier come to accept her niece Annie's off-island career? Will Tallulah get fresh biscuits? With angels looking on, almost anything can - and does. (A WRL Staff Genre Book Discussion - Christian fiction) (11 copies in 1 Bag)
The Johnstown Flood - David McCullough
Over 2000 people died when a wall of water swept down the steep hillsides above Johnstown, Pennsylvania on May 31, 1889. In one of historian McCullough's earliest works, he tells the story of how the original earthen dam was constructed to create a lake for the recreation of some of Pittsburgh's wealthiest industrialists; how lack of maintenance weakened it; and how the dam was destroyed in a bad Memorial Day storm. Drawing from newspaper accounts, official histories, and in some cases from the oral accounts of the survivors, McCullough personalizes the tragedy while connecting it to the America of the Golden Age. (A WRL Staff Genre Book Discussion pick) (9 copies in one Bag)
The Kill Artist - Daniel Silva
Peace in the Middle East is at stake, with a fanatical assassin and his team tracking an unknown target on the eve of a historic summit. To match his skill, Mossad calls out of retirement two of their best - Gabriel Allon, now living a secluded life as an art restorer, and model Jacqueline Delacroix, whose recognizable face provided her with the perfect cover. Together, the two must find Tariq al-Hourani before he strikes. But with no clue of the target, they must risk their lives to get close to al-Hourani, who has nothing to lose on this mission. (A WRL Staff Genre Book Discussion - thriller) (10 copies in 1 Bag)
Kitchen Confidential - Anthony Bourdain
Author, chef, and television star Bourdain first took readers into the kitchens of those famous and trendy restaurants in 2000, telling his own story of cooking and drug addiction while revealing the 'dark underbelly of haute cuisine'. His no-holds-barred punk-rock attitude comes screaming through the text as he punctures egos and images with fervor equal to his obvious love of food and cooking. (A WRL Staff Genre Book Group pick - 11 copies)
The Kite Runner - Khaled Husseini
A powerful story of friendship and loss set in Afghanistan and the United States. Amir is the privileged son of an imposing father, in whose eyes the boy can never measure up. Amir's best friend is the harelipped Hazara Ali, whose father is Amir's family servant. Though he never breaches the wall between servant and master, Ali protects Amir and helps him compete in Kabul's strenuous kite fighting competitions. Amir fails Ali at a crucial time, and that failure creates anger and regret which follows Amir to America. When he gets a mysterious call from his father's friend telling him "There is a way to be good again," Amir must choose between his comfortable life and the hazards of Taliban-dominated Afghanistan. (This Gab Bag was made possible through a grant from the Glady I. and Franklin W. Clark Foundation.)
The Known World - Edward P. Jones
The death of Henry Townsend, an African-American slaveowner, sends repercussions rippling through rural Manchester County. Jones examines Henry's own life as a slave, his parents' struggle to free him, and the effects of slavery on both white and black, many of whom don't even realize the marks that "the peculiar institution" leaves on their bodies and souls. Written in flowing poetic language that does not conceal the harsh truths of slavery, The Known World won the 2004 Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award. (10 copies and a resource guide) (A WRL Staff Genre Book Discussion Selection)
The Last Report on the Miracles At Little No Horse - Louise Erdrich
Father Damien Modeste, priest to the desolate Little No Horse community, fears exposure when an investigator from the Vatican comes to examine the life of a possible saint. The secret he has kept for more than 70 years? He is actually Agnes De Witt, who assumed the identity of a dead priest under bizarre circumstances. This complex book explores ideas of spirituality in Western and Native cultures, struggles with the role of women in the Catholic church, and offers vignettes, sometimes funny and sometimes heartbreaking, of life on the impoverished reservation. Winner of the Booklist Editors’ Choice and Library Journal Best Books awards for 2001. (20 copies in 2 bags)
Longitudes and Attitudes - Thomas Friedman
The Pulitzer Prize-winning Friedman collects a number of his columns about the United States' role in the world together in a single volume. Ranging from pre-September 11 musings that proved prescient to the diary of his post-September 11 experiences stranded in the Middle East, this collection gives the reader many points to ponder. (10 copies)
Love and Hate in Jamestown - David A. Price
William and Mary graduate David Price has given an up-to-date telling of the Jamestown story without the mythology that often conceals the truth. By placing the settlement in its historical perspective, and tracing all the threads to create a great yarn, Price shows how close the 'first permanent English settlement in North America' came to perishing. He draws distinctions among the settlement's leaders, the leaders of the Native Americans, and the directors of the Company pulling the colony's strings in England. He also creates sympathetic and detailed portraits of Powhatan and Pocahontas, but lets their actions speak for them. (These Williamsburg Regional Library's Book Discussion groups are made possible with a grant from the Williamsburg Community Trust.) 30 copies in 3 Bags
Love in the Time of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Is love at 18 the same as love at 70? 50 years after she rejects him, and at the funeral of her husband, Florentino Ariza begins his second courtship of the 70 year old Fermina Daza. Their youthful encounter, and their courtship of furtive glances and impassioned letters, culminates in Fermina’s rejection of Florentino during their first conversation. She goes on to marry above her station, while he assuages his broken heart with a series of relationships with widows and by writing love poetry for ardent but less-skilled suitors. Their stories of their years of separation are intertwined, but it is the magic of their time together, finding new romance at the end of their lives, that is the heart of the book. (20 copies in 2 bags)The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
In the first pages of this beautifully haunting and movingly told story, 14-year old Susie Salmon is raped and murdered by her neighbor. The rest of the book is told by the ghostly Susie, who moves between heaven (14-year olds go to school, but Cosmo is their textbook) and her home, where she watches her family and friends disintegrate in the wake of her disappearance. Her omniscient presence allows us to see and experience the emotions, the changing relationships and, eventually, the rebuilding of a family united by more than tragedy. (9 copies)
In crisp, stripped-down prose, Salzman tells the story of Sister John of the Cross, a cloistered nun whose ecstatic and deeply personal visions of God have produced a best-selling book of poetry. When headaches begin accompanying her visions, Sister John must decide whether to seek treatment or continue her communion, regardless of the costs. Flashbacks to various stages of her life, views of the relationships in a secluded community, and the intensity with which Sister John meets the challenge, make this "a compelling portrait of faith and the interior life" (Library Journal).
The distant, benevolent father from Louisa May Alcott's Little Women takes on new life in Brooks' Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. From horrible and lonely places, Captain March sends tender, chiding letters to his daughters. In person, he is defeated and embittered by his failures, changed irrevocably by the Civil War. But March's isn't the only voice we read - Brooks also brings the magnificent Marmee to life to tell of her struggles and triumphs with her family. The growth of these complex people, and their struggles to live out their ideals make this a interesting book for discussion - whether you've read Little Women or not.
The Master and Margarita - Mikhail Bulgakov
Long suppressed by the Soviet authorities, Bulgakov's masterpiece of satire targets all the qualities necessary to thrive in Stalin's Soviet Union - cowardice, corruption, and greed. With a cohort of wickedly amusing demons, Satan comes to Moscow, destroys the bureaucrats in charge of literature and theatrical production, and frees a masterful novelist whose great work has been rejected. Interspersed with the modern story is the Master's tale of Yeshua Ha-Nozri, an itinerant philosopher who is brought before a Roman governor to be judged for his anti-social speeches. Rich language, allegory, and a host of ideas (what is the role of the artist or outsider in society?) make this a book for thoughtful discussion.
Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
The moving story of the transformation of Chiyo, 9-year old daughter of an impoverished fishing village to Sayuri, the most sought-after geisha in Kyoto’s Gion entertainment district, is told through this imagined autobiography. Set in the twentieth century against the backdrop of the Great Depression, World War II and the American Occupation, the entertainment district is affected by staggering changes to its deeply traditional culture. The complicated, layered world of the geisha (less prostitute than skilled artist and entertainer) is opened to close examination through Sayuri’s relationships with her okiya family, her mentor, her competitors and the men who pay for her services. (9 copies)
In her first book following the Pulitzer Prize-winning A Thousand Acres, Smiley turns to a Midwestern university for both insight and comic relief. Moo U., the flagship state agricultural college, is actually a series of fiefdoms uneasily led by the provost and secretly ruled by his secretary. Bewildered freshmen, conniving grant-seekers, idealistic and clueless professors, and an experimental pig named Earl Butz come together in Smiley's gently but accurately incisive world. (These Williamsburg Regional Library's Book Discussion groups are made possible with a grant from the Williamsburg Community Trust.)
Mortal Stakes - Robert B. Parker
Is ace Boston Red Sox pitcher Marty Rabb throwing games? The Sox hire Spenser to dig out the facts, and he discovers a blackmail scheme ugly enough to lead to murder. In typical Spenser fashion, his code of honor will not allow an innocent person to be victimized, but before he can set things right, he has to dodge the killer who's been set on his trail. (A WRL Staff Genre Book Discussion - Mystery) 14 copies in 1 Bag
Motherless Brooklyn - Jonathan Lethem
Lionel Essrog, an orphan raised in an institution, comes under the wing of small-time hood Frank Minna. Along with three other boys from the orphanage, they grow up to become his errand boys, the self-styled Minna Men posing as a car service and detective agency. When Frank is killed and the Minna Men come apart, only Lionel, who suffers from Tourette's Syndrome, rises to the challenge of finding his murderer. Lionel's Tourette's tics - outbursts of word fragments combined in oddly poetic ways - make him seem crazy to others, but also hide his intelligence and awareness. Those tics aside, Lethem's signature use of language is in top form.
Four co-workers laughingly list the traits of "the perfect man" over an after-work beer. When the list gets out via the Internet and national television, the women become an overnight sensation - and unknowing targets for a homicidal maniac. One of the friends, Jaine Bright, has to cope with the attention of the media, the anger of her family, and the irritating attentions of her next-door neighbor, a local detective, while slowly becoming aware that her friends' mishaps could spell disaster for her. (A WRL Staff Genre Book Discussion pick - Romance) (14 copies)
The Murder of My Aunt - Richard Hull
A classic of the likable rogue mystery stories, first published in 1934. Edward is poor, effete and burdened with an aunt he dislikes. His aunt is eminently dislikable, but rich - which leads Edward to begin his plot. Called "an inverted detective story", we know whodunnit but have to read the tale to find out if he gets away with it. A British country house murder mystery with the comic touch that makes it a masterpiece, and a surprise ending that guarantees a good time. A WRL Staff Genre Book Discussion pick (Mystery) (10 copies)
Cather's classic, first published in 1918, tells the story of the immigrant girl Antonia Shimerda through the eyes of Jim Burden, a young orphan. The two arrive in Nebraska at the same time, but their lives take very different courses: Antonia scrapes a living with her impoverished family by working in the fields and in service to the people of the nearby town; Jim, living with his respectable and secure grandparents, is destined for better things. Cather's book is an homage to the vitality and struggle of the immigrants, and to the changing beauty of the prairie.
The Nanny Diaries - Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus
The surprise hit of 2001, The Nanny Diaries is the tale of a hip urban college student who takes a part-time job caring for four-year old Grayer X. Bit by bit, she is drawn into the hilarious and tragic world of the X family, including neurotic Mrs. X, whose notes to Nan are little masterpieces; Mr. X, the high-powered Wall Streeter whose work and extracurricular activities leave no time for his son; and Grayer, the child status symbol whose calendar is booked weeks in advance with Upper East side playdates, but no time with his parents. Wittily angry, this look into the lives of the rich and dysfunctional is also a fun read. (15 copies in 2 bags)
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America - Barbara Ehrenreich
Writer and scientist Barbara Ehrenreich set out for a look at the underside of the American economy - the lives of the working poor. Taking jobs in Florida (waitress), Maine (housekeeper / kitchen worker) and Minnesota (retail worker), she tried to support herself on her hourly earnings while coping with housing, food and gas bills. Along the way, she made some pretty surprising discoveries about herself and the people who are the foundation of the American workforce. (14 copies)
No Great Mischief - Alistair MacLeod
The Highland Scots, with all their clan pride, prejudices, abilities, and shortcomings, made an immeasurable contribution to the history of North America, and nowhere outside Cape Breton, Nova Scotia is that heritage adhered to so closely. In the course of a day trip to visit his dying brother, Alexander MacDonald relives the generations of men and women (and dogs) that followed in the footsteps of their ancestor Calum Ruadh ("Red Calum"), who made the journey from Scotland with his six children. In relative isolation until the 20th century, the clan bonds in the face of adversity, celebrating and mourning wholeheartedly in the harsh and unforgiving North Atlantic. Whether those bonds will stand the test of assimilation into modern Canadian society, and whether there is a place for brawling, larger-than-life characters becomes a central question in this powerful, precise novel.
A Northern Light - Jennifer Donnelly
16-year old Mattie faces a time of large decisions and small at the dawn of the 20th century. A bright student and voracious reader, she has earned a scholarship to college, but a promise to her dying mother keeps her bound to the hardscrabble farm and moody father she must care for. A neighbor boy excites feelings in her, but her friend's marriage and childbirth trials frighten her. And finally, a young female guest at the hotel where she's working during the summer has given her a packet of letters to burn. Only after the woman's drowning and the disappearance of her male acquaintance does Mattie come to realize that there is only one path for her to take. Based loosely on the murder of Grace Brown (as depicted in Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy and the film A Place in the Sun), A Northern Light won The Carnegie Medal, the LA Times Book Prize, and the Printz Honor Award.
The classic story of the returning soldier is told in this new and thrilling translation by Robert Fagles. The wily Odysseus, kept from his home by war and the wrath of Poseidon, journeys from one trial to another. His only son, Telemachus, comes of age in his father's house, which is filled with greedy and brutal men courting Penelope, Odysseus' long-suffering wife. Homer's story has endured for 2500 years, and many consider it the basis for all Western literature for its adventures, its contemplations, and its skillful storytelling. (A WRL Staff Genre Book Discussion choice - Classic) (10 copies in 1 Bag)
Oryx and Crake - Margaret Atwood
In the same bleak tone as her classic The Handmaid's Tale, Atwood creates a future world based on the excesses of our own - genetic engineering gone mad, social divisions created by armed, secure compounds, and full-time access to pornography and live violence via the Internet. Snowman, the last human, narrates the story of Jimmy and his brilliant friend Crake, two boys growing up in this world with little supervision and fewer values, playing games like 'Extinctathon' and 'Barbarian Stomp'. While Crake becomes a leading bioengineer, Jimmy drifts between jobs and women until Crake chooses him for the essential task in a quest to create a new human species. Brilliant and disturbing, this is a modern classic being compared to Brave New World and A Clockwork Orange.
Over the Edge of the World - Laurence Bergreen
In 1519, Ferdinand Magellan set sail from Portugal with 5 ships and 260 crewmen; five years later, one ship and 18 men returned, having proved that the world is round. Exploration tainted by mutiny; discovery marked by wild orgies on distant shores; leadership and vision ending in death on the far side of the world is the story captured in these pages. Bergreen goes back to the original documents - the pilot's logs, the testimony of the survivors, and the eyewitness account of a Venetian scholar who survived the trip - to recreate the first circumnavigation of the globe. (A WRL Staff Book Discussion title) 8 copies in 1 Bag
A Painted House - John Grisham
In a major departure from his courtroom thrillers, Grisham recreates the world of Ozark farming in the 1950’s, with race and class issues laid out through the eyes of a 7-year old boy. Family farmers, itinerant workers from Mexico and the hills of Arkansas, townspeople – all collide in ways that force Luke to grow up more quickly than he knows. Along the way, Grisham creates a knowing portrait of the time and place of his own boyhood, and develops characters, including the mature Luke, that mark a seasoned writer in his craft. (10 copies)
A classic of the Harlem Renaissance, by the first African-American woman to win the Guggenheim creative writing award. Larsen tells the story of Irene Redfield, the wife of a highly respected Harlem doctor. Irene and her friend Clare Kendry are both light-skinned enough to 'pass' as white, but only Clare has chosen to do so, after marrying a wealthy white man who hates black people. Clare recklessly risks her secure life to associate with the friends of her youth, and Irene begins to fear that Clare is preying on her family. As much a marvel for Irene's voice - and the uncertainty over Clare's true actions - as for the commentary on race and class relations in the 20s, the ending alone guarantees a good discussion.
The Pilot's Wife - Anita Shreve
Happily married for 16 years, Katherine Lyons suddenly and tragically discovers that she didn't really know her husband Jack when he dies in an airline crash. For Jack was the pilot of a plane carrying 103 passengers that exploded in the air over Ireland, and press reports insinuate that he may somehow be responsible for the bomb. Through her loss and grief, Katherine comes to terms with the fact that Jack had another family across the Atlantic, and decides to find out why. (10 copies)
A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
Irving's lush, darkly comic novel explores themes of friendship, faith, and love, in a setting deliberately evocative of Charles Dickens. Johnny Wheelwright, son of the enchanting Tabitha, befriends the undersized and immensely self-confident Owen, whose wrecked voice Irving depicts in all capital letters. Owen is convinced that he is especially favored by God, and will be the instrument of a miracle - but first he kills Johnny's mom, creates a memorable and miraculous Christmas season in their New Hampshire town, and destroys the pompous headmaster of his boarding school. Johnny is his faithful sidekick, drawn along in the wake of Owen's certainty, telling Owen's story as a lonely and bitter exile in Canada. Hilarious and heartbreaking, with some of Irving's finest writing.
Prodigal Summer - Barbara Kingsolver
Deanna Wolfe, a solitary Forest Service biologist living in the mountains, tries to protect a family of coyotes, while falling in love with the hunter sent to destroy them. Lusa Maluf Landowski, widowed, immigrant, and a scientist, must wrestle with her husband’s farming family to carve out a place for herself – or leave the place she has come to love. Nannie Land Rawley, organic farmer and self-sufficient older woman, feuds with her next-door neighbor, a crotchety widower trying to breed disease resistant chestnuts. The mountains and valleys of Appalachia are the setting for this tale of three determined and fascinating women, whom Kingsolver uses to reveal nature and humanity’s place in it to the reader. (8 copies)
The Professor and the Madman - Simon Winchester
It was the greatest project in a period of great projects: the capturing of every word in the English language in the massive Oxford English Dictionary, along with its origins and examples of its use. Under the guidance of Professor James Murray, a self-taught genius of the classics, “men of letters” were recruited to perform the research and create the records. One of the most prolific contributors was Dr. W.C. Minor, an American physician, expatriate and murderer confined to Her Majesty’s Criminal Lunatic Asylum. The story of Murray and Minor’s first meeting has long been a romantic staple of literary scholars; Winchester digs behind the legend and reveals the true, and more affecting, story. (20 copies in 2 bags)
In the years following World War II, teenager Michael Berg encounters 40-year old Hanna, and the two become lovers. Michael reads to Hanna, a working-class woman who insists that he pursue his education. Years after Hanna's mysterious disappearance, Michael meets her again - now a law student observing in war crimes trials, he is stunned to find her in the dock as a Nazi. He also discovers that she is illiterate, which may have contributed to her crime. Schlink leaves moral judgments to the reader, making this a fascinating book for discussion.
The second book in Mosley's groundbreaking Easy Rawlins series finds Easy in trouble again. With a stash of found money at a crime scene, Easy purchased a home and an apartment building; now the IRS is questioning the source of his income. On top of that, one of his tenants is found dead, and the FBI wants him to infiltrate a popular church on the suspicion that Communists have taken over the church's charity programs. Torn by his desire to protect what he owns and by his newfound kinship with activists in the church, Easy fights his way past a growing string of murders to find a solution and achieve justice. (A WRL Staff Genre Book Discussion pick - Mystery) (15 copies)
Ten years after his novel Dalva, Harrison revisits the Northridge family and explores the legacy of their tortured history in the American West. Five narrators give insight and tell the tale of this racially-mixed family which lives by its own rules: John Wesley II, the brutal rancher with an artistic soul; Nelse, the illegitimate child returning to his birth family; Paul, the second son forever alien to his father; Naomi, John Wesley’s daughter-in-law rooted in her love of Nebraska’s natural world and her memories of her dead husband; and Dalva, the willful, strong woman coping with her own secrets as she comes to know the son she gave up at age 15. Beautifully written, The Road Home explores the idea that not only can we never fully know each other, we can only have a partial knowledge of ourselves. (20 copies in 2 bags)
Andre-Louis Moreau looks on the world with irony and detached wit, until his friend is murdered by a privileged aristocrat in pre-Revolutionary France. Forced to flee, Moreau becomes - even instigates - part of the revolutionary movement as he moves easily from lawyer to actor to fencing master to a member of the Estates. Sabatini recreates the world of 1780s France telling a swashbuckling tale of historical fiction with elegance and ease.
The Scarlet Pimpernel - Baroness Orczy
At the height of the French Revolution's excesses, a bold Englishman is cheating the guillotine of its aristocratic victims. Nothing is known of this adventurer, or of his band of courageous followers, except his sign - the small red flower he dangles teasingly before the authorities. Lady Marguerite Blakeney, the stylish French wife of a foolish nobleman, is blackmailed into discovering and revealing the identity of the Pimpernel, with consequences that will strike close to her heart. (A WRL Staff Genre Book Discussion pick - Adventure) (13 copies)
Seabiscuit - Laura Hillenbrand
Four gripping characters hold this story together - Charles Howard, the wealthy automobile entrepreneur who owned him; Tom Smith, the trainer who saw his potential; Red Pollard, the jockey whose troubled life was redeemed by him; and the small, knobby-kneed horse himself. Reconstructing an America struggling in the Great Depression, Hillenbrand also opens a window into the exclusive and competitive world of horseracing, which Seabiscuit dominated to the awe and delight of millions. (9 copies)
Wreck diver Bill Nagle, a legend for his retrieval of artifacts from the Andrea Doria, learns of a possible sunken U-boat at the edge of divers' capabilities. Assembling a crew of other divers - some cautious, others reckless, all experienced - he leads them to dive on the wreck. Two of those divers, John Chatterton and Richie Kohl, become obsessed with exploring the wreck, which cannot be identified through artifacts or history books. Combining details of the dangers of deep diving (several men would die on this wreck), and the detective work in historical archives that led Chatterton and Kohl to positively identify the wreck with stories of life aboard a U-boat, Kurson turns this high-risk adventure story into a white-knuckle mystery. (15 copies in 1 Bag)
She Walks These Hills - Sharyn McCrumb
Legends, ghosts, and modern mysteries intersect in the stories of three people wandering the wilderness of the Appalachians Mountains. Convicted murderer Hiram "Harm" Sorley, who only remembers the distant past, is making his way home after escaping prison. Jeremy Cobb, working on his dissertation, takes to the woods to follow the trail of Katie Wyler, an 18th century girl who fled from her Shawnee captors only to die at home. Using local deputy Martha Ayers and radio DJ Hank The Yank as contrasts, McCrumb explores the changing folkways and people of this timeless region. (14 copies in 1 Bag)
Smilla's Sense of Snow - Peter Hoeg
Smilla Qaaviqaaq Jaspersen is a stranger in her own world - daughter of a Danish father and an Inuit mother, at home in all kinds of ice and snow but not in the city where she lives. Isaiah, the young son of a neighbor, is one of the few bright lights of her existence, and when he dies in a fall from an apartment building roof, Smilla begins questioning the investigators. The deeper she digs, the more resistant people become, until she finds evidence that Isaiah's murder is linked to a mysterious expedition heading for a remote island off Greenland. Hoeg's character development and his ability to describe even the bleakest places in beautiful language turn this thriller into a fascinating read. (13 copies in 1 Bag)
Snow Falling on Cedars - David Guterson
Fractures are everywhere in this gripping yet poignant tale of justice, community, love and suspicion in the Northwest. On the island of San Pietro, the fears and divisions of World War II surface again when a Japanese-American fisherman is charged with the murder of an Anglo rival. At the same time, newsman Ishmael Chambers reconnects with Hatsue Miyomoto, his high school sweetheart, now married to the accused man. Shadows of internment, of combat, and of prejudice on both sides hangs over the town right through the gripping courtroom climax of the story. Made possible by donations from the William and Mary Law and Society Book Group. (10 copies)
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan - Lisa See
In nineteenth century China, two girls' fates are entwined in a matchmaking arrangement that is as binding as marriage. Lily, the ambitious farmers' daughter, and Snow Flower, daughter of a privileged family, are chosen as laotongs ('old sames') at the age of 7, and begin a friendship that will end with a tragic misunderstanding. The process of footbinding (an essential quality of a woman's eligibility for marriage), life in times of revolution and upheaval, and the mysterious written language of women (nu shu) are the backdrop for this exploration of women's friendships in a time and place where women had little power or place in the world.
The Snow Leopard - Peter Matthiessen
One of the greatest travel books ever written, Matthiessen's account of his trek into the Himalayas in search of the elusive and endangered great cat transforms into a serious and thoughtful work covering a broad range of subjects. With a novelist's eye, he captures the arduous journey through the Dolpo region to a Tibetan monastery; with a Buddhist perspective he reflects on the meanings of his life, his losses, and the world that surrounds him. One of the greatest lessons comes from what he doesn't see - the snow leopard itself. (14 copies and resource guide) (A WRL Staff Genre Book Discussion selection)
The Sparrow - Mary Doria Russell
When transmissions from an alien society reach Earth, a Jesuit-sponsored mission is sent to make first contact. Told in two timelines – the discovery and journey, and the investigation of sole survivor Emilio Sandoz – the story slowly uncovers the love, learning and ultimate misunderstandings that doom the mission. Beautifully drawn characters, a convincing journey that doesn’t rely on fantastic details, and an exploration of individuals’ relationships with God, The Sparrow is science fiction with a strong moral and spiritual core. It also won the 1996 Booklist Editors’ Choice Awards, the Arthur C. Clarke Award, The Tiptree Science Fiction Award, and was named a Book-of-the-Month selection. (19 copies in 2 bags)
Stardust - Neil Gaiman
A fantasy set in both Victorian England and the world of Faerie, a young man crosses the wall between his village and a mysterious land, searching for a fallen star. What he finds is that the star is actually a young woman, and that her power has drawn ambitious and cruel seekers. Gaiman takes the familiar fantasy themes, and turns them into a fresh fable about pursuing one's dreams.
Starting Out in the Evening – Brian Morton
At 71, author Leonard Schiller is reconciled to his life. His books are out of print; his wife is dead; after two heart attacks, his body is failing. His well-loved 39-year-old daughter, Ariel, is single and wants to have a relationship and a baby, but doesn’t like the men she knows. Into their lives blows the dynamic Heather Wolfe, a twenty-three year old graduate student who wants to write a thesis, and perhaps a book, on Leonard’s work. In her mind, the hero-worshipping Heather is rescuing Schiller from oblivion; seduced, perhaps, by the prospect, he helps Heather, but their relationship fosters jealousy in Ariel. Poignant, intimate, funny and sad, Starting Out in the Evening was named one of the best books of the year by Publisher’s Weekly and Salon Magazine. (20 copies in 2 bags)
The Stone Angel - Margaret Laurence
Margaret Laurence was perhaps the leading Canadian writer of the 20th century; with The Stone Angel all of her powers as a writer are evident. Hagar Shipley, now 90, tells the story of her birth and childhood in the frontier town of Manawaka, where her father was a leading citizen; of her flight from a marriage that turned her into a broken drab; and of the sons who were the delight and despair of her life. Hagar is living with one of her sons, but her daughter-in-law can no longer care for her; Hagar flees from the prospect of a nursing home, living in an abandoned warehouse as long as she can. Laurence creates Hagar as a disagreeable, willful woman slowly (if grudgingly) coming to accept that she has denied herself happiness.
Irish storyteller Binchy weaves her multiple plotlines into a tight canvas depicting the everyday life of Tara Road - an up-and-coming address peopled with characters that live the burdens and victories of daily life. At the center of the bustle is Ria Lynch, whose kitchen is the gathering place for her friends and family, and whose life is centered at home - until the day her husband leaves her for his pregnant mistress. Devastated, Ria arranges to swap houses with Marilyn Vine, who is seeking to escape her home in Connecticut following the death of her son; in their new settings, each woman learns more about herself and her strengths, while discovering the value of her friends. (A WRL Staff Genre Book Discussion pick) (10 copies and Resource Kit in 1 Bag)
Eight years after the murder of his wife, Dr. David Beck is going through the motions of his life. From nowhere comes a message, with a phrase that only his wife would know; then he sees a picture of her. Is she alive? Beck must go underground in a desperate search for the solution running from shadowy figures who may be responsible, while eluding police who have reopened the case. A crackling suspense thriller with a twisting plot. (A WRL Staff Genre Book Discussion pick - Thriller) (10 copies)
Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog) - Jerome K. Jerome
"I had all the symptoms - chiefly the disinclination to work." With these words, three hapless London clerks decide to set off on a journey up and down the Thames, carrying everything in their households that they might need - except a can opener. Along with Montmorency, the author's feisty fox terrier, Harris, George, and J navigate the locks and placid stretches of the river, bickering, exploring the historic and scenic banks of the river, and bickering some more. Jerome includes some very funny asides about his Uncle Podger, his own travel experiences, and whatever miscellany the trip reminds him of. First published in 1894, Jerome captures the essence of outdoor recreation, with all its pitfalls. Related reading: Connie Willis' To Say Nothing of the Dog. (This volume also include Three Men on the Bummel, Jerome's story of a bicycle trip through Germany that reunites the three men on another trip.) (15 copies and one Resource Kit in one Bag)
The Titian Committee - Iain Pears
The newest member of the illustrious Committee established to catalogue the works of the great Titian is found dead in a greenhouse, surrounded by flowers. Amid bureaucratic wrangling and insinuations of incompetence, Art Squad detective Flavia di Stefano begins investigating the murder and the notoriously competitive Committee members. With the help of English art dealer Jonathan Argyll, she turns up a scandal so devastating that it has led to murder. (A WRL Staff Genre Book Discussion pick - Mystery) (15 copies)
To the Heart of the Nile - Pat Shipman
Lady Florence Baker began her life in Transylvania; orphaned after the 1848 Hungarian Revolution, she was eventually sold into an Ottoman harem, but was rescued by Sir Samuel Baker, the intrepid English adventurer. The Bakers embarked on a four-year journey through the heart of Africa, seeking the source of the Nile River and encountering sickness, cruelty, and mutiny before discovering what is now called Lake Albert. Shipman uses photographs, letters, and journals, and occasionally creates dialogue to capture the couple's love for one another, the hardships of their trek, and the complexities of African life. (A WRL Staff Genre Book Discussion pick) (10 copies)
