Picks of the Week

ALL THAT I HAVE, by Castle Freeman

(originally posted on March 17, 2009)

Naturally, after loving GO WITH ME so much, I couldn't wait to dig into Freeman's new novel. It's another slim, beautifully crafted, resonant novel, but the feel is different, more infused with humor and slices of small town life even as there are dark ripples underneath the surface. One would think that Sheriff Lucian Wing leads a placid, uneventful life. One would be very wrong. And one will be very glad to find out just how wrong in Freeman's capable hands.

THE MOONFLOWER VINE, by Jetta Carleton

(originally posted on March 17, 2009)

There is a lengthy essay I'm building towards writing later on this year, but right now I want to revel in how much I simply <i>adore</i> this novel, the only one Carleton ever published and one, by rights, that ought to have the same audience and perennial impact that TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, published two years earlier, had on the American consciousness. There are characters to feel tremendous empathy for, hidden secrets and treacherous lies, but there is also the bone-thick bonds of familial love that endure no matter what, through how many years. I haven't felt this lost in a book for quite some time.

DEVIL'S GARDEN, by Ace Atkins

(originally posted on March 17, 2009)

What's that you say? A young Dashiell Hammett narrating a sprawling, multi-variant account of the notorious Fatty Arbuckle case, complete with supporting roles for William Randolph Hearst and Marion Davies? But Atkins, who has the semi-historical crime novel down cold, plays it just right: Hammett's young, still in the process of hardening into his granite-boiled self, confounded by his new pregnant wife and bemused by the crooks and liars who surround the periphery of the hotel where Virginia Rappe met her untimely death. Even though I wished for a tad more depth to make it a great work, it's still very good - and extremely entertaining.

THE BOOK OF NIGHT WOMEN, by Marlon James

(originally posted on March 17, 2009)

The narrative voice, with its idiosyncratic inflections and storytelling warmth, will pull you into this outsized, marvelous account of a group of female slaves on a Jamaican plantation, struggling to free themselves of endless shackling, back-breaking toil and crippling indignantly. And then there is Lilith, infused with power from a young age that makes her feared, admired, reviled and rebellious - and makes the prospect of upheaval all the more dangerous. James recreates a world and brushes it with an element of the fantastic, but the emotions he conveys are all too real and heartbreaking.

WONDERFUL WORLD, by Javier Calvo

(originally posted on March 17, 2009)

A young man loses his father, battles wits with his mother and must attempt a life of crime to redeem himself. A twelve-year old girl declares herself to be the head of a Stephen King fan club, all the while waiting (and promoting!) a brand new work by the master, parts of which are "excerpted" in the book. There are forgers and thieves who dub themselves "The Club of We Don't Like the Sun." And that's hardly scratching the surface. WONDERFUL WORLD is a crazy, kinetic kaleidescope of blended genres, madcap adventures and frenetic situations that it should make the reader dizzy. But there's a weird sort of order, and when the string holding things together is followed, it makes for a magical ride.