Spring Read

I know you all think, she is so effusive, she couldn't possibly be that enthusiastic about that book-It has to be another exaggeration -But NO!!!!! this one is REALLY GOOD-REALLY!

It isn't what you would expect from Science Fiction, in fact I don't like Science Fiction and refuse to classify it as such. It just happens to deal with exploring a new planet. But wait, don't stop reading. It's about a Jesuit priest looking for God(on another planet), ok, now you're reading, huh? This is The Sparrow, written by Mary Doria Russell. It isn't new, it's just that her newest book, Epitaph, (about the gunfight at the OK Corral) came in. I was excited to read it but another book lover said, have you ever read her first one?(1996)

When you start the book, Father Emilio Sandoz has survived and returned from a Jesuit mission to another planet.Dated Rome: December 2059- he's in pretty bad shape but the powers that be want to know what happened. There is a lot of suspicion of wrong doing(a lot of wrong doing)-he is the only survivor-but the narrative switches to the past to tell the story of the exploration. The naration continues to switch back and forth and you won't be able to put it down. The characters are wonderful and the plot is really not predictable-that's the way your English teacher likes it. That and the question of God. Emilio will have to tell you that

Please Read This!

I have a very new one for you, one that completely stole my heart. Hard to do now, unless Gabriel Garcia Marquez can publish in heaven. Kazuo Ishiguro captures a nuance of life's mysteries in The Buried Giant, a fantasy. I know you think it will be like the Hobbit. Nope, it deals with something those of us that are aging or have a loved who is or perhaps someday will be.

If you need to get away for a little while, a need to be somewhere free from the modern world, pick up this book. I know, you say, I don't read fantasy. Yes, there is a quest, but the characters and situations are unique. The protagonists are elderly. In fact, their village has taken away their candle because they are afraid they are so old they will endanger the village with a fire. Sound a little like taking away the car keys? Well, the real greatness of the story is this couples' relationship which as you will see is not without troubles. It is in the main theme of memory(it's good and bad sides) that Ishiguro develops a nagging kernel of consternation within the reader. I can't seem to let it go. When I finished the book, I was in one of those rare states that transcend. Try it, I hope you agree.

Non-Fiction Focus

This is a fascinating, but difficult book to read and unfortunately almost impossible to put down. Wendy Lower sets up a slow background to what young German women were thinking and doing during the Holocaust. She follows several specific women in particular, of very ordinary natures. A nurse, a secretary, and wife. She then brings the reader to the horrible truth of what these women took part in. They were not innocent, they were not manipulated, they were perpetrators. In spite of the atrocities these women participated in, most of these women were never tried. The Germans were reluctant to prosecute and were after 'bigger fish'. I think it important to remember that there are so many stories we haven't heard. And it is so important to recognize and honor these stories. NY TIMES BOOK REVIEW In April, the L.C. is going to be hosting a Holocaust Literature event where I will be focusing on some of the great work in our library dealing with Holocaust stories. Please join us. I will also be showing a film and leading a discussion forum. The other work that I would like to suggest reading is The Secret Rooms. "The true story of a haunted castle, a plotting duchess, & a family secret".

A True story written by Catherine Bailey that tells of her research at Belvoir Castle and the secrets that the family hid and lied about. The story was not what the researcher intended to tell so as she uncovers missing time in the meticulous records of the Duke of Rutland she begins to ask why and we the reader are hooked into the mystery. A very compelling read and a fascinating story of English royalty and WWI. Does power corrupt? Who really is guilty? A troubled child, a mysterious dead brother and a very controlling mother. Like Downtown Abby? give this a try-what a plot-we wouldn't believe it if it were fiction. NY TIMES BOOKREVIEW