Friday, January 20, 2012

Friday Finds- Two for Review, from a Great Small Press

Awhile back I did a Publishers Spotlight series on the Dalkey Archive Press; afterward, I was approached by several small presses interested in doing a similar series on the blog. One of them, Capuchin Classics, sent me a couple of books to read and review to prepare for just such a series. They arrived from England this week! They are

The Man Who Loved Children, by Christina Stead. From Capuchin's website:
Henrietta, privileged and sheltered, expected a smoothly comfortable society life in Washington when she married Sam Pollitt, a handsome self-made biologist.
Ten years later, Henny is a skinny, screaming drudge with five children, a raging wreck of a woman driven by ‘hate, horror, passion or contempt.’ But Sam, whose impractical idealism has brought his family to near-ruin, is unchanged: still at sea in all adult affairs, an absurd hypocritical buffoon but a genius with children … except Louie, his eldest daughter, an ugly brilliant adolescent who is forced to take a drastic, final step to save herself and the children from lasting tragedy.
The Man Who Loved Children is an astonishing account of the decline of an American bourgeois family. Intimate, accurate and savagely funny, it is also unforgettably moving. 
It just sounded really good to me!

The next book is When I Was Otherwise, by Stephen Benatar. I loved Benatar's book Wish Her Safe at Home, (the link is to my review) so I couldn't resist requesting this one. Capuchin says:
This novel opens with a macabre impact, as a newspaper report describes the discovery of two dead women - one of them a skeleton- in a North London house. The women are revealed to be the sister and sister-in-law of the man who shared the house. The story of these characters' lives is told through a blend of powerful characterization and social satire, and summons the mingled tragedy and humor of old age to powerful effect. 
Sounds great!

What did you get this week? More Friday Finds at ShouldbeReading.wordpress.com.












5 comments:

bermudaonion said...

Hooray for promoting small presses! I hope you love both books.

HKatz said...

Both of these look good, and I've added them to my to-read list. The first one draws me because of what looks like good characterization (and a character like Louie is not someone I see often in books). The second one just seems to blend a lot of things in interesting ways. It's great that you're supporting small presses.

Zibilee said...

Both of these sound excellent, but I am really interested in The Man Who Loved Children. It seems like such an emotional tale, and I can't wait to hear what you have to say about it. Good luck with these two. I will be eagerly anticipating your reactions to them both! Have a great weekend, Marie!

Care said...

I didn't get any books this week - well, no not true. My friend insists I read Byatt's Angels and Insects. I ordered two books so I can answer your question to the affirmative NEXT week. :)
(did you send in a resume to BBF?!)

Kathleen said...

These both look good and I am intrigued to know more. I've not heard of this small press before. At the risk of sounding trite I have to say I love these covers as well.