Review: THE PALESTINIAN LOVER, by Selim Nassib

The Palestinian Lover, by Selim Nassib. Published 2007 by Europa Editions. Literary fiction. Translated from the French by Alison Anderson.

The Palestinian Lover is a book that keeps me thinking about it long after I closed the final pages. First, there's that title. To what, or whom, does it refer? The book is about a fictional love affair between Golda Meir and an Arab businessman named Albert Pharaon. So maybe it refers to Albert, Golda's Palestinian lover. Or maybe it refers to Golda; the French title is L'Amante Palestinese, amante being the feminine form of the word, and another English translator chose A Lover in Palestine as the title.

Certainly the book is about a woman who loves the land called Palestine, who has come from Europe and America to make a new home there, and for whom a man like Albert represents both the ultimate forbidden fruit and the single thing from which she cannot turn. There's a second woman, too, a Palestinian woman with whom Albert has a relationship after his affair with Golda ends. The book covers time from the early 1930s through 1948 and ranges from a kibbutz to the city but rests largely in the minds of its characters.

Certainly identity and it malleability, the way we put it on like clothes and wear it into the world, is a central theme of the book. Other themes include individual versus group identity, adherence to convention and the power of passion to challenge our ideas about ourselves. The Palestinian Lover also figures as an example of Europa Editions' mission to bring important Arabic literature to Europe and America. Unfortunately it's out of print now but I hope that readers interested in the Middle East and Israel will keep an eye out for this fascinating and important novel.

It's my third for the 2014 Europa Challenge.


Rating: BACKLIST

FTC Disclosure: I did not receive this book for review.

Review: THE MIDNIGHT CHOIR, by Gene Kerrigan

The Midnight Choir, by Gene Kerrigan. Published 2007 by Europa Editions. Crime Fiction.

The Midnight Choir is a great crime novel and depicts a whole seedy world of Irish crime, but it is also one of the bleakest books I've read in a while. Basically, this book can be summed up thusly: Life sucks, then you die a horrible meaningless death and nothing changes.

At its heart is the story of Garda Inspector Harry Synnott, who a long time ago got involved in an IRA-related cop killing and ratted out some fellow officers for police brutality. The police still got their man, but they may not have gotten to the truth, and Synnott didn't exactly make friends. Years pass and Synnott, stuck in place career-wise, is offered a shiny sinecure out of the country, if only he can charm the politician making the appointment. On his plate is a rape case and a jewelry theft and things seem to be going well except that another old murder case is about to come back from the dead and ruin everything.

Tangled up in all this is Dixie Peyton, a desperate woman struggling to keep her head above water, and a gang lord named Lar Mackendrick, deranged with grief at the loss of his brother. Dixie needs money and a way out of her troubles; she tries to sell a tip to Synnott regarding the aforementioned Mackendrick but things don't exactly go her way. Things don't go anyone's way in this story, unless you're a bad guy or dead and nothing worse can happen to you.

The Midnight Choir is set in contemporary Dublin, as the Celtic Tiger economic boom was fading but hadn't yet gone completely bust. Everyone's on the downswing, except the criminals. I have to say, Kerrigan draws a pretty convincing picture of all the ways life can go wrong. Poor Dixie. Just when she thinks she's going to skip the country with the payout cash from the corrupt cop and kidnap her kid from foster care- well, I won't spoil it, but, well, you know. It's not pretty. I felt for Dixie. Kerrigan really makes us sympathize with this very troubled and deeply messed up young woman. Synnott I didn't feel about one way or the other. But Dixie and her friend Shelly get my sympathy.

Anyway I'd recommend The Midnight Choir to noir fans and anyone else interested in contemporary Irish literature that isn't about shamrocks and sunshine. So if you're a Maeve Binchy reader this probably isn't for you. I admire Kerrigan's artistry and reportage but man was this a downer.

This is my 15th book for 2013's Europa Challenge. I may not make it to my goal of 24 but I'm back
on the wagon anyway.

Rating: BEACH

FTC Disclosure: I did not receive this book for review.

Review: THE FUGITIVE, by Massimo Carlotto

The Fugitive, by Massimo Carlotto. Published 2007 by Europa Editions. Nonfiction. Memoir. Translation.

Author Massimo Carlotto is widely considered to be the "King of Mediterranean Noir," one of the most popular authors in Europe of gritty, dark crime fiction. I'm a big fan of his; I've read everything he's published with Europa Editions and I'm always looking for more. The Fugitive is a memoir he wrote about his life on the lam in the 1970s basically. Before he was a crime writer, he was an innocent man convicted of murder at the center of a famous and widely discussed case that helped change the Italian system of jurisprudence. He was convicted, then he was acquitted, then he was convicted again, and then he ran. He ran to France and then to Mexico, where his journey ended and he was sent back to Italy where he turned himself in. Then he received a presidential pardon and his life took yet another turn.

The book covers his case from beginning to end but focuses on the years he spent in hiding. Parts of it read like a virtual how-to on how to live underground. He played different characters in his attempts to blend in- a tourist, or a businessman, or an intellectual. He hung out with revolutionaries and political types, with artists and writers and with ordinary people on the margins like himself. He conducted love affairs and friendships. He witnessed heartbreak, death and horrible things. He became ill in prison and nearly died. But eventually he was vindicated.

The Fugitive is a fascinating and addictive read. The narrative doesn't always stay on track chronologically; he veers from topic to topic sometimes, and one reviewer hit it on the head when he said that the book reads like the conversation you would expect to have with Carlotto over a leisurely Italian dinner with lots of wine and plates passed around. His tone is casual yet there is an urgent emotional undercurrent that works to keep the reader's interest. He comes across as desperate and scared and lacking control, a man who is always trying to maintain control of his life and often failing.

Even if you've never read his novels (which you should do now, by the way) his memoir is a great snapshot of a time and place, of what it was like to be underground and part of a community of political activists and others barely tethered to society as most of us know it. Some of it will break your heart, like the story of a couple he knew in Mexico who literally lost their young son one day in Mexico City, or the anonymous German man who died in Carlotto's Mexican jail cell, who knows why. If you do like his novels, The Fugitive is required reading but it's a riveting great read for true crime fans just the same.

Rating: BACKLIST

This is my fifth book for the 2013 Europa Challenge!

FTC Disclosure: I received this book from Europa Editions.

REVIEW: How I Became A Nun, by César Aira

How I Became A Nun, by César Aira. Published 2007 by New Directions. Literary Fiction. Translated from the Spanish.

To paraphrase Butters Stotch, how I can review that which is unreviewable?

This book is seriously messed up and crazy, but crazy in a good way. But also, in a crazy way.

The story is about a child named César Aira who experiences a profound tragedy the day that César's father takes César for an ice cream. The scene is a parody of the opening of the opening scene Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude, when the protagonist, about to be shot, remembers when "his father took him to discover ice." So it has that allusive quality, slightly otherworldly and abstracted, like it comes from another planet.  It departs from here into some truly bizarre fictional territory.

For one thing, it's pretty clear César has some gender-confusion issues. What's not clear is why, or what we're to make of it. It's not, I'm pretty sure, simply a matter of the character being transgendered. César also has some difficulty fitting in at school though César takes pains to always use terms like "normal" and "ordinary' with respect to others' perceptions of César. One gets the impression that this may not actually be the case, but who knows.

The ending is truly bizarre and no doubt metaphorical. At least, I really hope so. César Aira the writer is often compared to Borges and Marquez. These comparisons are no doubt justified, but he reminds me more of that other Latin American fantasist, Reinaldo Arenas, whose novels are filled with much of the same surrealistic black comedy. Mind you I'm not referring to elves and wizards type fantasy but otherworldly fantasy, fantasy in which the speaker is unable or unwilling to distinguish the real world from that of his or her imagination, if such a distinction can even be drawn.

Aira's books have a real charm to them. You get drawn in despite the insanity, but this book is not for the meek. I love his books but you need a real sense of adventure- and the willingness to give most traditional elements of the novel a wide berth- to take him on.

Rating: BUY

FTC Disclosure: I did not receive this book for review.

Graphic Novel Review: Garage Band, by Gipi

Garage Band, by Gipi. Published 2007 by First Second. Graphica. Fiction. Translated from the Italian.

Garage Band is a lush, sentimental hymn to adolescence and nascent adulthood set in the urban backcountry of Italy. The story is about four boys in a band who find themselves gifted with a garage- a room of their own to practice in. The garage belongs to Giuliano; his father lets him use it as long as they don't get into any trouble. The boys come from different social and economic strata and have different problems with their family and with life; they're linked by their love of music as well as their need for escape.

Gipi's narrative is pretty simple, an impressionistic coming of age story outlining the struggles of each boy and the tensions between them. What makes the book is the artwork. Watercolor is washed over ink in panels both small and large, both detailed and panoramic. The panorama scenes in particular are so striking with their graded colors and barest hint of civilization. The exact setting is unclear but the book seems to be set largely in backlots, beaches and scrubby countryside and Gipi's colors and washes put you right there so you can feel the moonlight casting off water or the sun bathing the treetops.

Content-wise, I would say this graphic novel would be fine for teens and above. There are mild sexual references and plenty of teenage shenanigans. One of the boys, the troubled Alessandro, dabbles in neo-Nazism to the horror of his friends. They steal some things; they learn some lessons and grow up a little. The art is what really stays with me. I enjoyed the story and was moved by the boys' struggles but I just really loved those gorgeous paintings. Gipi tells the story almost completely through dialogue, which keeps things moving, but the best parts were those panoramas and those opportunities to slow down and just enjoy the view.
Rating: BACKLIST

FTC Disclosure: I did not receive this book for review.

Graphic Novel Monday: Robot Dreams, by Sara Varon

Robot Dreams, by Sara Varon. Published 2007 by First Second. Graphica. Fiction.

I discovered Robot Dreams on a recent foray to one of my favorite comics shops, Cambridge's Million Year Picnic. I went in search of comics by women and came up with a few fun titles; Robot Dreams is a sweet, quick read written and drawn by Chicago native Sara Varon, also author of Sweaterweather and Chicken and Cat.

Robot Dreams is a silent comic, meaning there is no dialogue; instead, simple art in a pastel palette of grays, blues and greens tells a bittersweet story of a doomed friendship between a dog and the robot he builds to keep himself company. The dog and robot go to the beach, but the robot gets wet and rusts; the dog, unsure of what to do, abandons him. Months go by; we watch the dog's attempts at forming new friendships and see the robot, immobile, dream of escape. After a time both the dog and the robot move on in their way, but fond memories of their friendship will stay with them both forever.

This is a really adorable book about the power of friendship and forgiveness, and the ways life changes us in ways in we don't expect. It's beautiful to look at and Varon does a great job of telling the story through pictures alone. The feelings evoked range from happiness to loneliness to bittersweet sadness as the settings vary from beautiful sunlight days to cold, snowy landscapes to snug domestic interiors. The colors are gentle and muted and reflect the understated emotional tone of the story.

Robot Dreams is a great choice for just about anyone interested in graphic novels. As a silent book, it would be a nice book for a parent to read with a child, or for a child to read on his or her own. Silent comics are terrific for helping a pre-literate child develop his or her storytelling skills; since there are no words, the child (or any reader) has to concentrate on the pictures and consciously tell him or herself the story as the child goes along. And the book is perfectly family-friendly. But like I said, I'd recommend this winner of a book to just about everyone.

Rating: BUY

FTC Disclosure: I did not receive this book for review.

Graphic Novel Monday: Kimmie66, by Aaron Alexovich

Kimmie66, by Aaron Alexovich. Published 2007 by Minx, an imprint of DC Comics.

Kimmie66 was the next in my to-be-read pile of Minx comics, a defunct series produced by DC Comics and aimed primarily at adolescent girls. Due to lack of promotion and (some would say) general lack of quality, the series was discontinued the year it started, and while it's readily available in most libraries, it's hard to find Minx books in stores these days. I've reviewed two other titles in the series (Token and Confessions of a Blabbermouth) and hope to get to all of them eventually.

Kimmie66 is set in a futuristic, slightly dystopian world where people spend most of their time in online communities called lairs and invent detailed personae and lives there. Books and libraries are virtually nonexistent, non-holographic movies are called "flatties" and crossing between lairs can get you imprisoned. Telly is a teenage girl who idolizes a beautiful older girl who goes by the online moniker Kimmie66. Kimmie66 has announced that she's going to kill herself; distraught, Telly decides to go online to find her. What happens next is something no one expects, probably least of all Kimmie66 herself.

Going in, it's important to understand that none of the Minx books are what I'd call serious graphic literature in line with Persepolis or Fun Home. They're fluffy books for teens, sometimes light and fun and sometimes, as with Kimmie66, darker and heavier. Kimmie66 is about the dark side of online culture and that coupled with themes of suicide and loss make it one of the more serious books in the series. Having said that, I liked the twists and turns in the plot, and even if I couldn't quite get into the characters I found Telly to be appealing and easy to relate to. I also like author and illustrator Aaron Alexovich's outlandish artwork; its energy does a lot to keep the story moving. There's some food for thought here and I think Kimmie66 would be a fine easy read for a teen but it wasn't engaging enough for me to recommend to adult readers.

Rating: BACKLIST

FTC Disclosure: I did not receive this book for review from the publisher.

Graphic Novel Monday: Confessions of a Blabbermouth, by Mike & Louise Carey

Confessions of a Blabbermouth, by Mike & Louise Carey. Illustrated by Aaron Alexovich. Published 2007 by DC Comics/Minx. Fiction. Young Adult.

British high school student and blogger Tasha has her hands full juggling a new job on the school yearbook, avoiding bullies and dealing with her mother's weird new boyfriend and his daughter Chloe, who just started at her school. Chloe joins the yearbook staff, then the family goes on a trip to America, where the family secrets come spilling out.

Confessions of a Blabbermouth is another entry in the Minx series, a graphic novel imprint started by DC Comics to appeal to girls. This volume is written by the father and daughter team of Mike and Louise Carey and illustrated by Aaron Alexovich, who's worked on other Minx titles like Kimmie66 as well as the praised Serenity Rose for SLG. (A few weeks ago I reviewed another Minx title, Alison Kwitney's Token.)

Overall I thought Blabbermouth was a weak entry in the Minx series. I liked Tasha but the plot was a muddle- there's the yearbook, the blog, the bullies, the boyfriend, the secret- too much going on in too short a space. There is a major misdirection close to the end which struck me as incongruous and truly disturbing, and the big secret itself seemed hard to believe. I also wasn't crazy about the artwork as the characters seem to have two expressions each and their exaggerated faces struck me as unappealing. I think teen readers, and those just out of their teens, would probably enjoy it as funny nostalgia, and there are some laughs, but it's a pass for me.

Rating: BORROW

FTC Disclosure: I did not receive this book for review from the publisher.

REVIEW: Kitchen Confidential, by Anthony Bourdain

Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, by Anthony Bourdain. P.S. edition published 2007 by Harper Perennial. Nonfiction. Memoir.

What is there really to say about Anthony Bourdain's immensely entertaining memoir Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly that hasn't been said a thousand time before?

Celebrity chef Bourdain writes in a distinctive, catchy style about his days as a culinary acolyte, from working in a seafood shack in Provincetown as a teenager to cooking school in New York to days and nights slaving in kitchens large and small, dishing the dirt and ladling out the behind-the-scenes antics of restaurants famous and infamous. He writes with loving detail about the culture of the kitchen, including its seamy side and changes in the business over the years. And he includes lots of little tidbits that will make you think twice the next time you're eating out:

Chilean sea bass? Trendy. Expensive. More than likely frozen. This came as a surprise to me when I visited the market recently. Apparently the great majority of the stuff arrives frozen solid, still on the bone. In fact, as I said earlier, the whole Fulton Street fish market is not an inspiring sight. Fish left to sit, un-iced, in leaking crates, in the middle of August, right out in the open. What isn't bought early is sold for cheap later.

He'll also make you reconsider the wisdom of Sunday brunch and ordering your meat well-done. He heaps abuse on the French, but not on French cuisine, and he writes candidly about his own shortcomings and strengths. He'll make you laugh and wince- but mostly laugh. I tore through Kitchen Confidential in about three days, laughing all the while. I watch his Travel Channel show, "No Reservations," whenever I get the chance and I'll admit to being somewhat smitten with his unpretentious persona- on display in abundance in his sparkly memoir- so I'm not exactly objective. And what I like the most about Kitchen Confidential is what I also like best about his show- his relentless passion and enthusiasm for food and his love for the restaurant business.

It's just such a fun book. Obviously, if you like foodie books or restaurant memoirs, Kitchen Confidential is a must-read. If you enjoy garrulous, high-energy personal stories and down-and-dirty, roll-up-your-sleeves narratives, it's the book for you, too.

Rating: BUY

FTC Disclosure: I did not receive this book for review from the publisher.

Graphic Novel Monday: Owly: A Time to be Brave, by Andy Runton

Owly: A Time to be Brave, by Andy Runton. Published 2007 by Top Shelf. Fiction.

Andy Runton's Owly series is absolutely adorable. It's an all-ages series with a lovable cast of characters headed by the eponymous large-eyed owl and costarring birds, butterflies, worms and small mammals. Together they have little adventures and learn sweet lessons about life.

A Time to be Brave, the fourth in the series, tells the story of an opossum who wanders into Owly's home and accidentally damages a tree there; the other animals don't understand who or what this new creature is and become frightened of him. Owly and his friends have to find out about him and how to handle him- is a friend? An enemy? Just what is he?

You can tell this is a series for children but I think anyone would like these wholesome, squeaky-clean and enjoyable books. The Owly books are more or less a "silent" graphic novels- stories told almost entirely without words, through symbols and visual metaphors; they are therefore great for small children who don't read yet or don't read well. Parents can share them with their kids and tell the stories aloud together, or a child can read by him or herself and practice storytelling skills. For adults, Owly will be a quick and charming read. Either way it's a winner.

Rating: BUY

FTC Disclosure: I did not receive this book for review from the publisher.

REVIEW: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie. Published 2007 by Little, Brown and Company. Fiction. Young Adult.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie, was one of my favorite reads of 2009.

Alexie's book is the story of a young boy known as Junior who's growing up on the Spokane Indian reservation. He's got some medical problems and he gets bullied a lot; his parents are unhappy; his older sister runs away. But he's got some things going for him, too- he's determined to get a good education and manages to get himself transferred to an all-white school off the reservation, where he excels at basketball and learns to believe in himself.

I loved this book. I loved it. I laughed and cried with his struggles, his victories and his defeats. Junior's dysfunctional family is every dysfunctional family, and his problems are the problems of every kid who ever felt like he didn't fit in or that nobody understood him (or her). He pushes his way through the pain of racism, defeatism and adolescence with a tenacity that was so affecting for being so real. Alexie tackles some tough issues- racism, poverty, addiction, discouragement and the deep pessimism that comes when you feel like the whole world is against you. Things don't always go well for Junior and he doesn't always win but he does his best and he does well.

The Absolutely True Diary is a book I wish I could give to every kid I know and everyone who ever was a kid. It's brilliant and beautiful and wonderful. I loved Alexie's writing, which, although clearly enough for a teen audience, doesn't condescend or talk down and shows craft and skill enough for any adult to appreciate. Ellen Forney's comic-like illustrations, which pepper the story, are cute and sweet and darkly funny. I burned through it in about three days over the summer when I was home sick and can't think of a better way to spend time than reading this lovely gem of a book.

Rating: BUY

FTC Disclosure: I did not receive this book for review from the publisher.

REVIEW: Last Night at the Lobster, by Stewart O'Nan

Last Night at the Lobster, by Stewart O'Nan. Published 2007 by Viking. Literary Fiction.

Last Night at the Lobster is a short, quiet novel about a man named Manny, the manager at a Red Lobster restaurant in a down-at-heels New England mall. A few days before Christmas, its corporate masters have decided to close the restaurant, but before they close Manny and his crew have to get through one last day.

Author Stewart O'Nan creates a sweet, poignant and very real story. Manny wants to do right by his people and his family as Christmas approaches and he thinks about moving on to his next restaurant, another nearby chain, and settling his relationships both personal and professional at this one. There's drama in the kitchen and on the floor; one of the waitresses is a former lover; his current girlfriend is pregnant and then there's the shopping to do, too.

I'll admit I'm not a huge fan of the kind of realistic fiction that O'Nan tends to write (I found his more recent Songs for the Missing sort of unsatisfying as well). I like to read for escapism, and while I appreciate the empathy and respect he shows for his characters, Last Night at the Lobster is a little too close to real life for me. Some readers will enjoy the realism more than I did; some may also like it as a novel about the feelings that can come up around the Christmas holiday or as a novel about restaurant life. I enjoyed the slight dramatic tension and comedy around the antics of customers and staff and the poignancy of turning off those lights for the last time but for me Last Night is more a book to appreciate quietly and less a book to love enthusiastically. O'Nan is a fine writer but this book just wasn't a favorite.

Rating: BORROW

FTC Disclosure: I did not receive this book for review by the publisher.

Graphic Novel Monday: Diary of the Black Widow, by Bret M. Herholz

Diary of the Black Widow, by Bret M. Herholz. Published 2007 by Alterna Comics. Graphica. Fiction.

Diary of the Black Widow is a fairly light and rather entertaining comic thriller about a young woman who realizes she has the power to seduce men and make them do her bidding. As you might guess from the title, she marries and kills her lovers and accumulates their wealth, and all is going swimmingly until the day she meets a bumbling detective and his assistant who are determined to unravel her crimes.

Her first victim is young Adam Grumble, whose parents are so thankful to her for her help in investigating their son's death that they reward her with his college fund. From there she goes on to bigger and richer prey. She is unnerved by the arrival of the Detective Inspector and his assistant, Jenkins, but they prove to be both ineffectual and sexist, as they assume that only a man could have committed her crimes and that the cemetery in the back of her house could only be full of cats.

The black and white artwork looks like a rough approximation of Edward Gorey. The characters have exaggerated, thin bodies and wear Edwardian clothes in their gothic scenes and settings. The lettering looks like old-fashioned typescript. It's an appealing, funny parody of the Sherlock Holmes-type detective story, complete with a femme fatale and illogical deduction. Some sexual references and mild violence make Diary a fun book for teens and adults. The edition I read includes fan art and even a dramatic adaptation. It's a fun little graphic novel that I enjoyed quite a bit.

Rating: BUY

FTC Disclosure: I did not receive this book for review from the publisher.

Graphic Novel Monday: Rex Libris; I, Librarian, by James Turner

Rex Libris: I, Librarian, by James Turner. Published 2007 by SLG Publishing. Graphica. Fiction.

Rex Libris: I, Librarian, by James Turner, is a collection of the first five volumes of the comic book of the same name; it tracks the adventures of intrepid librarian/super hero Rex Libris, who roams the universe on a mission to save the world and his library's collections.

Rex is just your average librarian, a dedicated professional working at the Middleton Public Library, home to rare scrolls and manuscripts, staffed by tempermental mythological beings and frequented by vampires, aliens and warlords. In other words, just your average suburban library. The volumes collected here comprise an introduction to this world and the first of what will surely be many adventures as Rex travels to the planet Benzine and fights a race of space snowmen for some overdue library books.

It's a very silly book, characterized by self-conscious cleverness and a very distinctive, Art Deco visual style dominated by sharp angles, thick lines and a plethora of details. I like the style very much but I found the tiny lettering to be difficult to read at times; I'd like to see this story in a larger format. I liked the irreverence and sense of humor on display; Rex's sidekick is Simonides, a Greek lyric poet now trapped in the body of a bird thanks to a run-in with Circe, who now works the circulation desk at Middleton Public. Rex's boss is Egyptian mythological figure Thoth, who likes his raspberry chocolate lattes with cream and chocolate sprinkles. And Rex must contend with R. Barry Horst, his publisher, who'd like Rex to punch his story up and make it more commercial.

With some profanity and sexual references, Rex Libris would be a good choice for older teens and adults. It's a funny satire of libraries, a light space adventure and a cute read for anyone with a slightly off-balance sense of humor. I would think of it for readers who enjoy Terry Pratchett and his brand of self-referential cleverness. I'll definitely be on the lookout for the latest collection!

Rating: BACKLIST

FTC Disclosure: I did not receive this book for review from the publisher.

REVIEW: Bowl of Cherries, by Millard Kaufman

Bowl of Cherries, by Millard Kaufman. Published 2007 by McSweeney's. Literary Fiction.

Bowl of Cherries is the first novel by screenwriter and Mr. Magoo co-creator Millard Kaufman, who passed away this year at the age of 92. It's the story of one Judd Breslau, a teenage prodigy who finds himself working for an eccentric scholar. Soon Judd falls hopelessly in love with the scholar's mercurial daughter, Valerie, and follows her to the ends of the earth. Almost literally.

When the story opens, Judd is in prison in a backwater of Iraq, awaiting his execution at the hands of his rival for Valerie's affections. From there Judd tells us his backstory interspersed with the slow forward motion of his hopeless-seeming predicament. The narrative has a picaresque quality as we follow his adventures from Connecticut to New York to Colorado and Iraq, and Kaufman writes in an elevated, literary style not at all like the voice of a fifteen-year-old. Whether you find this charming or annoying will determine how you feel about the book as a whole. On moving to Colorado and finding his mother, he notes

The house sat on the crown of a snowy hill, gleaming in the twilight. A big-shouldered stone fireplace dominated the living room, and next to it stood my mother. She wore the white robes of a vestal, cinctured with the silver and turquoise of the Navajo. From her neck depended a silver chain, and her earrings were like quoits. I had never seen her so gussied up, but the style was matchlessly Mother's.

Here you can see the penchant towards preciousness and hoity-toity vocabulary which dominates the entire book. Those of you bloggers who participate in Wondrous Words Wednesday will feast. It didn't bother me that the style doesn't really sound like that of a teenager; what bothered me was that the style muddied the action and slowed the pace, so rather than skipping along, I felt like I was crawling through molasses to find out what would happen next.

The best thing about Bowl of Cherries for me was the comic cast of characters. Phillips Chatterton, the bathrobe-clad scholar, back-stabbing Abdul and inconstant Valerie made the book memorable and kept me reading. Even the minor characters are brought to life with color and texture. It's a coming of age story for readers of idiosyncratic literary fiction with an emphasis on stylized writing and character over plot. It's not destined to be a favorite, but I'm glad I picked it up.

Rating: BORROW

FTC Disclosure: I did not receive this book for review from the publisher.

REVIEW: Lost in Austen, by Emma Campbell Webster

Lost in Austen: Create Your Own Jane Austen Adventure, by Emma Campbell Webster. Published 2007 by Riverhead Books. Fiction. Humor.

Lost in Austen is not a chick lit novel, nor is it a Jane Austen primer, and nor is it coming to a theater near you anytime soon. What it is, is a hoot.

Lost in Austen is a mix of choose-your-own-adventure and role-play style book, in which you the reader take on the persona of Elizabeth Bennett, heroine of Jane Austen's famous Pride and Prejudice. You are tasked with finding a husband, but not just any husband. At every turn in the story you are given options from which to choose and must follow the right path to marry and marry successfully. And this isn't as easy as it might seem.

Although set primarily in the world of Pride and Prejudice, the story interweaves characters and situations from most if not all of Austen's novels, including Persuasion, Emma, Mansfield Park and others, so some glancing familiarity with them will help you on your journey. For example, it helps to know, for example, that Mr. Elton is a cad to be avoided- but all you really need to know is that you're supposed to marry Mr. Darcy and no one else.

Along the way you will also gain and lose points in a variety of categories- fortune, confidence, and intelligence- which will eventually influence the success or failure of your journey, so keep a piece of paper and a pencil handy as you read. And don't take the very snarky tone of the narrator too personally. For example, at one point you may be asked to play a little music, but you demur owing to your lack of skill. The narrator has this to say: "You're not just being modest; you really do play the piano remarkably ill." And if you fail in your mission to marry successfully, you may be faced with something like the following:

That didn't take you long, did it? You have failed to complete your mission. You didn't even get NEAR completing it, in fact. You deserve to be disfigured. Be ashamed.

Not everyone will be comfortable with this level of brutal sarcasm, so just keep that in mind if you decide to enter the world of Lost in Austen!

I had a lot of fun playing/reading this book. I enjoyed the dark humor and the way all my favorite (and not-so-favorite) characters from other Austen novels make their appearance, all very true to character. The gothic-manga style illustrations give a modern twist and a breath of fresh air to Austen's world. Campbell Watson does a nice job reproducing Austen's tone and style and adapting the story to the choose-your-own-adventure format; it's a very original use of the Austen stories and it's just a really fun way to while away a little time. Sometimes I laughed, sometimes I got frustrated, and sometimes I just kept track of points and pages. And when I failed to marry my Mr. Darcy- and I did fail, many times- I could always just flip back to the beginning and start over.

Rating: BUY

FTC Disclosure: I did not receive this book for review from the publisher.

REVIEW: Strange Ways (of fremde Vegn), by Rokhl Faygenberg

Strange Ways (of fremde Vegn), by Rokhl Faygenberg. Published 2007 by Gefen Publishing House.

Buy Strange Ways via IndieBound.org. I'm an IndieBound affiliate and receive a small commission on sales.

Strange Ways, originally published in Yiddish in 1925, is one of a very few novels written in that language by a woman, and one of even fewer to be translated into English. Although it's not a perfect novel, I hope it will be the beginning of a trend that will see more literature of this period made accessible to a wider audience.

Rokhl Faygenberg stepped outside the lines of early 20th century shtetl life when she decided to become a writer, and her heroine, Sheyndel, also steps outside the lines, but her transgression is moral and sexual rather than professional. Sheyndel is a beautiful young woman, intelligent and from a respectable family. She is also highly sought-after as a wife, but she does not wish to marry. She turns down handsome Borukh at first, but falls for him full-force once he is married to mousy and family-oriented Minne. Instead of marriage, Sheyndel wants an education and a career, beautiful clothes and material things, which Borukh underwrites. Borukh is deeply conflicted about his own role; drawn to traditional Jewish life, he is also seduced by worldly things and smitten with his friend Leon's more secular, cosmopolitan lifestyle, which includes a beautiful wife who tolerates his many infidelities. Borukh wants his own wife to follow suit, but neither woman is satisfied with her lot. Minne is depressed by Borukh's affair, and, shamed by the stigma of an adultery, Sheyndel desperately wants the respectability of marriage and for Borukh to take her to Palestine and a new life. Blinded by passion and complacency, she chooses to believe him when he says he will.

Borukh and Sheyndel's confusion is emblematic of their community, which itself is confused and teetering between tradition and modernity. Their quiet village becomes a bustling commercial center when a railroad is built into the town, bringing in all kinds of people, and their ideas and customs. Things are going so well that emigration to America slows, with some families even recalling those who have made the journey, and others embracing the future. Others, like Sheyndel's father, retreat into tradition and religious study.

I think Strange Ways will best appeal to those with a serious interest in Jewish or women's literature. Written in a folk-tale style reminiscent of some I.B. Singer, her tone often strikes me as dated and stilted- it's definitely a period piece. It's engaging enough but hardly electrifying; I found it somewhat didactic as well, with Sheyndel's slow downward spiral sad to watch. Equal parts Lily Bart and Anna Karenina, she makes out as well as either woman in the end. Overall I think the book is an important addition to the canon of shtetl literature, and aficionados will enjoy it, but most general readers could give it a pass.

Rating: BORROW

FTC Disclosure: I did not receive this book for review from the publisher.

Graphic Novel Monday: All Over Coffee, by Paul Madonna

All Over Coffee, by Paul Madonna. Published 2007 by City Lights Publishers.  Graphica.


All Over Coffee is a collection of 150-odd strips that originally ran in the San Francisco Chronicle; not really a graphic novel so much as an urban sketchbook, it's a record of the mundane- the every day moments that make up life- and a mash note to a city.

Illustrated in sepia tones with occasional splashes of color, in ink and ink mixed with water, the pictures show a keen eye for detail and a reverence for its subjects, from gorgeous Victorians and modern office buildings, to quiet alleys, modest homes, highways, skylines and domestic interiors of all stripes. The diversity of images defy stereotyping and easy definition. What he never shows is people. His scenes are quiet and empty of people as I suspect San Francisco probably never is, so the image he's presenting is idealized and pristine, perhaps taking place just before or just after something has occurred. Nevertheless, I took a great deal of pleasure in just leafing through the book and letting my eye wander over all of Madonna's gorgeous pictures.

I wish I could have found some scans to show you. I love how, for example, in strip 286, Madonna shows an empty, cluttered coffeeshop and uses the play of light on the wall to portray emptiness even as a full refrigerator facing outward almost anticipates the customers to come.

And it's the illustrations that make All Over Coffee; the writing consists of snippets of fictionalized, overheard conversation between random people, and while they have a certain zen-like quality in their simplicity and profundity, I think the writing is probably best appreciated one day at a time, in the newspaper. I can see sitting in a cafe and enjoying the strip over morning coffee, but in book form, reading multiple strips at a time gets a little dull. The art never does.

I picked this book up on my vacation to San Francisco last year at City Lights Bookstore, where it was published; I got it as a souvenir and because it struck me as not something I might find back home. Believe me, I bought a lot of graphic novels in San Francisco, but none of them so unique to the city. Going through it is a lovely way to revisit my trip and I'd recommend it to people who love the city (and that includes people who live there) and for those interested in the visual presentation of contemporary American urban life.

Rating: BORROW


FTC Disclosure: I did not receive this book for review from the publisher.

Graphic Novel Monday: French Milk, by Lucy Knisley

French Milk, by Lucy Knisley. Published 2007 by Simon & Schuster.

Click here to buy French Milk from your favorite indie bookstore.

French Milk is an autobiographical graphic novel by writer and illustrator Lucy Knisley, about six weeks she spent in Paris with her mother when she was 21. Told in journal form, it's a sweet and sentimental look at a special time in her life.

As the trip approaches, Lucy and her mother are each facing an important birthday- Lucy will be 22 and her mother will be 50. They arrive, set up house in a rented apartment, and proceed to enjoy the City of Lights to its fullest. The museums, the squares, the cafes, the shops- and above all, the food. The title, French Milk, refers to Lucy's favorite French food- the wonderful dairy, and throughout the book there are cute sketches and lively depictions of French food- foie gras, cornichons, various pastries and sweets, hot chocolate, and on and on. Knisley's pictures delve into the minutiae of everyday life and while her emphasis is more on recounting daily life than on drawing any great insights from her experiences, what emerges is a picture of a young woman enjoying her explorations and having fun.

Knisley draws the story in simple pen and ink line drawings, but her art is expressive and fun, and the writing is straightforward and light. Knisley punctuates her drawings with photos from the trip, showing people, animals, street scenes and of course herself and her family. The photos break up the (somewhat monotonous) one-panel-per-page pattern and give her story a certain timelessness as well. Knisley has a smart eye for detail and the pictures remind me of other simple, evocative pictures of Paris I've seen over the years.

Easily digested in two or three sittings, French Milk is a sweet, charming read about a likeable young woman on a trip with her mother, working her way towards adulthood but quite young and carefree still. It has a little swearing and some sexual references (as well as some depictions of nudity in art) so I would recommend it for older teens and young adults, and for Francophiles of any age. Reading it, I felt nostalgic for Paris and enjoyed indulging my love of all things French. It's a cute, fun book- chouette et amusant.

Rating: BORROW


FTC Disclosure: I did not receive this book for review from the publisher.

REVIEW: Petropolis, by Anya Ulinich

Petropolis, by Anya Ulinich. Published 2007 by Viking Adult. Literary Fiction.

Petropolis is a satiric novel about a young woman named Sasha who grows up in a post-Soviet backwater town called Asbestos 2, has a child and emigrates to the United States as a mail-order bride in search of her father, who has abandoned the family. Her travels take her from the southwest to Chicago and finally New York, where she ends up forming her own family- unconventional and unusual, but somehow unmistakeably right.

When I read Ellen Litman's wonderful book of short stories The Last Chicken in America, about Russian-Jewish immigrants in Philadelphia I was reminded of Sasha but Ulinich is comical where Litman is bittersweet. There is a story in Litman's book where the main character, Masha, is working for a religious Jewish family that observes kashrut and expects her to take up the mantle of religious Judaism as they have; Masha's response is tired frustration at their inability to understand that for her being Jewish has never meant wanting to be religious: "It meant classmates calling you names. It meant a line on your passport, schools that would never accept you, jobs you couldn't have. It meant leaflets and threats and a general on TV promising pogroms in May. It meant immigration." In a chapter of Petropolis called "The Captive of the Talmud" Sasha goes to work for a religious family whose idea of charity is imprisoning her in their home and putting her to work as an (unpaid) maid. The mother of the family, Mrs. Tarakan, calls her "honey" but speaks to her with condescension- "It's the Sabbath, sweetie. Jewish people don't work on the Sabbath"- then locks her in the house. Sasha's reactions to expressions of religion are more prosaic than Masha's. "Sasha noticed that all the prayers started with 'Barukh ata Adonai.' She thought about adenoids and long winter colds, the smell of Tiger Blam in stuffy rooms." Both Litman and Ulinich portray Russian Jews alienated from religion and from the Americans who expect them to embrace it, but Litman sticks to realism where Ulinich turns satirical.

And it's this satiric tone and blase determination that characterizes Sasha's story. As she travels across the country, finding her way from place to place with the help of friends and acquaintances, whatever drama she encounters does nothing to deter her from her mission- finding her father. Her father, Victor, is a biracial Russian Jew who marries Sasha's mother while hospitalized, then escapes to the United States and disappears. Sasha, meanwhile, has to forge a life as best she can with a domineering mother and an absent father, getting along on pluck and opportunism. She feels instinctively that if she can find him, everything will be alright. And in a way, she's right.

Her pluck eventually lands her in New York, where the various elements of her life come together to form something wholly different from what she ever expected. Petropolis isn't as rollicking as Gary Shteyngart's brilliant post-Soviet satire Absurdistan or as understated and grounded as Ellen Litman's book, but it's something in between- it's a solid, funny, page-turning comic novel combining a winning heroine with a plot as meandering as real life. Sasha is smart, brave and real, and once you meet her you'll want to stick around to see how she, and her cavalcade of friends and family, all turn out. Trust me- you'll enjoy the ride.

Rating: BUY

FTC Disclosure: I did not receive this book for review.