Hi all,
Multiple links to full-length professional reviews of the following
books released in the US have been added to http://www.reviewsofbooks.com
in the last week:
"Away" by Amy Bloom - In "Away," Lillian Leyb comes to America in the
1920's after a pogrom in her Russian village has killed most of her
family, including her daughter. She arrives in New York City with no
possessions and no English. She's determined to make her way, renting
a mattress, and submitting to men's whims if it will propel her
forward. She becomes a seamstress in a Yiddish theater, but when a
cousin tells her that she saw her daughter alive, Lillian knows she
must find her. Underestimating the length and difficulty of the trek,
she sets out for Chicago, Seattle, the Yukon, and then to Siberia.
Along the way, she must suffer deprivations and depravities while
sticking to her survivor's resolve. Amy Bloom's novel has received
positive reviews with the New York Times saying, "'Away' is a modest
name for a book as gloriously trans****ting as Amy Bloom's new novel.
Alive with incident and unforgettable characters, it sparkles and
illuminates as brilliantly as it entertains."
Excerpt and all reviews are at:
http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/away
"Letter from Point Clear" by Dennis McFarland - The letter in "Letter
from Point Clear" is from the youngest of three siblings, Bonnie, to
her older siblings, Ellen and Morris, announcing her recent wedding.
The three of them were raised alone by their narcissistic and
alcoholic father in seaside home in Point Clear, Alabama. Ellen and
Morris live in New England where she's a poet and he's a gay academic,
both married to long-time partners. Bonnie had been the troubled
offspring, a failed actress with a drug problem, but she moved back to
Point Clear to take care of their dying father. She'd met and married
a preacher named Pastor and moved into the family house. Ellen and
Morris rush back to Alabama, partly to make sure her husband isn't
taking advantage of her and their inheritance. Coming back to face
their painful past, they find Bonnie to be a happy, new woman, but
trouble surfaces when Pastor wants to cure Morris' homo***uality.
Dennis McFarland's novel has received mostly positive reviews with the
Boston Globe saying, "With its finely evoked tableaus from Wellfleet
to the Alabama coast, 'Letter from Point Clear' is a gratifying,
emotionally resonant novel -- its heart and longing steeped in the Old
South, its sensibility years and miles beyond."
All reviews are at:
http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/letter_from_point_clear
"Circling My Mother" by Mary Gordon - With "Circling My Mother," Mary
Gordon tells her mother's story, eleven years after her memoir about
her father, "The Shadow Man." Anna Gagliano Gordon suffered from
polio as child, and her later years were dominated by alcoholism and
dementia. Mary Gordon tells her mother's story from the different
roles she played - wife, single mother, sister - and the role faith
and religion played in her life. Although she didn't understand her
daughter's fascination with the arts, Anna Gordon encouraged her
daughter's pursuits with humor and encouragement. "Circling My
Mother" has received mostly positive reviews with the Boston Globe
saying, "Mary Gordon is a brilliant writer in all senses of that word;
a gifted craftsperson, original scholar, unflinching observer of self
and others. 'Circling My Mother' is her strongest work to date, but
far from the easiest to read. It is a beautiful, terrible story."
Excerpt and all reviews are at:
http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/circling_my_mother
"The Immortalists: Charles Lindbergh, Dr. Alexis Carrel, and Their
Daring Quest to Live Forever" by David M. Friedman - "The
Immortalists" of this book's title are famed aviator Charles Lindbergh
and Nobel Prize-winner Dr. Alexis Carrel. Carrel was an organ and
transplant specialist, and Lindbergh approached him when his sister-in-
law developed heart valve problems. With Carrel doing research on
animals and Lindbergh designing machines for him, the two made
progress on repairing and extending the lives of organs. The two also
believed in eugenics, and their experiments were designed to extend
the lives of the physically elite. This led to Lindbergh's embrace of
Hitler, who espoused the same ideal, which damaged his reputation back
in the States. David M. Friedman's book has received positive reviews
with USA Today saying, "'The Immortalists' is clearly a companion
book, not a substitute for A. Scott Berg's masterful Lindbergh
biography. But the history of these two brilliant achievers going so
off-track because of their intellectual hubris is quite compelling -
and instructive to modern readers."
Excerpt and all reviews are at:
http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/immortalists
Happy reading!
Bill - administrator of http://www.reviewsofbooks.com
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