DCL Book Chat

Author Maggie O’Farrell is fond of playing with identities and her fourth novel, The Hand That First Held Mine, is no exception. The story follows two couples whose lives seem completely disconnect. In post-war London we meet young and vibrant Lexie, who has morphed from country-girl Sandra, to headstrong Alexandra, to independent Lexie under the influence of the enthralling magazine editor, Innes Kent. In the present time we meet Ted and Elina immediately after the difficult birth of their son. Elina’s near-death experience has left her confused and disoriented as she gropes with new motherhood. For Ted the experience of fatherhood has dredged up suppressed memories that are equally disorienting.

Laura

Are you excited about any of these upcoming books?
I can’t wait for Mockingjay!

Dedra

“Selma Koch, a Manhattan store owner who earned a national reputation by helping women find the right bra size, mostly through a discerning glance and never with a tape measure, died Thursday at Mount Sinai Medical Center. She was 95 and a 34B.”

The Dead Beat tells the story behind the obituary page – the people who spend their lives writing about the dead, and the thoughtful and quirky life stories they tell. You will be humbled, edified, and warmed by Johnson’s account of the craft of obituary writing and how it preserves and shares with us lives well lived.

Mary Ellen

Major Ernest Pettigrew is a stickler for protocol; a man set in his routine in both action and philosophy, until the day he answers his door to find the charming Mrs. Jasmina Ali, the local Pakistani shop owner, standing on his doorstep.

United by their love of Kipling and their lingering bereavement of their departed spouses, Major Pettigrew (who was born in Lahore), and Mrs. Ali (who was born in Cambridge), begin to form a surprising friendship, only to be thrown off by the subtle prejudices of the townspeople, the pressures asserted by Mrs. Ali’s ultra-religious nephew, and the frenetic social-climbing of Major Pettigrew’s son. In her polished debut novel Helen Simonson has created a charming story of village politics, multicultural conflicts, the value of good manners, and the zest in a jolly good turn of phrase.

Laura

This second book in the mystery series features a precocious 11 year old sleuth, Flavia De Luce. Set in the 1950s on an English family country estate, Buckshaw, our young heroine has a talent for chemistry with a keen interest in poisons. Her wanderings throughout the village of Bishop’s Lacey introduce a cast of quirky characters. The mystery centers around a pair of traveling BBC puppet TV show stars, Rupert and Nia, whose truck breaks down in the village. In need of car repairs, the pair agrees to perform for the village residents to settle their bill. During one of the performances, puppetmaster Rupert dies under mysterious circumstances. Flavia’s keen observations and curious nature help her to solve the plot twists and give local police insight on the case.

Descriptive language, yet ungory handling of death situations make this series appropriate to recommend to young advanced readers who enjoy mysteries.

Kyra

Cecelia Rose Honeycut has lived with the humiliation of her mentally unstable tiara and Vidalia Onion Queen sash-wearing mother being the laughing stock of Willoughby, Ohio. With no support from her absentee father she lives with guilt and fear of carrying on the insanity gene after her mother is struck and killed by an ice cream truck. Her saving begins when she’s sent to live with her Great Aunt Tootie, a perfect Savannah, Georgia hostess with a heart of gold. Aided by the bottomless wisdom and stern love of Tootie’s long-term cook, Oletta, CeeCee finally begins to find peace and acceptance in life. Like one of Oletta’s legendary cinnamon rolls, the story is sprinkled with healthy doses of sugary sentiment, but nicely balanced with fluffy doses of humor and some yeasty toughness to roll the whole story into a gooey but welcome experience.

Laura

When Harrison Shepherd’s mother leaves his father and takes him to her native Mexico, a new world opens up for Harrison. As a young man he is drawn into the fascinating lives of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, first as a cook and later as a secretary for their famous houseguest, Trotsky. Harrison’s innocent associations come back to haunt him when he returns to the U.S. and comes under investigation by the House Un-American Activities Committee. The elegantly written Lacuna is a must read for lovers of historical fiction.

Marsha

This debut novel certainly deserved winning the Barbara Kingsolver Bellwether Award for books on social justice and change. It is a beautifully written book about Rachel, a young Danish/African American blue-eyed girl who is sent to live with her grandmother and aunt in Portland, Oregon after a family tragedy. Rachel struggles with being bi-racial because no one seems to accept her in school. Her lighter skin and blue eyes cause people to ridicule her and sometimes threaten her – no matter their race. This is a book about labeling people and how people can overcome the prejudice of others and just live for themselves. It is told with alternating chapters from various character’s versions of the story. It would be an excellent book club selection because of the many discussion points it offers.

Heidi Durrow is also Danish/African American with lovely blue eyes. Go to her website for more about the amazing projects she is involved in – like her mixed chicks chat podcast.

Lisa

Last book in the Millennium trilogy, this one picks up where The Girl Who Played With Fire left off. Lisbeth Salander clings to life in the intensive care unit with a bullet in her head compliments of a confrontation with Alexander Zalachenko. While Lisbeth grapples with plotting revenge, Mikael Blomkvist keeps busy by rounding up the supporting characters to advocate and prove Lisbeth’s innocence and unravel the conspiracy that ascends to top levels of Swedish government. Another fast-paced, “hard to put down” read that nicely finishes off the trilogy. Due out in the US on May 25.

The Swedish film version of the first book of the trilogy, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo was released in April 2010 in independent movie theatres and there are plans for an English-language version in production to come out sometime in 2012.

Kyra

Valentine Roncalli is from an Italian American family living in the Greenwich Village area of New York City working as a cobbler of custom made shoes. Readers will share the struggles of a young woman working to modernize and save the family business, Angelini Shoe Company, while encountering challenges with family and romantic interests. Vivid descriptions, work challenges, and romantic tensions will keep you interested. I’m looking forward to the next book.

Kyra