DCL Book Chat

The Paris Wife is Hadley Richardson, a twenty-eight year old spinster who falls in love with a handsome, magnetic, passionate young man full of dreams named Ernest Hemingway. The Paris Wife is a fictional account of their short, turbulent marriage spent mostly in 1920s Paris. Through Hadley’s eyes we see Jazz Age Paris and the many larger than life artists who frequent their cafes. We also see her brilliant, self-absorbed, egocentric husband through her eyes, the woman who loved him before he was famous.

Dedra

As with her previous novels including Luncheon of the Boating Party and Girl in Hyacinth Blue, Susan Vreeland gives the reader a well-researched glimpse into a personal facet of art history in Clara and Mr. Tiffany. Louis Comfort Tiffany employed unmarried women in his New York glass studio supposedly because of their dexterity in working with small pieces of glass, but also to protect the company from strikes by the all-male unions during the 1890s. Clara Driscoll, a young widow, was the artist in charge of the women’s cutting department. She is also the one who is thought to have come up with the idea for the leaded stained-glass lampshades that won Tiffany awards at the World’s Columbian Exhibition in Chicago in 1893 and the Paris Exhibition Universelle of 1899.

Vreeland does an excellent job describing Clara’s pent up desire for recognition of her work and as an artist in a man’s world along with the many sacrifices she and the other “Tiffany Girls” make in their personal lives to stay employed and make a living. The reader also gets an understanding of the many changes happening in New York and the world at the turn of the nineteenth century. The book offers many topics for discussion and would be a good choice for book groups.

Allison

Thirty years in the making, Matterhorn is a graphic, vivid Vietnam War novel that really gets into the heads and hearts of its many characters as they try to understand the imponderables of war.

The story centers on the character of Marine Lieutenant Mellas, one day a fresh-faced Ivy League grad and the next the commander of a rifle combat platoon who comes to learn the true meaning of camaraderie. But the real story encompasses a vast array of characters who all interpret their role in the war in their own way. Matterhorn itself is the fictional name of one of the story’s Alp-named mountains that are occupied, abandoned and reclaimed during the novel’s relatively brief time span. As with many other war stories, Marlantes captures not only the horror of war and the beauty of heroics, but the annoying every day inconveniences jungle fighting presents. The story is rife with leeches, immersion foot, boot-sucking mud, and relentless fog that inhibits even the most skilled helicopter pilots. Given that the year is 1969, Marlantes adds to the mix some petty in-fighting among the ranks, exacerbated by the burgeoning Black Power movement back home. The strong characterizations, the thoughts in the heads of these boys, the vividly described juxtaposition of mind-numbing boredom and muscle-numbing terror, and the decisions made by commanders from remote locations that devastate the foot soldiers, all make for a very emotional story.

Marlantes, a decorated Vietnam Marine, brings real authenticity to the story. The author has said he didn’t set out to write either a pro- or anti-war story, but rather wanted to tell the everyman story of what it’s like to be an average person thrust into a difficult, often-times unimaginable situation. With his sincere, direct approach to his storytelling, Marlantes has definitely succeeded.

The audio version is excellent, but you might also want to check out the hard copy, as it includes a comprehensive glossary, a map, and a chart that helps to clarify the character hierarchy. Note: This gripping, historically accurate story might not be suitable for those sensitive to strong language.

Laura

This is the first novel by freelance journalist Paul Grossman and is a taut thriller set in the gritty yet enticing Berlin of 1932 just as Hilter is coming into power. The main character, Detective Willi Kraus, is an honored war veteran and is known throughout Berlin for capturing a notorious serial killer. He is also a Jew. Now he is investigating the suspicious, possibly drowning, death of a young woman with terribly deformed legs and the case of a missing Bulgarian princess who walked away from her hotel as if in a trance. His investigation leads him to believe that the cases are tied together and point to involvement by the Nazis. Kraus soon finds himself being the pursued and not the pursuer.

This book is full of period atmosphere and dramatic characters both real and imagined. Historical figures making appearances include Marlene Dietrich, Josef Mengele, Alfred Einstein, Robert Oppenheimer and of course Adolph Hitler. I listened to the audio version which was read by Christian Contreras and he did a wonderful job performing many different voices with German accents.

Allison

On the most basic level The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell is the story of a young Dutch clerk, Jacob de Zoet, newly arrived on the artificially constructed port island of Dejima, off Nagasaki, Japan in 1799 as he tries to earn enough money so that when he returns to Holland he can marry his rich fiancée. But, as is to be expected with the masterful writing of two-time Booker short-list novelist Mitchell, the book is so much more than that. Overflowing with diverse characters and several storylines, this complex and engrossing novel shines with both detail and expanse, with nuance of characterization and universal themes.

Along with the earnest character of young Jacob we meet beautiful but scarred midwife Orito Aibagawa, with whom Jacob has become entranced, witty Dr. Marinus who takes Jacob under his wing after Jacob’s honesty leads to a demotion, and competent translator Uzaemon Ogawa, whose choice to defend honor leads to irreversible consequences. Accompanying this starring cast is a plethora of fully- realized supporting cast members — from devious magistrates to hardened sailors whose voices ring true in colorfully-portrayed characterizations. This novel is particularly hard to summarize as it rambles from historical romance to a critique of cultural clashes to a portrayal of picaresque rogues to a commentary on loyalty, honesty and commitment to a cause. Persist through the graphic first chapter. Don’t’ be swayed by the initial confusion of characters. Stay for the stunning, remarkable ride through a story of love, betrayal and sacrifice.

Laura

Alexandra is a desperate young woman who has disguised herself as a man and lit out to the gold mines of California. Her secret is a tough one to keep—especially after Alex strikes gold in a previously unremarkable mining town called Motherlode. Alex fights for her place among the crude miners, winning herself some friends as well as enemies- even a confused admirer. Swept along by events over which she is not really in control, Alex gets help from the town’s founder and self-appointed matriarch. Emaline is hardcore – a graduate of the school of hard knocks. She is a big woman with a bigger heart, and not much gets by her when it comes to the people of Motherlode, where everybody comes with a past. As for Alex, she discovers a lot more in Motherlode besides gold.

This is the first novel by Volmer, and it’s an engrossing story, rich with wonderfully colorful characters. The California gold rush years can easily be romanticized, and girls disguised as boys is nothing new, but here the gritty atmosphere of the place and time is never glossed over. I hope the author plans more well-told historicals that pull me in this way.

Deann

I loved Morton’s atmospheric novel and the unfolding life histories of the Mountrachet women. I also loved her descriptions of Cornwall, its rugged coast and hidden gardens and of late 19th century London. I’ve always enjoyed novels that intertwine stories from different time periods as this one does. Morton’s novel combines mystery, family love and hatred and a secret that begins with a beautiful book of fairy tales.

Allison

Belfer’s novel could be a contemporary thriller. The U.S. is at war and greedy pharmaceutical companies race against each other to find and patent the first mass produced miracle drug.  A Fierce Radiance is actually set during World War II, right after the attack on Pearl Harbor and the military wants to keep the research for this miracle drug under wraps and is protecting its secrets at all costs.  

The novel follows Claire Shipley, a photographer for Life Magazine, who does a story about the use of a new drug, penicillin being tested at the Rockefeller Institute. While there Claire meets Dr. James Stanton and his sister Tia, both researchers and she becomes romantically involved with James. Claire’s story doesn’t run in the magazine, for reasons she doesn’t quite believe and she suddenly becomes involved in a web of intrigue. When there is a suspicious death, Claire fears that her father, the CEO of a pharmaceutical company might be behind it.

I loved Belfer’s description of wartime New York, the way she captures the feel of what everyday life must have been like and her inclusion of historic figures such as Henry and Claire Booth Luce.

Alison

Eighteen-year-old Contessa Carolina Fantoni is going blind.  It’s happening gradually and no one in her family believes her.  After all, she’s always been slightly dreamy and odd; never preening and directing her attentions to marriage as do the other young women in her Victorian Italian setting.  It’s to everyone’s amazement that Carolina ends up married to Pietro, the most eligible bachelor of their circle.  Carolina’s real soul-mate is the eccentric inventor Turri, her childhood friend who is ten years her senior and now in an arranged marriage.  He’s the only one who believes Carolina and the only one who takes action to free her from her encroaching darkness.

This slim debut novel has a beautiful fairy tale quality to the writing style as well as a gothic tone with things that go bump in the night.  The fully-developed characters are not all black and white, and the fact that it is based on the true invention of the typewriter adds an interesting dimension.

As Carolina sinks into darkness and her freedom is restricted she begins to take flight in her dreams.  Will this be enough to carry her through life?  As Pietro gains more control over her and Turri gets caught up with his new family, will it have to suffice?

Laura J.

Juliet by Anne Fortier is a debut novel that blends the contemporary story of Julie Jacobs with the ancient legend of Romeo and Juliet. Fortier, who grew up in Denmark, said that her mother was in love with Verona, Italy, and lived in Italy for a time. Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet was part of the stories from her childhood. Later, when Fortier and her mother went to Siena – they fell in love with the city and were surprised to hear that the first written version of Romeo and Giulietta was actually penned in 1340 as taking place in Siena.

This gave Fortier a glimmer of an idea. What if there were twins whose parents died mysteriously in Italy. The small girls are taken to the U.S. and raised by Aunt Rose. When she dies – Janice gets the house and Julie gets a key and is told to go back to Siena, Italy and find her roots.

Once Julie finds letters and stories from 1340 in her mother’s things in Italy, the book travels between 1340 and present day. We soon find that there is a bigger mystery than the way Julie’s parents died. It has to do with the ancient manuscript and story of the star-crossed lovers, a treasure and a centuries old family feud. Julie also finds out that she is a descendant of Giulietta Tolomei and wonders if the contemporary Romeo is going to be her undoing.

Readers will be captured by the first few pages of the book and find that the danger for them is staying up until dawn to find out what happens. Fortier did an excellent job of creating interesting characters and is able to drop readers into the middle of medieval Siena life. Her website helps readers by giving them an interactive map of Sienna, reader’s questions and a great book trailer video that sets the mood. http://www.randomhouse.com/rhpg/features/anne_fortier/index.php