staff picks

As is true of all great literature, Kurban Said's Ali and Nino has timeless appeal. Set in the years surrounding the Russian Revolution and the rise of the Soviet Union, Said's tale of an Azerbaijani Muslim boy in love with a Georgian Christian girl is both tender and disturbingly prescient. The novel, first published in 1937, begins as Ali Khan Shirvanshir is finishing his last year of high school:
We were a very mixed lot, we forty schoolboys who were having a Geography lesson one hot afternoon in the Imperial Russian Humanistic High School of Baku, Transcaucasia: thirty Mohammedans, four Armenians, two Poles, three Sectarians, and one Russian.
The multi-ethnic Baku, it seems, stands at a crossroads between West and East, and, as the smug Russian professor informs his pupils, it is their responsibility to decide "whether our town should belong to progressive Europe or to reactionary Asia." For Ali Khan Shirvanshir there is no doubt--he belongs to the East; his beloved Nino, however, is "a Christian, who eats with knife and fork, has laughing eyes and wears filmy silk stockings."
Far away, to the West, there are rumblings of war. When the Russian Revolution begins, Ali Khan chooses not to fight; the Czar's fate is of little interest to a Muslim living in far away Transcaucasia. But the young man senses that another, greater danger is gathering on his country's borders--an "invisible hand" trying to force his world into new ways, the ways of the West. He assures his worried father that, like his ancestors, he is willing to die in battle, but at a time of his own choosing. In the meantime, he courts Nino and eventually marries her in the teeth of scandal and opposition. This union of East and West is at times a difficult one as Ali Khan finds himself lured further and further into European ways. When Soviet troops invade, however, he must choose once and for all whether to stand for Asia or Europe.
One of the many pleasures Ali and Nino offers is Kurban Said's lovingly rendered evocations of Muslim culture. Another is his compassionate portrait of the protagonists' difficult but profound relationship. Modern readers coming to this novel in the wake of the fall of Communism, outbreaks of sectarian violence, and the rise of religious fundamentalism will find disturbing parallels in its cautionary chronicle of cultures colliding and a way of life brutally destroyed. In the end, however, it is not historical accuracy, but rather the charm and passion of the title characters that lifts Said's only novel into literature's highest ranks.
8.30.10 - Erin 

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Bill Carter’s second book, Red Summer, is now in paperback.

This is a vivid, unforgettable account of the danger, pain, and joy of working on a salmon fishing boat and living in a small village on the furthest edge of Alaska. In the native village of Egegik, along the shores of Alaska’s Bristol Bay, Bill Carter takes us on an adventure over the course of four beautiful, brutal summers in one of the earth’s last remaining wild places. While millions of salmon race back to their original spawning grounds, Carter learns the ancient backbreaking trade of the set net fisherman, one of the most exhilarating and dangerous jobs in the world.

Housed in a dilapidated shack with no hot water and boarded-up windows that keep the bears at bay, Carter spends his days battling the elements on the river and his nights drinking whiskey with an unforgettable group of hardworking, hard-living characters. Carter’s crew is imperiled several times as tides rise, nets are snagged, and the weight of too many fish threatens to sink their boat.

Red Summer will appeal not only to fisherman, naturalists, adventurers alike but also to anyone who has ever yearned to escape the bonds of modern civilization. 

Red Summer is about life at the extreme edge of the food chain, and nowhere is the food chain more violent, more awesome or more intense than in Egegik....This is the ugly side of commercial fishing that you don't see on the adrenaline-soaked Discovery Channel" – New York Times
8.30.10 - Erin read Erin's interview with Bill Carter

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The Quickening by Michelle Hoover
Debut novelist Michelle Hoover has written a stunning portrait of Iowa farm wives during the early 20th century. The author herself comes from a fourth generation farming family, and her story is loosely based on the life of her great-grandmother at the turn of the century.

Alternating narratives between two struggling farm wives beginning in 1913, The Quickening lets us right into the hearts and minds of these women. Eddie (Enidina) is a down-to-earth, hard working soul who was born into this 'hardscrabble' farm life.  She's fairly content with working the land, caring for their animals, and is deeply devoted to her husband. Having suffered numerous miscarriages, therefore coming by her children (twins; a boy and a girl) with difficulty, she's also very absorbed in their lives.

Mary on the other hand, was born a city girl, shying away from the gritty, rigorous life expected of the wife of a farmer. She came by her children very easily, but for some reason favors her older children to her youngest son, Kyle. She prefers the social niceties found in the practice of her religion, her love of music and playing the piano.

Eddie and Mary discover that despite their differences, they need their friendship with one another for survival and companionship as darkness descends with the onset of the Great Depression. As Eddie's twins grow up, their lives become entangled with that of Mary's youngest son, Kyle. The two families begin to experience misfortune due to flooding of their farms, a drop in crop prices and rising mortgages, until they are pitted against one another. A series of disquieting events threatens to unravel both families.

The Quickening begins with a subtle tension that builds slowly until you are swept up in this raging river of clashing narratives.  A bit raw and gritty, yet equally tender and bittersweet, this debut novel is an awesome summer read, and a great choice for book clubs! 
7.31.10 - Linda

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This Must Be The Place by Kate Racculia
   This first novel by Kate Racculia hits the trifecta: mystery, romance, and a set of quirky, entertaining characters that I still miss. Mona is single handily raising Oneida, her daughter, at the Darby-Jones boarding house in Ruby Falls, NY. Arthur Rook, a newly widowed husband in the middle of a nervous breakdown, shows up bearing a pink shoe box full of mementos from his dead wife. Inside is a never mailed postcard to Mona. Here starts a story of lost friendship, life’s difficult choices, and a secret that will forever change both Mona and Oneida. A sub plot is Oneida’s story of coming of age and first love with her offbeat, boyfriend Eugene who will steal your heart. In the throes of raging teen hormones, Eugene pursues Oneida and reveals his own secret. Witty, engaging prose. Exceptionally entertaining!
7.25.10 - Sherry

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