The Postmistress, by Sarah Blake. Amy Einhorn Books, 2010.

What would you think about a Postmistress who deliberately withheld mail? What would you think about a journalist who deliberately withheld the truth? In the months before the United States enters the Second World War, in the thick of the German blitz on London, Iris, the Postmistress in a seaside Massachusetts town, and Frankie, the radio journalist on location in London, each has a profound effect on the lives of those in their service areas - and on each other.

Told from alternating American and European viewpoints, life in America, England, France and Germany comes into focus through letters, radio broadcasts, and vivid description. The plot ends are neatly tied at the last, though the underlying philosophical questions are not so tidily dispatched.

Although it is set in a time before television, this novel has all the graphic impact of a wartime documentary - it is a journalist's report, after all, a radio lifeline which brought news from the war in Europe to America. It brought home to me the horrors of the London blitz and the mass emigration of Jews on the continent in a way that I will never forget. The author personalized the characters so well, there was never any question about labels or categories - each major and minor character was a Person with a Story.

Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen. Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2007.

Jacob Jankowski, now in his 90s and living in a nursing home, finds memories of his earlier life as a circus veterinarian during the Great Depression rushing back when he hears that a circus is setting up next door. The residents have been promised a visit to a performance under the Big Top. Sandwiched between vignettes of his current situation, memories of the years he spent on the road with the "Benzini Brothers Most Spectactular Show on Earth" come flooding back.

This would be a great book-discussion title. There are many sub-plots, tangled relationships, economic, social, and ethical issues that could provide material for a spirited discussion. The description of circus life is rich in color and detail, evoking both dismay at the lack of political-correctness (by today's standards) and longing for a time when adventure was more easily achieved. And although one reviewer called the ending "predictable", I found it redeeming and totally in keeping with the illusions that keep people coming back to the circus.

The Girl in the Green Raincoat, by Laura Lippman. William Morrow, 2008.

Tess Monaghan, private investigator, is confined to bed during the last months of her pregnancy. Bored, she spends her days watching the people in the park outside her window. Every day, a young woman in a green raincoat walks her Italian greyhound, and talks on her cell phone. One day, the dog appears, running through the park with leash flying, sans owner. Tess, convinced something terrible has happened to her, determines to get to the bottom of the mystery and discovers layers of crimes and cover-ups which lead to a startling - and dangerous - discovery.

I just returned from the American Library Association's annual conference, held this year in New Orleans. The Public Library Association President's program featured the husband-wife team of David Simon and Laura Lippman, who discussed their works and philosophy of writing, and also shared anecdotes from their days as journalists. I bought one book from each author, and read this novella, the 11th in the Tess Monaghan series, on the plane coming home. I found it to be light, tight, and twisted, and have already placed the first book in the series on hold.

Mao's Last Dancer by Li Cunxin. Walker & Co. 2008.

A few years ago, I was selecting audiobooks for my mom, who has macular degeneration. She was particularly taken with this title, and I've only just now read it in e-format.

As part of the Cultural Revolution in China, Li Cunxin was selected from a rural town to become a dancer. He was sent as a young child to Beixing and spent many years in rigorous training and indoctrination. But after a 6-week period as an exchange ballet student in Houston and an eye-opening introduction to the western world, he began to doubt the Communist tenets he had believed in. He made plans for a return trip, and ultimately defected.

In retrospect, I can completely understand why my mother found this an inspiring biography. It is a compelling story, a window into a place that was shrouded in secrecy and prejudice; it is a bridge between that place and the world we know and take so much for granted. And it is a powerful paean to the triumph of will in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.

90 Miles to Havana, by Enrique Flores-Galbis. Roaring Book Press, 2010.

When Castro takes power in Cuba in a violent uprising, and rebels begin taking over the homes and possessions of families, 9-year old Julio's parents decide to send him and his two older brothers to a refugee camp in Miami for safety. They expect to be reunited in a few weeks. In camp, they are met by a different reality than the one promised: bullies, gangs, poverty and lies. Through Angelita, a family friend, Julio becomes involved in an illicit and daring plan to rebuild an abandoned boat and rescue his parents.

Flores-Galbis was a child refugee from Cuba and this children's novel is based directly on his own experiences with "Operation Pedro Pan." It is a story that picks up momentum with each chapter, and gives voice to a part of American history that is seldom taught.

The Hangman's Daughter by Oliver Potzsch. Amazon Crossing, 2010. (Kindle Ed.)
A young lady asked me for this book last week, and it was available neither in our collection nor in the larger Link+ collection. She said it had been recommended independently to her by three friends in the same week and she thought she should seek it out. Curious myself by then, I bought a Kindle edition and read it on the iPad.

Having so recently read Brooks's Year of Wonders, I found this novel to be a perfect counterpoint. Told in a male voice and set in the same century, this is the story of the hangman in a small German town and his impact on its citizens, businesses, politics, and commerce. There is the suspicion of witchcraft when brutally murdered orphan children are discovered to have the same mysterious mark on their shoulders, and also a blossoming romance between the hangman's daughter and the doctor's son.

The descriptions are graphic, particularly of the tools and methods of the hangman's trade, but they only add to the tension as the tale becomes ever more tangled. I found it to be a very satisfying read, and plan to recommend the library purchase a copy.

Update: The library now owns copies of this title.

Shanghai Girls, by Lisa See. Random House, 2009.

Pearl and May, teenage daughters of a business man in Shanghai in the 1930s, are modern and liberated. They model for advertisements, wear western clothing, and speak English. In public. At home, they are still bound by traditional Chinese family customs, and are stunned to learn their father has sold them to be wives of the American Chinese sons of their father's debtor in payment of his gambling debt. Their world is shattered upon discovering their father has lied to cover up his gambling losses, and the lengths he is willing to go to to save himself and his wife.

Thus begins an exploration of the atrocities of the war with Japan, the harsh and impersonal treatment of immigrants to the United States, and the struggle to reconcile the stories of the riches that will be theirs in Hollywood with the realities of poverty, hard work, and deep prejudice.

As with the author's "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan", Lisa See tells the story with vivid and lyrical language. Her intimate understanding of the Chinese and American cultures, and deep knowledge of the historical setting allows the characters of Pearl, May, their parents, their in-laws and their husbands to sharpen and develop through the interplay of relationships, and the effects of secrets, war and segregation on their ambitions and dreams. And then, there's Joy, the daughter around whom May and Pearl build their new lives.

I felt the first half of the book set the stage; in the middle, the drama of the tale build quickly and grabbed me, and from then on it was a page-turner that kept me up till the wee hours.

Moon over Manifest, by Clare Vanderpool. Delacourte Press, 2010.

In the late 1930s, 12-year-old Abilene Tucker has spent much of her life riding the rails with her drifter dad. But suddenly, he decides to send her to live with a friend in Manifest, KS, where he grew up. She is disappointed that the town doesn't live up to her dad's descriptions, but she soon becomes involved with two classmates in solving the mystery of the spy, The Rattler. She also discovers a cigar box under the floorboards of her bedroom. It is full of mementos and clues which lead to the discovery of snippets of her dad's earlier life.

I particularly enjoyed the contrast between Abilene's more worldly point of view and the more insular viewpoints of her Manifest friends. The characters of Pastor and bootlegger Shady Howard, "Reporter About Town" Hattie Mae Harper, and diviner "Miss Sadie" are quirky enough to be believable as small-town characters. And through Hattie's newspaper and the mementos in the box, we uncover the story of the influence of World War I on the development of the people and the town.

This year's Newbery Medal winner will appeal to all ages.

Year of Wonders: a novel of the plague, by Geraldine Brooks. Viking, 2001.

Anna, an 18-year old widow with two small children, unwittingly introduces the bubonic plague into her village when she takes in a lodger from London in 1665. The rest of the story is predictable, save for one thing: it's based on events that happened in the real English village of Eyam, which imposed a voluntary quarantine upon itself in an attempt to prevent the spread of the disease to other towns. At the end of the year, by the time the spread of the disease had stopped, two thirds of the villagers had died.

Brooks's story includes just about every element that could possibly be squeezed into the village boundaries: fear, blasphemy, women's education, herbalism, witchcraft, sex, opportunistism, flagellation, religious tolerance and intolerance - and squeezed them all into a single year. The language and descriptions are powerful and evocative, though I thought the ending was a bit weak - as if she had just got too tired and wanted to be done with it.

What I loved about the book was the use of colorful and contemporary words, that placed the story squat in the middle of its culture and time: handfasted, boose, beastings pie, overweening, oatcake and brawn, unruly tup. Mostly, an approximate inference is possible, but I ended up looking up many words in the OED.

The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. Scholastic Press, 2008.

North America in the future is no longer 50 states, but 12 Districts governed by the Capitol, located somewhere west of the Rockies. To remind the Districts of their defeat, annual Hunger Games test the mettle of two representatives ("tributes") from each district, who compete in an event that is strongly reminiscent of today's "survival" TV shows - there will be only one survivor.

Collins successfully explores the effects of war on young people as they struggle to live in a poor and repressive envronment, and on the emotional impact on the tributes and their families as they deal with murder and the responsibilities of being a victor. She personalizes the message vividly as she follows Katniss and Peeta, the two tributes from District 12 (somewhere near Appalachia), and the repercussions from their first-ever dual win in the Hunger Games.

I've read successful post-holocaust novels before, some written for teens and some for adults (like Hoban's Riddley Walker), but this one grabbed my heart, and I purchased the second title in the series, Catching Fire, as soon as I read the last words.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, by Jamie Ford. Ballantine Books, c2009

The American poet, John Greenleaf Whitter, wrote, “For of all sad words of tongue and pen, The saddest are these, 'It might have been'.”

The Panama Hotel is the vehicle that ties the two ends of this novel together. Although the characters are fictional, the hotel and its history are very real. Henry, son of a Chinese immigrant family, befrends Keiko, daughter of a Japanese family, when they are assigned to cafeteria duty in an otherwise all-white middle school in Seattle. Henry's family in particular is very much opposed to the friendship. In fact, his father spends all his free time monitoring news stories about the Sino-Japanese war and later, the Second World War.

In the late 40s, all the Japanese families were sent to internment camps. Keiko's family is uprooted from Nihonmachi, the Japantown of Seattle. Although Henry tries to keep in touch with her, the letters cease coming after a couple of years, and he reluctantly accepts that he needs to move on with his life.

In the 1980s, we re-join Henry, now a widower, as he and his son Marty experience the discovery of belongings from nearly 40 families preserved in the basement of the Panama Hotel.

The story of the complex relationships between Henry and his parents, between Henry and Keiko, between Marty and Henry, and between Henry and his late wife bring a shameful period of American history to vibrant life. I couldn't put it down.

The Pirate's Daughter, by Margaret Cezair-Thompson. Unbridled Books, 2007

This is the story of Ida, a fictional Jamaican girl, her relationship with Erroll Flynn and their illigitimate daughter, May. It is set in Port Antonio, Jamaica, where Flynn lived in the '50s while trying to rebuild his reputation as an actor. I picked it up because the author is Jamaican, and because I have visited many of the places where the book's action takes place.

Critics have faulted Cezair-Thompson for changing the viewpoint of the book in the middle from that of Ida, the mother, to that of May, the daughter, saying it interrupted the energy and potential power of the narrative. And certainly Ida is a very strong and vibrant character in the first half, who becomes just a part of the background noise in the second half.

I freely admit I wasn't reading this book for the story, but instead, for the local details and history. About 3 years ago, I revisited Port Antonio with my Jamaican cousin and re-learned some of the history of the area. The details of place and person were delightful; the Jamaican dialect brought back memories of the two summers my family spent there as kids; and the vicarious view into the life of Flynn and his impact on the economy of Port Antonio made me want to learn more about both. So, for me, the novel was a success.

The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan. Hyperion Books for Children, 2005.

This is the first book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, and it has fired the imaginations of teens for the last year or more! It's been called "the next Harry Potter", and there are still dozens of holds in the queue. I read it shortly after Gaiman's American Gods, which has a similar premise: that ancient gods and Olympians are alive and unrecognized in America except by special individuals. And they still fight and cause trouble.

Percy, age 12, has been expelled from six schools in six years for causing serious trouble. In desperation, his mother has finally decided to enroll him in a summer camp for exceptional children. She's been putting it off in order to keep him close to her for a little longer. On the way, their car explodes and his mother is killed by a monster who has been following them. Percy barely manages to hike the rest of the way into camp.

He learns that all the campers including himself - are sons and daughters of one or another of the Olympians and a human parent. He also learns that Zeus's master thunderbolt has been stolen, and a war is brewing between the Olympian factions. Because his father is implicated, Percy is sent on a quest to find and restore the thunderbolt.

Foreshadowing and hints liberally placed throughout the text, while maybe a little obvious to an adult reader, make the younger reader feel pretty smart for figuring out the allusions and guessing plot twists. The prose is spare, descriptive, and contemporary. I can understand why readers are still lining up to read the rest of the series.

Carter Beats the Devil, by Glen David Gold. Hyperion, 2001

Part biography, part fantasy, this novel invites readers to suspend belief for a few hours as Carter's story unfolds. From his childhood, he's been interested in magic, and works hard on the carnival circuit to become a master magician, ultimately winning enough recognition to mount his own shows. He has challengers, notably the mysterious Mysterioso, and there are a couple of romantic interests. Gold liberally spreads references to contemporary magicians, including Houdini, and detailed accounts of historical events throughout the novel. Like the best magicians, who depend on misdirection for the success of their illusions, the author skillfully "directs" the reader's attention in ways that continually surprise, right up to the suspenseful climax and conclusion.

Future Savvy : identifying trends to make better decisions, manage uncertainty, and profit from change, by Adam Gordon. American Management Association, 2009.

Illuminating study of forecasts and how individuals and organizations spin them for their own benefit. Most interesting to me were the chapters on instigating changes vs. adapting to changes. Instigators spin the forecast to influence others to create or adopt the change; adapters take the forecast and create several alternate plans so they can be in the best possible position, whichever scenario unfolds. The work ends with a condensed list of questions to ask of any forecast, and a reference to the web site: http://futuresavvy.net/.

Virtually Dead by Peter May. Poisoned Pen, 2010

Taking place both in Second Life (SL) and Real Life (RL), a series of brutal murders of real people and their SL avatars creates a mystery on several levels.

Michael Kapinsky has been grieving the death of his wife for too long, and has recently returned to work as a forensic crime photographer. His therapist invites him to participate in group therapy sessions in Second Life. He joins and creates his avatar, Chas Chesnokov, a Brad Pitt look-alike. Although the learning curve is steep, he makes some SL friends and immediately and involuntarily becomes involved with the Twist of Fate Detective Agency. A series of bizarre murders puzzles everyone: an SL avatar is killed by three shots to the chest, and the RL "owner" of the avatar is killed at the same time, in the same way - all people Michael knows. Who can it be? And how did all traces of the "dead" avatars' existence on the Linden Lab servers get removed, and their SL money get deposited to other accounts?

The writing is unremarkable and the plot is predictable; however the venue is novel.

The big switch : rewiring the world, from Edison to Google , by Nicholas Carr. W. W. Norton & Co., c2008.

My brother recommended I read this, saying it might apply to what I do at work. It's a comparison of the development of the Internet and World Wide Web with the development of the electric grid, from individual water wheels and generators to electricity plants that provide power for everyone. When presented that way, social networking, cloud computing and Google's stated plans for the future sure look like they're moving in that direction! Instead of every business and individual having their own servers, they will rent server space from computing utilities, who can provide it cheaply using the economy of scale. The Internet will be the server, and we will all tap into the World Wide Computer with thin clients. (Come to think of it, I was thinking of this very thing when I bought the Dell Mini 9 - of using Slideshare and Google Docs instead of the hard drive.)

Can't wait to get to heaven : a novel by Fannie Flagg. Random House, 2006.

I'd been reading a number of dark books recently, and decided it was time to read something lighter. This was the "lightest" on the list from which we chose our next book club discussion title.

Aunt Elner, of indeterminate age because the family Bible had gone missing, but certainly in her late 80s, has decided to make fig jam, and climbs a ladder into her fig tree. She is attacked by a swarm of wasps, falls from the ladder and dies.

Then we watch as small-town politics, families, and communication channels all gear up to handle this unexpected occurrance, from niece to trucker, from hospital attorney to neighbor, from radio station to newspaper. Through their eyes, we see Aunt Elner's life and the positive effects she's had on pretty much everyone in her town. Neighbors clean her house, take care of her cat, wash her laundry - and discover a loaded pistol in the bottom of her laundry hamper!

As it turns out the doctors were wrong - Aunt Elner is, in fact, alive, despite being sent to the hospital's morgue, and returns home after a stay in the Intensive Care Unit. This gives everyone a "second chance" to examine their lives and their relationships with each other. What was billed as "pathos," "side-splitting," and "serio-comic" turns out to be a parable, forcing not only the characters, but also readers to ask, "Why are we here? Are we living our lives in the best way we can for others and for ourselves? What is heaven?"

As for the mystery of the gun, ...

The Bridge of San Luis Rey, by Thornton Wilder. Perennial Library, 1986, c1927

I decided to re-read this slim, Pulitzer-winning volume after spotting it on a re-shelve truck at the library. (I've been finding quite a few good books that way, recently!) I opened it to a random page, read a paragraph, and was captured by the lyrical, descriptive language. I read this book when I was in the 8th grade - a little while ago - and wondered if I would find more depth and meaning now that I am older.

The story involves the failure of a bridge over a Peruvian river, plunging five people to their deaths. Brother Juniper, on his way to cross the bridge himself, witnesses the accident and wonders - not questioning the Higher Authority who allowed it to happen - why those people fell, and why at that particular time in their lives. He then embarks on a quest to find out what was happening in each person's life in the time before their deaths. After years of research, his notes, compiled into several volumes, are declared heretical and they and Brother Juniper are burned to death.

Many of Wilder's works incorporate the theme of the Day of Judgment, though not in a pedantic way. On the day the bridge fell, each victim had reached a crossroad, and made a decision. My take-away from this re-reading: it is always possible to refocus the direction of one's life, no matter how difficult it may seem to do. It involves putting the old "scripts" behind and writing new ones. It requires faith. And love. The bridge is love.

"The Double Bind", by Christopher A. Bohjalian. Shaye Areheart Books, c2007.

Wow! Had no clue, when I selected this book, that it would be a two-fer. The jacket blurb said it draws strongly from Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby", which I had not read, so I read it first. Good thing! Bohjalian seamlessly integrates the Gatsby characters and setting into his novel, and then delivers a double-whammy at the end that caught me flat-footed.

Laurel works in a homeless shelter, and because of her interest in photography, she is given a box of old photos and negatives when one of the shelter's clients dies. The mandate was to perhaps mount an exhibit that could become a fund-raiser. However, among the photos is one that triggers flashbacks recalling an incident in which she was attacked and very nearly raped while riding her bike on a mountain trail, and she becomes obsessed with finding out more about the man who took the picture.

Bohjalian presents the delusional world of mental illness so cleverly and convincingly, that the novel's end caught me completely unprepared. I had to go back and re-read whole sections to see how I could possibly have misread all the clues! And of course, upon re-reading after learning the outcome, the layers of the back story were clearly apparent. On the whole, a sobering read that illustrates the power of the mind when dealing with trauma.