Fiction: 2000-2003

• The Secret Purposes by David Baddiel. William Morrow, Harper Collins, New York: 2005. Originally published in Great Britain in 2004 by Little Brown, a division of Time Warner Group UK. Isaac Fabian, a professed Communist and son of a Rabbi, flees Nazi Germany to find safe haven in Great Britain with his gentile wife, Lulu, and their infant daughter, Rebecca. Life is difficult for the Fabians, who take great care not to show their German origins and eke out a subsistence living. After an interview by a national tribunal, Isaac is deported to the Isle of Man, where he is interned with mostly German Jewish Refugees. The painful truth about the murders European Jews is being suppressed by the British government. A government interpreter, June Murray, has access to information about the atrocities, and goes to the Isle of Man to interview detainees regarding their experiences with the Nazis. Isaac is one of the interviewee's, and eventually becomes romantically involved with June. This is compelling story has a historical basis. The author's grandfather was an internee in Britain during World War II. David Baddiel is an acclaimed novelist and a well-known television personality in Britain.

  
  

• Rules for Old Men Waiting by Peter Pouncey. Random House, New York: 2005. Robert MacIver, a Scottish born historian, has retired to his summer residence in Wellfleet, Cape Cod, with his dying wife. Soon after the death of his wife, MacIver discovers that he, too, is seriously ill and dying. As he sequesters himself in his former summer refuge, MacIver, who has written about gassed victims in World War I, struggles to write a novel about a platoon of British soldiers in the Great War. The historian ruminates about his own life- growing up in Scotland, his marriage, and his experiences in World War II, which have strong parallels to the lives of the characters in his novel. This is a remarkable and engrossing first novel, deserving of accolades and excellent reviews. Mr. Pouncey, a classicist, is a former Dean of Columbia College, and is a President Emeritus of Amherst College.

• The Plot Against America by Phillip Roth.Houghton Mifflin Company New York, Boston: 2004. A disturbing book about a fictional America during the World War II era. Aviation hero Charles A. Lindbergh is elected President after defeating Franklin Roosevelt. Lindbergh is an isolationist, and enters into a non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany: America does not fight in the war. The story is narrated by a young Jewish boy living in Newark, New Jersey. Lindbergh's presidency has strong consequences for American Jewry, with threats of pogroms and a loss of basic rights which were formerly guaranteed by the United States government. There is an excellent appendix with background on the historical figures in the book. Mr. Roth received the Pulitzer Prize for American Pastoral. He has received the National Medal of Arts, and received the Gold Medal in fiction from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences previously awarded to John Dos Passos, William Faulkner, Saul Bellow and other eminent American writers. This novel is historical fiction, but carries a deeper message about the contemporary dangers of a right wing militaristic government.

• Roads of the Heart by Christopher Tilghman. Random House, New York: 2004. Frank Alwin, a disgraced Southern politician has suffered a stroke. During a visit by his son Eric, an advertising executive living in the North, Frank requests a journey by car through the deep South. The trip evolves into a voyage of intense familial discovery and resolution. This masterfully told story will resonate a familiar empathy to its readers. The author is a tenured professor and teaches at the University of Virginia. Mr. Tilghman has also written, Mason's Retreat, In a Father's Place, and The Way People Run. He is a recipient of the Whiting Writer's Award, and the Ingram Merrill Foundation Award.

• A Likeness by Sonia Overall. Fourth Estate, a division of HarperCollinsUK, London:2004. Rob, a young artist and recent widower from Thetford, ventures forth to Elizabethan London to pursue a career as a portrait painter. He makes an unlikely alliance with Kat, a courtesan at the Royal Court. Her amorous connections with Royalty eventually bring him painting commissions. This is the time of the Plague, and the vicissitudes of Rob's career are dependent on both the seasons and Kat's fickle relationships with Royalty, who themselves are in and out of favor with the Queen. Vivid and colorful accounts of this important era in history draw the reader into an enchanting and colorful story cast with characters who appear in a Dickensian manner. A Likeness will have a broad appeal, especially to those interested in British historical fiction. This is the author's first novel. Ms. Overall grew up in Ely and Canterbury where she studied Literature and Philosophy.

• A Black Englishman by Carolyn Slaughter. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, New York:2004. Set in the aftermath of World War I, a young Englishwoman, Isabel, marries a soldier stationed in India, and leaves with him to escape postwar Britain. Isabel is soon left to her own devices when her husband departs for an extended tour of duty. After being stricken with a near fatal bout of malaria, she is nursed back to health by Sam, a local Oxford educated Indian physician. A torrid secretive love affair ensues: their interracial relationship is strictly taboo in British dominated India. The reader is drawn throughout the book into the cultural vibrancy and looming political conflicts within postwar India. The novel is based loosely on the life of the author's maternal grandmother, who went to India after the Great War. Carolyn Slaughter was born in New Delhi, India, and spent most of her childhood in the Kalahari Desert of what is now Botswana. She is the author of eight other novels and the memoir Before the Knife. An excellent book group choice for readers with a bent towards romantic historical fiction.

• The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Translated from Spanish by Lucia Graves. The Penguin Press, New York: 2004. Daniel, the young son of a bookseller, discovers the only known copy of a book written by an expatriate Spanish author, Julian Carax, who presumably had died in Paris shortly before World War II. Intrigued by the mysterious background of the author, Daniel sleuths for more information regarding Carax. A spellbinding tale of romance, deception, and tragedy unfolds in this novel set in the backdrop of postwar Barcelona. The Shadow of the Wind was on the best seller list in Spain for over a year. The author is a native of Barcelona. Lucia Graves is the author and translator of many works and has contributed to the Spanish language editions of the poetry of her father, Robert Graves.

• The Courage Consort by Michael Faber. Harcourt Books, New York, San Diego:2004. Three distinct novellas about characters who are psychologically trapped within their surroundings. In "The Courage Consort," a suicidal singer in a British a capella troupe struggles psychologically while on tour in Belgium. In " The Hundred and Ninety-Nine Steps," a handicapped woman on an archeological dig helps to solve a centuries-old murder whose mystery is hidden in a bottle. " The Fahrenheit Twins" has an eerie science fiction tone in which two twins living isolated in the Arctic with their parents find that their confrontation with Nature leads to uncovering truths about their origins. These novellas unfold in a bizarre, enveloping style.The author has written The Crimson Petal and The White, and Under the Skin.

• The Circus in Winter by Cathy Day. Harcourt:2004. The legacy of the Great Porter Circus in Lima, Indiana comes alive in a series of stories about its founder, troupe, and descendants. The stories move seamlessly between different eras: the circus continues to have a aura in Lima 60 years after it was sold. This is a sterling debut. The author grew up in Peru, Indiana, once the home of the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus. Her great uncle was an elephant trainer; another claimed to be the world's fastest ticket taker. Ms. Day was a 1999 Bush Artist Fellow in literature. She teaches at College of New Jersey.

• The Village Bride by Karita Daswani. G.P. Putnam's Sons, Penguin Group New York:2004. Priya, a recently married Hindu bride, arrives in Los Angeles from India to live with husband, Ranjay. By tradition, she is expected to be obedient to both her husband and her in-laws, who live with them. Priya is responsible for the cooking and cleaning in the household, and they supervise her lifestyle, including the clothing she wears. Eventually, she is permitted to take a job as a receptionist at the office of a popular Hollywood movie magazine. This job unexpectedly propels her into a life-changing whirlwind experience. This book is refreshingly light fare, especially in a genre which is dominated by more serious psychological fiction. This novel has excellent movie script potential. The author has been a fashion reporter for CNN International, CNBC Asia, and Women's Wear Daily. She has also written for the The Los Angeles Times, and the International Herald Tribune. She is a native of Bombay and lives in Los Angeles.

• Adventures of the Artificial Woman by Thomas Berger. Simon and Schuster, New York: 2004. A hilarious and insightful novel about the adventures of an artificial robotic woman. Ellery Pierce, an "animatronics" technician, creates a robot who is the "woman" of his dreams. Phyllis is indistinguishable from her human counterparts, and quickly develops a will of her own. She leaves Ellery in pursuit of a show business career and eventually runs for the presidency of the United States. This fast moving story is a subtle comic commentary on both American society and the human condition. Mr. Berger has written 23 novels, including Best Friends, Meeting Evil, Little Big Man, and The Feud, which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

• Happy Days by Laurent Graff. Translated from French by Linda Coverdale. Caroll and Graf, New York: 2004. A refreshing short book about a young French man who abandons everyday existence to live in a retirement home. Although his circumstances are unusual, he is accepted by the other residents, and becomes a special friend to an Alzheimer patient and a dying woman. This funny small book illustrates the important lessons of life. It is the author's first novel, and was awarded the French Prix Millepages in 2002.

• Departures by Lorna J. Cook. St. Martin' Press, New York: 2004. A coming of age story for two teenagers in a contemporary Midwestern family. The VanderZees live in a small college town where Malcom, the father, is an English professor and the mother, Esme, a former artist, is resigned to the domesticity of motherhood. The main focus of the story is on the two older children, Suzen and Evan. Suzen is a dreamer, and often daydreams about being in the landscape of a classic British novel. She works for the local nursery, owned by a gay woman, and begins to question her own sexuality when she find that she is attracted to her employer. Evan has little experience with girls until he meets the rebellious Soci, who turns his life into an unsettling adventure. Both teenagers question the relationship of their parents with it hidden tensions: their father's undisclosed past, and Esme's possible affair. The story of the VanderZees is an honest and evocative tale, and an excellent debut novel. An appealing book group choice.

• Sweet and Vicious by David Schickler. The Dial Press, ( Random House) New York:2004. Grace McGlone, a small town Wisconsin woman who is currently employed at a carwash, fatefully meets the love of her life- Henry Dante, who is on the run from his boss, Honey Pobrinkis, a Chicago mob chieftain. Henry's has possession of "The Planets", which are legendary Spanish diamonds worth 40 million and were recently purchased by his boss. Grace and Henry embark together on a whirlwind adventure as Henry flees from Honey's clutches. This is rapturous fiction by the author of Kissing in Manhattan. David Schickler has also written for The New Yorker, Tin House, Zoetrope Travel and Leisure. The author's website is www.davidschickler.com

• The Train to Lo Wu. by Jess Row Dial Press- Random House New York: 2005. Contemporary Hong Kong is an elusive city where an individual can be trapped by its frenetic rhythm. The characters in the stories are artfully drawn- each has a struggle with an unresolvable conflict intensified under the weight of the city. Most of the characters are Chinese, and some have lived in the United States- all are interminably locked in by the gravitational force of Hong Kong. The author deftly draws a delicate picture in each story, where the painting of each character eventually resolves itself in a unique denouement. There is an ongoing intensity from the story to story- and the final selection is a crowning portrayal of the leif motif running throughout the book: the difficulty of personal resolution in an Asian urban behemoth. This is a very special collection of short stories by a exceptionally talented writer. The author taught English at the University of Hong Kong. His stories have appeared in the The Best American Short Stories 2001, 2003, and the Pushcart Prize XXVI.>>>> He received a Whiting Writers Award in 2003, and a fellowship in fiction from the National Endowment for the Arts. His web site is Jessrow.com.

• Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky. Translated by Sandra Smith. Alfred A. Knopf New York: 2006. In the early 1940's, Ukrainian born Irene Nemirovsky, a highly successful Parisian author, began working on what would become Suite Française. The Jewish-born author would perish in Auschwitz at the age of thirty-nine. In a vain attempt to evade the Nazis, the author and her family fled Paris two years earlier, and lived in the countryside in central France. After her capture, her daughters took the manuscript into hiding: sixty-four years later we are reading her chef d'oeuvre. The novel depicts the poignant 1940 exodus from Paris in which urban dwellers were thrown together to survive in challenging circumstances. In the second part of the novel, the setting is in an occupied provincial village, where tense conflict arises between the villagers and the occupying German soldiers. This is an important masterpiece which offers the reader a special window into the verities of wartime France. The author was born in Kiev to a wealthy banking family and emigrated to France during the revolution. She wrote the highly successful novel, David Golder, followed by The Ball, The Flies of Autumn, Dogs and Wolves, and The Courilof Affair. She died in 1942. Sandra Smith's translation of Suite Francaise was short listed for the 2007 Oxford-Weidenfeld Prize.

• Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. Algonquin Books Chapel Hill, North Carolina:2006. In the depths of the Great Depression, Jacob Jankowski loses his parents in an automobile accident and is unable to finish his last year at Cornell as a veterinary student. After hopping a train, he is thrust into another milieu where his life will drastically change: the world of the traveling circus. The story is narrated by Jacob, who is now 93 and resides in an retirement home. His narration is marked by his tales of survival in the circus and his love affair with a circus performer, Malena. The circus itself is metaphor for the Great Depression which colors the mood of the novel. The author has written the best seller, Riding Lessons, and Flying Changes.

• Imperium A Novel of Ancient Rome by Robert Harris.Simon & Schuster New York: 2006. Tiro, the slave and secretary to the Roman statesman Cicero, chronicles the political life of one of the greatest figures in ancient Rome. The book, a recreation of Tiro's lost biography of Cicero, narrates the rise of a political genius competing in a world with the most powerful figures of his time: Pompey, Caesar, and Crassus, among others. The author reveals the treacherous world of Roman politics in which a clever, compassionate, and masterful orator eventually rises to the leading position in Rome to attain the Supreme Imperium of the Roman Consulship. Mr. Harris is the author of the well know novels Fatherland, Enigma, and Pompeii. He has also been a correspondent for the BBC, The London Sunday Times, and The Daily Telegraph.

• Blood Fugues by Edgardo Vega Yunque. Harper Collins Publishers New York: 2005. A family's history is deftly unwound in this gracefully compelling novel. Kenny Romero is a New York City high school student and the eldest son of an Irish-American mother and a Puerto Rican-American father. While working on a farm in upstate New York during the summer, Kenny is injured when he attempts to save a stray cow, and falls into a deathly coma. Familial relationships come to light as the entire family copes with Kenny's illness: Kenny's father Tommy and Uncle Jerry were dismissed from the New York City Police Force and work in illicit activities; his mother Fran's devout Catholicism; his maternal grandmother Mary's checkered past; his girlfriend Claudia bonding with his family; the mystery of the farm's owner Henri Brunet and his son Gabriel. These relationships are cast together in a calming conclusive light at the end of the novel. Edgardo Vega Yunque is the prize winning author of three novels and two collections of short stories. He was born in Puerto Rico and lives in Brooklyn.

• The Texicans by Nina Vida. Soho Press New York: 2006. The two central characters of this historical novel are Joseph Kimmel, a immigrant Jewish schoolmaster living in Missouri, and Aurelia Ruiz, a young Mexican woman endowed with special powers of healing, casting spells, and attracting men. Joseph learns about his brother's death in Texas, and ventures alone to San Antonio to set up a business with his brother's former business partner. In the midst of his travels, Joseph is robbed by a runaway slave named Luck, and is left alone in the wilderness. He is rescued by Henri Castor, a Parisian Jew, who invites Kimmel to settle with his French Alsatian pioneers in his new town, Castorville( now a town in modern day Texas). Joseph marries an Alsatian immigrant, Katrin, and eventually meets Aurelia, for whom he develops a strong attraction, and brings Aurelia and her daughter to farm in the Guadeloupe River Valley. They are joined by Luck, who was captured by a Texas Ranger and freed when Joseph claims to be the slave's owner. Despite his path to success being challenged by dangerous attacks by Commanches and problems with renegade Texas Rangers, Joseph becomes a wealthy landowner and rancher. This novel will appeal to a broad spectrum of readers and especially those who are interested in the history of the Texas Hill country in the 1840's and 1850's. The author has written six previous novels:Scam; Return from Darkness; Maximilian's Garden; Goodbye, Saigon; Between Sisters; and The End of Marriage.

• Pound for Pound by F.X. Toole. Foreword by James Ellroy. Harper Collins New York:2006. A posthumous novel by the author of Million Dollar Baby( originally published as the short story Rope Burns.)) The book's central character is Dan Cooley, a former boxer and cut man based in Los Angeles. Cooley experiences a number of family tragedies, and falls on hard times as an alcoholic. The other main character in the novel is Chicky Garza, a young fighter from the San Antonio circuit, who seeks to broaden his fortune in ring by traveling to Los Angeles, where he eventually trains with Cooley. Their bond ultimately brings the redemption needed to uplift the lives of both men. This masterful novel, originally a nine hundred page manuscript, was finished by literary agent Nat Sobel and freelance editor, James Wade. James Ellroy is a best selling crime writer and essayist. The author was born in 1930, and worked as a bullfighter, cut man, taxi driver, and saloon keeper. His short story, "Million Dollar Baby," became an Academy Award Winner after the author's death in 2002.

• The Meaning of Night A Confession by Michael Cox.W.W. Norton & Company New York:2006. Edward Glyver, murderer, booklover, and scholar, seeks to uncover the truth about his paternity in order to claim a rich inheritance and a noble title. A childhood friend turned nemesis stands in his way. This well researched novel is set in Victorian England and is abound with references to that time period and the world of antiquarian books. The author began work on the novel thirty years ago. This is highly recommended to readers of historical fiction. Mr. Cox is the author of the biography of the scholar and ghost story writer M.R. James. He is the editor of The Oxford Book of English Ghost Stories, and The Oxford Book of Victorian Detective Stories.

• Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay. St. Martin's Griffin New York: 2007.(Paperback). American journalist Julia Jarmond is living in Paris and currently writing an article about the little-known arrest and deportation of thousands of Parisian French Jews during the Nazi occupation. The French Gendarmes willingly rounded up Parisian Jews on July 16th, 1942, and detained them at the Velodrome d'Hiver, an indoor cycling track. The conditions were horrific, especially for the abandoned children who were separated from their parents. As Julia investigates the Vel d'Hiv, her reporting begins to focus on a 10 year old survivor, Sarah, whose life is revealed to be inextricably bound with her own French family. The book flashes between the war and the present time until the historical repercussions of this tragedy have a profound effect on Julia's personal life. This unforgettable story reminds us of how the entanglement of history can transform and redeem our daily lives. The paperback version includes an interview with the author, book group questions, historical perspectives, and an excerpt from her new book, A Secret Kept. The author is Parisian, and has written 10 novels. She was named one of the top three European fiction authors in 2010. Her web site is tatianaderosnay.com/

• The Bad Girl by Mario Vargas Llosa. Farrar, Straus and Giroux New York:2007. Peruvian born Ricardo Somocurcio has kept the flame alive for his first teenage love, Lily. After leaving Peru, Ricardo works as a translator in Paris where he again meets Lily , now a budding revolutionary by the name of "Arlette". She goes off to Cuba promising Ricardo to return, and instead remains while having an affair with a high ranking Cuban Commandante. Throughout their lives they will reconnect in France, England, Japan, and Spain, as the same pattern reemerges: Lily reappears with a new identity and their rekindled relationship abruptly ends with a tragic twist. The reader will be captivated by the eroticism and the mysterious grace of this novel. A review of this book is on the New York Times web site. The author was born in Peru. His well known novels are The Time of the Hero, Conversation in the Cathedral, Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter, In Praise of the Stepmother, and Feast of the Goat. Making Waves, a non-fiction book, was winner of National Book Critics Circle Award. His other non-fiction books are Perpetual Orgy, a study of Flaubert, and an autobiography, A Fish in Water.

• Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill. Norton & Company New York: 2007. Aminata Diallo, an old woman living in London, tells the story of her enslavement as child in Africa in the 1700's. She is an important witness to the London abolitionist movement, and recounts the horrors which befell her during her lifetime. Aminata survives disease, madness, and an uprising during her slave ship voyage to America. She is sold to a cruel plantation owner in South Carolina, where she works in the indigo fields and as a midwife. After the birth of her first child, who is sold to another master, Aminata is sold to a British indigo inspector in Charles Town, who teaches her to read and write, a skill which will benefit her in the future. Conflicts arise in their relationship, and Aminata escapes to New York. After the American Revolution, she escapes again to Nova Scotia, where survival for blacks is difficult and prone to attack by white settlers. Eventually, Aminata returns to Africa to live in a new British colony of blacks in Sierra Leone. This novel flows with rich historical detail. The author has written Any Known Blood, Some Great Thing,and The Deserter's Tale with Joshua Key. His website is www.lawrencehill.com.

• Hatred For Tulips by Richard Lourie. St. Martin's Press New York: 2007. A coming of age story about a Dutch boy's survival in Nazi occupied Holland. Joop's long lost brother, now living in America, unexpectedly appears for a visit to his home in modern day Amsterdam. His narrative tale begins as we are ushered into wartime Holland: food shortages, winters without fuel, Nazi sympathizers, and Jewish deportation are interwoven in this bracing story. Joop's survival is eventually connected to a well known Dutch girl, resolving with an odd, bittersweet ending. The author is critically acclaimed for fiction and non-fiction writing. He has written the The Autobiography of Joseph Stalin, and Sakharov: A Biography, and served as Mikhail Gorbachev's translator for the New York Times. The author has been a journalist for the New York Times, The Washington Post, The New Republic, and The Nation. He is currently a correspondent for The Moscow Times.

• Consequences by Penelope Lively.Viking New York: 2007. Matt, an art student raised in a small Welsh market town, and Lorna, who grew up in upper class Kensington Gardens, meet fortuitously in a London park before World War 11. They fall in love, marry quickly, and settle in a farmer's cottage where Matt continues his work and their daughter Molly is born. Matt serves in the British army during the War, and eventually is killed in action. A new chapter evolves in Lorna's life when she marries Matt's best friend Lucas, which leads to a familial tale spanning 60 years. The reader will be intrigued as the novel unwinds into many unexpected turns. The prize winning author has written thirteen previous novels, including Booker Prize winner Moon Tiger, and the widely acclaimed The Photograph.

• Posh by Lucy Jackson.St. Martin's Press New York: 2007. The cast of characters from an exclusive New York prep school, including the headmistress, students, and their parents, play out an unusual entangled drama of everyday life. This novel will appeal to a broad readership- the author gives a compelling twist to teenage angst and parental concern . Lucy Jackson is a pseudonym for a well known novelist and short story writer. Her last novel was a New York Times notable book. Her stories have appeared in the New Yorker, Best American Short Stories, and many magazines.

• The Book of Air and Shadows by Michael Gruber. Harper Collins Publishers, New York:2007. A mesmerizing art thriller about the search for a missing manuscript of William Shakespeare. Jake Mishkin, a wealthy New York intellectual property lawyer, opens the tale by informing the reader that he is awaiting his fate at the hands of unknown killers in a remote location- resulting from his professional involvement in the search for a valuable literary treasure. Family, friends, lovers, and involved associates are interwoven into this intricate story as suspects. This hypnotic tale is enriched with details about Shakespearean England, antiquarian books, bookbinding, and the art of ciphering. The author has a fascinating Curriculum Vitae: college educated in English and Biology, Rock Group Roadie, County Manager, and Speech Writer. He has written fifteen Butch Karp and Marlene books under the author Robert K. Tannenbaum's name. He has authored TROPIC OF NIGHT, VALLEY OF BONES, and NIGHT OF THE JAGUAR, as well as a children's book THE WITCH'S BOY under his own name. The author's website is michaelgruberbooks.com

• Consumption by Kevin Patterson.Nan A. Talese, New York:2007. Survival has been traditionally difficult for the native Inuit in Rankin Inlet, a small town near the Arctic Ocean. Life radically changed with the influence of the Kablunauks-the "southerners"( whites) who brought mining and western culture to this Northern town, making the caribou and seals more scarce. The novel centers around Victoria Robertson, who as a young girl was afflicted with tuberculosis( consumption) and is sent away to Winnipeg to be treated. Victoria reluctantly returns to Rankin Inlet after she is cured and eventually marries a British expatriate working in town. She leads a conflicted life- exposed to "southern" culture but forced to live within the traditional setting of Rankin Inlet. Her husband oversees a diamond mine built in the town, which threatens the established ways of the Inuit by providing a new avenue of survival. This novel vividly depicts the culture of the North and the life perspective of the Inuit. There is a special treatment of the tundra- its vast cold expanse which defines the existence of the Inuit. The reader is lead on a special journey- one into the heart and mind of a people whose lives are threatened by the encroachment of another civilization. The author has written a memoir The Water in Between, which was a New York Times Notable Book. Country of Cold, a short fiction collection, won the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize and the inaugural City of Victoria Butler Book Prize.

• On Kingdom Mountain by Howard Frank Mosher.Houghton Mifflin Books Boston, MA:2007. Jane Hubbell Kinneson is the last remaining resident of Kingdom Mountain, which was inhabited by her family for generations. She is a respected eccentric: a retired school teacher, town book shop owner, and an annual contestant in a bird carving contest. Jane's life on the mountain is threatened by a proposed highway which would be built on her property and connect the US and Canadian border. Her life changes when Henry Satterfield, a Southern based air show pilot, crashes his plane on Kingdom Mountain. Henry is seeking to find gold hidden by Confederate Soldiers on Jane's property during the Civil War. He recovers in Jane's house, and joins her fight to prevent the highway from being built on the mountain. This is an enchanting read, with descriptive accounts of small town life in 1930's Vermont. The author has written ten books, including Waiting for Teddy Williams, The True Account, and A Stranger in the Kingdom which was co-recipient of the New England Book Award along with Disappearances.

• Inheritance   by Natalie Danford. Macmillan: 2007. Olivia Bonocchio, American born daughter of an Italian immigrant, discovers a mysterious deed to a house in her father's native town in Italy shortly after his death. She travels to Italy, meets her father's family in Urbino and begins to unravel hidden secrets about his life during World War ll. The novel depicts the struggles of Olivia's father both in wartime Italy and as an immigrant in America. His disturbing past eventually leads to a comforting resolution. This is an excellent debut novel and highly recommended to a general readership. The author is coeditor of Best New American Voices series. Her work has appeared in Salon.com,,The LA Times, and The Chicago-Sun Times..