Recently Read
Vanitha Sankaran
Beauty and Sadness by Yasunari Kawabata
Beauty and Sadness is the quintessential Japanese novel — concise and simply written yet able to convey the deepest of emotions. This is a novel about a set of dysfunctional, mutually destructive characters who seem unable to tear themselves away from each other. This novel doesn't follow a traditional Western storytelling arc, is really a neat departure from the expected!
Maisie Dobbs by Jaqueline Winspear
The Maisie Dobbs series features a young British woman circa WW I who is devoted to solving mysteries around her. This is neither purely historical fiction nor a simple mystery but a splendid blend of both. With an intriguing look into Britain of the 20s and 30s balanced against the internal and external exploits of Ms. Dobbs, this book (and the series) ends up being a real page-turner!
A Thread of Grace by Marie Doria Russell
I cannot recommend this book enough! Written by the author who gave us The Sparrow and Children of God, this book details the struggles of Jews during WW II who escaped into the hills of Italy. Not your average Holocaust novel, this story gives us an amazing look at how Christians and Jews lived in harmony in Italy, and how scores of average, everyday Italians risked their lives and the lives of their families to help those being persecuted, and do what was right. Unforgettable characters built around historical fact.
Didi Wood
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
It took me awhile to get into it but by the end I was in tears, and still it haunts me. As in his wonderful The Remains of the Day, Ishiguro again is concerned with the idea of connections among people, especially those missed or discovered too late.
Debi Orton
Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
Gaiman continues the theme he mined for American Gods, this time taking on West Indian mythology, but with a decidedly lighter touch. Fat Charlie Nancy is a mild-mannered accountant in a British entertainment attorney's office. When his father, from whom Charlie is estranged, dies in Florida while performing in a karaoke bar, Charlie must return to his childhood home and the neighbors who seem to know a great deal more about Charlie's family than Charlie himself does.
Wormwood Forest: A Natural History of Chernobyl by Mary Mycio
For those of us who watched with horror as Chernobyl exploded, Mycio's book is by turns a validation of scientists' dire predictions and a surprising affirmation of the power of nature. Twenty years later, the "Zone of Alienation" is home to Europe's largest wildlife sanctuary, populated by genetically mutated plants, abundant wildlife, more than a few hardy humans, and — believe it or not — adventure tourism. Mycio does a great job of explaining the science involved in lay terms, and the result is one of the strangest travel guides I've ever read.
Creative Nonfiction: How to Live It and Write It by Lee Gutkind
This is classified as "A Ziggurat Book for talented beginners," but don't let that dissuade you. There's plenty in here to stimulate fresh observations from more experienced writers, and some interesting discussions about the role of "creativity" in creative nonfiction. The book also contains some great prompts, and would be appropriate for young adults and up.