This year, members of the Internation Fiction Book Club of New Orleans submitted great nominations.
If you don't belong to the club but have insights on any books, please leave a comment. It's ok to influence our members!
Members, please send me your 12 choices by January 20, 2010. Thanks for voting.
Helene Cooper
Publisher’s Site
Review
Nominator’s Comments
Nominator’s Comments
The descriptions of food and eating are always delightful, and Julia Child is also delightful. After Leaving Mr. McKenzie Nominator’s Comments
Aravind Adiga
Publisher’s site
Daniyal Mueenuddin
Review
Interview
Nominator’s Comments
This work is a collection of short stories, each chapter representing a different character, who is somehow connected to the rich landowner, K. K. Harouni
Not everyone in this book is rich, so we get a balanced and insider's view of life in present-day Pakistan.
Isabel’s comments: Elizabeth is the character whom I dislike the most, but I find her intriguing at the same time.
I read the first book, The Elegance of the Hedgehog, and enjoyed it, so I want to read the second, and I guess I must be hungry, because this is also about food.
This book intrigued me because of its setting – London during the WWII bombings. Also, Bowen is an excellent psychological novelist capable of detailing the subtleties and ambiguities of human consciousness that only first-rate novelists can even think of. Her novel Death of the Heart is one of the Modern Library's 100 Greatest Novels of the 20th Century and deservedly so.
My Life in France - Non-fiction
Julia Child and Alex Prud'homme
Jean Rhys
Biography
Publisher’s site
Nominator's Comments
Having read Wide Sargasso Sea and Good Morning, Midnight, by her, I like her portraits of "modern" women emotionally ahead of their times and struggling against the constraints of society to make lives for themselves out of the mainstream for women.
This novel tracks the lives of four women. One of them decides to leave her northern English mining hometown and the decision affects everyone. And the one who is left is ashamed of the rest of her happy family.
Drabble is the sister of A. S. Byatt, and it seems that Byatt wasn’t too happy when Drabble decided to be the second novelist in the family.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society – set in Guernsey
Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Book’s site
Review
Nominator’s Comments
I am about halfway through the book. It is told via correspondence of the English author and the inhabitants of Guernsey as they tell her of the founding of their literary society, what drew each of them to it and the books they chose to read. While the literary society was a story concocted to cover up their secret roast pig dinner and subsequent violation of curfew, the literary society that grew from that lie brought them closer together and helped them through the German occupation.
The Rings of Saturn – set in England - Non-Fiction (NOT A SCI-FI novel)
W. G. Sebald
Publisher’s site
Review
Nominator’s comments
I like to travel and keep journals of many of my trips so I thought this novel in the form of a travelogue might be an interesting way to see how a novelist has worked travel into his fiction. Sebald has also included dozens of black-and-white photos into the text (not pictures taken during these travels, however), and I’d like to see what affect that has on the narrative.
NORTH AMERICA (CANADA, ONLY)
5 comments:
Oooh interesting selection. I have to say IMHO The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is amazing, I also loved White Tiger. I did The Handmaids Tale for a book group and the discussion was great, plus its a brilliant book by the brilliant Margaret Atwood! The God of Small things is brilliant but a bit odd and dark.
I also really want to read The Elegance of the Hedgehog and must try Jhumpa Lahiri.
A great list to choose from. Some thoughts on books that I liked:
1. Unaccustomed Earth -- actually set more in the U.S. than India, the stories explore the Indian diaspora. Excellent.
2. In Other Rooms, Other Wonders -- would be my first choice on the list. A sensitive and thoughtful portrayal (through short stories) of Pakistan moving into the modern age. Very, very well written.
3. The God of Small Things -- deserves its excellent reputation, although it is a very political book.
4. Through Black Spruce -- an excellent book club book because it has so many themes.
A few that I did not like that much:
1. The White Tiger -- shallow and angry -- the Roy is a much better book on the same issue for my tastes.
2. My name is Red -- I think Pamuk may be very over-rated. He is quite hard to read and, in the final analysis, not worth the effort for me.
I've only commented on the ones that I have read. If I were voting, I'd find either of the Barbery's intriguing (may add one to my next order, since I love books about food).
Best wishes for a happy holiday.
I agree that The Handmaid's Tale and The God of Small Things are both excellent choices and would make for great discussion. I've read the Atwood several times and always find something new in it. And while I didn't love the Roy book, I could appreciate what she was trying to do. The Elegance of the Hedgehog is also on my wishlist as is My Name is Red. I've read Elizabeth Bowen (though not this book) and really like her--she's quite talented when it comes to war settings--I've read some of her WWII short stories. It looks like you have a great selection of books there! The Guernsey book is a nice light read and might be nice if some of the others are heavier and more serious. Good luck choosing--it's cool you're doing international fiction!
So many great choices. It's been such a long time since I've read The Handmaid's Tale but that is one I'd seriously consider re-reading.
Hope you are having a great holiday girl!
Hello All, Thank you for your comments. I appreciate them.
But, it will make my choices very hard!
Have a wonderful, bookfilled 2010.
Post a Comment