The Art of Fielding
by Chad Harbach

You do not have to be a baseball fan to enjoy the new novel by Chad Harbach, The Art of Fielding. This is Harbach’s first novel, and I agree with many critics – he has a huge hit on his hands.

At Westish College in Wisconsin, near the shores of Lake Michigan, five individual paths cross and connect when the routine throw of a baseball goes dangerously off course. Henry Skirmshander is the impressionable young ball player destined for greatness; he even keeps a tattered copy of a baseball manual with him at all times titled, Art of Fielding. Mike Schwartz is Henry’s best friend and mentor and is also the captain of the team. Owen Dunne is a member of the team and Henry’s gay roommate. Guert Affenlight, the College President, and his daughter, Pella, round out the characters in this story about our national pasttime and about life itself.

Harbach has been compared to Jonathan Franzen and several others for writing another great American novel. The Art of Fielding has all the components of one, no doubt. It is loaded with wonderful literary allusions, characters you feel, and it’s about family, friendship and love. A home run for us!

The Time Inbetween
by Maria Duenas

The lovely ladies at Litchfield Books assured me The Time In Between, by Maria Duenas is a great read and they were right! This very well researched historical novel of fiction that travels from Madrid to Morocco to Portugal and back again will keep you captivated and intrigued to the bitter end.

Sira Quiroga is a seemingly ordinary girl who is following in her mother’s footsteps as a seamstress, content to marry a local boyfriend and live out her mediocre life in a common neighborhood in Madrid at the onset of the Spanish Civil War. That is until she meets the cosmopolitan Ramiro who sweeps her off her feet and into an exciting life that lands them in the beautiful Northern African country of Morocco. As Sira’s unexpected inheritance is stolen by Ramiro, she is also left alone, pregnant, and in severe legal trouble in the streets of the city. With determination and some help from the most unlikely of characters, Sira reinvents herself with skills taught by her mother years before. Duenas masterfully recreates the fabrics and fashions of the 1930s and 40s and makes you think you can actually feel and see the craftsmanship unfolding before your eyes. As Sira’s business grows, so does the demand for her talent. From the aristocratic women in prewar Europe, to the Nazi officer’s wives, Sira rediscovers herself in ways that would make her family and country proud.

The Time In Between is a satisfying novel of historical fiction the reader will enjoy, and from it will learn a great deal about Spain in a time of civil unrest just before WWII. Duenas writes with detailed descriptions of wonderful characters and glamorous fashions. A beautiful story.

Death Comes to Pemberley
by P.D. James

I am not sure of how I truly feel about sequels written to books by another author. However, I do think P.D. James did a satisfying job to Jane Austen’s, Pride and Prejudice, with the novel Death Comes to Pemberley. One of the most beloved novels of all time, Pride and Prejudice leaves us wondering how the marriages of Lizzie and Darcy and Jane and Bingley worked out, and what life at Pemberley held in store.

It has been six years since the marriage of Darcy and Miss Bennet, and life is happy, with two young sons, a well run household, and family and friends close by. The novel begins with the preparation of the annual ball that celebrates Darcy’s late mother, Lady Anne. On the eve of the event, Elizabeth’s wayward sister Lydia arrives at the estate, uninvited and crashing the party in more ways than one. Murder on the grounds of Pemberley may be more than the entire family can withstand. Darcy appears to be the more central figure as events unfold, and Elizabeth’s sharp wit and mind are missed as the crime is resolved.

James does Austen justice, and there are times in the novel you are convinced you are reading Pride and Prejudice all over again. As a huge fan of “Masterpiece Theatre’s” Downton Abbey, I occasionally got some of my characters confused. It is indeed a finely written story of crime and suspense everyone would enjoy, especially those who are ravenous readers of Jane Austen.

Domestic Violets
by Matthew Norman

Domestic Violets, by Matthew Norman, is one of the funniest books I have read in a long time. It is the first novel Norman has written and is filled with wit and humor while giving us great characters and a poignant plot.

Tom Violet is thirty-five years old, has marital problems, hates his job and can’t finish the novel he’s been working on for years. Maybe that’s because his father is a Pulitzer Prize winning author. Tom always thought he had it all but the reality is quite different. However, he decides to make some changes and take control of his own happiness. This is where the reader becomes hooked with quick humor and endless fun and surprises. Norman captures many emotions we’ve all felt at some point in our lives, or have asked ourselves. How did I get this kind of life? It is easy to laugh quite often while enjoying this book, but don’t be fooled. There are circumstances where your heart is touched, and you may shed a tear as well. Everyone can relate to many experiences in this book as Matthew Norman so genuinely and thoroughly pulls us into characters we root for and come to love. Domestic Violets is fast paced, fun and hard to put down!

The Marriage Plot
by Jeffrey Eugenides

I decided to read The Marriage Plot, by Jeffrey Eugenides, because I loved his former novels The Virgin Suicides and the Pulitzer Prize winning Middlesex. This book is unlike the previous ones but definitely a winner for people who love to read.

The three protagonists are seniors at Brown University in the ’80s; the country is in a recession, and life for those entering the real world may be harder than ever before. Madeline, an English major, is writing her thesis on Jane Austen and George Eliot. She is a beautiful intellectual that believes books and ideas will answer the questions of how to live her life and how to seek true love. Mitchell, religious studies major from the Midwest, begins a journey around the world to get Madeline out of his mind as he tries to find the meaning of life while questioning the existence of God. Leonard, a manic, exotic, charismatic loner from the Pacific Northwest completes the love triangle as the three take their steps to adulthood.

This novel is lengthy, but well worth the time. The literary references throughout the book are astounding and fulfilling as we ask – are the old better than the new?

Boomsday
by Christopher Buckley

Boomsday, by Christopher Buckley is a book that will appeal to all, especially Baby Boomers and their offspring. It is extremely witty, well written and quite timely to say the least. Boomsday is the day that the majority of the Baby Boomers will begin retiring, pushing the United States into economic trouble and forcing tax raises to support Social Security. When Social Security began there were 15 workers to support 1 retiree; now the ratio is about 3 to 1. This book swears you can run from that kind of math, but you can’t hide.

Cassandra Divine is the novel’s heroine, she’s a twenty-nine year old intellectually and morally superior PR blogger who purposes tax incentives for people who, at age seventy years old, “voluntarily transition” themselves. (commit suicide). Of course she doesn’t truly believe in this, but she certainly makes a good case for it with her political ally and lover, a certain wealthy, handsome Senator from Massachusetts. Christopher Buckley once again proves his prowess for political satires by adding plenty of twists and turns, and fast-paced characters with great dialogue. This book is outrageous, hilarious and highly entertaining.

The Strangers on Montagu Street
by Karen White

Several years ago, I read Memory of Water, by Karen White and enjoyed the twists and turns of a mystery/romance set in the Lowcountry. Just out this month, her latest book, The Strangers on Montagu Street, is the third in a series of books featuring Melanie Middleton, a psychic realtor who lives in downtown Charleston. Not having read the others, I wasn’t sure about reading this one first, but thoroughly enjoyed it. The story line has some interesting twists and turns that are just eerie enough to keep the reader interested, but not so scary that you can’t read it at night by yourself. A psychic from birth, Melanie tries to hide her ability to talk to troubled spirits, but the appearance of a haunted dollhouse and a dark secret from the past force her to confront some very unhappy ghosts. Meanwhile, her obvious-to-everyone love for Jack Trenholm provides the romantic tension that comes together to make this a thoroughly fun read.

Trust Your Life
by Noelle Sterne, Ph.D.

On a more serious note, one of our Sasee contributors, Noelle Sterne, has just written a lovely, uplifting book, Trust Your Life. The author encourages her readers to act on their dreams and forgive themselves for past mistakes – and accomplishes this with a kindness that jumps off the page and into the reader’s heart. We all have dreams that we hold close, and many of us never act on them, ignoring the wisdom of our “inner voice.” Noelle guides the reader with gentle steps to a higher possibility, with a special emphasis on believing that it is never too late to begin again.

Editor’s Note: Lisa will be back next month!

City of Thieves
by David Benioff

City of Thieves, by David Benioff is a novel everyone will enjoy and not be able to put down. It is humorous, sentimental, thrilling and contains engaging and unforgettable characters. Set during the 900-Day Seige as the Nazis invade Leningrad, two unlikely young men are thrown together on an impossible adventure.

Lev Beniov is a 17 year old boy living in a bombed out apartment building with what is left of the neighborhood and is arrested for trying to salvage food from a dead German paratrooper. He shares a cell with a handsome and charismatic young soldier, Kolya, who has been detained for desertion charges. To escape from the bullet-to-the-head ritual faced by most prisoners, the colonel in charge gives the pair a shot at securing a dozen eggs for a wedding cake for his daughter’s upcoming nuptials. In a city cut off from supplies and suffering horrible deprivations, Lev and Kolya begin a journey of unspeakable horrors into the devastated countryside. The two form an unlikely pair, but manage to form a bond of tenderness and friendship through encounters with cannibals, peasant women kept by Nazi officers, a life or death chess match and a deadly female sniper. These are two characters you will always remember in a novel you will be so glad you read!

Caleb’s Crossing
by Geraldine Brooks

I was compelled to read Caleb’s Crossing, by Geraldine Brooks, because my son spent the summer off the coast of Massachusetts where the majority of the novel takes place. Like many, I enjoy historical fiction, and Brooks writes about early America with wit and wisdom as she tells the story of Caleb Cheeshahteaumauk, the first Native American to graduate from Harvard College.

The narrator of Caleb’s Crossing is Bethia Mayfield, a minister’s daughter who has the spirit and determination to embrace knowledge and adventure while growing up in this small settlement among puritans and natives. Bethia meets Caleb, the son of a Wampanoag chieftain, while exploring the beautiful island and its secrets. Their relationship remains a secret as their friendship is forged, and their lives travel a path of love, loss and heartache. Bethia’s father takes Caleb into their home to tutor him while Caleb’s own father struggles to lead his people against the ways of the new colonists.

Bethia is an engaging and entertaining narrator as she confesses her darkest secrets and deepest fears. It is through her that we learn the great bits of history and the hard and fast religious beliefs of the time and area. Geraldine Brooks has delivered another enjoyable novel that I genuinely liked and recommend.

The Tiger's Wife
by Tea Obreht

Twenty-five year old Tea Obreht has been named by The New Yorker as one of the twenty best American fiction writers under forty and been included in the National Book Foundation’s list of “5 under 35.” Obreht was born in Belgrade, in the former Yugoslavia, and has lived in the United States since the age of 12. The Tiger’s Wife (absolutely NOT about Tiger Woods), her first novel, is a beautifully written story about family, superstitions, war and death.

Natalia is a doctor in the war-torn Balkans where she travels to clinics and orphanages in the area where her grandfather recently died. This story is mainly about the life and stories of her grandfather who loved to visit the tigers at the zoo with his granddaughter. As Natalia seeks to find the answers about her grandfather’s death, she actually begins to unravel the stories of his life. We know our histories because of the stories told to us over time by our families and elders, some fact, some fiction, some purely magical and beautiful. This tale is a little bit of everything, from the deathless man to the tiger’s wife. Layers upon layers of tragedy and horror, as it must have been for Obreht and her family, unfold in this country’s legacy that gives us an insight into storytelling at its finest.