Cecelia Ahern's novel is the story of a young wife, Holly, who loses her 30- year old husband, Gerry. He has left Holly a series of lists to help her face the year ahead. We watch Holly heal and grow as she finds a new job, takes a holiday with friends, and goes through Gerry's belongings. Though her writing style has the earmarks of a novice, Ahern has a wonderful story- telling ability and the cast of family and friends that she assembles adds an extra dimension to this sweet and witty tale that is only occasionally sentimental. This book would be enjoyed by the readers of Marianne Keyes, Helen Fielding, and Sophie Kinsella for its light breezy writing style and young British and Irish protagonists. Good Grief by Lolly Winston has a similar theme of a young wife coping with the unexpected loss of a husband.
Michelle Epstein, East Northport Library
Brick Lane by Monica Ali
Monica Ali's debut novel chronicles the life of Nazneen, a Bangladeshi girl so sickly at birth that she is at first called stillborn. When she is 18, her parents arrange a marriage for her to Chanu, a Bengali immigrant living in England. Although he is twice her age, with a "face like a frog", and turns out to be a foolish windbag flaunting the education she lacks, Nazneen for years dutifully accepts what she considers to be her fate, a life lesson absorbed from her mother who tells her, "If God wanted us to ask questions, he would have made us men." Over the next decade-and-a-half in her new country, Ali's accomplished story-telling shows Nazneen growing into a strong, confident woman who takes a young lover and learns to see herself as a desirable female and to exercise her own will. Nazneen's story expands into a social novel about the struggles of Islamic immigrants in pre- and post-9/11 England.
Arlene Leventhal, Half Hollow Hills Library
The Grave of God's Daughter by Brett Ellen Block
The author, a graduate of the Iowa Writer's Workshop, has also published a collection of short stories, entitled Destination Known (2001). Her debut novel, The Grave of God's Daughter, is brilliantly plotted and skillfully written. Set in western Pennsylvania, in fictional Hyde Park, an Allegheny River steel mill and pesticide plant town, in the years just before World War II, the story is told by the central character, a twelve-year-old girl. Her life is a continual struggle because of a nearly intolerably dysfunctional family and the deeply conservative, grindingly poor, Polish Catholic community of which she is a part. Her abusive, alcoholic father is a worker in the steel mill, and her beautiful, emotionally distant mother is a housekeeper at the Church rectory. The children fear their father, and the young girl is compelled to act as a surrogate mother. As she unravels the family secret, her life intertwines with some fascinating characters, including Swatka Pani, the tyrannical landlady, Mr. Goceljak, the kindly butcher, and Mr. Beresik, a dog breeder and dog fight organizer. The Grave of God's Daughter is a disturbing, challenging work. It is a work which will reward the thoughtful reader, and would be a good choice as a book discussion group selection. Brett Ellen Block 's first novel displays her considerable writing talents, and readers have much to look forward to as her career continues.
Suzanne McGuire, Commack Public Library
The Food of Love by Anthony Capella
A modern version of Cyrano de Bergerac, Anthony Capella's first novel, The Food of Love has been optioned for a movie. Set in Rome, with an international cast of chefs, sous-chefs, chefs de partie, commis and Tommaso, a handsome waiter at Templi, a renowned Miichelin-rated restaurant. Add a beautiful American art student, Laura, and the shy, plain-faced Bruno, a chef at aforementioned Templi, and you have the ingredients for a delicious read. Tommaso has learned that Laura will only date men who are chefs - creative, who understand taste and texture, who know how to combine ingredients for the purpose of sensual pleasure. Tommaso can't cook but, aha, the reticent Bruno, his best friend, is the perfect Cyrano foil. Poor Bruno has fallen deeply in love with Laura and will do anything to be near her. The evenings the three spend together with Bruno hidden in the kitchen while Tommaso pretends he is the culinary wizard and Laura enjoys the best food of her life are wildly funny. Although a bit predictable, it has some twists and a surprise ending. Foodies, add a star.
Grace O'Connor, West Islip Public Library
For Matrimonial Purposes by Kavita Daswani
Anju, the narrator and heroine of Kavita Daswani's debut novel For Matrimonial Purposes, is considered a spinster in her mid-twenties. Raised in Bombay, Anju's life is rife with the cultural expectations of arranged marriages, but all the prospects her parents find for her fall through for one humorous reason or another. It is with their hopes dashed that Anju's parents allow her to move to America, where she attends college, works for a fashion magazine and maybe even falls in love via email, while never straying too far from her traditional beliefs. This novel would find an apt audience in readers of humor, romance, multi-cultural and/or coming-of-age fiction. It is a quick, light-hearted read.
Ilana Beckerman, West Babylon Public Library
The Annunciation of Francesca Dunn by Janis Hallowell
This excellent first novel is a modern spin on the Annunciation of the Virgin. It is a story about the human yearning for the divine and the divine possibility in human beings. Francesca, a fourteen year old enrolled in a school for "exceptional children" or as her classmate and best friend Sid calls them, "losers," meets Chester at Ronnie's café where she helps to serve meals to the homeless. Chester has a vision of Francesca as the Blessed Mother. When he sees her the next day he sets the stage for the cult-like following that ensues when he kneels before her and asks for her blessing. Hallowell explores the seductive and destructive power of belief. One critic wrote, "it dares us to imagine mystery in our lives, sending us away refreshed, with the potential to see the sacramental in the everyday."
Grace O'Connor, West Islip Public Library
The Rope Eater by Ben Jones
Narrated in the first person by Brendan Kane, a Civil War deserter,The Rope Eater is a gripping, tragic tale of sea life and Arctic exploration. Kane, a Union soldier deserts his unit to escape the carnage and makes his way up to New Bedford where he signs on to the Narthex, a ship about to embark on a mysterious two year voyage to Greenland with the possibility of a big windfall for crew members at the end of the journey. The ship, led by Mr. West is on a quixotic quest to find an exotic, volcano-heated paradise, supposedly located in the middle of Greenland. The only "evidence" for the existence of this tropical paradise is a few scribbled, mistranslated journal entries from West's Great Uncle. Alarm bells should ring! The journey goes smoothly at first, but as the ship heads further north and summer ends, trouble begins. First the ship encounters storms, which rage for days on end, and then the Narthex is trapped in ice floes, forcing the crew to abandon the ship and attempt to survive the hostile winter on land. At this point the story becomes one of those "can't put down" books as it describes the hellish battle against the elements and the epic quest for survival of the ship's remaining crew. Jones is at his best describing this time.
Bruce Silverstein, Patchogue-Medford Library
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
While there may be many novels that deal with the theme of love withstanding the test of time, none have dealt with it in quite the same manner as Audrey Niffenegger in The Time Traveler's Wife. This highly original debut novel tells the tale of a love that endures time, after time, after time. It's the story of Chicago librarian Henry DeTamble, who suffers from a genetic condition called Chrono-Displacement Disorder. CDD causes him to involuntarily travel through time, alighting at arbitrary points in his past or his future. It is also the story of Clare, the woman who loves him and tries desperately to endure the complications that loving someone with CDD can entail. This story of life's uncertainty and love's tenacity is told through a series of dated entries as seen through the narrative eyes of each of the protagonists.. Niffenegger has successfully interwoven the humorous and tragic aspects of love over time in a casual and fluent writing style that engages the reader right from the start. An ambitious first novel by a promising new author,The Time Traveler's Wife is a suitable read for fans of romance and fantasy alike.
Deborah Formosa Northport-East Northport Public Library
Monkeys by Susan Minot
Monkeys was published in 1986 to fairly unanimous critical praise. This "somewhat autobiographical" first novel tells, through a series of vignettes, the story of the Vincents, a large Irish-Catholic family from the Boston area. Told from various points of view, we follow the seven Vincent children's' development from childhood to adulthood as they experience key events that influence all of their lives.
Read-alikes for this book would include Minot's other novels, Folly and Evening. Interestingly, Susan's siblings have also published books that could almost be chapters from Monkeys. Eliza Minot wrote The Tiny One, and brother George last year published The Blue Bowl. Other similar authors include Martha McPhee (Bright Angel Time), and Sue Miller (Family Pictures).
Kathleen Scheibel, South Country Library
Julie and Romeo by Jeanne Ray
This author's first novel made it to the New York Times bestseller list. The critics called it romantic entertainment and a charming, funny and sexy story. The star-crossed lovers in Shakespeare's original are the inspiration for this modern-day tale of love but this time, the lovers are 60-years old. Their families have been feuding ever since Julie Roseman (divorced) and Romeo Cacciamani (recent widower) can remember. Julie and Romeo run their family-owned rival florist shops in a suburb of Boston. The tale hangs on finding out what started the family feud - a secret revealed in the end by Romeo's 90-year old mother. Ray tells this love story about grown-ups with wit and charm. As the Houston Chronicle reviewer wrote, the Bard would smile.
Grace O'Connor, West Islip Public Library
Miriam the Medium by Rochelle Shapiro
Much to her teenaged daughter's embarrassment, Miriam is a psychic who makes her living doing telephone readings. Her husband Rory accepts her gift though he refuses to allow her to help his failing pharmacy. The Great Neck neighbors are horrified to find a psychic next door. Her clients and a would be agent provide lots of laughs. In the end, Miriam uses her gift to save her daughter and help her husband's business. Pure fluff, this light humorous novel will be enjoyed by fans of Jeanne Ray and Jane Heller.
Karen Jaffe, Comsewogue Public Library
Bergdorf Blondes by Plum Sykes
Bergdorf Blondes is a light, quick and easy read. It's an escape for the reader, a look into the glamorous world of the super rich 20-somethings with perfect blonde hair, a perfect tan, designer clothes and famous friends. There is no plot so to speak and no character development. All the characters are quite alike: rich, self-centered, superficial young women. Read it if you need to get your mind off work, relieve some stress or want to be thankful you are not someone like Moi and her friends.
Rosalie Toja, Brentwood Public Library
Unveiling: A novel by Suzanne Wolfe
Rachel Piers, a recently divorced American art historian has gone to Rome to restore and identify a triptych in Our Lady of Sorrows Church. Her dilemma: if the painting is a lost masterpiece by the Dutch master Rogier Van der Weyden, it will be removed from the chapel in Rome and likely end up in a corporately funded museum in the U.S. Rachel's professional integrity conflicts with her views on the relationship between capitalism and art and the affect these have on art ownership. The mystery of the painting's provenance and Rachel's past entwine for a story rich with historic and artistic detail.
Grace O'Connor, West Islip Public Library
Divine Economy of Salvation by Priscilla Uppal
Angela is a Sister now, hiding from an initiation ritual gone amiss while in high school, 25 years ago. When a package with no return address is sent to her, she immediately knows what it contains. It's time now to confront her past. Through flashbacks, we discover that when Angela's mother became very ill, Angela, then a teenager, was sent to a fancy Catholic boarding school, against her wishes. Rachel, a charismatic, wealthy, popular classmate was the leader of, The Sisterhood, a clique that met in Room 313. This was the in-group, admired by Angela who worked herself into it. The secrets of that room, including the revolting initiation incident, were shared only by each other. This debut book is beautifully written but the ending could have been more developed. The mystery in the beginning makes it easy to get into and the suspense throughout holds your interest. It was interesting to read about convent life and adolescent innocence, jealousies and cruelties.
Terry Gearty, Brentwood Public Library, Retired
