THE STORY OF A MARRIAGE (Andrew Sean Greer, Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, 2008). “We think we know the ones we love” is how this story of a marriage, set in 1953 San Francisco, kicks-out. Pearlie marries Holland Cooke, a loyal, decent soldier whose truths are revealed when, one day, a stranger appears at her doorstep, a conscientious objector whom Holland knows from days spent in wartime “mental deferral.” (8/10 – See full review at RollnSmokeRecords.blogspot.com).
THE MAYTREES (Annie Dillard, Harper Perennial, 2008). This portrait of an abiding marriage lived in P-Town, Cape Cod – a varying patchwork of glimpses into a long-lived relationship -- is old school, its words poetic and often formal. (8/10 – See full review at RollnSmokeRecords.blogspot.com).
THE WHITE TIGER (Aravind Adiga, Free Press, 2008). A provocative debut novel short-listed for the Man Booker Prize, this is the sardonic, epistolary narrative of a “1/2-baked”who resists his ingrained sense of servitude and refuses to live his life in the Great Indian Rooster Coop and ultimately moves from hunted criminal to pillar of Bangalore Society, treading a fine line between loyalty and betrayal. ( 9/10 – See full review at RollnSmokeRecords.blogspot.com).
A GOLDEN AGE (Tahmima Anam, Harper Perennial, 2009). This brilliant debut novel explores the exotic landscape and gritty realities of the war for Bangladeshi Independence from (West) Pakistan in 1971 and the strained divisions across generations and disintegrating family. (9/10 -- See full review at RollnSmokeRecords.blogspot.com). 9/10.
NETHERLAND (Joseph O’Neill, Pantheon, 2008). In the uncertain wake of 9/11 and during the subsequent separation between the protagonist, a big Dutchman named Hans, and his British wife, Hans develops an unusual love for the game of cricket and carves an unlikely social niche for himself among West Indians in New York. 8.5/10.
BRIGHT SHINY MORNING (James Frey, Harper Collins, 2008) At once a history of Los Angeles and a cat’s cradle weaving of its varied personifications, (controversial author) Frey draws his readers into a narrative web that satisfies. 8.5/10.
THE CONDITION (Jennifer Haigh, 2008) Centering the reader in the midst of a dysfunctional family, Haigh astutely explores the natural truths of challenged family relationships. 8.5/10.
THE TEN YEAR NAP (Meg Wolitzer, Riverhead, 2008) In her witty and insightful way, Wolitzer hits a rings-true funny bone in her portrayal of smart and educated women who leave the work force to forge family-centered lives but want to return at age 40. 8/10.
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