A year abroad, among the beautiful people

The Last Enchantments
by Charles Finch

Did Donna Tartt's Secret History fill you with a secret yearning to study Classics with the trust-fund crowd at some leafy liberal arts college? Did you find Whit Stillman's callow Manhattanites inexplicably appealing as they partied languorously through Christmas break in Metropolitan? If so, The Last Enchantments will leave you positively homesick for Oxford.

Finch's latest novel, his first not starring Victorian detective Charles Lenox, follows 25-year-old Will Baker to Oxford. It is 2005, with the US firmly mired in Iraq and Bush still president. Baker, scion of an old-money New England family quits his job as a Democratic operative, abandons his wealthy and well-connected longtime girlfriend, and heads to England to pursue a Master's in English literature.

The story is slight: Baker falls in and out love, studies, parties, graduates, and agonizes ad nauseam over whether to stay at Oxford, work in international finance or return to politics in time for the 2006 midterms. The characters are well-drawn, memorable and eminently believable: Tom, t; Anil, the sweet gangsta rapper from India;  Oxford, the city and its colleges, is a character in itself. Finch studied there, and his lush, loving descriptions of the place, its people and peculiar customs will leave you half-convinced you actually lived there.

The characters are loathsome and charming in that way unique to the hereditary rich.

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Review by Don Beistle

History for fans of historical fiction

Hotel Florida

Truth, Love, and Death in the Spanish Civil War

by Amanda Vaill

During the Spanish Civil War, Madrid’s posh Hotel Florida hosted a motley collection of mostly foreign artists, intellectuals, journalists, war tourists and spies. The fighting was never more than a few miles away, and every so often a Fascist shell would blow out some windows or kill a pedestrian in the street below. For a taste of real action, you could drive out to the front after breakfast and still make it back in time for dinner and drinks.

Ernest Hemingway stayed at the Florida, of course, and came away with a play (The Fifth Column), a novel (For Whom the Bell Tolls), a bundle of short pieces, and a third Mrs. Hemingway. Amanda Vaill has written about Hemingway before and clearly has little love for him; here he is a boor and a dupe who never realized Soviet agents were playing him like a fiddle. He and Martha Gellhorn are the famous pair among the three couples featured in Vaill’s excellent Hotel Florida, but what the others might lack in name recognition is more than made up for in drama.

Photography or history buffs may be vaguely familiar with the doomed romance of photographers Robert Capa and Gerda Taro, but Vaill brings them vividly to life with fresh details from friends and family. Though Capa and Taro’s story is pure big-screen material, Vaill manages to keep a lid on the melodrama without muting either the beauty or the horror of their days together.

Loyalist press officers Arturo Barea and Ilsa

Kulcsar round out Vaill’s sextet, and in some ways their story is the most gripping. Neither consumed by Capa and Taro’s youthful audacity nor insulated by the wealth, fame and American passports that shielded Hemingway and Gellhorn, Barea and Kulcsar demonstrate that civil war can kindle revolutionary passions (both political and personal) in the most ordinary hearts. Barea and Kulcsar’s story enthralls because they are unexceptional individuals caught up in exceptional times and—unlike their famous counterparts—the outcome is always in doubt.

Hotel Florida is well-researched, and Vaill’s deft exploitation of new or little-known sources gives it an unexpected richness. The brisk narration, eye for detail and abundant use of dialogue had me checking the spine label to see whether it is historical fiction or remarkably well-written history. Hotel Florida is history, but history with living flesh newly hung upon its dry and dusty bones.

Review by Don Beistle

Book Review:  The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

Kristin Hannah has done it once again in her latest book The Nightingale. It tells the story of Vianne Mauriac and Isabelle Rossignol who are drawn into the horrors of World War II in France. Vianne is reserved and quiescent, a mother with a daughter and husband at the front. Isabelle is her rebellious and spirited younger hungry for a way to help drive the Nazis out of her beloved France and will stop at nothing to do this. As the story unfolds both will be forced to go to extraordinary lengths not just to help the war effort, but to survive their own private nightmares. This was both an easy and extraordinarily difficult book too read because the brutality that the characters had to survive was inexplicably horrific beyond imagination. The plot unfolds pulling the reader into the time period sparing no details of the misery experienced and the lengths that are taken to not only survive but to save others. If you enjoy Kristin Hannah's books this one is not to be missed.  If she is anew author for you, get ready for a journey to the heart of what it means to be human, and to want to live.

Review by Karen

Island Bliss?

What could be more wonderful that traveling to Mallorca for a family vacation? The Post family from NYC has invited family friends to share in their island retreat. But is everything idyllic?

For Jim and Franny Post, this is a celebration of 35 years together but the couple are at odds over an recent event that has thrown their relationship off course. Franny, the planner of the bunch, is concerned with putting together meals and day trips to avoid the unspoken elephant in the room. Jim is questioning his choices and wondering where life will go from here.

The recent grad Sylvia is relieved to be out of the city and is looking forward to escaping to college. Bobby, the son who has relocated to Florida, brings his unpopular girlfriend to add fuel to the already simmering emotions.

On the surface, everything is fine. What lies beneath is the true tale.

Pick up The Vacationers for a contemplative read.

Review by Cara

Lusitania; Trimuph, Tragedy and the End of the Edwardian Age by  Greg King and Penny Wilson

Greg King and Penny Wilson put human faces on the tragedy of the Lusitania sinking.  He artly laces historical facts along with personality sketches of some of the people on the fateful journey. The authors were able to give a voice to people like actress Rita Jolivet, Alfred Vanderbilt, Dorothy Conner, Albert and Gladys Bilicke all high society personages. Also imparted were descriptions of the accomodations of First, Second and Third class passengers, what they paid for those accomodations and how those prices would compare with today's prices. Parts were difficult to read...the suffering was palatable along with the description of the chaos that occurred as travelers tried valiantly to save their lives...in 18 minutes. With the 100 anniversary of the sinking approaching on May 7, 2015 it is worth a look at a time gone by but with a lasting imprint on the soul of the USA, Germany, England and  many pulled into the tragedy of   WWI. Illustrations included.

Reviewed by Karen H

Book Review:  Restoration by Rose Tremain

Restoration is a dazzling romp through 17th-century England. The main character Robert Merivel not only embodies the contradictions of his era, but ours as well. He is trapped between the longing for wealth and power and the realization that the pursuit of these trappings can leave one's life rather empty.

This is a heartfelt alternately joyful and devastating read about the growth of the main character Robert Merivel.   This book was initially published in 1989 and with this reprinting continues to fascinate new audiences.  Readers will experience a seesaw of emotions sometimes rooting for Merivel and then wanting to scold him!  The ending is realistic and satisfying.  There is also a sequel to look forward to!

For ever eager Historical fiction aficionados!    

Review by Karen 

Winner of the 2015 Newbery Award

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander

Teen Fiction

A book for middle grade readers (age 9 - 13) , written in verse, about basketball players?  Not much about that description would put this book on most adult’s “to read” list.  I picked it up after learning that it was the 2015 Newbery Award winner. It took about five minutes to realize why this book was chosen as the most distinguished of the year. It is a exceptional novel for young teens and adult readers.

"With a bolt of lightning on my kicks . . .The court is SIZZLING. My sweat is DRIZZLING. Stop all that quivering. Cuz tonight I'm delivering."  

This is not your fusty old classic written in iambic pentameter.  Twelve-year-old Josh Bell and his twin brother Jordan have the moves and the attitude to be big stars on the basketball court. Raised by their father, a former Olympian and pro turned stay-at-home dad, and their mother, an assistant principal, the boys have a stable and loving family watching their backs. They are inseparable until Jordan starts to show increasing interest in the lovely female friend Josh calls “Miss Sweet Tea.” Worried about his dad’s health, confused and frustrated with his brother, Josh starts to butt heads with those around him and ultimately lashes out and has to deal with the consequences.

The verse styles range all over from musical to blank verse to concrete poems and more. The poetry is an important part of the feel of the novel and the marvel is that it never seems forced or false and it lends Josh’s voice a real sense of authenticity and personality. The pitch and pace of the novel is just right, effectively transmitting the strong emotions of the characters and building the story. Told over the space of several months in their 7th grade year, this novel deals with issues that all people can relate to - growing up, family loyalty, independence, self respect, pride, anger, fear, regret. Forgiveness.

This book is recommended for all ages.  While it is a great choice for reluctant readers, don’t stop there.  Read it yourself and share it with any young teen in your life.

Review by Amy