APRIL 2008

7 posts published this month — vacation notes, detective fiction debuts, and stories that cut deep.

  • Vacation time

    VACANCES!

    Published April 26, 2008

    My turn to escape the city and breathe in that salty sea air. Packed Pauline in my suitcase — my book club post will be late. See you in two weeks.

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  • The Mendicant Princess

    THE MENDICANT PRINCESS - CATHERINE CLÉMENT

    Published April 22, 2008

    Mira, heir to a small Rajasthan kingdom in 16th century India. The Hindu world crumbling as Mughal Muslims advance. At five years old, she witnesses her grandmother's ritual sacrifice. This sets everything in motion.

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  • Never Let Me Go

    NEVER LET ME GO - KAZUO ISHIGURO

    Published April 17, 2008

    Third Ishiguro for me. Same haunting atmosphere I loved before, totally different universe. Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy grew up at Hailsham Institute — a strange, isolated place with secrets that gradually unfold.

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  • A is for Alibi

    A IS FOR ALIBI - SUE GRAFTON

    Published April 13, 2008

    Thanks to Laurence and the "Black is Black" swap, I finally met Sue Grafton and her alphabet of crime. First installment introduces private detective Kinsey Millhone — thirtysomething loner with a stubborn streak.

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  • As Far As You Can See

    AS FAR AS YOU CAN SEE - AMANDA EYRE WARD

    Published April 8, 2008

    After the shock of reading Hélène Berr's journal, I hit a reading slump. Finally climbed out thanks to an author I first heard about at Amanda's place. Didn't dare start with her first novel — went straight to this one instead.

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  • Journal by Hélène Berr

    JOURNAL - HÉLÈNE BERR

    Published April 2, 2008

    She was twenty-one. Beautiful, intelligent, educated. Studied English literature, played violin, loved countryside Sundays. Could've had everything ahead of her. But she was Jewish in occupied France. That changed everything.

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  • Bartleby the Scrivener

    BARTLEBY THE SCRIVENER - HERMAN MELVILLE

    Published March 31, 2008

    This little classic sat gathering dust on my shelf for months. Finally cracked it open on a rainy Sunday. Wall Street lawyer hires a new scribe to copy legal documents. Bartleby starts strong, then... well, you know the rest.

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