Life in the "New Normal"

Annie is not terribly happy with her lot, but there are a few advantages to having her husband Tom sleep across the hall in their missing daughter's room. Primarily, her bedroom stays neat, clean, and feminine, as she is the only one residing there. She and Tom have high paying jobs and can afford to decorate their home as they wish, and in fact, Annie just made a down payment on a gourmet-style french stove. Her life isn't too bad.

But this uneasy peace is about to end. Their son Jake's marriage implodes, and his custom furniture business dries up. To save money, he moves back home to his parents' London flat. Tom's job as a BBC news producer is eliminated, and since he funds his mother's residence at an elite nursing home, he must move her to their house as well. Their youngest daughter who still lives at home wants to be a writer, but financial circumstances have changed and she challenges herself to find a salaried position. And there is still the question of Mia who disappeared five years ago after Tom made her choose between her family and her boyfriend.

Separate Beds by Elizabeth Buchan examines the "new normal" of this economy where nothing can be taken for granted. When the traditional support systems are removed, it forces people to seek new creatives ways of problem solving. This just might be the answer that Annie and Tom are searching for.

A Room Without a View

Room
by Emma Donoghue
(2011 Alex Award Winner)

Five-year-old Jack was born and has spent his entire short life in a single 11 x11 room. His only companion is his Ma, who was abducted 7 years ago by "Old Nick." Ma has tried to make a life for Jack under these terrible circumstances. She makes up games, teaches Jack how to read and tries to make sure he is safe, healthy and has enough to eat. Not easy tasks since "Old Nick," their only connection to the outside world other than the television, is unreliable and unfortunately getting more unstable. Ma is desperate and makes a plan that will change their lives forever.

Told entirely from the perspective of Jack, this novel is a fascinating look at a mother and child living under extraordinary circumstances. Jack is a bit precocious and it takes a little while to get used to his style of speaking -"I flat the chairs and put them beside Door against Clothes Horse."-but one gets drawn into his little world and the unique relationship between mother and son. I found myself holding my breath to find out what would happen to them. The first part of the book is the most absorbing. Although not much happens, Donoghue carefully crafts the the characters of Jack and Ma and the world in which they live. I can't say much about the second half without giving away too much, but it remains interesting. Overall this was a thought provoking novel that would make for for a good book discussion.

Getting Satisfaction Out of Life

I was a little ambivalent about reading Life by Keith Richards. Whenever I see this chap interviewed on television, he mumbles and is downright unintelligible. With this in mind, I wondered if his writing style would fare any better. After reading the first couple of pages, I breathed a sigh of relief. Mr. Richards' (aka Keef aka The Human Riff) prose was a revelation. He came across as warm, witty, and very personable. It was like spending time with an old friend.

There were actually quite a few revelations in this autobiography. Let's face it, Mr. Richards' singing voice has never been spectacular. So I was quite surprised to learn that he had been in his school choir and was such an exceptional singer that he performed at Westminster Abbey in front of Queen Elizabeth II. Unfortunately, once puberty arrived, his beautiful soprano voice departed.

But of course, my favorite revelation is his confession that he has had a secret desire to become a librarian! Who would have ever believed it? Imagine if he relinquished the crazy, hedonistic life of a rock star to become a quiet, reserved librarian? My mind spins with the possibility.

My favorite parts of the book were the stories about the early days of the Rolling Stones and the hard work and sacrifices that were made to make the group a success. It was no piece of cake as there was little pay for long hours, cold flats, and near starvation. But the Stones were serious about their music and Richards was a vital part of making them one of the greatest rock groups of all time.

The insight into some of the hit songs was illuminating. In fact, I would have liked to have read even more of that. In regards to his love life, he comes across as a gentleman, sort of. Of course, the book wouldn't have been complete if Richards didn't discuss his addiction to drugs. And does he ever, the stories are unbelievable. It is sad that someone who had been so focused on his music became so involved with drugs that the music became secondary. Richards started with the hard drugs around 1969 and didn't look back until around 1978. During that time period, his life became a series of strange episodes revolving around his world of drugs. It's amazing that he is still alive, he is truly the indestructible man.

I really did feel that after reading this book, I had gotten to know Keith Richards a lot better. His true personality, philosophy about life, motives, and values have been exposed to the world. This is truly one of the best memoirs ever written by a rock musician.

I'm Gonna Make You An Offer You Can't Refuse

Whoever thought that rock and roll could be so deadly? For Tommy James, it wasn't just sex, drugs, and rock and roll, it was also about beatings, murders, and the mafia. In his autobiography, Me, the Mob, and the Music, James recounts his dealings with Morris Levy, the mercurial owner of Roulette Records and associate of the Genovese crime family. Now how did a nice boy from the Midwest end up hobnobbing with the New York mob?

After his version of the song "Hanky Panky" became a surprise megahit in Pittsburgh, several major record companies were chomping at the bit to sign James to a recording contract. Mysteriously, all but one of the companies dropped out of the race to sign him. That one company was Roulette Records and James was basically offered a contract he couldn't refuse. It turned out that Morris Levy strong-armed the other record companies to back down from signing James. Levy was considered the "Godfather of the music industry" as his partners included members of the Genovese clan, and his way of doing business was through intimidation. As James didn't have much of a choice, he signed with Levy and "Hanky Panky" ended up becoming one of the biggest hits of 1966. After that, James had a string of top ten hits, including such classics as "I Think We're Alone Now," "Crimson and Clover," "Mony Mony," "Crystal Blue Persuasion," and "Draggin' the Line." So it looked liked signing with Roulette was a good thing after all, right? Wrong.

For Tommy James, being at Roulette Records was the best of times and the worst of times. He appears to have had a love hate relationship with Morris Levy. On the one hand, James felt like he was part of a family at Roulette, albeit a dysfunctional one. James also had a decent amount of creative control over his records which was fairly uncommon at that point in the music industry.

On the other hand, James never saw any of the money he was supposed to have gotten from the songs he had written as Levy had total control over the publishing rights and never dispensed his percentage of the earnings. In fact, it sounds like none of the songwriters for Roulette ever got the money that was due them. If anyone questioned Levy about royalties due them, they would get a vitriolic laced speech in return. Legal recourse was virtually impossible because of the threat of bodily harm from Levy's thugs. When James renewed his contract with Roulette (he admits that he should have known better), it included specific wording regarding songwriting royalties that would be owed to him. After a few months, Levy told him that he would not abide by the terms of the contract and dared James to do anything about it.

Eventually, the money battles and the climate of fear at Roulette (during the New York mafia wars in the early 1970s, Levy's associates were being murdered and even James feared for his own life) took its toll and James began to abuse drugs and alcohol for escape. Levy made millions of dollars but didn't like to share much of it. James eventually discovered that Levy owned him over 40 million dollars! James ended up leaving Roulette after a final showdown with Levy (he's fortunate that he wasn't harmed as Levy has been connected with the severe beating that singer Jimmie Rodgers received after leaving Roulette Records) but he never had the same kind of success that he had in those glory years.

This memoir will entertain Tommy James fans or anyone interested in that period of rock/popular music. There were some interesting stories I wasn't familiar with, like how involved James was with Hubert Humphrey's presidential campaign. At times, James glosses over certain matters such as his infidelities and broken marriages (his first wife and son just seem to disappear). The crux of the book is the relationship between James and Levy. Even with the problems James had with Levy, one gets the sense that he still cared very much for him.

We Have All Been Here Before

Have you ever had the feeling that you knew someone you just met? Ann Brashares, author of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, spins the story of Daniel, an old soul, who actually remembers every life he has ever lived. In My Name is Memory we learn that some version of Daniel has lived and died since 552 A.D. At that time he set fire to a hut occupied by a beautiful girl, who he knows will perish in the flames. Since then, he has interacted with her at different stages of their many lives, until, in a hospital in 1918 England , they are finally able to fall in love. Unfortunately, Daniel in his present life is a dying soldier who won't know when he will be able to find Sophia again, and also knows that she will not remember him or their relationship. But, for the first time, he tells her his story and she vows to remember their love.

In 1972, Lucy is attending high school in Virginia. There's a new guy named Daniel who just doesn't fit in with the rest of the school cliques, but she is wildly attracted to him. When they finally kiss, and he calls her Sophia, she is scared because it somehow makes sense to her.

In a novel of love, death, and deja vu, the story of Daniel and Sophia reverberates throughout the ages. You will find yourself hoping that this time their story will have a happy ending.

A Rose By Any Other Name

Julie Jacobs, orphaned as a child and raised by her Great-Aunt Rose, has just discovered that the story of Romeo and Juliet did not begin with Shakespeare, but was her own family's true tale of intrigue. When her Great-Aunt dies, Julie finds herself excluded from the will with her twin sister inheriting the house and all of her Great-Aunt's possessions. After the funeral, Rose's caretaker gives Julie a key to a safe deposit box, a letter from her Great-Aunt, a plane ticket to Siena, and her childhood Italian passport identifying her as Gulietta Tolemei. She travels to Siena and removes the safe deposit box from its place in the bank, which turns out to be the converted Palazzo Tolomei. In the box are several old typewritten papers that purport to tell the story of Romeo Marescotti and Gulietta Tolomei, two star-crossed lovers who lived and died in fourteenth century Siena. It is Julie's mission to find the truth of her parents marriage, her mother's death, and the age old curse "a plague on both your houses" that still seems to haunt her and her family.

Anne Fortier's Juliet combines fact, historical fiction, the Bard and the Mafia into an exciting treasure hunt for the truth behind the famous play. When the handsome and enigmatic Captain Allesandro Santini is thrown into the mix, the possibilites for a sweeping international romance become endless.

Can you ever go back?

The Saffron Kitchen
by Yasmin Crowther

We meet Maryam, a transplanted Iranian, as a middle-aged woman married to an Englishman and living in London. From the very beginning we know that Maryam has secrets and sadness in her past that permeate her life. When a crisis occurs involving her daughter, Sara, Maryam flees back to Iran to resolve what has haunted her all her life, leaving her family who need her and do not understand.

Yasmin Crowther is a wonderful writer who makes us feel Maryam’s predicament and pain. Both story lines, one in London involving her husband and daughter and the other in Iran, are equally interesting and involving. There has been criticism that the transition between the two locales is jarring, but I did not experience that. There is much to think about and this would make a good choice for a book discussion.

A voyage of self-discovery

The Wife's Tale by Lori Lansens

After having read Lansens’ prior book The Girls, which I thought was wonderful, I greatly looked forward to her latest.
After having read The Wife’s Tale, I have mixed feelings. The writing is masterly, and the imagery Lansens creates does not disappoint. Mary Gooch, a 302 pound woman, has let her weight define her and her marriage. When her husband, Jimmy, does not return from work and goes missing, Mary goes on a quest from her home in Canada to Jimmy’s mother's house in Los Angeles to find him. There she meets many people who help her and she discovers herself in the process.
My problem with the book is the unbelievability of some of Mary’s experiences and the ending which left me hanging after I greatly anticipated the way Lansens would resolve her heroine's quest. Having said all that, Lansens is still a talented writer who maintains your interest thoughout the book. For readers who like their plots not tied up neatly, I would definitely recommend this book.

Lost Art, Lost Lives

Well, I have to admit that the book I just finished reading, Pictures at an Exhibition by Sara Houghteling, didn't go in the direction I thought it would. I assumed that it would be one of those "let's track down the stolen masterpiece" type of plot (which I love) but it didn't. It actually became something much more, instead of find lost artwork it was about someone finding his soul.

The novel takes place during the Second World War era and tells the story of Max Berenzon, a young man who is the son of a respected and successful art dealer. This tale is a sort of bildungsroman as Max starts off as an idealistic, impetuous and immature college student whose main concerns are to follow in the family business as an art dealer and to court his father's assistant, Rose Clement. It's pre-war Paris and though fear and uncertainty are in the air, Max has other things on his mind.

In the second half of the book, the war has ended and Max returns to Paris after having been in hiding in the French countryside and is again obsessed with art and women as he attempts to track down his family's missing artwork and to find out what happened with his beloved Rose. But as Max undertakes this journey, both his feelings regarding the stolen artwork and for Rose begin to change. Once he sees how many of his friends and associates haven't returned to Paris, he begins to understand the devastating toll on human lives that the war and the Holocaust have had, and the importance of finding the artwork fades. Max realizes there are more important things in life and his relationships with people become more meaningful as a result.

At the end of the book, the author informs us that several of the characters were historical figures, such as the character of Rose Clement and many of the art dealers. Rose was based on Rose Valland (former curator of Jeu de Paume) whose meticulous records of the looted artwork helped saved thousands of paintings for repatriation. Her communication with the Free French and the Allies also prevented railcars of artwork from getting bombed.

Along with the historical details and the development of Max's character, this novel has many other interesting aspects. In the beginning, the motives of some of the characters are inexplicable, such as the strong opposition Max's father has to Max becoming an art dealer, and also how Max seems more interested in finding the stolen artwork than finding out what happened to his missing friend, Bertrand. But as the story develops, their actions become more understandable. A very interesting and rewarding read.

You and Your Perfect Life

When Duncan makes his American pilgrimage to visit sites important in Tucker Crowe's life, he brings his partner Annie with him. She is certainly no "Crowologist" like Duncan, who spends his spare time on the Internet parsing every phrase of his hero's lyrics. In fact it was the British Duncan who wrote Crowe's Wikipedia article. But she humors him to get the free trip to America, as she has given in to his whims for the fifteen long years that they've been together. She does, however, like Crowe's CD, Juliet, the best break-up album ever written, and his swan song, as he hasn't put out another piece of music for the last twenty years.

When they return to England, Annie opens the leftover "unimportant" mail, so it is she who discovers the review copy of Crowe's new CD, Juliet, Naked, the unplugged version of his famous album. She listens to it first, and when Duncan finds out, he is so angry that he writes an extravagantly glowing review that is so over the top that she has to write a rebuttal. Duncan publishes Annie's review on his fan website to teach her a lesson, but instead she gets a personal e-mail back from Crowe himself, who likes what she wrote. This begins Annie and Tucker's secret pen-friend relationship that will torpedo the quiet lives that they have carefully cultivated and force them to decide what is truly important.

Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby, is that "what if" book that all fans think about. If you could meet your favorite artist what would you say? What questions would get answered? Would you be able to deal with their humanity after you've put them up on your pedestal? You might be surprised at some of the answers.

The Lies of Ron Wood

What’s this, Christina is reviewing Ronnie by Ron Wood, a music biography and not something that is art related? Well surprise, besides being a musician, Ron Wood has also had some success as an artist, so I have remained true to my art theme. The next question you may have is what is my tagline all about and what are these lies? Well, just to keep this blog from becoming War and Peace, I’ll only discuss two lies. Let me give you a little background first regarding this lively, light autobiography from a member of one of the greatest rock and roll groups of all time, the Rolling Stones.

The Rolling Stones have always fascinated me so I try to read as many books as I can on them. Ron Wood has never been one of my favorites but when I heard that he was a talented artist with his work having been exhibited in several galleries, I decided to give his autobiography a try. If you are interested in the later period of the Rolling Stones, the mid 1970s to the present, this book is great fun as Wood recounts the shenanigans and antics of the group as they struggle to find themselves after reaching the zenith of their success in the early seventies with such albums as Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main Street, only to crash and burn due to substance abuse issues and subpar records. After their blues virtuoso guitarist, Mick Taylor, left the band in 1974, Ron Wood was hired in 1975 as a replacement. Wood seemed perfect and the group reinvented themselves with some fresh sounds and made a comeback in 1978 with the album Some Girls, which contained several songs that topped the charts.

I found the best part of this book to be about Ron Wood's childhood and how he developed his love for music and art. It turns out that his ancestors were water gypsies who had lived and worked on barges in the rivers and canals in England. The arts were highly valued by the Wood family, his parents were artistically talented and both of his brothers were also artists and musicians. I also enjoyed reading about Wood's experiences with his early rock groups, The Birds (The British band, not the American group, The Byrds), the Jeff Beck Group, and the Faces because not much has been written about those bands.

The book bogs down a bit as Wood recounts episode after episode of his excesses involving drugs and alcohol. It is truly amazing that this man is still alive, he and Keith Richards are like the Frankenstein monster. At least Keith Richards appears to have cleaned up his act. The latest news (December 2009) regarding Ron Wood is that he left his wife of 23 years for a woman who is only 20 years old. There were also reports of his returning to rehab after more bouts with substance abuse. This news is a real shame as by the time you get to the end of the autobiography, it seems that Wood had finally gotten it together.

Ladies and gentlemen, may I now present the lies of Ron Wood:

Lie #1 - Mr. Wood states that he was asked by the manager of the Yardbirds, Peter Grant, to form a new group that would be known as Led Zeppelin. Wood says that he turned down the offer which led to Grant hiring Jimmy Page. Meanwhile, the truth of the matter is that Led Zeppelin was Jimmy Page's idea from day one. He was the guitarist for the Yardbirds and when that group disbanded, Page decided to form the New Yardbirds which became Led Zeppelin. This is an accepted fact, so Wood's story is simply perplexing.

Lie #2 - Mr. Wood states that he was the Rolling Stones' first choice to replace Brian Jones (a founding member with multi-instrumentalist capabilities, he could play the guitar, harmonica, piano, sitar, dulcimer, marimbas, recorder, mellotron, and more, it actually would have taken 10 people to have replaced him!) in 1969. He says that Mick Jagger called to ask him to join the Stones but Ronnie Lane, his bandmate in The Faces, had answered the phone and not wanting to lose a vital member of his band, told Jagger that Wood wouldn't be interested. I have read several books about the Rolling Stones and none of them say anything about this story. All of them are in consensus that Mick Taylor was the one and only choice to replace Jones.

In conclusion, if you're interested in the rock and roll world, this book is a breezy romp, an enjoyable light read as long as you take Wood's stories with a grain of salt. If you are interested in some better books about the Rolling Stones and their world, I highly recommend Stone Alone by Bill Wyman, The True Adventures of the Rolling Stones by Stanley Booth, Altamont: Death of Innocence in the Woodstock Nation by Jonathan Eisen, S.T.P: A Journey Through America With the Rolling Stones by Robert Greenfield, and Faithfull by Marianne Faithfull.

Okay, what’d I do? Did I Kill Someone?

Blame by Michelle Huneven

Waking from an alcoholic blackout in jail (not for the first time), college professor Patsy MacLamoore jokingly utters these questions and is shocked when the police say yes. Apparently Patsy has run over and killed two Jehovah's Witnesses -a mother and child-in her driveway. Patsy has no memory of the event, but given her history of drinking, DWI and wild behavior, she comes to accept her role in the tragedy. Now she must answer the question how do you go on with your life knowing you have taken the lives of others. Throughout her journey - going to prison, coming to terms with her alcoholism, her attempts to make amends for her actions and to rebuild her life - she is haunted by this question. Then decades later, Patsy gets some news that again forces her to re-evaluate her life. Well written with believable characters, this novel is an interesting psychological study of guilt, blame, finding redemption and forgiveness.

No One's Indispensable

In The Unit, Ninni Holmqvist posits a country that mandates free lodging, food, and recreation for all men and women who are past child-bearing age and have still not procreated. However there is a catch. In order to be useful to their communities, all of these "dispensable" people are required to serve as guinea pigs for health experiments, and to have their tissues and organs harvested when needed, making the "ultimate sacrifice" as heart and lung donors. On her 50th birthday, writer Dorrit Weger enters the Second Reserve Bank and is shown her apartment. At the nightly welcoming party, she meets several like-minded people and begins to enjoy new friendships created through proximity and mutual interests. Since she is very physically fit and youthful, she is first assigned to a study measuring the effects of exercise on older women. But while she participates in this study, her friends start having health problems related to their assignments, and some of them disappear. Surprisingly, she falls in love with one of the men in her unit and the resulting complications threaten the whole equilibrium of this government program.

The Unit is a chilling peek at logic gone awry-Holmqvist creates a very believable future where the rights of individuals are suspended for the good of the public. Expect discussions to be heated.

I Have to Admit...

Portia Nathan's job is to read high school applications for Princeton University throughout the school year, and help decide which applicants get the coveted slots and which applications get shredded and burned. As the admissions process continues, her life unwinds...she loses her unmarried lover to a woman willing to have his baby; her radical 60's mother views sheltering a pregnant teenager as a second chance to successfully mold a daughter; and the remnants of a college affair come back to haunt her. Portia is given the opportunity to right some wrongs from her past, but will she have the courage to do what needs to be done? In Admission, Korelitz, author of Sabbathday River, mines her experiences as a Princeton admissions officer to offer a novel of secrets and consequences. Also, the reader gets a peek into the competitive world of college admissions and may obtain some pointers on structuring a winning application.

Visit Venice in a wonderful new book!

Glassblower of Murano by Marina Fiorato

The Glassblower of Murano takes place in both the present and the past in alternating chapters. Switching between modern-day and seventeenth-century Venice, Fiorato’s novel is an intriguing mix of history, mystery, art, music, poetry, romance, and politics.English artist Leonora Manin is hired as an apprentice glassblower in Murano, an island near the mainland of Venice. Her story interweaves with that of her ancestor, master glassmaker Corradino Manin, and the intrigue that surrounds him. Only by finding out what happened many years ago will Leonora find happiness.This book will appeal to romantics, to historical fiction aficionados and anyone who just loves a good story well told. I highly recommend it!

I like soup. Do you like soup?

The Lace Reader, by Brunonia Barry, is a story woven like Massachusetts Ipswich lace, it is intricate, complicated, and its imperfections and uneven texture make it extremely suspenseful and sometimes maddening. The story revolves around Towner Whitney, a 32 year member of an old, quirky New England family, who works as a script reader in California. She is summoned back to her hometown of Salem on the occasion of the disappearance of her favorite relative, Eva. The old woman runs a tearoom out of her house near the Salem Commons, and is expert at reading lace, a method of fortune-telling. When Towner returns, the police discover Eva's drowned body, and after the funeral she finds that she has inherited Eva's estate. While she decides how to cope with her new responsiblities, she starts spending time with local police detective Rafferty, who has been investigating Eva's drowning. Cal, black sheep of the Whitney family and former spousal abuser, has "found God" and has become an evangelist preacher, and leader of a congregation of misfits and ex-drug addicts. When one of Cal's congregants goes missing, Rafferty suspects that Cal and his followers were involved. While investigating both of the crimes, Rafferty delves into Towner's history of psychic events, hallucinations, and her stay in a mental hospital. The return of Towner Whitney to Salem begins the process of truth, healing, and peace, that Eva's death set in motion.

Before CSI There Was...

The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective
by Kate Summerscale

In 1860, a three year old English boy disappears from his room in Road Hill House, where his nursemaid and younger sister sleep. He is later found with his throat cut in a privy and the case quickly becomes a media sensation. When local law enforcement fails to make progress, Scotland Yard sends the best of their eight detectives - Mr. Whicher- to investigate. This sparks a national fascination with detectives and inspires the detective fiction genre. Charles Dickens wrote his theories of the case to Wilkie Collins, who in turn based his Sgt. Cuff in The Moonstone upon Mr Whicher.

When the Scotland Yard Detective arrives at Road Hill he finds limited evidence, but a multitude of suspects and family secrets. When he accuses and arrests the boy's sixteen year old half sister of the crime, the tide of public opinion turns against him, refusing to believe a family member could commit such a crime. Mr Wilcher returns to London in disgrace, leaving the crime unsolved, until years later.

More then a true crime story, this is a fascinating peek into the lives and minds of middle class Victorian England as well as the society as a whole. The research is impressive and thoroughly documented with footnotes and references, but at the same time it is an enjoyable read.

In a Colma

Mercer is a rookie cop, a straight arrow sort, who can quote "The Rule Book," chapter and verse. His beat is Colma, California, the cemetery capital of the San Francisco Bay area. One night, while patrolling Cypress Lawn, he stumbles into what looks like a drug related crime involving a teenager. Mercer finds the boy naked and bound with duct tape, stuffed in a burial chamber in an obscure part of the cemetery. As the police rush the barely breathing boy to a hospital, Lilly Hitchcock Coit (of Coit Tower fame) observes the police cars and ambulances with interest. Though she is dead, she has not eaten the root of oblivion, and can still haunt the living world. As she passes, Mercer senses something not quite right, but sees nothing disturbing. Lilly is excited to note another potential "crosser," and hopes that he will be stronger than the last one. Can Mercer become the hero he desperately wants to be?
Doug Dorst in Alive in Necropolis spins a tale of trouble in the intertwined worlds of ghosts and humans with Mercer caught in the middle of both. The earthside story of Jude, the troubled youth found in the graveyard, blends with that of a deadly gang of ghosts bent on sending the spirits of the cemetery to their real deaths. Dorst skillfully creates two believable worlds of the imagination, using many of the old colorful characters who thrived in the crazy town of San Francisco. Strange and different, this is a book for readers who won't mind if their police procedurals are turned upside down.

A Sense of Belonging

In Marisa de los Santos' book, Belong to Me, we meet Cornelia and Theo, childhood friends who seemed to have been destined to marry. When they move from NYC to a small town near Philadelphia to be near his hospital, they hope to find more togetherness time and a few good neighbors. Within a week Cornelia meets a smart friendly waitress and the town trendsetter, two women who will change her life. Piper (aka Viper) is the perfect suburban mother, the kind who wears makeup and linen pants to the bus stop. Her husband is spending a lot of "overtime" at the office, but her friend is dying and she doesn't notice or care about anything else. Lake, the waitress, is an earth mother type with a great sense of humor and a mysterious past that she takes pains to conceal. She moved across country ostensibly to place her genius son in a great charter school, but Dev suspects that she is really tracking his father. The lives of these characters intertwine in very unexpected ways culminating in the revelation that might destroy a marriage.
If you're looking for a good read with well-drawn characters and lots of surprises, this book might "belong" on your bedside table.

When a Vermeer isn't a Vermeer, or I Bought What?

When is a painting considered a treasured masterpiece worth millions of dollars and then in a blink of an eye, it's an embarrassment viewed as poor quality art worth a few dollars at most? Read The Forger's Spell: A True Story of Vermeer, Nazis, and the Greatest Art Hoax of the Twentieth Century by Edward Dolnick and you'll find out the answer to that question as this book explores the true story of Han van Meegeren, a Dutch forger who fooled most of the art world.

Van Meegeren was a second rate artist who successfully painted several works which he passed off as having been done by Johannes Vermeer. The forgeries have many flaws in them, making one wonder how the art world was duped into believing that the works were authentic. While Van Meegeren wasn't gifted in artistic technique, he was skilled in the psychology of forgery. He knew that if he could get art critics to authenticate the artwork, there wouldn't be much problem in getting eager art collectors to purchase them. He developed a technique to age his paintings so that they would pass scientific tests done to verify the age of the materials. Abraham Bredius, who was considered to be the leading authority on Vermeer, judged one of Van Meegren's forgeries as being authentic, and the rest of the art world jumped on board and agreed that the painting was 100% genuine.

After that, it was smooth sailing for Van Meegeren until he was arrested after World War II had ended and he was charged with collaborating with the enemy. What happened was that he was connected with the sale of what was thought to be a genuine Vermeer, Christ and the Woman Taken in Adultery, but it was really one of his forgeries. The painting ended up being sold to Nazi Hermann Goering, who was a fanatical collector of art masterpieces. The sale of a national treasure to an enemy was a crime that was punishable by death. Since forgery was a far less serious crime, Van Meegeren confessed that he had really painted the supposed Vermeer, unfortunately no one believed him. In court, to show that he really was the painter of the Vermeer in question, he demonstrated his technique and was able to convince the court that his story was true.

This book raises many issues regarding the art world, including the debate over what is art, egoistic art critics who authenticate artwork by instinct rather than through scientific investigation, and the plundering of art during wartime. Van Meegeren had been angry at the art world because his paintings were criticized for being trite and not innovative. He felt that the art critics were hypocritical and he certainly got his revenge when his forgeries were promoted as beautifully painted genuine masterpieces.

My one criticism regarding the book is that it had a lot of buildup and seemed to take awhile before it got to the climax of the court trial. There were many preliminary chapters about other forgers, forgery techniques, and other information that could have been edited down a bit. Other than that, I found the subject very intriguing.

Travel back in time

TIME AND AGAIN by Jack Finney
Such a great book! It is one of my all-time favorites. A book that has the magic to allure you with the wonder of time traveling back to a simpler time. Finney, with meticulous detail and the support of numerous old photographs, recreates New York in 1882. We and the main character, Si Morley, marvel as we walk over the old streets, see places where one day great skyscrapers will stand, gaze on a traffic jam of hansom cabs, and discover the arm of the Statue of Liberty sitting in Madison Square awaiting the rest of its body. There’s a mystery, suspense and wonderful writing. You must read this!

When Death Tells a Story You Better Listen

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Death has been extremely busy in World War II Germany, so he is surprised when his attention is caught by a young girl. He first notices her when he comes to pick up the spirit of her brother and sees her steal her first book (The Grave Digger's Handbook). This girl Liesel Meminger leaves such an impression that he feels compelled to share her story - and it's some story. Liesel is an illiterate daughter of communists who is placed in a foster home by her mother. Her foster parents, Hans, a kind painter and accordian player and Rosa Hubermann who is quick with sharp word (she especially enjoys calling people Saumensch-filthy pigs) give her a loving home. Hans also gives her a gift, one that will sustain her through the difficulties that lie ahead, he teaches her how to read. Along with her friend Rudy, who once painted himself black and pretended to be Jesse Owens as a tribute, Liesel tries to survive the tumultuous times. Faced with hunger, bombings, book burnings, Nazis, fear and suspicion, Liesal steals and reads books to cope. Then things become even more difficult and dangerous when her foster parents hide a Jewish man, Max in their basement.

The narrative style of the novel is interesting, with plenty of asides and foreshadowing. The story is heart wrenching at times and heartwarming at others and you can't help rooting for the strong, yet vulnerable Liesel. Quirky and intelligent, it is a great read. Interestingly this book was first marketed in the United States as a young adult book, but quickly became popular with adults as well.

The past haunts the present

THOSE WHO SAVE US by Jenna Blum
Family secrets of Nazi Germany are at the core of this powerful first novel told in two narratives that alternate between New Heidelberg, Minnesota, in the present, and the small town of Weimar near Buchenwald during World War II. Trudy is a professor of German history in Minnesota, where she's teaching a seminar on women's roles in Nazi Germany and conducting interviews with Germans about how they're dealing with what they did during the war. But her mother, Anna, won't talk about it, not even to her own daughter. Trudy knows, she remembers, that Anna was mistress to a big Nazi camp officer. Why did she do it? Was he Trudy's father?
A great book for discussion groups and a wonderful study in how our past influences our present.

Jewish in an Arab World

SEPTEMBERS OF SHIRAZ by Dalia Sofer is based on the author’s family who escaped from Iran in 1982 when she was 10, and her story mirrors her family’s experiences. On a September day in 1981, gem trader Isaac Amin is accosted by Revolutionary Guards at his Tehran office and imprisoned for no other crime than being Jewish in a country where Muslim fanaticism is growing daily. In anguish over what might be happening to his family, Isaac watches the brutal mutilation and executions of prisoners around him. His wife, Farnaz, struggles to keep from slipping into despair, while his young daughter, Shirin, steals files from the home of a playmate whose father is in charge of the prison that holds her father. Far away in Brooklyn, Isaac's nonreligious son, Parviz, struggles without his family's money and falls for the pious daughter of his Hasidic landlord. The heartbreak of a family who wishes to be Iranian in a country that reminds them and punishes them for who they are fills the reader with sadness. The story is very well told and the reader feels vividly their pain. Reading this in tandem withThe Man in the White Sharkskin Suit by Lucille Lagnado is a revelation of struggles in the Arab world to be Jewish and accepted.

I'm Ready For My Close-Up

Why did Jun Nakayama abandon his silent film career at the height of his popularity? In The Age of Dreaming, Nina Revoyr narrates the story of a handsome Japanese movie star who, in the early 1900's, took Hollywood by storm. In collaboration with the famous director Ashley Tyler, and the sophisticated actress, Elizabeth Banks, Nakayama made several intriguing films that brought him popular and critical aclaim. But after ten years of fame he abandoned his career and began a quiet life in obscurity. Revoyr starts her tale in the 1960's when Nakayama is "rediscovered" by Bellinger, a screenwriter who has studied his movies and thinks he would be perfect for a part in his new script. While researching Nakayama's films, he becomes captivated by the still unsoved murder of Ashley Tyler, and tries to link this mystery to the japanese actor. As Nakayama revisits his past to try to prevent the truth from being revealed, he begins to realize that his choices had consequences that affected the lives of many people, and that he still might have a chance at redemption.
Unspooling slowly, like a silent movie, The Age of Dreaming goes beyond the murder mystery, into the craft of film-making itself. After reading the novel, I researched collections of silent films, and promised that I would look beyond the comedies of Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin to explore some of the dramatic films that are still available. Through Revoyr's characters, who are based on real people who lived in the Hollywood movie community, the silent film tradition is revived and celebrated.