The Human Condition

 In Happiness, the new novel from Aminetta Forna, the human condition is indeed explored. This elegant novel from Forna (The Memory of Love) opens with a chance encounter: Ghanaian psychiatrist Attila Asare and American urban wildlife biologist Jean Turane collide while walking across London's Waterloo Bridge. Normally dispatched to war zones for his expertise in post-traumatic stress disorder, Attila is in town to speak at a conference. Jean lives there and researches the city's foxes. After a second encounter on the bridge, Attila offers to buy Jean a drink at his hotel bar and reveals that he had a secondary reason to come to London: to locate the teenage son of a friend who might have been swept up by immigration officials. Jean volunteers to help and eventually organizes a search to find the young runaway. A diverse cast of supporting characters (many of whom are West African immigrants) and Forna's rich descriptions of London give the novel a strong sense of place. . With their professional expertise and contemplative personalities, the main characters offer wisdom on the nature of cruelty, the fear of the untamable, and the challenge of defining normality. ML

Painting the truth...

Two points of view...some readers love this and others not! This reader feels different points of view add richness and complexity to a novel. Jessie Burton's novel The Muse, is a smart blend of literary and commercial fiction with intriguing characters and a  mystery at its center. In 1967 London, Odelle Bastien, a Trinidadian émigré with literary aspirations, begins dating a man who inherited an unusual portrait of two girls from his late mother. Its discovery excites and shocks Odelle's employers at the Skelton Institute of Art, since few works by the  painter Isaac Robles, who vanished during the Spanish Civil War, are known to exist. In 1936 Andalusia, Isaac and his half sister, Teresa, become involved with the wealthy Schloss family, who are renting a nearby villa. Olive Schloss keeps secret her own painting from her family who are sure to disapprove. The two plots twine together in unexpected ways. A good read. ML

Choices and Consequences

What happens when a person's past comes to light? Ask Annie Black, lighting designer, doctor's wife and mother of three. Annie spent one year in London when she was 19. She worked for a structural engineer, traveled to Paris, fell for an aloof photographer and met her husband. Sounds simple enough--but there were a few twists that change everything. In A Small Indiscretion by Jan Ellison we learn the truth about Annie's behavior and her secret obsessions. This book is a warning to think before you act. DB

Dark Continent

This impressive series kickoff from British author Sherez, A Dark Redemption introduces Det. Insp. Jack Carrigan, a Scotland Yard veteran regarded as an oddball for his obsessive devotion to his work. Years earlier, after graduating from college, Carrigan and two friends took a vacation in Uganda that ended in tragedy. The shadows from that traumatic experience weigh more heavily on Carrigan after the savage murder of Grace Okello, a student of East African history, in her London flat. The victim was studying African warlords who have used revolutionary politics as a mask for their sadistic desire for power, and it appears her research could have been a threat to one of them. The action builds to a jaw-dropping resolution. Readers will want to see more of this convincingly flawed hero.  PW

Elementary, My Dear Watson!*

Not even the death of his creator could hamper the detecting of the world's greatest super-sleuth, Sherlock Holmes.  Accompanied by his trusty sidekick (and oftentimes foil), Dr. Watson, Holmes has found his way into any number of modern retellings and new adventures in the years since Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's death in 1930.  Check out our current display in the Adult Department, including titles from authors such as Michael Chabon, Loren D. Estleman, and Anthony Horowitz (yes, of Alex Rider fame), all featuring original takes on your favorite detective (such as Sherlock Holmes vs. Dracula: The Adventure of the Sanguinary Count which is actually a lot better than it sounds).

*TRIVIA -- Sherlock Holmes never actually says "Elementary, my dear Watson," in any of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's works; the phrase was apparently popularized by the first "talking film" featuring the detective in 1929.  HM

Sister

Sister: A Novel by Rosamund Lupton: When her mom calls to tell Bee that her younger sister is missing, she puts her life on hold and immediately returns home to London. She expects to find Tess and give her the usual lecture but then Tess is found dead. The police think it’s a suicide but Bee is certain this isn’t the case and so she begins her own investigation. Everyone thinks she’s in denial but Bee knows better and soon involves herself deeply in her sister’s life – an artistic, free lifestyle so unlike Bee’s scheduled, businesslike routine. This suspenseful story, involving jealous boyfriends, medical experiments, and strange friends, is very well written, in an interesting narrative style. SG

The coincidence of human affairs.

When Charlotte Rainsford is mugged on a London street, the consequences ripple across the lives of acquaintances and strangers alike. While we get to know this collection of folks and how a random act affects them, we also become more aware, what part does coincidence play in our lives? Penelope Lively's book How It All Began explores this question in ways humble yet profound. Have you ever had an accident? What if the car you ran into was five minutes later or the dog you tripped over was tied up that day? A fascinating question wrapped up in the form of a novel. Lovely! ML

buzzzz for Little Bee...

recommended read and a starred review by Booklist---Little Bee, smart and stoic, knows two people in England, Andrew and Sarah, journalists she chanced upon on a Nigerian beach after fleeing a massacre in her village, one grisly outbreak in an off-the-radar oil war. After sneaking into England and escaping a rural “immigration removal” center, she arrives at Andrew and Sarah’s London suburb home only to find that the violence that haunts her has also poisoned them. In an unnerving blend of dread, wit, and beauty, Cleave slowly and arrestingly excavates the full extent of the horror that binds Little Bee and Sarah together. A columnist for the Guardian, Cleave earned fame and notoriety when his first book, Incendiary, a tale about a terrorist attack on London, was published on the very day London was bombed in July 2005. His second ensnaring, eviscerating novel charms the reader with ravishing descriptions, sly humor, and the poignant improvisations of Sarah’s Batman-costumed young son, then launches devastating attacks in the form of Little Bee’s elegantly phrased insights into the massive failure of compassion in the world of refugees. Cleave is a nerves-of-steel storyteller of stealthy power, and this is a novel as resplendent and menacing as life itself.---Seaman, Donna Copyright 2008 BooklistDistributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc. CKW

Romance and a bit of intrigue in a vintage clothing store

A Vintage Affair is a bittersweet story of friendship and love with a touch of history thrown in. It takes place, and was originally published, in Great Britain. The story is centered in and around Village Vintage clothing store. Phoebe, the store owner, visits older people who have clothes to sell and stories to tell. Purchasing the vintage dresses sometimes changes the way customers feel about themselves and therefore changes their lives. Phoebe has several male admirers and her life and schedule can be quite complex. The book is entertaining and pleasant to read.