Between the Pages

Constance Bennett in Lady With a Past (1932)

A new year, a new slew of books to review. I read quite a few books last year but not nearly as many as I would have wanted. These are some of the titles I finished in 2015. And as a new year brings fresh starts, Bookshelf will be called Between the Pages going forward. Now, please, read on.

My Life in France—Julia Child and Alex Prud’homme

Paul and Julia Child moved to France in 1948 for Paul to start his job with the US Information Service. En route to Paris, they stopped for lunch at a restaurant in Rouen. Julia would later refer to it as “the most exciting meal of my life.” Thus began her life-long love affair with la belle France. In Paris, Julia began exploring all aspects of French cuisine, taking classes at the Cordon Bleu and ultimately writing her classic cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. The book is filled with charming anecdotes of her time in France from merchants she befriended to her experiments in the kitchen to the great love affair with her husband. Be warned: reading this will make you want to buy a ticket for France.

All the Light We Cannot See—Anthony Doerr

In 1930s Paris a blind girl named Marie-Laure learns the layout of her neighbourhood via a hand-carved miniature version lovingly created by her locksmith father while in Germany a young orphaned boy, Werner, discovers he has a gift for fixing radios. As the Germans descend on Paris, the Seas of Flame—a cursed diamond from the Museum of Natural History—is secreted out of the city to the seaside town of St. Malo where Marie-Laure and Werner’s paths will ultimately cross. I wasn’t expecting to like this novel as much as I did but the non-linear narration made for compelling storytelling and some of Marie-Laure’s scenes were particularly moving.

Mrs. Roosevelt’s Confidante—Susan Elia Macneal

Maggie Hope is back, this time travelling with Churchill to America to visit Roosevelt to discuss the country’s entry in the war. The mysterious death of one of Mrs. Roosevelt’s secretaries threatens to falsely expose the first lady to a scandal of epic proportion, and it’s up to Maggie find the killer and protect the nation. I’ve enjoyed all of the Maggie Hope books and this one in particular. I especially liked the behind-the-scenes look at the Roosevelts in the White House (FDR whipping up cocktails and lots of appearances by Fala) and the descriptions of Washington during wartime.

The Other Typist—Suzanne Rindell

Rose Baker is a police typist in 1920s New York, spending her days typing up confessions and her nights alone in her rented room in Brooklyn. Her world is changed with the hiring of a new typist, Odalie Lazare, whose fashionable appearance and carefree attitude fascinate Rose. Before long she is drawn into Odalie’s life, sharing her flat and frequenting speakeasies. But there’s something sinister bubbling under the surface that’s destined to result in murder. Reminiscent of a Patricia Highsmith story, Rindell does a good job at building the tension in the story and leaving the reader guessing at the ending.

Girl Waits with Gun—Amy Stewart

In 1914, the three Kopp sisters were driving in their horse and buggy in Patterson, New Jersey when a man hit them with his motorcar. The sisters tried to invoice for the damages but Harry Kaufman, the silk factory owner who had been behind the wheel, retaliated with threatening letters and rocks thrown through the sisters’ windows. The local sheriff did what he thought best—gave the sisters rifles for protection. This is the basis for Stewart’s novel, which revolves around the oldest sister, six-foot tall Constance, who uses her height to intimidate Kaufman and indeed waits with gun. This was a favourite read of mine last year. Stewart does a great job at fleshing out the portraits of the Kopp sisters and demonstrates how one can tell a fictional account of a real event well.

The Goldfinch—Donna Tartt

Thirteen-year old The Decker and his mother are viewing an exhibit at the Met when a bomb goes off, killing her and leaving Theo unharmed with a dead man’s ring and Carel Fabritius’ “Goldfinch” in his possession. Finding temporary shelter at the Upper East Side home of a classmate, he’s soon whisked away by his father to Las Vegas where Theo embarks down a drug-laden road with his only friend, a Ukrainian boy named Boris. When Theo returns to New York, he becomes an apprentice to an antiques dealer who lost his partner in the blast, the same deceased man whose niece Theo loves. It took me a while to get around to reading this book, and I’m so glad I did. Despite its heft, I found myself finishing it in a few days, drawn to the story of Theo and the fate of that glorious bird.

Bookshelf

Vivien Leigh

While I’ve read quite a few books this year, it’s been a while since I’ve written about any of them so here’s a belated instalment of Bookshelf with a few of those titles.

The Golden Moments of Paris: A Guide to the Paris of the 1920s—John Baxter

John Baxter shows why the City of Light during the 1920s was the place to be with a series of engaging stories. There’s le jazz hot, les Apaches, café life, Picasso, Hemingway and Fitzgerald, and much more. Also included are loads of photos and four walking tours so readers can visit many of the places mentioned. My only complaint is about the actual edition of the book, which reads as if it weren’t copyedited. There are a number of mistakes including the misspelling of people’s names and a wrong photo caption.

The Algonquin Round Table New York: A Historical Guide—Kevin C. Fitzpatrick
If you like New York history, writers, and artists then you’ll love this guide by Kevin C. Fitzpatrick. Filled with photos and maps, the book looks at the members of the famed Algonquin Round Table and their haunts from their homes and places of work to their favourite drinking establishments and final resting places. In addition to familiar faces like Dorothy Parker, Robert Benchley, and Alexander Woollcott, Fitzpatrick draws attention to often overlooked members of the group like Jane Grant, co-founder of the New Yorker, and art critic Murdock Pemberton who first took Woollcott and John Peter Toohey to lunch at the Algonquin Hotel, which naturally gets its own chapter. 

A Study in Death—Anna Lee Huber
Things are starting to look up for Lady Kiera Darby with her engagement to investigator Sebastian Gage and a return to accepting painting commissions. But when the sitter for her latest portrait is found dead, Kiera suspects foul play and finds herself once again working with Gage to catch a murderer while confronting her own past. This continues to be one of my favourite historical mystery series with an appealing setting (1830s Scotland) and a likable couple with great chemistry. 

Tinseltown: Murder, Morphine, and Madness at the Dawn of Hollywood—William J. Mann
The murder of director William Desmond Taylor on February 2, 1922 sent shock waves through the Hollywood community and remains unsolved to this day. William J. Mann examines the details of the case and Taylor's mysterious background while also looking at the lives of three actresses close to the director—Mabel Normand, Mary Miles Minter, and Margaret “Gibby” Gibson—as well as that of one of the most powerful men in the movies, Adolph Zukor. While Mann includes a ton of research and a fresh take on some familiar faces—including a sympathetic view of Will Hays of the infamous Hays code—I didn't agree with his final conclusions.

Suspended Sentences: Three Novellas—Patrick Modiano
This slim collection contains three novellas that all deal with the theme of disappearance: A man tries to find traces of a photographer who has drifted into obscurity; another recounts how during the war his parents sent him and his brother to live with friends who had a collection of unusual guests; and what really happened to a couple who committed suicide (or was it murder) years ago? The German Occupation of France is ever present in these tales, leaving their mark on the characters. I absolutely loved this book and cannot wait to read more by the author. His writing is superb, and I found myself thinking about the stories long after I had read the last page.

Hollywood—Gore Vidal
The power of Washington, DC and the endless possibilities of Hollywood are intertwined in Gore Vidal’s novel, part of the American Chronicle series. A fictional Washington newspaper publisher who goes west to become a silent screen star and her former lover, a US Senator, mingle with the likes of William Randolph Hearst, Charlie Chaplin, and the Roosevelts. Beginning at the start of World War I and going through to the Roaring Twenties, the book touches on everything from war propaganda films to political scandals. While a bit lengthy at times, Vidal offers readers a look at how these towns' players spin the truth as only he can.

Bookshelf

Pola Negri in some interesting beach wear. Photo: Margaret Chute

Summer reading is in full throttle at chez Michele. I don’t know what it is exactly about the season (maybe the constant lying in front of the AC?) but my reading seems to double this time of the year. So here are a few of the tomes I’ve recently devoured.

Paris at the End of the World: The City of Light During the Great War, 1914-1918—John Baxter

While John Baxter does discuss Paris during the war—the initial enthusiasm felt by Parisians including the artists (Jean Cocteau and his friends had designer uniforms made) and how the Allies interacted with the locals—the book is really about his grandfather, Archie Baxter, who left Australia to fight in Europe. Upon his return, he abandoned his family and job (for a short time) and maintained an attachment to France for the rest of his life. Baxter attempts to confirm Archie's story and fill in the missing gaps. While the book was engaging at times if you really want to read about Paris during the war this is not the book.

The Mind’s Eye: Writings on Photography and Photographers—Henri Cartier-Bresson

This slim volume contains essays by one of the masters of photography, Henri Cartier-Bresson. Here he describes his start in photography, talks about friends and colleagues, and gives his observations on China, Cuba, and Russia. In “A Decisive Moment,” he details his thoughts on photography, looking at each stage of making a photo. He tells the reader that memory is key for “The photographer must make sure, while he is still in the presence of the unfolding scene, that he hasn’t left any gaps, that he has really given expression to the meaning of the scene in its entirety, for afterwards it is too late.” A must read for any photography lover.

Why Kings Confess—C.S. Harris

Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin is back. It’s January 1813 and Devlin’s friend, surgeon Paul Gibson, discovers an injured French woman and a dead man whose heart has been removed. They are members of a secret French delegation sent by Napoleon to London to discuss possible peace. Devlin sets out to solve the murder, crossing paths with the French including the exiled Marie Thérèse, the only surviving child of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, and learns that rumours about what really happened to her brother, the Lost Dauphin, may just be true. Meanwhile Devlin’s wife, Hero, is nearing her delivery time and there’s a complication. A fine addition to the series.

The Unrest-Cure and Other Stories—Saki

I’m not sure why it took me so long to discover the work of Saki (real name H.H. Munro) but I love it. Set in Edwardian England, Saki’s stories are both smart and funny, taking an often-dark jab at British society and skewering its traditions and the types who cling to them. We meet vicars and dowagers and bored young men, many of whom spend weekends at country homes. There’s also a talking cat who causes great anxiety in his family when he starts voicing his opinion about others. This edition is accompanied with illustrations by Edward Gorey—a match that was surely made in macabre heaven. I'm looking forward to reading more Saki in the future.

Fatal Enquiry—Will Thomas

My first mystery of the summer, this long overdue volume in the Cyrus & Llewellyn series finds the indomitable private enquiry agent, Cyrus Barker, and his narrator/assistant, Thomas Llewellyn, on the run when a nemesis from Barker’s past arrives in London and frames Barker for the murder of a peer. Through back alleys and bolt rooms, they try to keep one step ahead of the authorities and to stay alive long enough to prove their innocence. While not as strong as previous books in the series, it was nice to see this duo back and hope that another volume is not too far off.

Mrs. Hemingway—Naomi Wood

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not a big fan of fictionalized versions of famous people’s lives. So when a friend gave me an advance copy of this book to read I was hesitant especially as it was about Ernest Hemingway and his four wives but I wound up liking it. Naomi Wood takes an interesting approach to telling their story: she starts at the end of each relationship, when the wife of the moment realizes she's losing Hemingway to another woman (in the case of his last wife, Mary Walsh, she loses him to death), and moves backwards. It works. She also does a good job portraying each wife, especially wife number two, Pauline Pfeiffer, whom she manages to make sympathetic, not the easiest thing to do. If you’re interested in learning about Hemingway’s wives, I would recommend also reading Bernice Kert’s The Hemingway Women.

Bookshelf

Jacqueline Kennedy reading The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac.

It’s time for the latest edition of Bookshelf—a collection of short reviews of the books that I've recently read. You should be warned that my history crush, Robert Capa, pops up in more than one of these books (at some point I'm going to have to get serious and just write a book about him). Let me know your thoughts on any of these titles and what you've been reading.

Ingrid Bergman: My Story—Ingrid Bergman and Alan Burgess

With alternating passages by Bergman and Burgess, Ingrid Bergman: My Story tells how a shy young Swedish girl became one of the great stars of the silver screen. At times modest and often candid, Bergman writes about the importance of acting in her life, her famous co-stars, and of her great loves affairs with Robert Capa and Roberto Rossellini. Her relationship with Rossellini and the worldwide scandal it caused understandably takes up a good portion of the book. Reading this will make you want to go back and watch every Bergman film again.

Anna Held and the Birth of Ziegfeld’s Broadway—Eve Golden

At the turn of the 20th century, Polish-born performer Anna Held met Florenz Ziegfeld who persuaded her to leave the stages of Europe and come to New York. Held’s charming and slightly naughty personality combined with Ziegfeld’s promotional skills turned her into the toast of Broadway (she also became Ziegfeld’s common-law wife). While the passages about her early life seem rushed (I suspect it was from a lack of source material), Golden does a good job clearing up some of the rumours about Held and painting a picture of what New York theatre life was like at the time. 

Magnum: Fifty Years at the Front Line of History: The Story of the Legendary Photo Agency—Russell Miller

Founded by Robert Capa and a small group of photojournalists in 1947, Magnum Photos is a photographic cooperative that continues to be one of the preeminent photo agencies in the world with members who have contributed some of the most lasting images of the 20th century. The book discusses Magnum’s history in detail and includes stories about the famous bickering of the members and of the rivalry between the New York and Paris offices. Seemingly always on the brink of collapse, Magnum has managed to survive deaths, money woes, and a changing industry. A must read for people interested in photojournalism.

The Chaperone—Laura Moriarty

In 1922, 15-year old Louise Brooks left Kansas for New York to study with the Denishawn School of Dance in New York City. Accompanying her was an older woman who acted as her chaperone. In this engaging fictional account of that trip, Laura Moriarty renames the chaperone Cora Carlisle and makes her the story’s protagonist. While attempting to look out for her young charge, Cora discovers some answers about her past and finds a new road for her future. I normally do not like fictional accounts of people whom I admire but I was quite taken with this book save for the one very predictable plot line. I just wish I could have heard more from Louise but alas it isn’t really her story. 

Dimanche and Other Stories—Irène Némirovsky

Confession: I have not read Suite Francaise. My first introduction to Irène Némirovsky was a short story, Dimanche, in Persephone Books’ magazine. I loved that story so much that I went out and bought this collection (Dimanche is the first story). I was moved by the beauty of the language in these ten tales that deal with issues of love, relationships, and class differences. Knowing that she died in Auschwitz in 1942 only adds a bittersweet air to these excellent stories. Highly recommended.

A Russian Journal—John Steinbeck

In this amusing and informative account of a trip that John Steinbeck made to Russia in 1948 with Robert Capa, he writes about their many obstacles from transport issues to finding places to sleep to dealing with censors while trying to document their encounters with the Russian people. Steinbeck reports on the great hospitality they were shown and how the Russian people were not all that different from Americans. Capa, whose powerful photographs lend credence to Steinbeck’s account, provides a lot of the humour in the book (there’s even a passage he contributed defending himself). Very entertaining.

The Great Gatsby

The brilliant original cover by artist Francis Cugat.

Today is the anniversary of the publication of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, the novel that so perfectly captured the era of flappers and bootleggers and whose universal themes of self-reinvention, corruption of wealth, and unrequited love managed to appear distinctly American.

The seeds for the story were first planted in the summer of the 1923 when Fitzgerald wrote to his editor, Maxwell Perkins, saying, “I want to write something new—something extraordinary and beautiful and simple and intricately patterned.” Fitzgerald hoped to write a novel that would not only be a commercial success like his previous novels, This Side of Paradise and The Beautiful and the Damned, but would finally earn him a reputation as a serious writer.

His plans to start the new novel were delayed when a failed play, The Vegetable, and mounting debts (always Fitzgerald’s curse) forced him to spend his time writing short stories for magazines to pay off his creditors. It wasn’t until a year later that he could turn his attention once again to his new novel, which he would finish in late October 1924.

Scribner’s published the book on April 10, 1925 but all of Fitzgerald’s hopes were dashed when it received mixed reviews from the critics and saw disappointing sales of just 20,000 copies. Fitzgerald was devastated and felt like a failure. Toward the end of his life, he would write in a letter to his daughter, Scottie, “"I wish now I'd never relaxed or looked back—but said at the end of The Great Gatsby: I've found my line—from now on this comes first. This is my immediate duty—without this I am nothing." The great tragedy is that Fitzgerald, who died of a heart attack in 1940, didn’t live to see his book become a beloved classic, one that many consider to be the great American novel, or that the novel, which had received such a lukewarm reception back in 1925, would go on to sell more than 25 million copies around the world.

F. Scott Fitzgerald. Photo: Nickolas Muray.

The Great Gatsby is one of my favourite books, one that I reread every few years. For me the sentences flow like poetry, filled with striking imagery. Take for example this passage where the book’s narrator, Nick Carraway, walks into a room and sees his cousin, Daisy, and a friend of hers.

“The only completely stationary object in the room was an enormous couch on which two young women were buoyed up as though upon an anchored balloon. They were both in white and their dresses were rippling and fluttering as if they had just been blown back in after a short flight around the house. I must have stood for a few moments listening to the whip and snap of the curtains and the groan of a picture on the wall. Then there was a boom as Tom Buchanan shut the rear windows and the caught wind died out about the room and the curtains and the rugs and the two young women ballooned slowly to the floor.”

Isn't it just beautiful? So on this anniversary, if you haven't picked up the book in a while or if you've never read it (shame on you if that's the case), get yourself a copy and read it, now. You'll be happy you did (and please, whatever you do, don't watch the movie instead).

Bookshelf

The dramatic Alice White.

Over the last few months, I managed to finish a few good books between watching way too much television (House of Cards, I'm talking about you). While I still have quite a few left on my nightstand to get through, the stack is slowing dwindling. In the meantime, here's the latest edition of Bookshelf.

Washington Square—Henry James
Shy and plain Catherine Sloper is content to lurk in the shadows until a dashing young man, Morris Townsend, starts to shower her with attention. Her protective father believes her new suitor is only after her money, and when Catherine announces their engagement, he insists that she either break off the affair with Morris or lose her inheritance. Torn between duty and love, Catherine must make a decision and in doing so, learns just how little freedom she has. A wonderful portrait of 19th-century New York with a deceptively strong-willed heroine.

I Await the Devil’s Coming—Mary MacLane

This diary of a 19-year old girl growing up in Butte, Montana shocked readers upon its publication in 1902. Throughout the pages, the obviously intelligent young woman rages against her situation, writing about her beliefs (including the certainty of her genius), disdain for her family, her overwhelming boredom, an affinity for Napoleon, and her relationship with the devil. While it does get a bit repetitive, it is raw and honest; you can almost hear her screaming her frustration. And regarding this new edition, Melville House should be commended for the wonderful cover.

Christmas Pudding and Pigeon Pie—Nancy Mitford

These are two early works by one of my favourite writers. In Christmas Pudding, family and friends descend upon a country house to spend the holiday, including a depressed novelist, a young woman with multiple suitors, and the horse-obsessed lady of the manor. There are broken engagements, false identities, and bratty youths; in other words, normal fodder for Mitford. In Pigeon Pie, Lady Sophia Garfield tries her best to do her part when Britain is on the brink of war while unable to see that a German spy ring is within her midst. It's hard at first to be supportive of the silly Sophia but once her French bulldog is kidnapped, the readers are on her side. These may not be Mitford’s best efforts but like most books by a beloved author, I’d take these over most other novels any day.  

Chocolates for Breakfast—Pamela Moore

After precocious 15-year old Courtney Farrell leaves boarding school unexpectedly, she finds herself dividing her time between her fading actress mother in Hollywood and her publisher father in New York. Along the way she tries smoking, drinking martinis, and sex, and learns the hard way about growing up. The book created a stir when it was first published in 1956, becoming a best seller. While maybe not as shocking today, it’s a frank look at a young woman’s coming of age and well written, which is especially notable when you learn that the author was just 18 at the time.

The Spy Who Loved: The Secrets and Lives of Christine Granville—Clare Mulley

One of England’s most brilliant spies during World War II was a woman, Christine Granville. A Jewish Pole who thrived on danger, some of her exploits included skiing into occupied Poland, parachuting into France, and rescuing some colleagues from the Gestapo merely hours before their execution. Men everywhere fell in love with her and after the war one of them, a disturbed colleague, stabbed her to death. An interesting tale of a little known war hero who was reportedly Churchill’s favourite spy.

The Girl on the Cliff—Lucinda Riley

Recovering from a miscarriage, artist Grania Ryan returns to her family home in Ireland after living in America for years. There she encounters a strange but enchanting little girl whose family’s story, Grania discovers, is tragically intertwined with her own. The story moves back and forth in time between the present day and the early part of the 20th century. I found the passages set in the past to be the most interesting thing about the book, which otherwise is predictable at times and has some dialogue issues (authors take note: when you have characters from countries other than your own, someone will notice if you get the language wrong).

Keep Calm and Read On

If a novel is set in Britain, I will probably read it. The same goes for television; if it's a historical drama from the BBC or ITV, I will watch it. So while I may not have been as crazy about Downton Abbey as some viewers, I was more than happy to spend my time with the Crawleys and their staff on Sunday evenings. For those of you now suffering from Downton withdrawal, the folks over at Random House have come up with with some suggested books that might help tide you over until the next season. Some of these look quite good and others I've read: Park Lane by Frances Osbourne was very enjoyable, Mr. Churchill's Secretary by Susan Elia MacNeal is the first in a new series that I like very much, and Anne Perry's Charlotte and Thomas Pitt mysteries are longtime favourites. So go to your local bookstore or library and pick up one or two titles and sit back with a nice cuppa and just read.

To download a copy of the poster, visit here.

Bookshelf Roundup

A while back I started a Bookshelf section with the intention of every few months writing short reviews of the books I had read. Well apparently I’ve neglected to keep it up, so much so that it probably appears to regular readers that I don’t actually read any books. But the truth is I do, books of all types: lowbrow to high, fiction to non, even cookbooks. Normally the piles of books by my bed are such that I rarely read a book right when it’s published (there were a few years in grad school when my answer to the question “what are you reading” was “dead people”) so some of these books may seem like old news to you. Some of these I liked a lot, some not so much. Nonetheless, here is a roundup of some of the books I’ve read so far this year. 

Reply to a Letter from Helga—Bergsveinn Birgisson

This novella is written as letter from an elderly Icelandic farmer to the woman he loved decades ago, explaining why he made the choices he did. Part love letter, part confession, it’s at times beautiful in its stark lyricism and at others downright shocking. 

The Times We Had: Life with William Randolph Hearst—Marion Davies

The silent film actress’ autobiography (compiled from tapes she made) in which she reminisces about her days on the stage and screen. Modest about her own talents, Davies heaps praise on her lover Hearst for whom her devotion and loyalty appears to have never wavered, even after his death. 

Bury Me Standing: The Gypsies and Their Journey—Isabel Fonseca

Fonseca spent four years living with Roma families throughout Eastern Europe, learning how they live and about their trials and tribulations. Although bleak and slow going at times, it’s extremely informative and makes one wish for an update to see how the Roma are faring now.

Return of the Thin Man: Two never-before-published novellas featuring Nick & Nora Charles—Dashiell Hammett, Richard Layman and Julie M. Rivett, editors

Do not be fooled. This book does not contain novellas about everyone’s favourite married detectives but rather film treatments with notes that were the basis for the first two sequels to The Thin Man. Fans of the films will be interested to see what changes the studio made but others should just see the films. 

The Winter Sea—Susanna Kearsley

Carrie McClelland is a writer of historical fiction who rents a small cottage near the Scottish castle where her latest novel is to take place. As she begins to write, Carrie discovers that she is uncannily tuned in to the lives of her 18th-century characters and begins to question how much of her story is fact. Romantic and fun.

The Sweet Life in Paris: Delicious Adventures in the World’s Most Glorious-and Perplexing-City—David Lebovitz

The pastry chef and cookbook author’s humorous account about living in Paris and some of the lessons he learned like one gets dressed properly to take out the garbage (no wearing of sweatpants) and one does not eat ones baguette on the street. Includes a bevy of recipes.

Myrna Loy: The Only Good Girl in Hollywood—Emily W. Leider

A biography of one of my favourite actresses that includes a look at her childhood in Montana, her rise in Hollywood from bit player to leading lady in the 1930s and 40s, and her subsequent role as an activist later in life. Includes a warranted detailed discussion of her most important role—Nora Charles in the Thin Man series. Long but worth the read.

Kiki de Montparnasse: A Graphic Novel— Catel Muller and José-Louis Bocquet

Born to a single mother and raised in poverty, Alice Prin grew up to become Kiki, a favourite artists' model and the toast of café society in Montparnasse in the 1920s. I haven’t read a lot of graphic novels but quite enjoyed this new approach to Kiki's biography.

Everything That Rises Must Converge—Flannery O’Connor

This collection of short stories by the queen of Southern Gothic includes her usual eccentric characters, themes of race and religion, and actions that lead to tragedy. Many of the stories are disturbing, particularly “The Lame Shall Enter First,” but all are unforgettable.

The Summer of the Bear—Bella Pollen

When a British diplomat to Bonn dies suddenly, his widow decides to take their three children to a small island in the Scottish Outer Hebrides. There each of them mourn in their own way including the young boy, Jamie, who is convinced that an escaped bear on the island is a link his father. With hints of magic realism, a really well-written novel.

The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt: A Novel in Pictures—Caroline Preston
It’s the 1920s and young Frankie Pratt dreams of becoming a writer. She manages to leave New Hampshire for New York where she graduates from Vassar and finds a job before moving to Paris. Filled with dozens of photographs, advertisements, and prints that serve to illustrate her adventures, this is a delightful take on the coming of age story.

The Imperfectionists—Tom Rachman 
This debut novel is about an English language newspaper in Rome and the lives of its staff and owners (and in one case, a reader). Each chapter is devoted to a different character but by the end their stories come together in an inevitable way. Very engaging.