Summer Reading List
My younger daughter asked me for some reading suggestions for her break between college and graduate school so I decided to put together a Summer Reading List. These are a few of the great books I’ve enjoyed over the past couple of years. I’ll admit that I’m skipping over books that have already earned their own hype (anything by George R.R. Martin, Suzanne Collins, Garth Stein’s The Art of Racing in the Rain – though all of these are extremely enjoyable.) I’ll also mention that virtually anything by Chris Bohjalian, Anne Tyler, Richard Russo, Annie Proulx or E.L. Doctorow is likely to be absolutely worth reading so I’m not going to put their individual books on my list. I also haven’t included anything I’ve already reviewed on Goodreads (I don’t think!)
Michael Chabon – The Yiddish Policeman’s Union: What if Alaska had become a homeland for the Jews after WWII as FDR apparently suggested? This dark comedy provides the answer in perfect noir style with engaging characters, a complex yet always entertaining plot and enough twists and turns to qualify as a Sherlock Holmsian mystery. A real treat.
Carol Edgarian – Rise the Euphrates: Three generations of women descended from a survivor of the 1915 Turkish massacre of Armenians. A perfect capsule of immigrant experience and a beautiful treatment of questions of family, identity, and the way history lives within us.
T.C. Boyle – The Tortilla Curtain: T.C. Boyle has the most amazing way of addressing serious social issues through the eyes of complex, deeply wrought characterizations. These two families – one white and wealthy, the other Mexican immigrants living below the radar – represent and embody an intersection of culture and experience that we, as a society, have only begun to recognize or understand. Vivid, heartfelt without excessive pathos, rendered in sharp detail, this book may be Boyle’s best – and that is really saying something!
Julia Glass – Three Junes: Under Glass’s pen, characters come alive in a way that makes her books nearly glow with intensity and scrutiny. She is in their heads and even minor characters are beautifully developed and real. Three sections, three connected ‘leads,’ every word leaving us hungry for more. Just lovely.
Joyce Carol Oates – We Were the Mulvaneys: Few writers can render familial associations, nuances, and disasters as authentically as Joyce Carol Oates. With some kind of mystical force, Oates makes us care passionately about what might be considered mundane or even overblown events in the lives of a well-heeled family who are forced to watch the foundation of their happiness crumble from underneath them. It’s almost impossible to turn away, even for a moment, in fear of missing any detail of the saga.
Adam Haslett – Union Atlantic: In this extremely keen observation of what is ostensibly a conflict over land use, Haslett gives us three wonderful characters: a retired history teacher who just may collapse under the weight of her moral obligation, a savvy businessman whose apparent disregard for community would, in a much simpler story, make him an obvious antagonist, and a boy who straddles the web between them. Smart, contemporary and classic in the best sense.
Sadie Jones – Small Wars: There can be no war without casualties and this story expands the definition of that concept, pulling us into the personal tragedy that always accompanies the social one. At the center of this taut novel is a marriage and from there reverberates the trauma of dangerous lives, the immense pressure of moral decisions and the resiliance – or lack thereof – of human nature. Intense, fast-paced, authentic.
Louis Sachar – The Cardturner: Who would have thought that a story about bridge – yes, the card game – could have such punch? Sachar has created two endearing and memorable characters, young and old, seeing and blind, wise and yearning and then asks us to discern, in some ways, which is which! Both my teenaged son and I adored this book and talked about it, and the game of bridge, for a long time after.
Jess Walter – Citizen Vince: Walter has written a very sharp and witty character study embraced by a crime thriller – a perfect combination. Vince crosses all the assumed lines between criminal and victim, hero and loser, and takes us for a wonderful ride while we figure it out. Highly entertaining and also a sparkling contemporary commentary.
Nicole Krauss – The History of Love: If this title seems a bit on the expansive side, it is simply because Nicole Krauss has actually succeeded in the claim. Her book is a cross-decades saga, centered around a manuscript (or several?) of the same name, that ties a contagious cast of characters together in their disease of enamorato. One of the most engaging and intriguing novels I’ve ever read.
Barbara Kingsolver – The Lacuna: Okay, yes. I’m a Barbara Kingsolver groupie. The Lacuna may even be as good as The Poisonwood Bible and similar in the way that it captures culture and history through the experiences of highly magnetic characters. In this story, some of the characters are even ‘real’ and add a layer of fascination even beyond Kingsolver’s usual impeccable storytelling and political savvy.
Carol Cassella – Oxygen: Think Jodi Picoult-like contemporary medical/legal conflict and then step it up a notch with flawless writing, a captivating first-person narrator/main character and a traumatic event-based plot and you might come close to describing this excellent book. Cassella is, like her main character, an anesthesiologist which puts the final touch on a novel where every word rings true.
David Wroblewski – The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: This is a big book, both literally and figuratively, yet I still had trouble putting it down, ended up reading it all the way through in one barely-interrupted sitting. The story revolves around Edgar, a boy born mute who has a special relationship with the unusual and mystically brilliant dogs his family raises. Events which cause Edgar great grief, guilt, and confusion drive him into a backwoods/personal journey that rivals any in literature. Oprah chose it and I don’t blame her. Waiting for Wroblewski’s next effort.
Stefan Merrill Block – The Story of Forgetting: While on the surface a classic tale of boy-meets-and-befriends-old-man, The Story of Forgetting succeeds beautifully in making this universal relationship unique and, well, unforgettable. Seth Waller’s mother is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and the stress and horror of this experience bring him to the doorstep of the recluse Abel Haggard, enabling them both to endure the complex burdens of both remembering and forgetting.
Allen Kurzweil – The Case of Curiosities: Occasionally a book will manage to amaze you with just the sheer brilliance of the author’s complex imagination, the depth of knowledge revealed between the pages, the artistry of storytelling. The Case of Curiosities is just such a book. Set in 18th century France, this is less an historical novel than a detailed portrait of a life where every daub of paint is both vivid and fascinating. An entertaining and sometimes hilarious read.
Ann-Marie McDonald – The Way the Crow Flies: By the time I finished this book, I could hardly believe that Ann-Marie McDonald wasn’t one of the most famous and popular writers on the planet. This book is truly a masterpiece in the way that it captures a critical moment in history (the Cuban missile crisis from a Canadian perspective) through the eyes of a witty, naive observer, eight-year-old Madeleine, whose own secrets echo those of her military father. A further gift of the novel is the opportunity to observe Madeleine some twenty years later as she visits her therapist and struggles to process the events of her childhood. Truly remarkable. (I just have to add that McDonald’s first book, Fall on Your Knees, is almost equally as awesome. These are books I wish I hadn’t read so I could read them again for the first time!)
Ann Patchett – Bel Canto: This is just simply one of the best contemporary novels I know of. Militant guerillas in some unnamed South American country take hostages at a party where the president was supposed to have been a guest and isn’t but a very famous opera singer is. The guerilla leader is so taken aback by the singer’s performance that he is subsequently confused about how to proceed. Thus follow long days in which the various guests, from all over the world and brought together by an incredibly sharp and endearing translator, begin to wonder if they would actually rather be somewhere else. Absolutely mesmerizing.
Michael Chabon – The Yiddish Policeman’s Union: What if Alaska had become a homeland for the Jews after WWII as FDR apparently suggested? This dark comedy provides the answer in perfect noir style with engaging characters, a complex yet always entertaining plot and enough twists and turns to qualify as a Sherlock Holmsian mystery. A real treat.
Carol Edgarian – Rise the Euphrates: Three generations of women descended from a survivor of the 1915 Turkish massacre of Armenians. A perfect capsule of immigrant experience and a beautiful treatment of questions of family, identity, and the way history lives within us.
T.C. Boyle – The Tortilla Curtain: T.C. Boyle has the most amazing way of addressing serious social issues through the eyes of complex, deeply wrought characterizations. These two families – one white and wealthy, the other Mexican immigrants living below the radar – represent and embody an intersection of culture and experience that we, as a society, have only begun to recognize or understand. Vivid, heartfelt without excessive pathos, rendered in sharp detail, this book may be Boyle’s best – and that is really saying something!
Julia Glass – Three Junes: Under Glass’s pen, characters come alive in a way that makes her books nearly glow with intensity and scrutiny. She is in their heads and even minor characters are beautifully developed and real. Three sections, three connected ‘leads,’ every word leaving us hungry for more. Just lovely.
Joyce Carol Oates – We Were the Mulvaneys: Few writers can render familial associations, nuances, and disasters as authentically as Joyce Carol Oates. With some kind of mystical force, Oates makes us care passionately about what might be considered mundane or even overblown events in the lives of a well-heeled family who are forced to watch the foundation of their happiness crumble from underneath them. It’s almost impossible to turn away, even for a moment, in fear of missing any detail of the saga.
Adam Haslett – Union Atlantic: In this extremely keen observation of what is ostensibly a conflict over land use, Haslett gives us three wonderful characters: a retired history teacher who just may collapse under the weight of her moral obligation, a savvy businessman whose apparent disregard for community would, in a much simpler story, make him an obvious antagonist, and a boy who straddles the web between them. Smart, contemporary and classic in the best sense.
Sadie Jones – Small Wars: There can be no war without casualties and this story expands the definition of that concept, pulling us into the personal tragedy that always accompanies the social one. At the center of this taut novel is a marriage and from there reverberates the trauma of dangerous lives, the immense pressure of moral decisions and the resiliance – or lack thereof – of human nature. Intense, fast-paced, authentic.
Louis Sachar – The Cardturner: Who would have thought that a story about bridge – yes, the card game – could have such punch? Sachar has created two endearing and memorable characters, young and old, seeing and blind, wise and yearning and then asks us to discern, in some ways, which is which! Both my teenaged son and I adored this book and talked about it, and the game of bridge, for a long time after.
Jess Walter – Citizen Vince: Walter has written a very sharp and witty character study embraced by a crime thriller – a perfect combination. Vince crosses all the assumed lines between criminal and victim, hero and loser, and takes us for a wonderful ride while we figure it out. Highly entertaining and also a sparkling contemporary commentary.
Nicole Krauss – The History of Love: If this title seems a bit on the expansive side, it is simply because Nicole Krauss has actually succeeded in the claim. Her book is a cross-decades saga, centered around a manuscript (or several?) of the same name, that ties a contagious cast of characters together in their disease of enamorato. One of the most engaging and intriguing novels I’ve ever read.
Barbara Kingsolver – The Lacuna: Okay, yes. I’m a Barbara Kingsolver groupie. The Lacuna may even be as good as The Poisonwood Bible and similar in the way that it captures culture and history through the experiences of highly magnetic characters. In this story, some of the characters are even ‘real’ and add a layer of fascination even beyond Kingsolver’s usual impeccable storytelling and political savvy.
Carol Cassella – Oxygen: Think Jodi Picoult-like contemporary medical/legal conflict and then step it up a notch with flawless writing, a captivating first-person narrator/main character and a traumatic event-based plot and you might come close to describing this excellent book. Cassella is, like her main character, an anesthesiologist which puts the final touch on a novel where every word rings true.
David Wroblewski – The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: This is a big book, both literally and figuratively, yet I still had trouble putting it down, ended up reading it all the way through in one barely-interrupted sitting. The story revolves around Edgar, a boy born mute who has a special relationship with the unusual and mystically brilliant dogs his family raises. Events which cause Edgar great grief, guilt, and confusion drive him into a backwoods/personal journey that rivals any in literature. Oprah chose it and I don’t blame her. Waiting for Wroblewski’s next effort.
Stefan Merrill Block – The Story of Forgetting: While on the surface a classic tale of boy-meets-and-befriends-old-man, The Story of Forgetting succeeds beautifully in making this universal relationship unique and, well, unforgettable. Seth Waller’s mother is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and the stress and horror of this experience bring him to the doorstep of the recluse Abel Haggard, enabling them both to endure the complex burdens of both remembering and forgetting.
Allen Kurzweil – The Case of Curiosities: Occasionally a book will manage to amaze you with just the sheer brilliance of the author’s complex imagination, the depth of knowledge revealed between the pages, the artistry of storytelling. The Case of Curiosities is just such a book. Set in 18th century France, this is less an historical novel than a detailed portrait of a life where every daub of paint is both vivid and fascinating. An entertaining and sometimes hilarious read.
Ann-Marie McDonald – The Way the Crow Flies: By the time I finished this book, I could hardly believe that Ann-Marie McDonald wasn’t one of the most famous and popular writers on the planet. This book is truly a masterpiece in the way that it captures a critical moment in history (the Cuban missile crisis from a Canadian perspective) through the eyes of a witty, naive observer, eight-year-old Madeleine, whose own secrets echo those of her military father. A further gift of the novel is the opportunity to observe Madeleine some twenty years later as she visits her therapist and struggles to process the events of her childhood. Truly remarkable. (I just have to add that McDonald’s first book, Fall on Your Knees, is almost equally as awesome. These are books I wish I hadn’t read so I could read them again for the first time!)
Ann Patchett – Bel Canto: This is just simply one of the best contemporary novels I know of. Militant guerillas in some unnamed South American country take hostages at a party where the president was supposed to have been a guest and isn’t but a very famous opera singer is. The guerilla leader is so taken aback by the singer’s performance that he is subsequently confused about how to proceed. Thus follow long days in which the various guests, from all over the world and brought together by an incredibly sharp and endearing translator, begin to wonder if they would actually rather be somewhere else. Absolutely mesmerizing.
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Beth
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Apr 14, 2012 03:30PM
Thanks, Peggy. It was almost as much fun putting this together as it was reading the books in the first place! Hope you enjoy...
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