If you read one book this year ...

... you might want it to be OUT STEALING HORSES by Per Petterson. I really haven't read another novel like it and really loved it. The setting is eastern Norway (how many novels have you read that take place in Norway?) and as the book opens, we meet 70 year old Trond Sander. He is living alone in a remote area, remembering the summer of 1948, one of the most important of his life. Almost from the beginning, the reader is aware that Trond is trying to come to terms with himself and his life. He gradually paints a picture of that life and how it has made him the person that he is at the book's beginning. The book moves back and forth in time and as it does we learn more and more about Trond's father and also life in Nazi-occupied Norway during World War II. This was one of the more fascinating elements for me. I wasn't expecting it to be a "war novel," and in many ways it isn't. While the war does play a major role, the book is about so much more: fathers and sons, personal lives being lived during great historical events, nature and our part in it and also about memory, loss and acceptance. The book moves swiftly and suceeds on several levels. While it could be termed a "page-turner," the issues that is deals with are profound and unforgettable.

A blast from the past

I've always been fascinated by authors whose work has been "rediscovered" long after their deaths, even when they had achieved a certain critical and commercial success during their lifetimes. Zora Neale Hurston is one example. Even the novels of F. Scott Fitzgerald were out of print shortly after his death. It wasn't until years or even decades later that their work was reevaluated, reexamined and republished. Another example is Dawn Powell (1896-1965), a prolific author from the 1920's through the early 1960's, who produced a dozen novels, hundreds of short stories and ten plays. At the time of her death, most of her books were out of print and it wasn't until the 1990's when writers such as Gore Vidal championed her work that readers could again enjoy her fiction. Her specialty was satire and perhaps the best example is THE LOCUSTSHAVE NO KING (1948), a novel skewering the publishing industry and New York intelligentsia shortly before the Cold War. It's full of eccentric characters who interact in the small hothouse world of books and Powell doesn't hesitate to expose her characters' foibles and shortcomings. Another example of Powell's New York satire is THE WICKED PAVILION (1954), which depicts a group of people connected by the restaurant that is their second home, the Cafe Julien. Both novels portray a New York that no longer exists and while they definitly aren't to everybody's tastes, those who relish a cynical and satirical view of humanity will want to check them out.

An old favorite

In a couple of weeks, I'm flying to Atlanta to visit my friends Felipe and Ricardo. My upcoming trip reminded me of one of my favorite books (and movies), GONE WITH THE WIND. I'm planning on seeing the Margaret Mitchell House and Museum, where Mitchell wrote her one novel. I'm sure we're all familiar with the plot and characters: Tara, the Civil War, the burning of Atlanta, reconstruction, Scarlett O'Hara, Rhett Butler, Ashley Wilkes and Melanie Hamilton. As famous as the novel is -- one of the best-selling novels of all time, it went through twelve printings within two months of publication -- I'm sometimes surprised how many people have not read it. If you are one of those who hasn't read it, you should; and if you have read it, it's worth a re-read. Like all great novels, the themes found here are broader than the specific time and place of the plot. The struggle for survival in a period of complete war and devastation are timeless and Scarlett O'Hara is one of modern literature's most memorable characters.

For true GWTW fans, the library also has MARGARET MITCHELL'S "GONE WITH THE WIND" LETTERS 1936-1949. Collections of letters aren't always easy to read since they're often filled with people and incidents unfamiliar to the reader. This collection is different. Because it prints only letters having to do with the writing and publication of GWTW, the focus is much narrower. Mitchell was a prodigious letter writer and after the publication of her great novel, spent much of her time simply responding to fans. As the frenzy over the novel and movie grew, her life was almost consumed by her correspondence. This is truly a fascinating picture of how one of last century's best-loved novels came to be written.

Atlanta, I'll see you in a couple of weeks!

Excellent English mysteries

Although I don't read many mysteries, the reviews of Rennie Airth's RIVER OF DARKNESS were so good I decided to give it a try. Almost immediately I was caught up in the setting and atmosphere of the novel. It takes place in post-World War I Britain and the protagonist is Inspector John Madden, a veteran whose war experiences make him uniquely qualified to investigate the horrible killing of a local family. The book is tense and the pages fly. The world-weary Madden is a great character and his struggle to recover from the horrors of war mirror his investigation, both of which are played out against the the larger canvass of Britain's post-war struggles. THE BLOOD-DIMMED TIDE also features John Madden, this time in the early 1930's, as the Nazis rise to power in Germany. These two novels by a lesser-known author are well worth reading.

Political fiction, Part II

No, I, CLAUDIUS by Robert Graves isn't about a democracy or Washington, D.C. but great political fiction it is. As a matter of fact, politics is so consuming in this novel that it often is literally a matter of life and death. It's a fictional memoir of the 1st-century-AD Roman emperor, Claudius. Physically weak and suffering from a stammer, Claudius writes how he managed to survive the shark tank that is his family (and a more dysfunctional family you'd be hard-pressed to find) and become the Emperor of Rome. Often considered a classic example of well written historical fiction, the novel presents a fascinating picture of ancient Rome and some unforgettable characters such as Livia, Claudius's grandmother, a truly monstrous character. If the modern election cycle is wearing you down, give I, Claudius a try.