Rediscovering John O'Hara

John O'Hara (1905-1970) is one of those fascinating authors whose reputation waxes and wanes and then waxes again. Although often considered a master of the short story, O'Hara was also a consistently best-selling author, starting in the thirties and continuing through the sixties. He themes were often money and people trying to get it, class distinctions and spot-on dialog. Fran Lebowitz called him the "real F. Scott Fitzgerald." While his works weren't often critically acclaimed, he's definitely worth a look.

APPOINTMENT IN SAMARRA is O'Hara's first novel and often considered his best. It is a concise (251 pages) and somewhat terrifying tale of hubris in the modern world. Set in 1930, it is the tale of Julian English who, at the novel's start, resides at the top of Gibbsville, PA's social structure, but who loses everything in a breathtakingly short time. English's struggle to retain his social status and everything that goes with it is tense and has a certain classical element to it. When the editorial board of the Modern Library (Random House) published their 100 Best Novels of the Century, they put Appointment in Samarra at number 22.

If you're looking for a good old-fashioned long novel that takes weeks to get through, you might want to try O'Hara's FROM THE TERRACE and RAGE TO LIVE. The library has new paperback editions of all three.

Report from Afghanistan

NPR's Morning Edition recently interviewed Sarah Chayes, author of THEPUNISHMENT OF VIRTUE: INSIDE AFGHANISTAN AFTER THE TALIBAN. Chayes worked as a correspondent for NPR from 1997 to 2002 and then took a position running the aid agency Afghans for Civil Society. In 2006 she published this book, an account of how the Taliban had supposedly been conquered and then allowed to regroup and regain power. Her perspective as a former news person working to help stabilize a fragile traumatized country is extremely interesting, especially since she had unusual access to President Hamid Karzai, his government and even his family.

Other personal stories from Afghanistan at the library include COME BACK TO AFGHANISTAN: A CALIFORNIA TEENAGER'S STORY by Said Hyder Akbar and ZOYA'S STORY: AN AFGHAN WOMAN'S STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM by Zoya Follain.

New novelist

Dinaw Mengestu immigrated to the United States from Ethiopia in 1980 and last year published his first novel, THE BEAUTIFUL THINGS THAT HEAVEN BEARS, a short powerful novel about three friends from Africa trying to lead lives in this country. The protagonist, Sepha Stephanos, is an Ethiopian grocery store owner in a slowly gentrifying Washington DC neighborhood. He and two friends, one from Congo and one from Kenya, gather often to talk about their experiences leaving Africa and coming to America. Sepha's quiet life changes when Judith, a mother with a biracial child buys the large house next door and moves in. As these characters interact, ideas of place, home, belonging and race all come into play. In it's starred review, Publishers Weekly called Mengestu's prose "assured" and "haunting."

New title by Leif Enger

In 2001 Amazon put Leif Enger's PEACE LIKE A RIVER on it's "Best of the Year" list and many people discovered this new voice of Midwestern literature. Now Enger has a new novel out called SO BRAVE, YOUNG, AND HANDSOME that is wowing reviewers and readers alike. It's the story of Monte Becket who, in 1915, is an author of a successful first novel struggling to write a second. It is at this stage of his life that he meets a somewhat mysterious older man with a very storied past. The two decide to go on a pilgrimage that forever changes their lives. This fast-paced novel is definitely worth a read. The library has two copies on the new bookshelf.

Cyd Charisse dies

Yes, I know this is called Mark's Book Blog, but there's nothing to say I can't mention some of the great DVDs the library has in it's collection.

Yesterday, Cyd Charisse, one of film's most elegant and sophisticated dancers died in LA at the age of 86. This legend worked with such stars as Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire and for such directors as Vincente Minnelli and Arthur Freed. The library owns IT'S ALWAYS FAIR WEATHER, THE BAND WAGON, BRIGADOON and SINGIN' IN THE RAIN. Check these titles out and go back to a time with just a little bit more class and grace.

Too much water

The flooding in the Midwest is certainly tragic, but unfortunately, not new. David McCullough, of PBS fame, wrote an early book describing another terrible flood, one of the worst in America's inland. THE JOHNSTOWN FLOOD was written when the last of the flood survivors were still living and describes the dam failure in Johnston, Pennsylvania, in 1889. One of America's most highly-regarded historians, McCullough's non-fiction reads like the most suspense-filled fiction. Other titles by McCullough include THE GREAT BRIDGE: THE EPIC STORY OF THE BUILDING OF THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE and PATH BETWEEN THE SEAS: THECREATION OF THE PANAMA CANAL, 1870-1914.

Coming to America

The library has two recently well-reviewed collections of short stories dealing with emigrants trying to start new lives in America. THELAST CHICKEN IN AMERICA by Ellen Litman tells the stories of Russian immigrants who settle in Pittsburgh. The central character is Masha, a lonely teen who tries to stand out among the other Russians in town. Other characters include an unhappy housewife, a single mother and a widower trying to begin again. Publishers Weekly called Litman a "very promising writer."

The library will be ordering ASK FOR A CONVERTIBLE by Danit Brown very soon. When it's ordered, you will be able to place holds on it. These collection of stories deal with Osnat Greenberg who has settled in Michigan with her parents after leaving Israel. All of them struggle to settle into their new country and this struggle is described against the backdrop of more ordinary issues of growing up, fitting in, finding love and family disagreements. Library Journal calls Brown a "writer to savor."