Trust Marci's taste? Here's what she's picked in the past!
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: A Novel by Stieg Larsson
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a buzz book. ("Buzz is not hype and hype is not buzz. Hype is paid for. Buzz is free. Hype is often unreliable. Buzz, on the other hand, is almost always reliable." —Stephen King, Entertainment Weekly) A recent in-house meeting found five of us reading it. This first novel is a dark exploration of the human psyche set in Sweden. It is also a classic locked-room (or in this case, closed-off island) mystery. It is populated by fascinating characters. It is populated by utterly loathsome characters. It is extremely slippery and twisty. It is a book you race through because you must find the ending, only there really is no ending as such and you want to keep going with these characters in spite of everything that happens. I won't give anything away—suffice it to say one becomes grateful for the genealogical chart provided. Clear at least one whole day in preparation for straight-through reading. Thankfully, there are two more books remaining to be published from Stieg Larsson, who, regretfully, died shortly after submitting his manuscripts. I'd like to know your thoughts. Send your comments to library@randomhouse.com.
978-0-307-26975-1 l $24.95/NCR l Knopf l HC l September 2008
The Story of Forgetting: A Novel by Stefan Merrill Block
There is something unutterably sad about Alzheimer's. It's not only that it steals the essence of the person affected, leaving them a husk of their former selves—it's the devastating effect on the family members and assorted loved ones who have to deal with the disintegration, and in the process, often make wrong choices influenced by emotion. The Story of Forgetting tells the familiar yet unique story of such an extended family seen mostly through the eyes of the brilliant, misfit teenage son, Seth, working hard to make scientific sense of the chaos, and just a few miles away, a lonely old hermit, Abel, who has lost his one true love and now his way of life to the encroaching Houston suburbs. Unknown to each other, both are linked by fantastical stories told to each of them in their childhoods of a magical world called Isidora. This plot device may be found to be endearing or occasionally annoying, but there is no denying that this story, ultimately uplifting, will stay in your heart and in your mind long after you finish the last page. A remarkable and accomplished first novel.
978-1-4000-6679-7 l $24.95/$29.95C l Random House l HC l April 2008
Charlatan: America's Most Dangerous Huckster, the Man Who Pursued Him, and the Age of Flimflam by Pope Brock
I related to this book immediately. I assumed before I saw the advance reader's edition, that it had something to do with Hadacol. Invented in New Orleans, this was the product of choice when I was growing up. It was a cure-all, good for everything from colds to depression—and no wonder, as it contained 12% alcohol! The proponent of this 'miracle' cure (Senator Dudley J. LeBlanc) had much in common with John R. Brinkley of Charlatan in that neither were medical doctors and both were attracted to public office. Brinkley went on to gain such fame that he almost became governor of Kansas and was the most popular American radio broadcaster. And all because he pioneered an outlandish and highly dangerous method for restoring male virility. (The goat on the cover is a major clue!) He actually became one of America's largest mass murderers, leaving dozens and dozens of butchered patients behind him. The book also provides a highly informative look at Brinkley's nemesis, Morris Fishbein, editor of a little-read publication, the Journal of the American Medical Association, and his decades-long battle which culminated in a riveting trial. Narrative non-fiction at its best and for everyone who has been tempted to 'doctor' themselves. “Of course quacks have flourished in all ages and cultures, for nothing shows reason the door like cures for things. Unlike most scams, which target greed, quackery fires deeper into Jungian universals: our fear of death, our craving for miracles. When we see night approaching, nearly all of us are rubes." —Pope Brock
978-0-307-33988-1 (0-307-33988-2) | $24.95/$32.00C | Crown | HC | February
The Wild Trees: A Story of Passion and Daring by Richard Preston
I love trees. Having grown up in the country in Louisiana it comes naturally, but I find that New Yorkers, for the most part, have this same affinity. (Horror rocks the city when longhorn beetles are discovered.) Therefore no surprise that I was drawn to The Wild Trees which takes as its subject the last remaining stands of giant redwood trees, scattered along the California coast, and those few passionate climbers and naturalists that have discovered the very tallest and live to protect them. It came as a shock that the redwoods in Muir Woods (just north of San Francisco and heavily visited by tourists) are just babies! The trees discussed here are true giants, some equaling the height of a 38 storey building and living between two and three thousand years! No wonder the explorers in these pages literally live to climb trees called The Lost Monarch, Terex Titan, Stratosphere Giant, Hyperion. They even inspire a canopy wedding! Preston, himself a tree climber, is in rare form! You won't want to come out of the forest.
978-1-4000-6489-2 (1-4000-6489-9) l $25.95 l Random House l HC (Available Now)
Whitethorn Woods by Maeve Binchy
A number of years ago I had the good fortune to be in Texas and attend a Barbara Bush Literacy evening. There were great speakers that evening: Richard North Patterson, Michael Crichton, President Bush, Sr...but the author who stole the evening was Maeve Binchy. She won you over immediately with a talk that came from her heart. You felt that she was your best friend and you were lucky to have her in your life. And now she has come to Random House, Inc. and Knopf has this splendid book set in a small town in Ireland poised on the edge of change. A motorway will cut through Whitethorn Woods and possibly destroy a revered local shrine, St. Ann's Well. We hear the various voices of the town and an interesting bunch they are. Binchy certainly cuts a swath through the range of human personalities—some twisted, some lovely. She is a genius at capturing human emotions. There are some extremely satisfying plot twists here, which I will not give away. You will be delighted with this very engaging read that makes you determined to be a better person. Bravo, Maeve!
978-0-307-26578-4 (0-307-26578-1) l $25.95/NCR l Knopf l HC (Available Now)
Finn owes a giant debt to Huckleberry Finn as the main character is Huckleberry's reprobate father—and a very nasty piece of work he is indeed. From the first image in this first novel—a body, skinned from head to toe, floats slowly down the Mississippi River—the reader is grabbed by the throat, and wide-eyed, forced to observe the progression of life (and death) on the very edge of civilization by the edge of a mighty river. The novel is a polished jewel of language—sharp, cutting. Most remarkably, when the dialog is left unfinished (a frequent device of the author) you still know exactly how the conversation goes. There are scenes so painful and horrifying that you have to put the book down to catch your breath, and then you realize how loudly your heart is beating. And yet, looking back, I wouldn't have missed reading this book. It's just amazing. Remember this name, Jon Clinch. I'm already looking forward to his next book.
978-1-4000-6591-2 (1-4000-6591-7) l $23.95 HC l Random House l February 2007
Twentysomething Essays By Twentysomething Writers, Edited by Matt Kellogg and Jillian Quint
Just over a year ago this Department became involved
in the project that has produced Twentysomething Essays by Twentysomething
Writers. When I first read about this proposal I thought—what
a great idea! “Be specific. Be unique. We want you to tell us—and
by extension, the entire world—something we haven’t heard
before, something that defines you as a member of this burgeoning generation.
Make us laugh, make us think, make us mad—just don’t make
us yawn.” I think this goal has been achieved!
At every show at which we exhibit, hopeful faces appear and announce:
“I’ve written a book/play/collection of poems and I want
to get published.” In this collection are such young people filled
with passion, optimism, and hope, with dedication to writing and the
drive towards “writerly pursuits.”
I can’t say I LOVED every essay—obviously some were better (or more appealing to me) than others, but that’s human nature—and none made me yawn!
A big hug to this next generation of authors. It’s comforting in a world of emails, text messages and blogs to know that thousands submitted entries. Congratulations to this diverse bunch and to the editors, Matt Kellogg and Jillian Quint, who, with great good nature, describe themselves as “proud twentysomethings and indentured servants, er, assistants in the Random House editorial department.” Well done!
0-8129-7566-9 | $12.95 | Random House | TR | August
End In Tears: A Wexford Novel by Ruth Rendell
The Minotur: A Novel by Barbara Vine
Thirteen Steps Down: A Novel by Ruth Rendell
Fans of mystery and suspense have an opportunity to indulge in an absolute orgy of rewarding reading. Ruth Rendell, writing as herself, has produced two outstanding suspense novels: End In Tears: A Wexford Novel and Thirteen Steps Down. And her alter ego Barbara Vine has produced the atmospheric The Minotaur. End in Tears finds Wexford baffled by the seemingly unrelated deaths of two young women, until he learns their dark shared secret. And in Thirteen Steps Down an angry young man and his elderly spinster landlady engage in a chilling and compelling game of wits. The Minotaur offers remote, ivy-covered Lydstep Old Hall, a young nurse, her drugged "charge," his domineering mother and four bitter sisters. This potent mix leads to sexual obsession, betrayal, and murder! I've been an admirer of Dame Rendell for years, but I'll let another mystery master have the last word: "Those who haven't read her books have missed something unique and wonderful." —Tony Hillerman
Crown | $25.00 | 0-307-33976-9 | HC | July (End in Tears)
Crown | $25.00 | 0-307-23760-5 | HC (The Minotaur)
Crown | $25.00 | 1-4000-9842-4 | HC (13 Steps Down)
