|
January paperback releases make good choices for reading groups
REVIEWS BY JULIE HALE
By Judy Blunt Vintage, $13 320 pages, ISBN 0375701303
By T. C. Boyle Penguin, $14 320 pages, ISBN 0670030058
By Anita Shreve Back Bay, $14.95 400 pages, ISBN 0316089699
By Calvin Trillin Random House, $12.95 224 pages, ISBN 0375758518
|
Montana native Blunt makes a strong debut with this memoir of life on a cattle ranch during the 1950s and
'60s. Raised in a rural area with no running water, the author was early initiated into the harsh realities of
ranching, tackling chores and attending a one-room school. Unwillingly, she adhered to established gender roles,
marrying a man from a neighboring homestead and trying to be a suitable wife. But after 12 years of marriage and
the birth of three children, Blunt decided to follow her dream of becoming a writer. She said goodbye to the farm,
enrolled in college and began composing award-winning verse. Her memoir reflects her penchant for the poetic.
It's beautifully written, full of unforgettable anecdotes about the severity of Montana living and the constraints
of being a female in a man's world. It's also proof that you can't keep a good woman down. A reading group guide is
available in print and online at www.vintagebooks.com/read.
Support your 
One of the masters of American fiction delivers a collection of 16 sharp, original stories, more than half of
which appeared in The New Yorker. Boyle showcases his taste for the offbeat in quirky narratives like "Friendly Skies"—a disturbing tale of air rage—and "She Wasn't Soft," in which a triathlete's kooky boyfriend tries to compensate for his bad behavior by drugging her competition in a race. "After the Plague," the title story, takes place in a post-apocalyptic world populated by a few survivors, two of whom have a calamitous experience together. Other stories in the collection feature topics like abortion and the effects of the Internet on everyday life. Modern and incisive, written with the author's trademark flamboyant style, these stories cut to the quick of contemporary culture.
The third entry in Shreve's New Hampshire trilogy, which includes The Pilot's Wife and Fortune's Rocks, features Sexton and Honora Beecher, newlyweds struggling to make ends meet during the Depression. When Sexton takes a job in the local mills, he befriends a gang of disgruntled employees itching to start a union—a relationship that changes the Beechers' lives forever. Honora soon finds herself attracted to McDermott, a loom fixer and activist who has taken an 11-year-old mill worker into his care. But their love is an ill-fated one with disastrous repercussions. Shreve tells their story through shifting points of view, blending social and economic history with romance until the book's dramatic climax, which pits the union organizers against their employers. Full of rich period detail and unforgettable characters, her latest is a provocative examination of class and society in America. A reading group guide is included in the book.
This national bestseller from a beloved New Yorker contributor is a humorous tale of life in the Big Apple. Murray Tepper, a mailing-list broker in Manhattan, causes a stir by pulling into prime parking spots in his Chevy Malibu and reading the paper while time ticks away on the meter—an activity that infuriates other potential parkers. It's a strange habit that draws attention to the otherwise inconspicuous Murray, and soon his family is questioning his behavior. Oddly enough, some Manhattanites begin to view him as an inspiration and gather near his favored spots, hoping he'll impart some words of wisdom. Others see Murray as an urban rabble-rouser, including the mayor, who tries to have legal action taken against him. This is a light-hearted look at New York written with Trillin's trademark wit.