REVIEWS BY JULIE HALE

Star of the Sea
This sprawling historical novel tells the story of the passengers onboard the Star of the Sea, a ship sailing from Ireland to New York during the brutal winter of 1847. Fleeing the potato famine in Ireland, hundreds of starving refugees crowd the vessel hoping for better lives in America. The unforgettable cast of characters includes Lord Merridith and his family, their nanny Mary—a former prostitute with a dark past—and American journalist Grantley Dixon, who has an affair with Lady Merridith. The novel is shaped as a work of reportage executed by Dixon, and it's presented newspaper-style, with interviews from passengers and crew members. O'Connor's eye for detail and knowledge of the period make this a wonderfully realistic account of immigrants caught between the past and the present. A reading group guide is included in the book.

Star of the Sea
By Joseph O'Connor
Harcourt, $14
448 pages, ISBN 0156029669



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Getting Mother's Body
This debut novel from Parks, a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, earned comparisons to Zora Neale Hurston and William Faulkner. Set in Texas in the 1960s, the narrative tells the story of Billy Beede, a pregnant 16-year-old who gets dumped by her no-good lover. Hoping to pay for an abortion, she has only one prospect for getting money: digging up the body of her late mother, Willa Mae, and taking the diamond ring and pearl she was buried with. Billy, along with her aunt and uncle, set out for LaJunta, Arizona, where Willa Mae was laid to rest, traveling through a nation rife with racism and encountering a motley group of characters—family, friends and enemies that Parks brings to life through her wonderful gifts for detail and dialogue. The novel unfolds in short chapters and shifts points of view repeatedly to form a kaleidoscopic vision of 1960s America. This is an ambitious first novel from a wonderfully original writer. A reading group guide is included in the book.

Getting Mother's Body
By Suzan-Lori Parks
Random House, $12.95
288 pages, ISBN 081296800X



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The Colour
Set in New Zealand during the gold rush of the mid-19th century, Tremain's historical novel follows a pair of newlyweds as they embark on the adventure of a lifetime. Joseph and Harriet Blackstone, English immigrants, arrive in New Zealand, where they settle on a farm on the outskirts of Christchurch. Joseph is anxious to leave his past behind and his discovery of gold in a nearby creek represents hope for the future. He soon becomes obsessed with "the colour," as gold is called in his new home. Leaving his family behind, he sets off for New Zealand's west coast, where new gold fields are being excavated. Joining men much like himself—greedy, ambitious, and desperate—he lives a life of squalor among the miners. Meanwhile, Harriet sets off in pursuit of him—a difficult quest that changes both of their lives forever. Tremain writes with authority about New Zealand and its native culture, making this a first-class historical narrative. A reading group guide is available online at www.picadorusa.com

The Colour
By Rose Tremain
Picador, $14
400 pages, ISBN 0312423101



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Krakatoa
The best-selling author of The Professor and the Madman returns with another fascinating, thoroughly researched historical narrative. This compelling account of the destruction of Krakatoa, a volcano-island that erupted in 1883, examines the effects of the disaster, which triggered a tsunami that killed close to 40,000 people. The eruption was heard around the world, and the dust that resulted from the explosion caused temperatures to plunge dramatically. In his in-depth look at Krakatoa's aftermath, Winchester also recounts how the disaster helped spur on a wave of murders in Java, killings that were tied—surprisingly—to fundamentalist Muslims. This is a captivating portrayal of the deadly whims of nature, written by an author in perfect command of his material. A reading group guide is available in print and online at www.harpercollins.com/readers.

Krakatoa
By Simon Winchester
Perennial, $13.95
48 pages, ISBN 006093736X



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