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    July paperback releases offer good choices for reading groups

    REVIEWS BY JULIE HALE

    Cover Birds without Wings
    This broad historical novel is de Bernieres' first book in more than a decade. His previous release, Captain Corelli's Mandolin, was a national bestseller, and readers of that epic will not be disappointed with his latest offering. Set in an Anatolian village during the decline of the Ottoman Empire, this gripping saga is richly populated with a host of memorable characters, who struggle to hold on to their lives in the midst of war. Philothei, a young Christian woman, is set to marry Ibrahim, a man of Muslim descent whom she has known since childhood. When Philothei dies unexpectedly, Ibrahim plunges into madness. The tragic tale of the two lovers is paralleled with stories about the town's other inhabitants, including Rustem Bey, a wealthy landowner with an unfaithful wife, whom he tries to have stoned to death; a Greek scholar named Leonides, who hatches political schemes in secret; and Iskander, a potter, whose son, Karatavuk, grows up to fight at Gallipoli. Intertwined with these various plotlines is the life of Kemal Ataturk, the military leader who launched Turkey as a modern, secular nation. Written with plenty of dramatic appeal and fascinating factual background, de Bernieres's book brings to life an important chapter in world history. A reading group guide is available in print and online at www.readinggroupcenter.com.

    Cover Four Souls
    Erdrich continues her critically acclaimed Ojibwe chronicles with this new installment in the series. Returning to the story of Fleur Pillager, the strong-willed, mysterious Ojibwe heroine she introduced in the 1988 novel Tracks, Erdrich offers up another lyrical tale of loyalty, revenge and kinship. Traveling to Minneapolis from her beloved North Dakota, Fleur is searching for the man who stole and then laid waste to her tribal land. She finds the person she is looking for—an invalid named John James Mauser—ensconced in a fancy mansion presided over by his haughty wife, Placide. Fleur takes a job in the house as a laundress in hopes of having the opportunity to murder Mauser. Instead, she seduces him. Later, Fleur gives birth to their autistic child and takes over the household. But in the end, she feels lonely and burdened and turns to alcohol to ease her wounds. Fleur eventually returns with her son to the reservation and stakes a final claim to her land. In classic Erdrich style, the novel is narrated in turn by various characters, including Nanapush, Fleur's grandfather and his wife, Margaret, and an Indian-hater named Polly Elizabeth, who is Mauser's sister-in-law. The book provides a fascinating look at Ojibwe customs and the inevitable clash of cultures that ensues as the Indians fight to keep their native traditions alive in a predominantly white world. Readers will welcome this return by Erdrich to familiar territory and unforgettable characters. A reading group guide is available online at www.harpercollins.com.

    Cover Broken as Things Are
    Witt's accomplished debut novel is sure to charm fans of contemporary Southern fiction. Matter-of-factly recounted by Morgan-Lee, a 14-year-old girl growing up in North Carolina, this moving narrative chronicles her close relationship with Ginx, the troubled older brother she adores. Ginx, who is 15, speaks in riddles—a strange sort of discourse only Morgan-Lee can decipher—and his psychological problems threaten to tear the family apart. In the wake of Ginx's illness, Morgan-Lee's fragile mother retreats to her bedroom; her kind-hearted father also lacks the strength to act. Meanwhile, her younger sister, Dana, has escaped—permanently, it seems—to an aunt's house. As the novel unfolds, Ginx's obsessive, overbearing love for Morgan-Lee is slowly revealed, and when she falls for her friend Billy, he becomes dangerously jealous, acting out in a violent manner that alters their lives forever. The intensity of the siblings' relationship can't be sustained, and Witt leads her characters to a bittersweet conclusion. This is a poignant portrait of children trying to make sense of the adult world as they cope with feelings they can't quite comprehend. Wonderfully original, Witt's novel is at once delightful and disturbing, a deeply satisfying coming-of-age tale written in the perfectly pitched dialect of a Southern teen. A reading group guide is available online at www.picadorusa.com.


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