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Best new paperbacks:
The BookPage monthly feature for reading groups
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Month paperback releases offer good choices for reading groups
REVIEWS BY JULIE HALE
Pride of Carthage
By David Anthony Durham Anchor, $15.95 592 pages ISBN 0385722494
Kafka on the Shore
By Haruki Murakami Vintage, $14.95 448 pages ISBN 1400079276
Gilead
By Marilynne Robinson Picador, $14 256 pages ISBN 031242440X
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Durham's previous books, Walk Through Darkness and Gabriel's Story, were beautifully executed dramas set in the 19th century and grounded firmly in American history. His majestic new novel departs from this familiar territory to tackle the second Punic War and the career of Hannibal, the great leader of the Carthaginian army. The novel opens in Spain, where Hannibal takes command of his troops and prepares to march on Rome. Leading a retinue of more than 100,000, including horseman and elephants, he crosses the Pyrenees, the Rhone and the Alps in a grand procession. But along the way, the army faces freezing weather, rockslides and attacks by fierce Celtic bands, and by the time Hannibal reaches Italy he has lost more than half of his troops. Scenes straight from the history books, including Hannibal's defeat outside of Rome, are replayed brilliantly here. Durham adds appealing subplots to the main storyline, including a love affair between a soldier, Imco Vaca, and a young member of the camp named Aradna. Blending historical and fictional components, he creates a detailed portrayal of the brave commander and his family. An ambitious novel that succeeds on every level, Durham's daring epic brings a distant era vividly to life. A reading group guide is available in print and online at www.readinggroupcenter.com.
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The celebrated author of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and Norwegian Wood offers a surreal coming-of-age novel that features talking cats, a ghost in the guise of Col. Sanders, torrential showers of fish and leeches and—last but not least—a pair of unlikely protagonists. Kafka Tamura, a 15-year-old runaway, is traveling across Japan in search of his mother and sister. He ends up in the town of Takamatsu, where he holes up in a library reading to his heart's content and befriending the beautiful librarian, Miss Saeki. Paralleling Kafka's story is that of the elderly, feeble-minded Nakata, who—traumatized by his experiences in World War II—cannot read or write but can communicate with cats. Nakata embarks on his own journey after committing a murder and is also drawn to Takamatsu. The stories of Kafka and Nakata are separate yet connected, both oddly compelling, and Murakami provides plenty of unexpected plot elements as his two refugees run headlong toward their various fates. As usual with Murakami, all is not as it seems: relationships between characters are tenuous, and the modern world appears shadowy and mysterious. Idiosyncratic in style, reminiscent of the work of Thomas Pynchon in its mix of comedy and fantasy, Kafka on the Shore pushes the boundaries of storytelling. A reading group guide is available in print and online at www.readinggroupcenter.com.
This Pulitzer Prize-winning book is Robinson's first work of fiction in more than 20 years. John Ames, a 76-year-old preacher who lives in Gilead, Iowa, serves as narrator of the novel. The year is 1956, and Ames, now in his second marriage, has a seven-year-old son. Through a letter addressed to the boy, he recounts his life, backtracking to include the histories of his father and grandfather. Ames also tells of the death of his first wife and child, and he weaves into his personal account newsworthy events of the times, including the First and Second World Wars and outbreaks of Spanish influenza. Over the years, he has struggled to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather, an impassioned preacher who had visions and became involved in the abolitionist movement in Kansas. Ames' pacifist father, as it turns out, was at odds with the family, and a recurring theme in the novel is friction between fathers and sons. Robinson writes eloquently about that tension and about the ways in which family conflicts endure from generation to generation. Ever-present in the book are the punishing landscape and unforgiving elements that characterize the Midwest. A rich meditation on faith, the novel is an unforgettable account of one man's spiritual journey and the moments of transcendence that occur along the way. A reading group guide is available in print and online at www.picadorusa.com.