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Best new paperbacks:
The BookPage monthly feature for reading groups
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March paperback releases offer good choices for reading groups
REVIEWS BY JULIE HALE
Winner of the 2005 National Book Award for fiction, Vollmann's 12th novel showcases his talents as a prose stylist as well as his remarkable ability to blend fact with fiction in unexpected ways. The book is set during World War II, and Vollmann's focus is the tension between Russia and Germany. Through a group of interconnected narratives featuring a host of historical figures—composer Dmitri Shostakovich, Russian poet Anna Ahkmatova and German artist Kathe Kollwitz, to name a few—Volllmann traces the larger implications of the conflict in Europe and beyond. Shostakovich is brought richly to life, as the author uses his career and his compositions, produced under the rule of Stalin, to demonstrate the nature of creation in a repressive environment. Kurt Gerstein, the Nazi officer who tried to alert the rest of the world about the dangers of the concentration camps and who himself was employed in the camps, is also featured. Vollmann's sprawling, fascinating novel touches upon all facets of existence in an uncertain world faced with a new kind of brutality. Broad and ambitious, at once universal and personal, this is a big beautiful novel about the endurance of the human spirit and the regenerative nature of civilization. A reading group guide is available online at http://us.penguingroup.com.
By William T. Vollmann Penguin $18 832 pages ISBN 0143036599
With her new novel, Kennedy—one of Britain's most popular literary authors—offers an emotionally charged narrative about a young woman and her battle with alcoholism. Hannah Luckraft is 30 years old and trapped in an unbelievably tedious job: selling cardboard boxes. Her only relief is alcohol, and when she's not at work, her days take their shape from her drinking. Her brother, once a close friend, has decided that she is a lost cause and leaves her to her own devices. For Hannah—who frequents local bars, binges without shame and makes no attempt at rehabilitation—the future looks bleak indeed. Oddly enough, what makes this narrative appealing is Hannah herself. As a heroine, she is ultimately likeable, a witty, unremorseful narrator who brazenly confesses her sins, discussing periods of blackouts and hallucinations. When she meets Robert, who is also an alcoholic, the two become fast friends, eventually embarking on a strange love affair that involves booze as much as it does romance or tender feeling. Hannah soon finds herself traveling to Canada and Montreal, in hopes of finding a home and filling the emptiness that plagues her. Kennedy never sentimentalizes Hannah's story or asks for pity from her audience. She writes with great flair and insight about the displacement and disconnection that characterize the modern world. A reading group guide is available www.readinggroupcenter.com.
By A.L. Kennedy Vintage, $14 304 pages ISBN 1400079454
Fasman's debut novel has all the makings of a classic literary thriller. The geographer in question is Al-Idrisi, a philosopher and scholar of Spanish-Muslim descent whose specialty was maps, and who attended the court of King Roger of Sicily in 1154. Al-Idrisi once owned a valuable collection of devices that he used in the practice of alchemy, but the devices were stolen. Paralleling this historical narrative is the contemporary story of Paul Tomm, a journalist from Connecticut. Paul is writing an obituary of Jaan Puhapaev, an eccentric, elderly professor with a mysterious past. As Paul learns more about his subject, it becomes clear that the man had some connection to the alchemical instruments. Indeed, as Paul discovers, the devices have a long provenance all their own, involving previous owners and sinister happenings. Paul's involvement in the case deepens when he meets a beautiful music teacher named Hannah, who has her own interest in the stolen instruments. Linking all of these details is a dangerous gang of international smugglers. With elements of romance and suspense, and settings as varied as Estonia, Iran and Italy, this sophisticated mystery marks the arrival of a talented new novelist. Similar in tone to The Da Vinci Code, Fasman's new book is sure to please fans of the academic mystery genre. A reading group guide is available online at http://us.penguingroup.com.
By Jon Fasman Penguin, $14 384 pages ISBN 0143036629
Has your club recently read an excellent book that sparked good group discussion? If so, BookPage would like to hear about it. Contact us at reading@bookpage.com with a description of the book and the reasons for your recommendation. We'll pass the top choices along to our readers.
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