REVIEWS BY JULIE HALE

The March
Mixing history with fiction, master novelist E.L. Doctorow lends his special brand of spin to one of the Civil War's most dramatic chapters—Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman's infamous March to the Sea. Doctorow's tale, a finalist for the National Book Award, traces the course of Sherman and his Union troops across Georgia and both Carolinas. Raiding, stealing and killing along the way, the Army carves a bloody path, and Doctorow delivers a remarkable chronicle of the journey, personifying real-life figures like Sherman—here, a moody, power-hungry leader, whose ambitions are stronger than his military skills—and introducing convincing characters of his own. These include Pearl, the daughter of a female slave and a wealthy white plantation owner, whose poignant story lies at the center of the book; two young soldiers, Arly and Will, who quickly learn the brutal realities of war, and the chillingly aloof Col. Sartorius, a surgeon. As he did in the acclaimed novels Ragtime and Billy Bathgate, Doctorow uses factual events as a foundation, fortifying the narrative framework with expert characterizations, sophisticated symbolism and dazzling prose. This best-selling, highly praised depiction of the Union Army and the motley entourage that accompanies it on the road is sure to become a classic. A reading group guide is included in the book.

The March
By E.L. Doctorow
Random House, $14.95
384 pages
ISBN 0812976150



Buy or borrow this book! Support your local independent bookseller Find it in a WorldCat library Compare prices at major online bookstores

On Beauty
Smith's reputation as a novelist gets bigger with every book. In her latest, which won Britain's 2006 Orange Prize for fiction, she tells the story of Englishman Howard Belsey, a white, liberal academic who specializes in Rembrandt and teaches at Wellington, an Ivy League school in the States. Howard's marriage to Kiki, an African-American woman, is failing, and when he cheats on her, everything seems to fall apart. Their teenage children, Jerome, Zora and Levi, are struggling to cope with their mixed racial backgrounds. Zora is a strong-willed feminist and college sophomore; Levi dresses like a homeboy; and Jerome is simply disdainful of his father. And then there's the Kipps clan. Monty Kipps, a conservative West Indian, is Jerome's opposite—a Rembrandt scholar who has achieved a greater level of success in the academic world and an overt Christian. Old rivals, the two men clash repeatedly over artistic and political matters. The tension between them is heightened when Kipps accepts a visiting professor position at Wellington. To make things worse, Jerome falls for Monty's daughter, young Victoria Kipps, and Howard finds himself mixed up in the affair. At the age of 31, Smith has produced another remarkably mature novel, a perceptive look at race, class and human relationships that's also a terrific spoof of academia. A reading group guide is available online at www.penguin.com.

On Beauty
By Zadie Smith
Penguin, $15
464 pages
ISBN 0143037749



Buy or borrow this book! Support your local independent bookseller Find it in a WorldCat library Compare prices at major online bookstores

The Inheritance of Loss
Desai's second novel takes place in India and New York during the 1980s. The book's central character, Jemubhai Patel, is a retired judge, who lives with his teenage granddaughter, Sai, in Kalimpong, a small town near the Himalayas. Their peaceful world is rocked by the Nepalese revolution, which brings violence and fear to their village. The revolution creates extra problems for Sai, as she and her tutor, a young Nepalese man named Gyan, have become increasingly attracted to one another and must now draw apart. Meanwhile, in New York, a young Indian man named Biju struggles to survive. Biju, whose mother works for Jemubhai, endures a variety of grueling, minimum-wage jobs while concealing the fact that he is an illegal alien. The novel moves back and forth between New York and Kalimpong, providing different perspectives on the Indian experience along the way. The clash between tradition and modernity leads to trouble for Sai and her father, and when Gyan becomes involved in the political upheaval, their lives are changed forever. Desai writes with assurance and lyricism about life in India, and her insights into how South Asia has been affected by America are fascinating and timely. This is an impressive, original novel from a welcome new voice in Indian fiction. A reading group guide is included in the book.

The Inheritance of Loss
By Kiran Desai
Grove, $14
336 pages
ISBN 0802142818



Buy or borrow this book! Support your local independent bookseller Find it in a WorldCat library Compare prices at major online bookstores