Wench
by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
Fiction
Amistad/Harper Collins
January 2010
I celebrated Black History Month by reading.
Visiting popular museums or attending local parades were not on my agenda. Instead, I just sat in my favorite chair with my favorite blanket pulled up to my chin. Surrounded by several shiny hardcovers, I savored the freedom to read.
You too can read with abandonment. Experience the pleasure that comes from turning the crisp pages of a well written book, and consider yourself fortunate.
Lizzie, Mawu, Sweet, and Reenie are not so fortunate in the debut novel “Wench,” by Dolen Perkins-Valdez. At the Tawawa House resort in the free territory of Ohio, books are just one of many temptations that separates blacks from whites and stirs more than a bit of controversy among slaves and free blacks.
Perkins-Valdez writes flawless, historical fiction that reveals the restricted lives of four memorable slave women at a resort where their white slavemasters, minus the piercing eyes of their jealous wives, stake claim to their female property.
This is no ordinary summer vacation. Despite their tiresome, unending duties, these four black mistresses form an unpenetrable bond. Will their delicate friendship stand the test of time? What besides captivity do these four unique women have in common?
Each carries a torch for freedom, a desire to learn to read, a desire to protect their children born of an often unpleasant union, and a strong craving to be loved, even if this affection comes from an unyielding master.
Perkins-Valdez further examines the stormy relationship between black mistresses and wives, and house slaves and field slaves. Both enlightening and disturbing, fact or fiction, these forced bonds are deeply rooted in humiliation.
Lizzie, named Elizabeth at birth, is not entitled to her given name. She bears two children, a boy and a girl, by her slavemaster Drayle. Nate and “Rabbit” are deemed more important and an asset to their white father. How far will this advantage take them? Awaiting the plight of the mistresses and their offspring stirs mixed emotions – anger, surprise, and dread.
So, brace yourself for one of the most enlightening and entertaining works of historical fiction ever published. You will savor every every punctuation, every word, every paragraph, every page.
MORE DEBUT NOVELS PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT
A Reliable Wife
by Robert Goolrick
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by Adam Haslett
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Snow Angels
by James Thompson
G.P. Putnam’s Sons
January 2010
Fiction
What’s the most fascinating crime novel you’ve ever read?
Well, I just devoured one erotic thriller that will change your mind – James Thompson’s ”Snow Angels.” Pages explode with murder, mystery, sex, and just enough gore to earn a prime spot on your reading list.
Thompson paints a sharp contrast between day and night, warmth and cold, trust and deception, calm and fear, and life and death. With the help of determined Inspector Kari Vaara and the memorable snowdrifts of northern Finland, this hard-to-put-down mystery is a puzzle with many shady players and even more missing pieces.
Visibly shaken, Finnish residents, in the small town of Kittila, are frightened when the discarded, brutalized body of a Somali movie actress is discovered. Her naked body is discarded like infectious rubbish on a secluded reindeer farm blanketed in fallen snow.
In the solitude of lifeless, arctic nights, and kaamos (Finland’s two weeks of darkness), it’s easy for a crimes (even ones as savage and as ruthless as this one) to go unnoticed and unsolved.
It’s not long before suspects become too familiar and too close to home, adding to the small police force’s difficult task of solving what appears to be an unsolvable crime. Is this case too big for Vaara and his sidekick Valtteri, a religious man?
Well, one thing’s for sure, with his Columbo-style tactics readers will wage a bet that this cool cat will eventually catch his prey. But what will he lose to solve this crime? What will he gain?
What’s most unique about Thompson’s debut thriller, “Snow Angels,” is his uncanny ability to introduce readers to believable characters whom they’ll never meet: Sufia Elmi, the first victim; Vaara’s deceased sister Suvi, who died 30 years ago; and Heiki, the son of officer Valtteri.
But the true measure of a true crime novel is the author’s creative gift of keeping the reader in the dark, like the Polar nights of Finland, from the first page to the very end. James Thompson achieves this incredible feat and much more.
The Inspector Vaara series will solve crimes and reader fatigue – one book at a time.
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The Catcher in the Rye
by J.D. Salinger
Fiction
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May 1991
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by Nicholas Sparks
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The Girl Who Fell From The Sky
by Heidi W. Durrow
Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
February 2010
Fiction
Author Heidi W. Durrow provokes me to the point where time stands still and a new, intriguing world is discovered as this fresh voice in literature strikes a nerve.
Inspired by true events, “The Girl Who Fell From the Sky” parades colorful, memorable characters like Brick, Drew, Nella, Laronne, Roger, and a Grandma who can easily conjure up old childhood memories.
But no character is as unforgettable as the brave voice of the young narrator, Rachel, who is the offspring of a Danish mother and a black father. One day she has two parents and then … one day, one selfish act leaves her without them.
It’s the year 1980, and time for lovely, blue-eyed Rachel to confront her personal idea of beauty, while struggling with the false perception of others. Often ridiculed, she is rather bold for a young girl without parents. She has her own way of standing up for herself, including standing up to her Grandma whose love is unconditional and strong, even when Rachel’s childhood antics tick her off.
I know I’m not interesting to Grandma anymore — what with my new ways. My new ways are back talk. I call it explaining. My new ways are wearing my shirts too tight. I call it fashion. My new ways are paying too much attention to boys. I call it being lonely.
Rachel, only one of many narrators, bleeds life into a story that first appears as just another book about race. But surprisingly, it’s way more than a conversation about black and white. The substance of this debut novel also touches on the colors in between, the layers one cannot see — pain, abuse, fear, and bravery.
A lone survivor proves that beauty exists even in the midst of an unspeakable act as her plight challenges the kindness of strangers. And those closest to Rachel are desperate to see her through.
More entertaining than preachy, there are lessons to be learned, introductions to life that are color blind. Lesson 1: Love, self-acceptance, and tolerance, are universal. Lesson 2: Blood is not always thicker than water.
Will readers identify with Rachel? Her weak mother Nella? A strong African-American grandmother? The love of a doting aunt? An alcoholic father who chooses not to be around? A wayward boy who never gives up on a promise?
Many questions remain. But the most perplexing question of them all deserves an answer.
Is it fair to force a biracial child to choose sides? Durrow’s highly anticipated novel, “The Girl Who Fell From the Sky” answers this question.
The Polar Express
by Chris Van Allsburg
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Fiction
September 2009
Climb aboard and experience one of the most magical train rides ever. Your destination? The North Pole.
“The Polar Express” by Chris Van Allsburg captures the spirit of the holidays with colorful, engaging illustrations and a clever storyline.
A holiday favorite, this Christmas classic will test your belief in Santa, as a young boy, dressed in only his pajamas, a robe and slippers, sets out on an unforgettable journey.
And if you don’t believe in Santa, actor Liam Neeson might just change your mind as he eloquently narrates this beautiful, dramatic tale.
Enjoy the new hardcover twentieth anniversary edition, along with a compact disc or cassette audio recording.
Enjoy the spirit of the holidays with a good book and a little imagination.
B. Smith Cooks Southern-Style
by Barbara Smith
Scribner
NonFiction
November 2009
It’s that time of year again — time to make a longer grocery list, pull out those oversized heavy duty pots and pans, and reinvent traditional family recipes.
The first Thanksgiving feast, according to food historian Kathleen Curtin, took place at Plimoth Plantation in 1921. The celebration included celebrating harvest and giving thanks for a bountiful crop. And much like today’s traditional cooks, pilgrims used flavorful spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Meat consumption consisted of goose, duck, crane, swan, eagles, partridges, and wild turkey.
And today, the Turkey still dominates as the most popular of family traditions. And over the years, turkey variations have caused family chaos, debates and debacle. Some turkey concoctions (the deep fried version) can result in a trip to the nearest emergency room.
Renew your Thanksgiving tradition with Barbara Smith, author of “B. Smith Cooks Southern-Style.” She is reigning “queen” of a home products empire and is proprietor of three restaurants in New York City, Washington, D.C.’s Union Station, and Long Island’s Sag Harbor.
Smith celebrates cooking with a touch of class by endorsing flavorful dishes that not only taste good, but are good for you. And for cooks who dare not buck the family tradition, the cornish hens with cranberry-chestnut stuffing is a Thanksgiving classic.
While praising the great flavor that fat adds to dishes, Smith encourages healthy eating by putting a wholesome spin on Southern dishes like alligator-stuffed eggplant, smothered chicken livers, and grilled okra and tomato salad, to name a few.
Heat up your kitchen with the comfort of Southern cuisine!
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One Hundred Butterflies
by Harold Feinstein
Little, Brown and Company
Non Fiction
November 2009
The egg. The larva. The pupa. The adult butterfly. The complex life cycle of a butterfly occurs in four separate stages and what once was a colorless, wormlike caterpillar is miraculously transformed into one of the most beautiful insects in the world.
You can witness an endless array of winged beauty from Asia, Africa, and the Americas, thanks to celebrated photographer Harold Feinstein whose noted works are represented in collections at major museums and in numerous periodicals.
Feinstein is the author of “One Hundred Butterflies,” which offers a unique look at these stunning insects through 100 colorful photographs. Scientists estimate that there are approximately 12,000 to 15,000 species which leaves room for 14,900 more beautiful creations.
Ideal as a gift or an excellent visual tool for any classroom project, “One Hundred Butterflies” proves there’s much to learn about the wondrous butterfly. For example, did you know that butterflies play an important role as pollinators? Can you identify the Ruddy Daggerwing? The Blue Diadem? The Jungle Queen?
This unique, coffee table-style book will definitely spend more time in the hands of readers.
MORE BOOKS BY PHOTOGRAPHER HAROLD FEINSTEIN
One Hundred Seashells
by Harold Feinstein
Bulfinch
Non Fiction
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One Hundred Flowers
by Harold Feinstein
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