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From Booklist
There is so much pain in this powerful first novel about a family's unraveling that it often seems on the edge of unbearable. And yet, as we watch nine-year-old Eliza Naumann transform herself from underachiever to spelling prodigy, we endure the pain out of respect for one girl's courage and all-consuming love. Eliza's family is gradually breaking down in front of her: father Saul, whose self-absorbed passion for Jewish mysticism blinds him to the suffering of those closest to him; mother Myriam, whose quest for perfection leads her into kleptomania; and brother Aaron, who rebels against his faith and turns to Hare Krishna. Eliza attempts to put her family back together by an act of will, spelling her way to harmony, with an assist from her father's Kabbalah masters. Goldberg effectively mixes fascinating detail about spelling bees with metaphorical leaps of imagination, producing a novel that works on many levels. There is something of Holden Caulfield in Eliza, the same crazed determination to save her loved ones from themselves. An impressive debut from a remarkably talented writer. Bill Ott Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
When Billy, the glue of a tight Irish community in New York, dies as a result of lifelong alcohol abuse, mourners gather around roast beef and green bean amandine to tell tales and ruminate on his struggle for happiness after he lost his first love, Eva. With carefully drawn character studies and gentle probing, McDermott, who won the National Book Award for this work, masterfully weaves a subtle but tenacious web of relationships to explore the devastation of alcoholism, the loss of innocence, the daily practice of love, and the redeeming unity of family and friendship. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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When eight women in rural Wisconsin take off in the middle of the night for a journey of the heart, it touches women everywhere. The walking women are different ages and of diverse backgrounds, yet their friendship and unwavering mutual support have forged an immutable bond. They start their walk as support for Susan, who is facing an unwanted pregnancy, but all are walking for their own lost loves and lost dreams. As they walk, they talk about their lives, and the pain of the past is shed. The media picks up the news of their perambulation, and soon they become a national sensation that starts other women thinking about their lives, resulting in positive changes all over the country. The women are unaware of their influence, and their small community protects their privacy, so they can proceed without the intrusion of the outside world. A rallying cry for the empowerment of women, Radish's novel is also a celebration of the strong bond that exists between female friends. Patty Engelmann
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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Review
“Beautifully written and cleverly plotted...a fine legal thriller.”
—John Grisham
From Booklist
*Starred Review* Freed from the constraints of nonfiction, Yale law professor Carter offers scathing social commentary in his first novel. This suspenseful tale of ambition, revenge, and the power of familial obligations is set in the privileged environs of an Ivy League law school, Martha's Vineyard, and Washington, D.C. Oliver Garland is the demanding but emotionally distant patriarch of an elite, affluent African American family used to special privileges and close relationships with the powerful in government, business, and the criminal underworld. Oliver's death sparks renewed interest in his political career--as a vitriolic conservative, embittered by a failed bid for the U.S. Supreme Court--and concern in many quarters about "arrangements" he has made in the event of his demise. Garland's son Talcott, a law professor, is very reluctantly drawn into the intrigue. If he pursues the enticing mystery set in motion by his father, Tal risks his marriage, his career, even his life. And in the course of discovering his father's shortcomings, Tal must own up to his own. Legal minds and powerbrokers debate race, class, economics, feminism, abortion rights, morality, and religion as they jockey for position in the academy and on the bench and either foil or further Tal's efforts to solve the mystery of his and his father's lives. Despite Carter's disclaimer, some readers are sure to suspect this is a roman a clef with fascinating insights into the behind-the-scenes machinations of racial and power politics. An elegantly nuanced novel, with finely drawn characters, a challenging plot, and perfect pacing. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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The New York Times Book Review, Sven Birkerts
Though it is a tour de force, McEwan's feat of creation and interpretation is finally less memorable in any of its specifics than is the mystery of Jed Parry and his syndrome, and the unalleviated intensity with which Parry pursues his course.... The deeper implications of McEwan's novel begin to reach us just when we want to believe that all erratic forms of behavior haven been tagged and dealt with. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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From Booklist
Cleage again depicts the lives and times of Idlewild, Michigan, once a resort community frequented by well-to-do blacks, now decaying and subject to the same social ills that afflict Detroit. Joyce Mitchell is the social-worker founder of the Sewing Circus and Community Truth Center, dedicated to guiding young women from teenage pregnancies and violent relationships with the "babydaddies" to free and independent adulthood. Joyce herself, five years a widow, longs for enough safety and assurance to wear a red dress, an ultimate symbol of freedom and abandon. When she meets former Detroit cop Nate Anderson, the new counselor at the high school, long-repressed feelings are awakened. She must now negotiate the same relationship terrain as her young friends. Nate is decent, though, trying not to be tarred with the brush used on the ne'er-do-well boyfriends of the Sewing Circus members. A particularly violent boyfriend stalks and threatens the Circus members, however, and that endangers the peace between Joyce and Nate as they struggle with how women can manage their fears and men can protect them from other men. Cleage captures the mores, culture, and rhythm of black urban youth and the romantic tensions between mature black adults as she weaves contemporary issues into a love story. She portrays young people often dismissed by broader society unsentimentally but respectfully, revealing the undercurrents of their strivings to find some security. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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From Publishers Weekly
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
