The first American author to win The Man Booker Prize, Paul Beatty has written an amusing, ironic, sarcastic, intelligent novel that will not be to everyone’s liking.  The character known as the Sellout is the narrator.  He is a Black man who was raised by his father who made the young boy a guinea pig for his sociological studies. He was born and raised in Dickens, California, a rural farming community outside of Los Angeles.  Dickens, like the narrator, has lost its identity; it has been erased off the maps, and one of the Sellout’s missions is to put it back.  With the help of his “slave, ” Hominy Jenkins, a former child actor who had minor roles in “The Little Rascals,” he tries to segregate his hometown, most notably the school and buses, in an effort to put Dickens back on the map.

If the plot seems a bit confusing-that’s because it is.  For me, The Sellout, is a book to be appreciated, but not necessarily enjoyed.  Be warned:  Beatty takes pot shots at almost everyone-Blacks, Whites, Hispanics, Jews-just to name just a few.

 

Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd, age seventy-one, is asked to deliver a ten year old girl to her aunt and uncle who live on the other side of Texas.  Kidd earns a living traveling to small, rural towns and reading articles from a  variety of newspapers to the illiterate folks who wish to know what is going on in the world.  The girl, Johanna, was captured by Native Americans who murdered her parents and her younger sister.  She has lived with that tribe for four years and, in that time, has forgotten the ways of the white man.

The journey Kidd and Johanna make is wonderfully described by Jiles.  The longer the two travel together, the more they trust and understand each other.  Jiles has written a lovely novel that would make a perfect book group read.

Fans of Alice Hoffman will not be disappointed in her latest novel.  The main character, Shelby Richmond, feels responsible for an automobile accident that left her best friend paralyzed and in a coma.  Self-destructive, depressed and in a mental hospital for three months, she doesn’t have the will or desire to get on with her life.  Fortunately, there are several people who truly love her and want her to survive, which includes her “guardian angel,” her mother and four stray dogs.

Faithful is a well-written novel with, for the most part, likeable characters who understand the importance of love and understanding.  Although the ending was a bit too tidy for me, most reader’s will be pleased with Shelby’s recovery and growth.   GO CUBS!!!

The title refers to a mediocre musical adapted from a popular children’s book being performed off off off Broadway.  Prose uses each chapter to describe a character associated with the play-actors, director, author and audience.  There is the twelve year old boy playing Mr. Monkey who is just beginning to feel the joy and angst of adolescence, the professional actress who is upset that she is working with amateurs, the widower who brings his five year old grandson to the production, and several more.  All of the characters are sympathetic, and each chapter successfully moves the plot forward, however; there’s no “aha” moment.  I finished the novel and thought, “good, fun, so what.”

The Muse brothers, George and Will, were African American albinos living in Truevine, Virginia.  In 1899, when they were six and nine years old, they were either kidnapped or sold to a circus passing through their hometown.  They traveled with various circuses as part of their “freak shows” for more than a decade.  They were told that there mother was dead, when, in fact, she spent all that time trying to locate them.

Macy’s narrative is part an historical review of life for Blacks in the Jim Crow South, part biography of the Muse brothers and their mother, and part description of the rise and fall of the American traveling circus.  Because Macy tried to cover three different topics, she never gave an in depth rendering of any.

 

Defiant, angry, confused seventeen year old Nadia Turner has a lot to contend with.  Her mother recently committed suicide, she is having an affair with the preacher’s son, and she is pregnant with his child, a child she doesn’t want.  What happens to Nadia during her seventeenth year impacts her future for the next decade.

This is a book I couldn’t put down; I finished it in two days.  Bennett’s writing is clean and clear, and her characters, major and minor, are complex and believable.  Although the plot makes this novel sound like a soap opera, believe me, it’s not.  I also like book titles that seem simple but really are not(think Sophie’s Choice).  There are many mothers and potential mothers throughout Bennett’s debut novel with different meanings and connotations.  The Mothers is a great read!!

The Wangs are the American Dream turned upside down.  Charles Wang’s cosmetic company has gone bust, he has filed for bankruptcy, and has turned over all of his assets to the bank.  He must pull his daughter, Grace,  out of a fancy boarding school in Santa Barbara, his son, Andrew, must withdraw from Arizona State University, and along with their step mother, they head to Charles’s oldest daughter’s home in Helios, NY in their former housekeeper’s ancient Mercedes.  Living an ultra frugal life they never thought they would have to be subjected to, the Wang’s cross country adventure is humorous,  frustrating and poignant.  .  All the Wangs  are engaging, infuriating, amusing and sympathetic in their own ways.  Chang’s debut novel is a good easy read that is satisfying but lacks depth.

If you found Where’d You Go, Bernadette entertaining, you will probably enjoy Semple’s newest novel.  Like Bernadette, it takes place in Seattle, has a female protagonist who is smart and funny but doesn’t fit in, is married to a wonderful man, and has a young child(this time it’s a son) who is wise and insightful beyond his years. Eleanor Flood Wallace is married to a successful hand surgeon, and before moving to Seattle, she was part of a team that created a hugely successful animated television show.  However, Eleanor is not pleased with herself; mainly because she is estranged from her sister who she was exceptionally close to.

Semple writes with the same witty, ironic prose, but in some parts Eleanor speaks in first person and in others she doesn’t.  For me, this was a distraction and a literary flaw.  I also felt that in some ways Today Will Be Different is too similar to Bernadette.  Semple is a good writer; she needs to stretch more.

This gem of a novel is long-listed for the 2016 National Book Award.  It is a fictionalized homage to the author’s great aunt who was born in rural Mississippi in the early 20th century with a condition that made her unable to bear children or control her bowel and bladder.  In spite of this, Jane makes the most of her situation.  Although she only has a few months of formal education, because she is bright and good with numbers, she is able to education herself.  With the help of the neighborhood doctor, who becomes her good friend, she learns about her condition as well as the world around her.

Watson has written a lovely book about such an admirable women who epitomizes dignity and strength. It’s one of those books, I didn’t want to end.

I love the way Tracy Kidder writes-simple, concise and engaging.  His newest work is a biography about an extraordinary man similar to Mountains Beyond Mountains and Strength in What Remains.  This time his focus is on Paul English.  English grew up in a large, blue collar, Irish-Catholic home in Boston.  He often got in trouble as a teenage, did not take school seriously although he was way off the charts intellectually, but was always fascinated with computers.  When he was a young adult, he learned that the sensation he felt that he described as similar to a fire brewing inside, was the mania half of his bipolarism.  Despite this setback,  English co-founded the travel website kayak.com, sold it for millions, and earnestly tried to donate most of his money to worthwhile causes.  He also invented numerous apps and started several other business ventures.  A Truck Full of Money is an inspiring biography about a unique man who never stops dreaming of doing more.