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Maylin Scott's Fall 2010 Picks.
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Fiction
The Jokers
by Albert Cossery, translated by Anna Moschovakis
978-1-59017-325-1 | New York Review of Books | July 2010
Four friends decide to demonstrate their opposition to their corrupt government, not by violence or rioting in the street, but by practical jokes and over-praising their ruler, in this clever and witty satire on political idealism and ideology. For readers of Albert Camus or Orwell.
I Curse the River of Time
by Per Petterson, translated by Charlotte Barslund
978-0-307-39938-0 | Knopf Canada | August 2010
The Mountain Lion
by Jean Stafford
978-1-59017-352-7 | New York Review of Books | August 2010
A strange and awkward coming-of-age novel, full of subtle and uncomfortable tensions between generations and siblings. Ralph Fawcett and his younger sister Molly are rebellious allies against their widowed mother, two older sisters, and everything they represent - a world based on propriety and society's moral values, and one in which almost anything noisy, fun, or actively done outdoors is frowned upon. This all changes when they are invited to their uncle’s ranch in the shadow of the Colorado Rocky Mountains, where an elusive mountain lion roams. This novel depicts one of the most complicated and yet compelling sibling relationships I’ve ever encountered.
Aurorarama
by Jean-Christophe Valtat
978-1-935554-13-4 | Melville House | August 2010
A fun steampunk adventure novel for adults, filled with wonderful characters, clever word play, anarchists, policemen in top hats, suffragettes, magicians and a mysterious dead woman with a magic mirror. Set in the utopian arctic city of New Venice in 1908, Brentford, the author of a radical book criticizing the government, is dodging discovery while trying to improve the city’s relationship with the local Inuit. Can he also arrive on time to a mysterious appointment at the North Pole? For fans of Philip Pullman; this is the first book in a sophisticated but entertaining series, but reads just fine as a stand-alone.
C by Tom McCarthy
978-0-307-39886-4 | Knopf Canada | September 2010
An ambitious novel about the early days of communication and radio, set against the First World War and the craze for archeological digs in Egypt during the early 1920s. Longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, I would summarize this work as doing for the science of this period what A.S. Byatt’s The Children’s Book did for the decorative arts and children’s literature. It has one of the most fascinating depictions of the aerial portion of WWI that I’ve ever read. McCarthy is a very talented and original novelist and this is for readers who like the challenge of exploring ideas, layers and experimental narrative techniques.
Fame: A Novel in Nine Episodes
by Daniel Kehlmann, translated by Carol Janeway
978-0-307-37871-2 | Pantheon | September 2010
A hilarious, interconnected novel about the pitfalls of fame. Everyone wants it, but once you have it, it often proves to be more trouble than it’s worth. We follow a man who accidentally is given the cell phone number of a famous actor; a writer who hates meeting his public, and ordinary, misguided narcissists who mistakenly assume the internet will lead them to fame and glory. This is a very funny read about work, ambition, and connecting with the public, for fans of Joshua Ferris or Douglas Coupland.
Operation Napoleon
by Arnaldure Indridason, translated by Victoria Cribb –
978-0-307-35938-4 | Knopf Canada | October 2010
I’m a big fan of Indridason’s Erlendur mystery series, but he can write great stand-alone thrillers too. It’s 1999 and a German plane that had crashed in 1945 and subsequently was buried in a glacier has now come to light. The Americans have sent a team of soldiers - under false pretences – to remove the plane and its contents. When Kristin’s adventurous brother sees something he shouldn’t have and ends up in a crevasse, Kristin starts a dangerous and deadly investigation of her own. WWII secrets clash with modern Icelandic prejudices in this enthralling read.
The Weekend
by Bernhard Schlink, translated by Shaun Whiteside
978-0-307-37815-6 | Pantheon | October 2010
Schlink turns his novelistic eye to the resonances left on German society by the infamous Baader-Meinhoff terrorist organization of the 1970s. A group of old friends meet for a weekend at a country house to welcome the release of Jorg, imprisoned for 24 years for murder. They have to sort out their complicated feelings about the past and their political sympathies, and moral and ethical dilemmas abound. One of them is still in love with Jorg. And another was the friend who initially betrayed him. A Big Chill type read – but chillier.
Apocalypse For Beginners
by Nicolas Dickner, translated by Lazer Lederhendler
978-0-307-39941-0 | Vintage Canada | December 2010
From the author of Nikolski, comes another funny romantic comedy about the doomed Randall family. Each member upon reaching puberty gets a vision of when the Apocalypse will occur and when the day comes and life goes on, they self-destruct. It’s 1989, the Berlin Wall is falling and Hope Randall – hooked on David Suzuki’s The Nature of Things - is trying to reverse her family’s curse with the help of her teenage friend, a basement hideout and lots of ramen noodles. Great fun to read and a good YA crossover book.
Non-Fiction
Why Mahler?: How One Man and Ten Symphonies Changed Our World by Norman Lebrecht
978-0-375-42381-9 | Pantheon | October 2010
