2004 Favorites

In Time of War, Allen Appel

Alex Balfour, a reluctant time-traveler, is transported back to the Civil War where he is wounded in battle. His pregnant fiancée, Molly, finds herself back in time, and the two meet some of the most significant figures of that time. Witness to the Lincoln assassination, and with the interference of Alex’s sinister father, the book is a fascinating trip into historical mystery. This the fourth in the Alex Balfour series

Much Ado about Jessie Kaufman, Paula Marantz Cohen

(also Jane Austen in Boca)

Narrated by her daughter, Jessie Kaufman’s family is concerned when the senior begins speaking of her past life as Shakespeare’s Dark Lady.

American Woman, Susan Choi

Based on the Patti Hurst story, the book revolves around the fugitive, her captors, and those aiding them in a rural farmhouse in upstate New York. The story is ‘ripped from the headlines;’ the characters, psychology, and writing make this an outstanding read.

Something Rotten, Jasper Fforde

(also The Well of Lost Plots)

The further adventures of Thursday Next involve an escaped (from the play) Hamlet, her disappearing spouse Landon, and the future of their child. Can Thursday save the Shakespearean plot, and regain her life?

The Amateur Marriage, Anne Tyler

The chronicle of a mis-matched marriage dating from the forties through present time marks the latest by Anne Tyler. Most people are amateurs at marriage, Tyler paints the lives of this couple, their family, and their times.

The Birth of Venus, Sarah Dunant

A magnificent novel set against the landscape of Florence at the start of the Renaissance. Alessandra is the daughter of a wealthy Florentine, married off to an older man against her own ambitions of becoming a painter. Her marriage frees her to explore her art with a young artist hired by her father. Florence is jarred by the monk Savonarola, who preaches against the wealth and art of the city, making it a dangerous place for those who fail to yield to his call for repentance.

The Colour, Rose Tremain

Set during the New Zealand gold rush of the mid 19^th century, Joseph and Harriet Blackstone have married for convenience and have left England for a new life as homesteaders. Joseph’s discovery of gold in a creek on their land changes those plans. He goes off to the gold fields leaving Harriet to manage the farm and care for her mother in law alone. Harriet’s growth, strength and survival lead her to a journey of her own.

The Rule of Four, Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason

Four Yale undergraduates are drawn into one’s obsession with a fifteenth century manuscript.

Murder on the Leviathan, Boris Akunin

Murder on the Orient Express set at sea. Erast Fandorin, the Russian detective introduced in The Winter Queen solves the twisting tale of murder that began in Paris.

Any Place I Hang my Hat, Susan Isaacs

Amy Lincoln is a intelligent, successful magazine reporter with a need to find out why her mother left her as a baby in the care of her loving but eccentric grandmother. Her father, in and out of jail, is an intermittent presence in her life. Chicky, her father, is reluctant to tell her anything about her mother so Amy investigates on her own.

Gilead, Marilynne Robinson

The elderly and dying Rev. John Ames, writes this letter to his young son to explain his own life as a preacher in Iowa. This deeply felt and beautifully written book incorporates the religious belief and spirituality of the narrator with a story of forgiveness and self-knowledge.

Light on Snow, Anita Shreve

Twelve year old Nicky narrates the story of the changes begun in her and her father’s lives when they save a newborn abandoned in the snow near their isolated New Hampshire home. Leaving his architecture career behind after the traffic accident death of his wife and younger child, Nicky’s father has isolated himself and his daughter to escape the painful memories. Finding the child forces the two to begin to interact with others in their community and the sudden appearance of the baby’s mother in their lives challenge their newly created life.

The Game, Laurie King

The ‘game’ is espionage. The players are Mary Russell and her husband, Sherlock Holmes, who travel to India to find the missing Kimball O’Hara, Rudyard Kipling’s real life Kim.

The Plot Against America, Philip Roth

Charles Lindbergh, surprise Republican Presidential candidate, defeats Franklin Roosevelt’s third re-election attempt, riding on the tide of popular anti-war feeling in the United States. With his pro-Nazi statements, the Roth family is threatened by changes in the American life they have come to know. Living with the spector of anti-Semitism and a changed and dangerous America, the book is a chronicle of a Jewish family in a frightening time.

The Other Boleyn Girl, Philippa Gregory

Told through the eyes of Mary Boleyn, the ‘other Boleyn’ of the title, this traces the rise and fall of Anne Boleyn as wife to Henry VIII. More than anything, the book is an astute political novel where Henry’s attraction to young women ensures the ascendancy (or the survival) of a family in Tudor England. Gregory is an excellent historical novelist who captures a view of the personalities of those who shaped history.

Ten Big Ones, Janet Evanovich

(also Metro Girl)

What’s a year without Stephanie Plum and her romantic and investigatory (mis)adventures? The bounty hunter finds herself a gang target and takes refuge in the hideaway of the mysterious Ranger.

Eventide, Kent Haruf

Sequel to the evocative Plainsong, Haruf returns the McPheron brothers as they see Victoria Roubideau, the single mother they had taken in, off to college. Life brings more changes, many of them sad, but this beautifully written book ends on a note of hope.

Skinny Dip, Carl Hiaasen

Carl Hiaasen skewers Florida life in this amusing novel of a wife out to get revenge on the husband who tried to kill her.

Chasing Shakespeares, Sarah Smith

Who wrote Shakespeare’s plays? Graduate student Joe Roper is compelled to find out when he discovers a lost letter that challenges Shakespeare as the author. Traveling to England with Posy Gould, a rich Harvard student out to make a name for himself, Joe is forced to examine his own beliefs in this mix of literary investigation, mystery and romance.

R is for Ricochet, Sue Grafton

Kinsey Milhone’s latest case seems pretty straight forward: keep a wealthy man’s just out of prison daughter out of trouble. What isn’t straight forward are the twists and turns of the parolee out to get revenge.

The Winds of Change, Martha Grimes

A darker entry in the Richard Jury series, The Winds of Change finds Jury linking the disappearance of a child and a murdered girl on the streets of London. Sustaining the subdued atmosphere colors the story and the untangling of the mystery.

The Inner Circle, T.C. Boyle

John Milk is a graduate student who becomes part of the inner circle of assistants to famed sex researcher Alfred Kinsey. Enthralled by Prok (Kinsey), Milk succumbs to the sexual expectations of the researcher even when they jeopardize his relationship with his wife.

The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini

Amir and Hassan are linked from childhood when Hassan is the servant to his friend Amir in Afghanistan. Their bond broken by a betrayal, Amir travels back to Afghanistan to find his old friend.

How I paid for college, Marc Acito

When Edward’s father refuses to pay his tuition at Juillard to study acting, Edward and his group of misfit friends turn to larceny, money laundering, stolen identity, and blackmail to fund college.