So many good books are being released in May and June,
prominently displayed at bookstore tables throughout the region, that I'm
unable to buy them all. Yet I want them, and look forward to reading them. Your
library will likely have them all before I do!
The first two writers mentioned here are from Massachusetts.
Noted author Michael J. Tougias, of Mendon, whose books dot
the New York Times list these days, has a dramatic new historical narrative
out. "So Close to Home," published May 3, is a dramatic recounting of
the horrors endured by a most unfortunate family aboard the freighter
"Heredia" when it was bombed by a German U-boat in the Gulf of Mexico
during World War II. Survivors held on through sharks, hypothermia and deaths. Tougias's
23 other books include "The Finest Hours," released as a movie earlier
this year—about a Coast Guard rescue off Chatham— and "King Philip's
War," one of several books about this region's history.
Nantucket resident Nathaniel Philbrick's books have earned numerous
prominent awards and consideration for a Pulitzer. His titles include
"Mayflower," "Bunker Hill" and "In the Heart of the
Sea." The latest is "Valiant Ambition," the story of George
Washington and Benedict Arnold during the American Revolution. It promises to
be an excellent character study.
Louise Erdrich, a
prominent voice among contemporary Native American writers, has followed such
beautifully written novels as "Love Medicine" and "The Round
House" with "LaRose." It's the story of a man who atones for
killing his neighbor and friend's son by giving him his own son, a traditional
gesture. Few authors write about the heart in the way Erdrich does, and she
brings to life people who live uncomfortably between Native traditions and
modern American expectations.
Next comes Richard Russo, a Pulitzer winner (for
"Empire Falls") who returns with a sequel to "Nobody's
Fool" (remember Paul Newman in the role of Sully?). It's titled
"Everybody's Fool." Sully's life in upstate New York has improved in
the interim, but soon he faces a diagnosis that will change the lives of his
family and friends. I can't wait for this one, based on the wonderful characters
he creates. It's about tough times, humor and, above all, family love.
One of my favorite writers—in terms of rich writing style
and character development—is Annie Proulx, a somewhat reclusive
Pulitzer-prize-winning Western author known to many for fiction made into
movies: "The Shipping News" and the story "Brokeback
Mountain." On June 16, her publisher releases a new book,
"Barkskins." It centers on two Frenchmen who become wood-cutters, or
barkskins, in exchange for land. A multi-generational saga, it revolves around
the threats man has brought to forestland. Think greed, revenge, and all those
other wonderfully terrible human emotions.
What new books is your group planning to read? Send info to
me at the e-mail address below.
