Six Picks... The Gift of Fiction

When the presents are opened, the wrapping papers shreds crunched up and carted off, and the frenetic din of Christmas morning has settled into a lazy afternoon, what beter treat than to search out your new book (bookS if you were especially good) from under the tree, and curl up by the smoldering fire? 

Our ideas of perfect FICTION gifts for 2009:

All of these titles are available though our amazon store. Click the titles to purchase! hohoho...

1.

OLIVE KITTERIDGE

by Elizabeth Strout

Winner of Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, Strout had created a memorable- even haunting - character in Olive Kitteridge.

Strout's earlier novels, AMY & ISABELLE ('98) and ABIDE WITH ME ('06) were critically acclaimed, but OLIVE KITTERIDGE the book and Olive, the character, are in a class by themselves. This book is a collection of stories; in some, Olive features prominently and in others, she's mentioned. There is an honest recognition here that we need to try to understand people, even if we can't stand them.

What Strout achieves so successfully is that she excavates stories from the houses we see from the road, and then she passes them along in language we understand with the heart. Olive is all rough edges; she says what she thinks and doesn't mince words. Her language is a shield, buffering her from others' weaknesses and meannesses. Strout's writing animates the ordinary with astonishing details; her stories are all set in Maine and explore family dynamics, small-town hypocrisy and gossip, and grief.
2.

LOVE AND SUMMER

by William Trevor

Breathtaking prose, Esther and I were awed into near silence (that's serious) by the simplicity and starkness and sheer brilliance of this book.  Nominated for the Booker Prize, this is a wonderful gift for any reader, and especially those who connect with Irish fiction.  "The tragic consequences of a woman's lost honor and a family's shame haunt several generations in Trevor's masterful 14th novel. His prose precisely nuanced and restrained, Trevor depicts a society beginning to loosen itself from the Church's implacable condemnation of sexual immorality. Trevor renders the fictional town of Rathmoye with the precise detail of a photograph, while his portrait of its inhabitants is more subtle and painterly, suggesting their interwoven secrets, respectful traditions and stoic courtesy."
3.  

STONER

by John Williams

This luminous and deeply moving novel is a work of quiet, elegant perfection.  Stoner emerges from it not only as an archetypal American but also as an existential hero , standing like a figure in a painting by Edward Hopper, in stark relief against an unforgiving world.
4.

STILL ALICE

by Lisa Genova

This extraordinary debut novel is significant: it's beautiful and terrifying, a moving and vivid depiction of life with early onset Alzheimer's. One of my book groups said that this should be required book group reading, or at least shared among family members, loved ones friends.
5.  

LITTLE BEE

by Chris Cleave

Cleave, a columnist for the Guardian, creates a story of globalization and historical interconnections shaped by exploitation, despair, and at times, moral conscience and optimism. Two strangers - a British woman and a Nigerian girl - meet on a lonely African beach and become inextricably bound through the horror imprinted on their encounter.
Rather than focusing on postcolonial guilt or African angst, Cleave uses this emotionally charged narrative to challenge our conceptions of civility and ethical choice. Everyone in this group was as captivated by Cleaves's insights and his generosity of time and ideas as by his significant novel.
6.


THE GIRLS

by Lori Lansens

This novel could have been tasteless and grotesque, but instead it's a tale of kindness, love and the off things that life throws to us, no matter our circumstances. From Booklist: *Starred Review* Lansens' remarkable second novel is told from two viewpoints: that of Rose and that of Ruby Darlen, 29-year-old conjoined twins. Rose and Ruby are about to go down in history as the oldest surviving twins to be joined at the head. A recent medical diagnosis has spurred Rose to write her autobiography, and she encourages Ruby to do the same.  There is a great deal of subtlety in Lansens' narrative, and how the twins reveal the details of their lives--often one will refer to something she is sure the other has already mentioned in her section. But her biggest achievement in the novel is bringing to life these two truly extraordinary characters to such a degree that readers may forget they are reading fiction. Kristine Huntley