The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

Oscar, a first-generation Dominican-American, has bad luck. In fact, he has become the heir to 500 years of fuku (bad luck). This smart, lovable, unattractive and doomed protagonist is seen through the eyes of his sister, his mother and a family friend. This cutting edge (can you tell I like that phrase) novel is a sad, funny, rich portrait of a complex boy and a complex culture.



Warning: there is quite a bit of profanity in this novel so it is not for everyone but I thoroughly enjoyed it and recommend it for anyone looking for something a little different.

The God of Animals: A Novel by Aryn Kyle

The Winston family is falling apart. The mother handed over baby Alice to her older sister and retreated to her bedroom where she has stayed for twelve years and Alice’s father is a harsh and distant man, choosing to fill his life with his livelihood, training horses and giving riding lesssons.. Alice is set adrift when her sister runs away to marry a rodeo rider and she seeks to fill the void by trying to gain the attention of her father, classmates and a teacher, with unexpected results. This is a lyrical coming-of-age novel with beautifully descriptive landscapes, alienated individuals and lives filled with tragedy.

PS....This was one of those stories that at some point gripped me and by the end I couldn't put it down. I found myself sobbing uncontrollably at the crisis point in the story so pick this up with the warning, "this book may break your heart".

Paula Spencer by Roddy Doyle

Paula Spencer is one of those novels that quietly sinks in and weeks later you find yourself remembering bits and pieces of it. I think I am liking it better as I continue to think about it. This follow-up to The Woman Who Walked Into Doors shows a now sober Paula, renegotiating the day-to-day struggle of her new life as a recovering alcoholic. She worries about her daughter, who seems to be following in her footsteps and tries to reconnect with her son, who is also a recovering addict.

This is another of those novels that I am sitting on for a while before I decide whether or not to nominate it.

Angels Rest by Charles Davis

This is the story of a young man trying to make sense of the murder of his father, supposedly by his mother. Up until that point life had been more or less idyllic for Charlie York. A loving mother, a respected father who adores him and although not popular, Charlie has a few good friends he can count on.

All that changes after his mother is arrested. Left in the care of an elderly black man in a racist white town, he is tormented by classmates and hounded by adults. After Mr. Lacy is taken out, stripped down and forced to walk back to their house in freezing weather things go from bad to worse.

This was a beautifully written saga of small town Southern life and the coming of age of a boy facing difficult choices.

Goodbye Lemon by Adam Davies

Goodbye Lemon is one of those edgy, contemporary novels. Think of it like a really depressed American Nick Hornsby novel (About A Boy). The main character, Jack Tennant, is called home when his father suffers a drinking related stroke. After the death of his brother when Jack was five his family fell apart, he and his brother blame his father for being drunk and not watching him, his mother has become a control freak and his father, has managed to stay perpetually drunk. Now the brother has descended into the same kind of drunkenness and has decided that the answer to their problems is for the two of them to kill their father.

Not surprisingly, Jack is affected by the craziness, starts drinking, drives his girlfriend away, loses the (not-so-great) job he has and in general falls apart. Don't worry, the end of the novel, is redemptive and he rebuilds his life in new and surprising ways.

I actually really liked this novel. If he would have ended up a drunk in the gutter it actually would have been a more interesting novel but I do like a bit of hope at the end of my literature.

Moral Disorder: And Other Stories by Margaret

Margaret Atwood is my all-time favorite author. I especially love her ability to take a modern day technology and then imagine what would happen if it were taken to extremes.

Her newest collection of short stories is completely different. This beautifully written short story collection presents episodes from the life of Nell, starting with the birth of her sister. Nell's life becomes more measured as time goes on, although you never feel she has settled into her skin. There is always an edge to even the most serene and domestic of these stories. Ultimately, she becomes the caretaker for her sister, her husband and her parents and these tasks help her become comfortable with the person she is meant to be.

This was a lovely collection of short stories although I could have happily read a novel that more fully explored the life of this character.

Every Visible Thing: A Novel by Lisa Carey

Every Visible Thing is a heartbreaking novel about the loss of a child and how that affects the rest of the family.

Alternating between the two siblings, Lena and Owen tell the story of their family's struggle to deal with the loss of the oldest child, Hugh, missing and presumed dead. The inability of the parents to deal with the loss of Hugh allows the two remaining children to slip further and further into trouble. As they struggle to deal with this loss in addition to the normal problems of childhood, the lack of guidance creates situations where the two feel alienated and alone. Bad choices are made, situations spiral out of control and eventually the family faces the potential loss of another of its children.

Although the structure of this book felt off to me, alternating between first and third person, I still enjoyed and was affected by this novel.