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Fiction A to ZNovember 2014 |
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Best and Worst Children's Books of the Year
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If you enjoy children's and young adult books, make sure not to miss the popular Best and Worst Children’s Books of the Year event at Upper Riccarton Library on Wednesday 19 November, 7-9pm. Come and join us for a fun evening with raffles and refreshments. You might even spot some Christmas present ideas! |
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New and Recently Released!
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| The zone of interest: a novel by Martin AmisSet in a German concentration camp during World War II, The Zone of Interest is a searing, haunting portrait of life in the worst of places. It also acknowledges the madness behind the evil, offering a vivid depiction of Nazi officers struggling to meet the increasingly impossible demands of their leaders. Told alternately by the self-justifying Camp Commandant, a prisoner forced to victimise his fellow inmates, and a privileged liaison officer trying to sleep with the Commandant's wife, this complex novel uses satire and humour to expose the horror of the Holocaust; it's as "audacious as it is chilling" (Publishers Weekly). |
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| Bathing the lion by Jonathan CarrollIn this unusual novel, five people who live in the same New England town share the same incredibly realistic dream...or is reality itself the dream? It's hard to tell, but the point is, these five aren't ordinary humans; rather, they're intergalactic beings known as "mechanics" who have a special ability to fix the universe's mistakes. Chaos is taking over, and these five must fight it. At times unsettling and bizarre, with leaps in time and perspective, this is a challenging tale of the fate of the universe; fans of David Mitchell's similarly fluid Bone Clocks might want to give it a try. |
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Henna house: a novel
by Nomi Eve
Desperately seeking a Jewish husband in 1920s Yemen, where unbetrothed orphans are adopted into Muslim communities, Adela is introduced to her eligible cousin and the powerful rituals of henna tattooing before her prospects are further imperiled by a prolonged drought and doubts about cherished traditions.
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Wife on the run
by Fiona Higgins
When social media and a mobile phone expose a high school scandal and a husband's shameful secrets the only thing left to do is run. In the remarkable new novel from the bestselling author of The Mothers' Group a beleaguered wife and mother escapes it all on a family road trip without technology to reclaim her life and rebuild her family.
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A bad character: a novel
by Deepti Kapoor
Strong tale of modern Delhi, not seen much before in fiction, a city of violence, rage and corruption.
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We are called to rise
by Laura McBride
An immigrant youth struggling to assimilate, a middle-aged housewife with a troubled marriage, a Vegas social worker and a wounded soldier connect with each other and rescue themselves in the wake of an unthinkable incident. North & South's reviewer said "this beautiful but heartbreaking tale is my book of the year."
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| Full measure: a novel by T. Jefferson ParkerWhile 22-year-old Marine veteran Patrick Norris was deployed for 13 months in Afghanistan, his California hometown was falling apart, ravaged by wildfire, unemployment, and political tension. Patrick's readjustment to civilian life is rocky enough, but troubles at home mean his own dreams are on hold while his brother Ted acts out in increasingly dangerous ways; Ted's connections to a local white supremacist underscore the town's growing volatility. A departure for author T. Jefferson Parker, who's known for crime novels, Full Measure is an insightful and gripping family drama. |
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Quartet for the end of time: a novel
by Johanna Skibsrud
A false conspiracy charge against a World War I veteran prompts the man's disappearance and haunts his son throughout the 1930s, intertwining his life with those of a powerful congressman's children. By the Giller Prize-winning author of The Sentimentalists.
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The ghost apple: a novel
by Aaron Thier
A tale told through tourist pamphlets, course catalogues, blog posts, historical letters and slave narratives recounts the extent of a humble New England college's financial troubles and uneasy relationship with a snack-food corporation that uses the students as test subjects.
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"She felt so lost and lonely. One last chile in walnut sauce left on the platter after a fancy dinner couldn't feel any worse than she did."
~ from Laura Esquivel's Like Water for Chocolate |
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| The lost art of mixing by Erica BauermeisterIn this sequel to The School of Essential Ingredients, restaurant owner Lillian is prepared for anything that the food business could throw at her -- it's what happens outside the restaurant that provides unexpected challenges. The same goes for a circle of her friends, co-workers, and regulars in this collection of linked stories. Each chapter offers the story of a different character (many from the earlier book) navigating a different obstacle, from failed relationships to a fast-failing memory. "Warm, funny, and deeply comforting," says Booklist of this charming, tasty treat. |
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| Like water for chocolate: a novel in monthly installments by Laura EsquivelAccording to her family's tradition, youngest daughter Tita must remain unmarried in order to care for her tyrannical mother, despite the fact that she has fallen in love with a young man, Pedro. Worse, her mother marries her eldest daughter to Pedro instead. Tita's refuge is the kitchen, where she pours her emotion into her cooking (her sister's wedding guests all begin to cry after sampling Tita's cake). This popular, delectable book was a bestseller when it was first published in the early 1990s; if you've already read it and enjoyed the touches of magical realism and romance, try Sarah Addison Allen's Garden Spells for a Southern take on the magic of cooking. |
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| Pomegranate soup: a novel by Marsha MehranThe small Irish village of Ballinacroagh is an insular, isolated place whose residents don't quite know what to make of the three Iranian sisters, refugees from their country's 1978 revolution, who have just purchased a former bakery with plans to open a café. Though some residents are enticed by the aromas wafting out of the café and by the sisters' warm personalities, others side with the town bully, who fears the restaurant will put his pub out of business. Incredibly descriptive -- of both the food and the people -- this debut includes 13 Persian recipes, and has been compared to Chocolat and Like Water for Chocolate. If you enjoy it, you can meet the inhabitants of Ballinacroagh again in Rosewater and Soda Bread. |
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| Delicious! A novel by Ruth ReichlBillie Breslin has an amazing palate -- one taste and not only can she identify ingredients, but she'll know exactly what else is needed to make a recipe pop. But she doesn't cook -- and figuring out why is just one of the mysteries at the centre of this book. Kept on to answer the hotline at a shuttered foodie magazine, Billie stumbles upon a treasure trove of letters stored in a secret room and is especially intrigued by a World War II-era series between the famous chef James Beard and an unknown little girl. As Billie builds a life for herself far from the traumas of her past, close friends, a job at cheese shop, a burgeoning romance, and the mystery of the little girl's identity sustain her. |
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| Tomorrow there will be apricots: a novel by Jessica SofferIn this moving, sometimes bleak novel, 14-year-old Lorca has been cutting herself as a way to deal with her mother's emotional absence. Threatened with boarding school, Lorca hopes that cooking her mother's favourite dish, an Iraqi specialty, will bring them back together. Instead, cooking lessons with widowed former restaurant owner Victoria offer a new, sustaining relationship for both Lorca and Victoria. Suspected connections between their two families complicate the plot, while multidimensional if troubled characters add depth to this character-driven tale. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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