Rise the Dark

Infrastructure. Not long after I finished reading Michael Koryta’s novel, Last Words, I quickly read his second novel to feature protagonist Markus Novak titled, Rise the Dark. While this novel stands well on its own, a reader’s insight into the depth of character is enhanced from having read the prior novel. Novak wants to find his wife’s killer, and much of the suspense in this thriller involves his quest. Koryta captures setting so well in this novel, especially rural Montana. A major part of the plot involves the vulnerability of our infrastructure to sabotage, and that component adds to the taut tension that provides plot momentum. Readers who love fast-paced thrillers are those most likely to enjoy reading this novel. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase Rise the Dark from amazon.com.

Grief Is the Thing with Feathers

Tornado. From the first page through the last of Max Porter’s debut novel titled, Grief Is the Thing with Feathers, I felt like I was lifted by a tornado and taken to some other place where I landed with total disorientation. That’s precisely what grief can do to us. We are pulled away from our life in a whirlwind and land with a sense of disorientation given our loss. Porter captures that sensation with prose, poetry, dreams, the character of a trickster crow and many other devices that support his effort to create art that conveys grief. This may be the most unusual novel I’ve read this year, and I liked it a lot. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase Grief Is the Thing with Feathers from amazon.com.

The Underground Railroad

Cora. Readers can count on Colson Whitehead to offer something new with each book he writes, whether fiction or non-fiction. For me, he’s written his finest book yet in his novel titled, The Underground Railroad. Through the journey of protagonist, Cora, a slave, Whitehead draws readers into many of the long lasting effects of slavery on modern life. While I laughed at first at Whitehead’s depiction of the Underground Railroad as something under the earth with trains and tracks, I realized how important that image was to the nature of the journey and its effects. Whitehead draws out so many of the insidious aspects of racial conflict and different manifestations of the exploitation of “the other.” Cora longs for true freedom, and Whitehead writes about that longing with great skill, in a story that will keep most readers engaged and enraged from beginning to end. Rating: Five-star (I love it) Click here to purchase The Underground Railroad from amazon.com.

Homegoing

Elements. It’s rare for me to rate a debut novel with the highest rating. Yaa Gyasi earned each of five stars with her novel titled, Homegoing. I can be satisfied with fiction that tells one story well. Gyasi tells the stories of multiple characters across generations. For each setting and character, her lyrical language draws us into vivid settings, and her insight into human behavior offers readers highly developed and complex characters. She tells each of those stories with great skill, using elements of fire, water and dreams to create a compact novel full of fine writing. Readers who enjoy finely written prose with interesting characters are those most likely to enjoy this novel. Rating: Five-star (I love it) Click here to purchase Homegoing from amazon.com.

The Kingdom of Speech

Artifact. Tom Wolfe uses fewer than two hundred pages in his book titled, The Kingdom of Speech, to offer his views and skewer Charles Darwin and Noam Chomsky in the process. More like a long essay, this book makes one key point: speech is a special artifact, unique to man, and is not evolutionary. I’m not sure about Wolfe’s science on this topic, but his verbal dexterity met my expectations. Read for yourself if you have any interest in the subject matter. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase The Kingdom of Speech from amazon.com.

Break in Case of Emergency

Foundation. I laughed, winced and nodded in affirmation often while reading Jessica Winter’s debut novel titled, Break in Case of Emergency. Protagonist Jen is a painter whose day job has been working at a feminist not for profit foundation. The celebrity boss is wacko, the workplace toxic, and Jen is trying to have a baby. The themes of motherhood and art elevate this novel beyond light satire and toward insight into the struggles of contemporary life and our search for meaning. I enjoyed Winter’s fine writing, her ability to skewer with precision, and to draw a distinction between what is important and what isn’t. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase Break in Case of Emergency from amazon.com.

Heroes of the Frontier

Dentist. I wonder if the selection of a troubled dentist as protagonist for Dave Eggers’ novel, Heroes of the Frontier, will attract more readers (like dentists) or repel readers (like those who hate going to dentists). Protagonist Josie lost her dental practice due to her malpractice on a patient. She has split up with the father of her children, and when he wants the children to meet his fiancée’s parents, Josie takes the kids to the Alaska wilderness in an RV they call the Chateau. The novel is a search for shelter and refuge, from threats real and imagined. Josie’s troubles come from external sources and from inside her mind. With nothing left to lose, Josie takes her children to the last frontier where they are totally unprepared for what life and nature brings. In this novel Eggers has added to his ongoing examination of human folly and modern life. Readers ready for a dark story are those most likely to enjoy reading this one. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase Heroes of the Frontier from amazon.com.