Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by maggie Cole on November 11, 2009 at 3:51pm

I just picked up Barbara Kingsolver's newest book "The Lacuna".
She is a spectacular writer. I loved both "Prodigal Summer" and especially "The Poisonwood Bible".
I can't wait to dive into this novel.

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Permalink Reply by Nancy Kricorian on November 11, 2009 at 7:10pm

I bought Lorrie Moore's A GATE AT THE STAIRS.

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Permalink Reply by Patricia O'Toole on November 11, 2009 at 8:47pm

Mary Karr, LIT
Maureen Howard, THE RAGS OF TIME

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Permalink Reply by Sarah Glazer on November 12, 2009 at 3:54am

Hi Kamy,
1. If we're talking "magisterial," "Wolf Hall," by Hilary Mantel, a historical novel about Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII's right-hand man, surely fits the bill. Although the length at first put me off (650 pp.), I find I can't wait to read it every night. It's written with a driving rhythm, cinematic scenes and realistic dialogue that bring you right into the 16th Century. Perhaps most compelling, Mantel conveys with chilling reality the fatal dangers of falling out of favor with King Henry, depending on his whims. Wolf Hall won the Man Booker prize this year. Though the writing seems effortless, it is backed up by very thorough historical research by Mantel, who takes the responsibility of being true to history very seriously. Anything a man can do, she can do better.
2. "Thrumpton Hall: A Memoir of Life in My Father's House," by Miranda Seymour. This is a truly unusual memoir about Seymour's father and his obsession with holding on to his family's stately home in the English Midlands countryside. One of the most honest accounts I've read of the less than perfect relationship a daughter can have with her father and yet still find surprising resonances at the end of the day.
3. "A Gate at the Stairs," By Lorrie Moore. This long-awaited novel by the author of "Birds of America," about a midwestern college girl who goes to work for a couple that seem to embody East Coast sophistication, has Moore's characteristic honesty. She grapples with current issues like trans-racial adoption with a skeptical look at political correctness--whether from liberal adoptive parents, or social workers who control the adoption. No one gets off easily in this novel. Moore is such a good writer that you'll be chomping at the bit to get to the next chapter and see what happens--some tragic surprises at the end.
Yes, I bought all three of these books--in a bookstore yet!
Sarah Glazer

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Permalink Reply by Sophie Glazer on February 7, 2011 at 6:09am

I read A Gate at the Stairs last month, and found it utterly absorbing and heartbreaking: you are quite right that nobody gets off easily in this novel, least of all the little girl whose welfare is, theoretically at least, the central issue in all the life-changing decisions made about her.  Moore's depiction of the child handed on from one caregiver to another, bewildered and heartbroken, is unforgettable.

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Permalink Reply by Kate Gould on November 12, 2009 at 9:13am

I recently read, and loved, The Luminous Life of Lilly Nelly Aphrodite by Beatrice Colin.

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Permalink Reply by Jeanne Khan on November 12, 2009 at 2:08pm

Last two: Bright-Sided by Barbara Ehrenreich and When Everything Changed by Gail Collins.

Can take no picture, etc., but thought you'd like to know.

Have been appalled that Best Seller Lists contain none such. Regnery and other like publishers
buy up copies and distribute them when Coultergeist and Malkin write them to my utter chagrin.
Their objective is to skew the lists to suggest the subject is sought by readers; it is not.


Jeanne Khan
La Mirada, CA

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Permalink Reply by Dr. Barbara Sinor on November 12, 2009 at 2:42pm

I just bought Alice Gardner's "Life Beyond Belief." Yeah!!! for supporting women authors SW.:)

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Permalink Reply by Lily Iona MacKenzie on November 12, 2009 at 4:26pm

I bought Lorrie Moore's A GATE AT THE STAIRS.

Lily Iona MacKenzie
http://lilyionamackenzie.wordpress.com

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Permalink Reply by Patricia Caspers on November 12, 2009 at 5:15pm

I bought _Her Fearful Symmetry_ by Audrey Niffeneger. So far I'm not wanting to put it down.

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Permalink Reply by Martha White on November 12, 2009 at 5:39pm

I'm enjoying Church of the Dogs by Kaya McLaren (Viking) which has clear thinking on women's roles -- whether grandmother, wife, mother, or friend. Oh -- and great dogs, too.

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Permalink Reply by Julie Jeffs on November 12, 2009 at 7:03pm

I was feeling guilty having bought more than one, can't seem to help myself once in a bookstore, but Kamy made me feel better when she said she bought 39! I bought Hope Edelman's "The Possibility of Everything" after reading Hope's posts "Countdown to Publication"! I also bought "A Woman among Warlords" by Malalai Joya because I am intrigued by the women of Afghanistan who persevere and even triumph in nearly impossible circumstances. I also bought two soft-cover books, one published in 2009 and one in 2008 (okay so I cheated), I bought "Girl Trouble" by Holly Goddard Jones and "Time of My Life" by Allison Winn Scotch who I follow on Twitter and love her style and her voice. I think this one is already being made into a movie! I believe that right now Hope is the only one of the authors who is a member of She Writes, if I knew how best to contact the others I would certainly invite them.

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