Good books — they just never stop coming. Here’s what I’ve got my eye on this week.

Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez

• Hardcover: 304 pages 
• Publisher: Amistad (January 5, 2010)

From Publisher’s Weekly:

In her debut, Perkins-Valdez eloquently plunges into a dark period of American history, chronicling the lives of four slave women—Lizzie, Reenie, Sweet and Mawu—who are their masters’ mistresses. The women meet when their owners vacation at the same summer resort in Ohio. There, they see free blacks for the first time and hear rumors of abolition, sparking their own desires to be free. For everyone but Lizzie, that is, who believes she is really in love with her master, and he with her. An extended flashback in the middle of the novel delves into Lizzie’s life and vividly explores the complicated psychological dynamic between master and slave. Jumping back to the final summer in Ohio, the women all have a decision to make—will they run? Heart-wrenching, intriguing, original and suspenseful, this novel showcases Perkins-Valdez’s ability to bring the unfortunate past to life.

Doesn’t that sound fantastic?! Can’t wait to get my hands on this book.

Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War by Karl Marlantes

• Hardcover: 592 pages 
• Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press; 1 edition (April 1, 2010)

From Publisher’s Weekly:

Thirty years in the making, Marlantes’s epic debut is a dense, vivid narrative spanning many months in the lives of American troops in Vietnam as they trudge across enemy lines, encountering danger from opposing forces as well as on their home turf. Marine lieutenant and platoon commander Waino Mellas is braving a 13-month tour in Quang-Tri province, where he is assigned to a fire-support base and befriends Hawke, older at 22; both learn about life, loss, and the horrors of war. Jungle rot, leeches dropping from tree branches, malnourishment, drenching monsoons, mudslides, exposure to Agent Orange, and wild animals wreak havoc as brigade members face punishing combat and grapple with bitterness, rage, disease, alcoholism, and hubris. A decorated Vietnam veteran, the author clearly understands his playing field (including military jargon that can get lost in translation), and by examining both the internal and external struggles of the battalion, he brings a long, torturous war back to life with realistic characters and authentic, thrilling combat sequences. Marlantes’s debut may be daunting in length, but it remains a grand, distinctive accomplishment.

What the Dead Know by Laura Lippman was picked by my in real life book club. I knew nothing about it going in, but within a few pages I was hooked and excitedly tweeting how much I was loving this book.

I guess you could say this is a murder mystery, since that is the premise, but I would argue it’s much more than that. Basically, 30 years ago two girls, sisters, Heather and Sunny, disappeared, and the murder was never solved. The parents, Dave and Miriam, of the sisters ultimately divorced, and Miriam moved down to Mexico while Dave passed away in his 50s. The reason the case is brought up again is because a woman who is involved in a car accident tells one of the officers that she’s one of the missing girls. And she knows things about the area that you could only know if you’d lived there, and she knows details about the case that you could only know if you’d been involved, but she’s being awfully cagey and doesn’t really want to see her mom so what the heck is going on and maybe this girl is an imposter?

The story unfolds in alternating chapters, some in the present, and some unfolding the story from the past.

Lippman does a fantastic job at character development, but treats the reader to some humor while she’s at it:

But over time Kay came to realize that she preferred her books to other people’s company. Reading was not a fallback position for her but an ideal state of being.

Kay sometimes thought she should get a little custom-made button: I’m not gay, I just like read.

In particular there was a lot of development about the parents and their marriage. The point of view changes from various people throughout the book (the sisters (Heather and Sunny), the social worker (Kay), the parents (Dave and Miriam), etc), so you sometimes see the same incident through both eyes, say, a scene with the two parents, and it really gives you a deeper understanding of the complexities of a marriage.

(Dave is thinking about Miriam letting him open his own business) Lately he had begun to wonder if Miriam figured that she would benefit either way. The store would make them rich or provide her with something to hold over Dave’s head the rest of their lives. She had given him his chance, and he had blown it. Now every disagreement between them was rooted in that unspoken context: I believed in you / You blew it.  Had she hoped all along that he would fail?

And the way Lippman touches on the grief of the parents just ripped my heart out. Miriam chooses to move on, while Dave chooses not to. Can you really criticize either choice? Particularly after Miriam observes:

“But if I don’t accept the probability of their deaths at this point, how do I live? How do I go on?”

…

“It’s hard,” she said. “Remaining open to hope, yet needing to grieve. Whatever I do or say, I feel as if I’m betraying my daughters. We just want to know.”

I’m sure many people could figure out the ending within the first 50 pages. But this book is so much more than the plot. The author had so much more to say than to tell you whodunit. The complexities of marriage, guilt, grief, and responsibility are just a few of the subjects that Lippman touches on, and touches on well.

I was disappointed that only myself and one other book club member really enjoyed the book. In fact, after the other members left, I lingered with the other person who enjoyed the book and we discussed passages we loved, passages that touched us for one reason or another. But maybe that’s what makes books so special: not every book is important or profound to everyone else, so it holds a little bit of magic for those of us who it does touch.

Rating: 92 out of 100

Laura Lippman’s website

Other reviews:

Reactions to Reading

Shelf Love

books i done read

Bibliolatry

Book source: I checked this book out from the library, and ended up paying like $3.00 in overdue fines, so I should probably be irritated and give it a bad review, but alas, I liked it too much.

And one more thing? If you click on one of the What the Dead Know links and buy something from Amazon, I’ll make a commission! Mwahahahaha!! Maybe with the pennies I make I’ll be able to call someone who cares.

You can thank the FTC for this disclosure!

In 2009, I read What the Dead Know by Laura Lippman for my book club. I haven’t posted my review yet, but I promise, it’s nothing short of gushing!

Because I loved What the Dead Know so much, I thought it would be fun to read more books by Lippman, and what better way to do it than in a challenge! Another impetus for doing a Laura Lippman challenge is because Life Sentences is coming out in paperback on March 2, 2010, and she has a new book coming out this summer, tentatively scheduled for September.

Lippman has written 16 books, not including the book that will be released this summer. She has a Tess Monahan series, which are mysteries, but novels that she’s writing now, like Life Sentences, are stand-alone novels. Having read What the Dead Know, I think Lippman’s stand-alone books are more literary fiction than just fiction, though there is a mystery element to What the Dead Know.  So you certainly have plenty of books to choose from! And if mysteries aren’t your thing, then be sure to try some of Lippman’s stand-alone novels.

Here’s a list of Lippman’s books, as well as when they were released, awards they were nominated for and/or won, and what genre they are.

 Baltimore Blues

Released February 1997 (Hardcover released December 2006)

Nominated for a Shamus for best first novel

Genre: Mystery (this is the first Tess Monahan series)

Charm City

Released October 1997 (Hardcover released December 2007)

Winner of the Edgar and Shamus awards, nominated for the Anthony

Genre: Mystery (2nd in the Tess Monahan series)

Butchers Hill

Released July 1998 (Hardcover released October 2008)

Winner of the Agatha and Anthony awards, nominated for the Edgar, Shamus and Macavity

Genre: Mystery (3rd in the Tess Monahan series)

In Big Trouble

Released September 1999 (Hardcover released October 2009)

Winner of the Anthony and Shamus awards, nominated for the Edgar and Agatha

Genre: Mystery (4th in the Tess Monahan series)

Sugar House

Released September 2000 (Mass market released August 2001)

Nominated for best P.I. novel by the Romantic Times, cited as one of the best mystery novels of the year by the Washington Post, the London Times, the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel and Amazon.com

Genre: Mystery (5th in the Tess Monahan series)

In a Strange City

Released September 2001 (Mass market released October 2002)

Genre: Mystery (6th in the Tess Monahan series)

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The Last Place

Released October 2002 (Mass market released August 2003)

Genre: Mystery (7th in the Tess Monahan series)

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Every Secret Thing

Released September 2003 (Mass market released October 2004)

Winner of the Anthony and Barry awards

Genre: Mystery (stand-alone)

By a Spider’s Thread

Released July 2004 (Mass market released July 2005)

Genre: Mystery (8th in the Tess Manahan series)

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To the Power of Three

Released June 2005 (Mass market released June 2006)

Genre: Mystery (stand-alone)

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No Good Deeds

Mass market released February 2007

Genre: Mystery (9th in the Tess Monahan series)

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What the Dead Know

Released March 2007 (Trade paperback released February 2009)

Genre: Fiction/romance/suspense

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Another Thing To Fall

Released March 2008 (Mass market released February 2009)

Genre: Mystery (10th in the Tess Monahan series)

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Hardly Knew Her

Released October 2008 (Trade paperback released October 2009)

Genre: Short stories, mysteries

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Life Sentences

Release March 2009 (Trade paperback released March 2010)

Genre: Fiction/suspense

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Here’s the rules/details:

• The challenge goes from January 26, 2010 through December 31, 2010.
• Anyone can participate! You do not need a blog!
• You can use the button I’ve got at the top of this post. Please save it down to your computer and upload it to your own blog.
• Challenge books can overlap with other challenges.
• You do not need to pick your book in advance.
• You can change levels mid-challenge!
• Levels:
  • Taster – 1 book
  • Dabbler – 2 books
  • Interested Party – 3 books
  • Laura Lippman Lover – 4 books
  • Stalker – 5+ books

Have fun with me! Sign up using the Mr. Linky below.

This second Mr. Linky? This is where we can put the links to our reviews, so there’ll all in one spot. And that way we can see which books people totally loved.

Congratulations to commenter #6, Holly from 2 Kids and Tired Book Reviews for winning a copy of The Book of Fires!

The Book of Fires by Jane Borodale is a historical fiction novel about Agnes Trussel, a 17-year-old girl who lives in the country in England. Agnes flees her home because of an unwanted pregnancy, and goes to London to start a new, respectable life. In one of the carriers that Agnes rides to London, she meets Lettice Talbot, a beautiful girl not much older than Agnes. Lettice promises to help Agnes, giving Agnes hope for her new life.

London is bigger and more unfriendly than Agnes anticipated. She loses the slip of paper that has the address where she can find Lettice, and as evening is closing in, Agnes finds herself asking for the job of housekeeper that’s advertised on the door of Mr. Blacklock. Instead of taking her on as a housekeeper, Mr. Blacklock takes her on as his apprentice.

Agnes is only two months pregnant when she starts working with Mr. Blacklock, who is a pyrotechnic in the business of making fireworks. She shows an aptitude for making fireworks, so he keeps her on. One of the things Agnes worries about is what she’ll do when Mr. Blacklock finds out she’s pregnant, because she’ll probably find herself out of a job, no matter how hard she’s worked.

I had a hard time connecting with Agnes. I never really felt like I wanted to cheer for her. I liked her, but it was in a passing-interest kind of way, not in an invested-and-care-what-happens kind of way. I spent much of the story wondering why I wasn’t more interested in Agnes. I think part of it had to due with the fact that she WAS PREGNANT, yet for someone who would be completely shamed and could have her life ruined by this baby being born, she spent very little time thinking about how she got pregnant (rape), or what she was going to do when the baby was born.

One other thing about Agnes is that she’s ridiculously naive. She’s extremely intelligent, but has a naivity that can be extremely frustrating to watch. I often wondered if she could really be so dense.

I really liked the pyrotechnics portion of The Book of Fire. The technical parts didn’t bog down, and one of the interesting parts of this book was that at the time this book takes place, fireworks didn’t have color; they were only in white and silver. Agnes encourages Mr. Blacklock to find a way to make a colored firework, and her descriptions of the depth of color the fireworks should have is luscious.

I enjoy historical fiction but am no history buff. The language in The Book of Fire was reminiscent of an older time, but whether the verbiage is historically accurate is not something I can speak to. While clunky at times, I really enjoyed it and thought it gave the book just the atmosphere it needed.

All my criticisms aside, this is definitely an enjoyable novel that will get you caught up in another time.

Rating: 85 out of 100

And one more thing? If you click on one of The Book of Fire links and buy something from Amazon, I’ll make a commission.

You can thank the FTC for this disclosure!

My new feature that showcases books I’m dying to read!

The Map of True Places by Brunonia Barry

I absolutely loved The Lace Reader and am excited to see what else Brunonia has in store for us. I’ve met Brunonia, so I can’t help but wonder if it’s my imagination, or does that back of the woman on the cover look a bit like what Brunonia looks like from the back? Either way, it’s a really lovely cover.

Read the prologue at www.mapoftrueplaces.com.

(In an email I received from Brunonia) It’s a story about relationships and family and finding your true place in the world when you have no map to follow.

The Girl Who Fell From the Sky by Heidi W. Durrow

The Girl Who Fell From the Sky caught my attention because it’s the latest Bellwether Prize winner, which is a prize that was founded by Barbara Kingsolver. “Its intent is to advocate serious literary fiction that addresses issues of social justice and the impact of culture and politics on human relationships. The prize is awarded to a previously unpublished novel representing excellence in this genre.”

I somehow snagged a copy of this, so I’ve done the unthinkable and abandoned my (terrible) book club pick in favor of The Girl Who Fell From the Sky. We can talk about the book once I’ve, uh, finished laundering my pants.

Check out Heidi Durrow’s website here.

This debut novel tells the story of Rachel, the daughter of a Danish mother and a black G.I. who becomes the sole survivor of a family tragedy.

With her strict African American grandmother as her new guardian, Rachel moves to a mostly black community, where her light brown skin, blue eyes, and beauty bring mixed attention her way. Growing up in the 1980s, she learns to swallow her overwhelming grief and confronts her identity as a biracial young woman in a world that wants to see her as either black or white.

Meanwhile, a mystery unfolds, revealing the terrible truth about Rachel’s last morning on a Chicago rooftop. Interwoven are the voices of Jamie, a neighborhood boy who witnessed the events, and Laronne, a friend of Rachel’s mother. Inspired by a true story of a mother’s twisted love, The Girl Who Fell from the Sky reveals an unfathomable past and explores issues of identity at a time when many people are asking “Must race confine us and define us?”