BOOK: Faithful Place

The concept of "home" means different things to different people. Whether one wants to acknowledge it or not, "home" is where you come from, it forms who you are, and can never be taken away from you. For most people visiting home is a rewarding if not nostalgic experience. For Frank Mackey, the main character in Tana French's page-turning new novel, Faithful Place, it is neither of those things.

When Frank was nineteen, he and his girlfriend, Rosie, made plans to leave their poverty-stricken neighborhood in Dublin and run away together in hopes of starting a new, more prosperous life together. The night they were supposed to meet and leave Rosie does not show so Frank leaves without her, thinking she either got cold feet or was breaking up with him in an extremely cold way. The thing Frank does know is that Rosie's family thinks she did leave.

Years later when Frank is in his 40's, he gets word that Rosie's suitcase was discovered in an abandoned house in his parent's old neighborhood, on Faithful Place. This was a mystery story like I have never read before. The way French crafts the novel is inventive and interesting; I couldn't put it down. This is definitely not a "beach-book" but it is one you should stuff into your beach bag and not come back until you are sunburned to a crisp!

Buzzy

BOOK: Franny and Zooey

With the recent passing of novelist J.D. Salinger, most obituaries and tributes dwell on his most famous work, The Catcher In The Rye. While I agree that this is an important book for many and definitely a piece of classic American literature, I thought I should pay tribute to Salinger with a ZONINO! of my favorite of his novels, Franny and Zooey.

The book, divided in two parts, one for each of the characters, tells the tale many of us can relate to - self-identity in our formational years as 20-somethings. Franny, who the first part is dedicated to, is in college and frustrated with the life around her. Her older brother, Zooey, namesake of the second part, tries to console and counsel his younger sister in his slightly more experienced worldview. The whole story takes place over the course of a couple days and, with a lot of wit, and an uncany ability to capture genuine sibling love, Salinger shows the concerns of the era - late 1950's - and the attitudes of it's young adults.

The book rang true for me on many levels when I first read it in college and I think it has a lot of themes that people can relate to today in our current social and politcal situation. This is not a slow read so I encourge you to take a chance on this (should be) classic by a fantastic author. R.I.P.

Buzzy

BOOK: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay

I've read Michael Chabon's work before in various short essay pieces in magazines and periodicals and, although they've been recommended to me before, I've never read one of his novels. I always found is expository writing witty and entertaining so I figured when a friend basically shoved one of his books in my face, I would like it.

If you read The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, do it for no other reason than to see how a simple conversation between two characters can become a work of art. Chabon (pronounced "shay - bon") has the uncanny ability to capture tiny nuances and motivating details in a character's actions, looks, and past, and infuse them into the text during a dialog, with interrupting the flow.

The story centers around two cousins, Sammy and Joe, who join forces and talents - Sammy's in creating stories, Joe's with illustrating - to produce one of the 1940's greatest comic books. The Escapist, their bread-and-butter character is just the beginning. Before long the young men have a multitude of characters and titles at their disposal, not to mention a growing bank account.

Based in historical and chronological fact, this Pulitzer Prize-winning work of fiction is enjoyable for anyone who had a superhero fetish as a kid - Superman, Batman, Spiderman, Captain America, it doesn't matter! The history is interesting, the writing dynamic, and the plot changes are unpredictable. Much like I imagine the real Escapist's adventures would have been!

Sergio del Limonar

BOOK: Go Ask Alice

The diary-book, Go Ask Alice, is by no means a literary masterpiece. It is really no more than the rambling thought of an average teenage girl in the late 1960's. The only difference is this girl got messed up in the drugs of the era and wrote about it in detail.

The extraordinary thing about this piece of work, published in 1971, is not only the candor and emotion the anonymous author exhibits, but the remorse she feels toward her family, friends, and herself. It's difficult to read at times, especially as she relapses. Sometimes this seems to occur suddenly as we are only privy to her diary entries which are often times sporadic and even lacking dates at times.

Although the authenticity of the book - whether it was an actual diary or really a work of fiction - is still up for debate. Regardless, the ideas in the various entries and the roller coaster of emotions the girl goes through are enough to influence another generation to stay off drugs.

Sergio del Limonar

BOOK: Tales From the Town of Widows

Maybe the only thing more impressive than James Cañón's 2007 debut novel, Tales From the Town of Widows, is that he wrote it beautifully in his second language. Cañón, a native of Ibagué, Colombia, has crafted a story that is at once fanciful, historical, political, humorous, and dead serious.

The story takes place in the tiny fictitious village of Mariquita, which has had the misfortune of having been visited by a group of guerrilla fighters who take with them all of the males over the age of 12 to join them in their fight against the government. This leaves behind a town of women and children, the priest and a 13 year old child who's mother disguised him in a dress to prevent his abduction.

Throughout the story the town's people learn how to live and function effectively without their male counterparts with mixed results. The characters are a colorful bunch and Cañón never shies away from realism and shock-value; there is never a dull moment in Mariquita.

One of the most interesting and creative aspects of the book is how the author intersperses faux-narritives from a variety of men involved with the various conflicts plaguing the country. The ex-guerrila, the military general, the American reporter, and the paramilitary officer all get a chance to tell a part of their story for a few juxtaposed paragraphs within the "Tales" from Mariquita. Aside from being accurate and interesting, the vignettes offer a reminder to the reader that, while the widows are suffering and adapting in their village, the rest of the country is also in a state of transition and turmoil as well.

This book is an important lesson in contemporary story-telling as well as a reminder of the present world situation. I enjoy novels that make you think but don't preach at you or make you feel guilty or bad after reading it. Tales From the Town of Widows is one of those rare books.

Sergio del Limónar

BOOK: You Shall Know Our Velocity

I think a lot of people enjoy stand up comics because they have a way of expressing the humorous sides of every day situations in ways most people can't. Dave Eggers, author of the phenomenal novel, You Shall Know Our Velocity!, has a similar talent though his leans more toward the accessing of every day thoughts and ponderings.

The story follows two life-long friends, Will and Hand as they aim to travel once around the globe, distributing money (about $32,000 worth) along the way. Their journey begins in Chicago and then proceeds to Senegal, Morocco, Estonia, Latvia, and a few other brief stops along the way. The giving of the money is sometimes arbitrary and sometimes purposeful and judging, opening the characters to some humanizing debate about charity and what exactly they are doing.

Eggers has an almost supernatural way for descriptions. Often times I thought that, in any one else's hands these words would come off as trying too hard to be creative. One of my favorite descriptions came when the main characters were in Heathrow Airport in London. While talking to a booking agent, Eggers describes her "tired happy face" as that "of a third grade teacher in her last year."

I recommend this book to anyone who likes stories that explore the human nature, any guy approaching or recently having past his 10 year high school reunion, or anyone who has traveled outside of the United States. This book is identifiable on so many levels and makes for a fast, enjoyable, thought-provoking read.

Sergio del Limónar

BOOK: Interpreter of Maladies

A few years ago I read Jhumpa Lahiri's second book and first full novel, The Namesake. I was floored by her simple way of telling a quite mundane story but using such beautiful prose that even the most ordinary detail or action seemed profound. Lahiri has a gift in her writing that allows her to be both insanely descriptive and incredibly simple at the same time.

Her first book, Interpreter of Maladies, a collection of nine short stories, is no exception to her talented style of writing. Published in 1999, this Pulitzer Prize winner centers each story around the life of either an Indian or Indian-American and a vignette in their life.

My favorite story was about a poor woman who swept the stairs of an apartment building in India who claimed she once had a luxurious life with servants, a mansion of a house, and glamorous parties all the time. The people of the building, not wealthy themselves, humored her and treated her kindly by allowing her a space to sleep in exchange for hr cleaning and door-guarding services. Circumstances conspire and, while feeling momentarily useless, she leaves the building and wanders the city. When she returns, her life has changed again, possibly for the second time.

Despite the personal tragedies, some self-imposed, that her characters are in, the story unfolds before the reader in such beautiful language that it hard to determine if, as the last paragraph come to an end, you liked the story or not. In the end, I think most readers will concede that Lahiri is painting truth through words on paper and in lieu of the sometimes sad lives her characters lead, they reflect a certain relatability that is endearing.

Sergio del Limónar

BOOK: Next

I'm not a huge fan of science-based novels. Sometimes it seems like authors either don't really get the subject matter at all or they get it too much and go too far. While I've come across some medically-themed books in the past that worked well, most of the time when an author wanders into the fanciful nature of science writing - I guess one would call it science fiction (shutter) - they lose my interest.

Michael Crichton's layered story of genetic science was not what I had anticipated. Next is a novel about the perils, pitfalls, misconceptions, and marvels of the genetic engineering field. A little ADD at times, Crichton jumps between a myriad group of diverse characters, all the while informing and cautioning the reader about this new frontier.

The opening page reads "This novel is fiction, except for the parts that aren't." With this ominous disclaimer, Crichton creatively sprinkles real news articles or clippings in between various chapters, often foreshadowing coming action. While everything that happens might not be one hundred percent realistic, it probably is not that far off base. Curing drug addiction through one's genes, genetically modified animals that can compute or even speak, the legality and ethics behind the concept of patenting parts of DNA are all addressed in this story in a way that takes the fiction out of the science fiction.

Sergio del Limonar

BOOK: Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer is the insanely unique story of a precocious 9 year old boy named Oskar who has lost his father in the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks on the Twin Towers.

I read Safran Foer's debut novel, Everything Is Illuminated, a few years ago and found it amazingly inventive, although challenging to follow at times unless it was read in large chunks of time, like on a trans-Atlantic flight, for instance. I found this, his second book, published in 2005, in the school library while during a lull in Parent/Teacher Conferences and was instantly hooked yet again.

While both books have a certain amount of fantastical whimsy in them, this one stays a little closer to reality than the first novel. The dialog and thought process that Safran Foer has used to capture that weird uber-smart kid that sat next to you in fourth grade and asked the questions that kept you from getting to lunch or recess on time is genius.

The other characters that surround Oskar, his Grandma, mother, upstairs neighbor, doorman, as well as relatives from the past, are all worthy of an invitation to dinner. At the end of each chapter I kept changing my mind about who I liked the best!

Sergio del Limónar

BOOK: Pride & Prejudice

A few days ago I recommended watching the BBC's mini series version of Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice. I still think you should opt for this version, of course, but I also feel that recommending the novel itself is also incredibly ZONINO!

Since it was first made available to the public in 1813, Austen's book has addressed the issues of social classes and perceptions in pre-Victorian England. Through the Bennet family and all their daughters and their daughter's suiters, we enter a world of morals, manners, and protocol...or occasional lack thereof.

The thing I enjoy most about the novel is how Austen's humor transcends time. I don't image many authors can hope to remain funny in their story-telling almost 200 years after being published.

If you have an urge to pick up a classic in a flash of culturing yourself or reliving those Humanities courses of bygone senior high days, then Pride & Prejudice is a welcome treasure!

Sergio del Limónar

MOVIE: Pride & Prejudice (BBC version)

Jane Austen's perennial classic novel, Pride & Prejudice, has been reinterpreted many times, including the recent 2005 Keira Knightley version.

I had the fortune to come across my 3 DVD set of the BBC's version of this great book. Produced as a television mini-series ten years before the aforementioned cinematic endeavor, I find this version of Pride & Prejudice far superior. In all fairness, part of that comes from the fact that the BBC version is close to five and a half hours long, following the original story to almost script-like accuracy. The fact that shorter version must combine or omit scenes is understandable in this light, but why not get the full effect of the brilliance of Austen's story-telling!?!

The BBC version also includes the very brooding persona of Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy, and the engaging Jennifer Ehle playing Elizabeth Bennet to perfection. Also, nothing against the great Dame Judi Dench, but I refuse to believe anyone else as Lady Catherine de Bourgh after seeing Barbara Leigh-Hunt's scene-stealing performance here. I confess to sometimes skipping ahead to the third disc just to watch the scene in the garden where Elizabeth and Lady Catherine come to blows.

If you're going to try and cheat a literature course by watching the movie in lieu of reading the book, it might as well be this version.

Sergio del Limónar

BOOK: Prep

Remember moving far away from the comforts of home to a part of the country you knew nothing about, socially, to go to high school? Remember dormitory living at 15 years old, the ins and outs or formal dinners, and how to tell the differences between the different types of "rich" amongst your peers? Me neither...

But I still found Curtis Sittenfeld's 2005 novel, Prep, about an ambitious girl from South Bend, Indiana, from a middle class family who's dad runs a mattress factory, who gets accepted to a prestigious boarding school in Massachusetts on (gasp) scholarship. The book is divided by parts of the academic year beginning with the heroine, Lee's, Freshman Fall semester and follows her through her time at the institution.

What impressed me most about Ms. Sittenfeld's writing (yes, "Ms.") is how accurately she wrote the internal dialog and thought process of a high school student. Hanging around them all day long, I can vouch that she was spot on. High School can be an interesting and challenging time for a kid, especially one attempting to both just survive and simultaneously discover who they are. Sittenfeld nails both, finding ample time to sprinkle in plenty of humor that will make anyone, whether still in high school or years removed laugh out loud at how some things never change.

Sergio del Limónar

BOOK: Sold

Written entirely in prose, Sold, by Patricia McCormick, is the story of a Nepali girl, Lakshmi, who is sold into prostitution in India by here step-father. Although fictional in narrative, the constructs of the book are completely real; according to the endnote, around 12,000 children are sold to become sex slaves in Indian brothels by their extremely poor families, many unwillingly.

A National Book Award Finalist in 2006, the book follows Lakshmi, a "hill girl" from Nepal. It begins as she cheerily goes about her daily life dreaming of one day saving enough money to buy her mother a tin roof for their house, a sign of prosperity in her village, to her voyage to a strange new city aboard busses and amongst tall buildings after her step-father tells her she is going to work as a maid for a rich family far away from her home.

Although I had mixed feelings about the story being told in prose-form, I can not imagine hearing Lakshmi's tale any other way. Some "chapters," only a few lines long, are more powerful in this medium.

While it is not a subject matter many of us would like to think about, an awareness of the atrocities that affect the world's children is necessary for our society. Check out this book and then pass it on; the lexile is not difficult, it is easy to start and stop, and its impossible to forget.

Sergio del Limónar