June 2023 MBR The General Fiction Shelf

The General Fiction Shelf

Into the Desert
Xuemo, author
Howard Goldblatt, translator
Sylvia Li-Chun Lin, translator
Long River Press
c/o China Books & Periodicals, Inc.
www.chinabooks.com
9781592652549, $18.95, PB, 274pp

https://www.amazon.com/Into-Desert-Xuemo/dp/1592652549

Synopsis: "Into the Desert" is the story of two women in Western China in the 1990s, and takes place on the edge of the Gobi Desert, near the site of the ancient Silk Road. Bound together by both poverty and tradition, they embark upon a perilous journey to change their lives.

With the publication of "Into the Desert" by Long River Press, acclaimed Chinese author Xuemo has recreated a bygone village in Gansu province in Western China, a place where camels are as common as automobiles and potatoes replace rice. With his discerning eye for desert landscape, a fine ear for colorful local expressions, and an acute sensitivity to the inner world of his characters, the reader is led on a fantastic journey where hope and tragedy go hand in hand, and where centuries of tradition both suppress and compel the forces of change.

Critique: An inherently fascinating read from first page to last, and ably translated from the Chinese in English by the team of Howard Goldblatt and Sylvia Li-chun Lin (whose previous work includes numerous works of fiction by popular Chinese writers), "Into the Desert" is certain to ignite interest in Xuemo's other works in the English language and is unreservedly recommended for personal, community, college, and university library International Literary Fiction collections.

Editorial Note: XueMo, (https://bytethebook.com/listing/xuemo) formerly known as Chen Kaihong, is a renowned cultural scholar and a leading contemporary Chinese writer, He is also the founder of BeiJingRuXue MediaCo.,Ltd, Dean of The Guangzhou Research Institute for Xiangba Culture, and Humanities Tutor at Fudan University.

Black Girls Must Have It All
Jayne Allen
Harper Perennial
c/o HarperCollins Publishers
www.harpercollins.com
Blackstone Audiobooks
www.blackstoneaudio.com
9780063296640, $30.00, HC, 288pp

https://www.amazon.com/Black-Girls-Must-Have-All/dp/0063296640

Synopsis: After a whirlwind year, Tabitha Walker's carefully organized plan to achieve the life she wanted (perfect job, dream husband, and stylish home) has gone off the rails. Her checklist now consists of diapers changed (infinite), showers taken (zero), tears cried (buckets), and hours of sleep (what's that?).

Don't get her wrong, Tabby loves her new bundle of joy and motherhood is perhaps the only thing that's consistent for her these days. When the news station announces that they will be hiring outside competitors for the new anchor position, Tabby throws herself into her work. But it's not just maintaining her position as the station's weekend anchor that has her worried. All of her relationships seem to be shifting out of their regular orbits!

Best friend Alexis can't manage to strike the right balance in her "refurbished" marriage with Rob, and Laila's gone from being a consistent ride-or-die to a newly minted entrepreneur trying to raise capital for her growing business. And when Marc presents her with an ultimatum about their relationship, coupled with an extended "visit" from his mother, Tabby is forced to take stock of her life and make a new plan for the future.

Consumed by work, motherhood, and love, Tabby finds herself isolated from her friends and family just when she needs them most. But help is always there when you ask for it, and Tabby's village will once again rally around her as she comes to terms with her new life and faces her biggest challenge yet -- choosing herself.

Critique: A deftly crafted novel by author Jayne Allen, "Black Girls Must Have It All" will hold a very special appeal to readers with an interest in African-American Fiction, Women's Domestic Life Fiction, and Domestic Fiction. Entertaining, original, compelling, and memorable, "Black Girls Muse Have It All" is a highly recommended pick for community library Contemporary General Fiction collections and is also readily available for personal reading lists in a paperback edition (9780063137943, $18.99), in a digital book format (Kindle, $11.99), and as a complete and unabridged audio book (Blackstone Audio, 9798212214230, $41.99, CD).

Editorial Note: Jayne Allen is the pen name of Jaunique Sealey (https://www.jaunique.com), a graduate of Duke University and Harvard Law School. An avid traveler, she speaks three languages and has visited five continents. Drawing from her unique experiences as an attorney and entrepreneur, she crafts transcultural stories that touch upon contemporary women's issues such as workplace and career dynamics, race, fertility, modern relationships and mental health awareness. Her writing echoes her desire to bring both multiculturalism and multidimensionality to a rich and colorful cast of characters inspired by the magic uncovered in everyday life.

The Womanpriest
Stafford Betty
Roundfire Books
c/o John Hunt Publishing
www.johnhuntpublishing.com
9781803411248, $18.95, PB, 272pp

https://www.amazon.com/Womanpriest-Novel-Stafford-Betty/dp/1803411244

Synopsis; Macrina McGrath is a young Catholic woman, 22-year-old ex-Marine and unwed mother, begins to see cracks in the Church she grew up loving. Bad priests preying on children, harsh treatment of the divorced, a deep-seated and toxic sexism toward the LGBTQ., and archaic dogmas force her to choose between leaving the Church or trying to make it better.

Graduate school in theology at Georgetown and a trip to India help form her resolve: She will stop at nothing to take the Church out of the Middle Ages and deliver women from their abject status. She joins and soon heads the excommunicated Womanpriest movement and with help from the Archbishop of Boston becomes the leader of disaffected Catholics who want change.

The world notices the indomitable American willing to take on the Vatican, and she achieves a spiritual stardom the equal of the pope. Where will all this lead? Meanwhile she contacts the daughter she gave up to adoption; and Ezra, the man she has long loved since their teaching days together at Amherst, reaches out to her one last time.

Now she must choose between family life with him and the new Catholicism she helped create, where women and men minister on an equal basis. Her choice will affect world history.

Critique: Simply stated, "The Womanpriest" by novelist Stafford Betty is a riveting read that will have special and particular appeal to readers with an interest in Christian/Religious mysteries in general, and the tensions within the contemporary Catholic Church in particular. An original, entertaining, thought-provoking, and iconoclastic work of fiction, "The Womanpriest" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $6.99) and is a highly recommended pick for community and academic library Contemporary Fiction collections and personal reading lists.

Editorial Note: Stafford Betty is an author of fiction and non-fiction. Professor of religion at California State University, Stafford earned his PhD in theology from Fordham University. (https://www.johnhuntpublishing.com/roundfire-books/authors/stafford-betty)

The Marriage Box
Corie Adjmi
https://corieadjmi.com
She Writes Press
www.shewritespress.com
9781647420796, $17.95, PB, 288pp

https://www.amazon.com/Marriage-Box-Novel-Corie-Adjmi/dp/1647420792

Synopsis: Casey Cohen, a Middle Eastern Jew, is a sixteen-year-old in New Orleans in the 1970s when she starts hanging out with the wrong crowd. Then she gets in trouble and her parents turn her whole world upside down by deciding to return to their roots, the Orthodox Syrian Jewish community in Brooklyn.

In this both new and foreign world, families gather weekly for Shabbat dinner; parties are extravagant events at the Museum of Natural History; and the Marriage Box is a real place, a pool deck designated for teenage girls to put themselves on display for potential husbands.

Casey is at first shocked by this unfamiliar culture, but after she meets Michael, she's enticed by it. Looking for love and a place to belong, she marries him at eighteen, believing she can adjust to Syrian ways. But she begins to question her decision when she discovers that Michael doesn't want her to go to college; he wants her to have a baby instead.

Can Casey integrate these two opposing worlds, or will she have to leave one behind in order to find her way?

Critique: Original, entertaining, thought-provoking, and showing author Corie Adjmi's impressive and genuine flair for the kind of narrative driven and descriptive storytelling style that fully engages the reader's attention from first page to last, "The Marriage Box" is all the more impressive when considering that it is Corie Adjmi's debut as a novelist. A compelling read for those interested in Jewish culture, family life, and women's issues and also available for personal reading lists in a digital book format (Kindle, $8.49), "The Marriage Box" is a very highly recommended acquisition choice for community library General Fiction collections.

Editorial Note: Corie Adjmi is the author of the short story collection Life and Other Shortcomings, which won an International Book Award, an IBPA Benjamin Franklin award, and an American Fiction Award. Her essays and short stories have appeared in dozens of journals and magazines, including HuffPost, North American Review, Indiana Review, Medium, Motherwell, Kveller, and others.

The Summer Place
Jennifer Weiner
Atria Books
c/o Simon & Schuster
www.simonandschuster.com
9781501133572, $28.99, HC, 432pp

https://www.amazon.com/Summer-Place-Novel-Jennifer-Weiner/dp/1501133578

Synopsis: When her twenty-two-year-old stepdaughter announces her engagement to her pandemic boyfriend, Sarah Danhauser is shocked. But the wheels are in motion. Headstrong Ruby has already set a date (just three months away!) and spoken to her beloved safta, Sarah's mother Veronica, about having the wedding at the family's beach house in Cape Cod. Sarah might be worried, but Veronica is thrilled to be bringing the family together one last time before putting the big house on the market.

But the road to a wedding day usually comes with a few bumps. Ruby has always known exactly what she wants, but as the wedding date approaches, she finds herself grappling with the wounds left by the mother who walked out when she was a baby. Veronica ends up facing unexpected news, thanks to her meddling sister, and must revisit the choices she made long ago, when she was a bestselling novelist with a different life.

Sarah's twin brother, Sam, is recovering from a terrible loss, and confronting big questions about who he is - questions he hopes to resolve during his stay on the Cape. Sarah's husband, Eli, who's been inexplicably distant during the pandemic, confronts the consequences of a long ago lapse from his typical good-guy behavior. And Sarah, frustrated by her husband, concerned about her stepdaughter, and worn out by challenges of life during quarantine, faces the alluring reappearance of someone from her past and a life that could have been.

When the wedding day arrives, lovers are revealed as their true selves, misunderstandings take on a life of their own, and secrets come to light. There are confrontations and revelations that will touch each member of the extended family, ensuring that nothing will ever be the same.

Critique: A deftly crafted and fully entertaining novel with a special appeal to readers with an interest in Family/Domestic Life issues and stories from a woman's perspective, "The Summer Place" is a 'must' for the legions of JenniferWeiner fans. While especially and unreservedly recommended for community library Literary Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "The Summer Place" is also available in a paperback edition (9781501133589, $18.99), in a digital book format (Kindle, $13.99), and as a complete and unabridged audio book (Simon & Schuster Audio, 9781797138381, $39.99, CD).

Editorial Note: Jennifer Weiner (JenniferWeiner.com) is the author of twenty-one books, including The Summer Place, That Summer, Big Summer, Mrs. Everything, In Her Shoes, Good in Bed, and a memoir in essays, Hungry Heart. She has appeared on many national television programs, including Today and Good Morning America, and her work has been published in The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, among other newspapers and magazines.

Back to the Dirt
Frank Bill
FSG Originals
c/o Farrar, Straus & Giroux
www.fsgbooks.com
9780374534431, $18.00, PB, 336pp

https://www.amazon.com/Back-Dirt-Novel-Frank-Bill/dp/0374534438

Synopsis: Miles is a Vietnam veteran who's worried he's going to lose his job (and with it his tenuous grasp on a stable life) over a fight with a coworker. His PTSD and struggles to control his steroid-fueled violent tendencies also complicate his relationship with his girlfriend, Shelby, a stripper who only occasionally displays the proverbial heart of gold.

But she is certainly kinder and more generous than her brother, Wylie, who has been implicated in the deaths of two local Oxy dealers and is currently on the run. When Wylie kidnaps Shelby and holes up in Miles's country lair, it all threatens to become a bit too much for Miles.

As the layers of Miles's personal history are peeled away, going deep into his memories of the Vietnam War, "Back to the Dir"t gets to the root of the traumas that have caused Miles and his community so much adversity.

Critique: "Back to the Dirt" is blistering and original story of trying to abide by core values (living close to the land, working with your hands) that all to often been obscured by neglect, drug abuse, and desperation. What remains is a profound and important novel of an America that is only now beginning to get its due attention -- and author/novelist Frank Bill is its most visceral, essential chronicler. While "Back to the Dirt" is a riveting and recommended addition to community library Literary Fiction collections, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of anyone with an interest in action/adventure with a critically important underlying message showcasing a dark underbelly of American life for so many PTSD veterans today, that "Back to the Dirt" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $11.99).

Editorial Note: Frank Bill (https://us.macmillan.com/author/frankbill) is the author of "The Ravaged", with co-author Norman Reedus; the novels The Savage and Donnybrook, the latter of which was turned into a film in 2018; and the story collection Crimes in Southern Indiana, one of GQ's favorite books of 2011 and a Daily Beast best debut of 2011.

The Bird Hotel
Joyce Maynard
Arcade Publishing
www.arcadepub.com
c/o Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.
www.skyhorsepublishing.com
9781956763737, $29.99, HC, 432pp

https://www.amazon.com/Bird-Hotel-Novel-Joyce-Maynard/dp/1956763732

Synopsis: After a childhood filled with heartbreak, Irene, a talented artist, finds herself in a small Central American village where she checks into a beautiful but decaying lakefront hotel called La Llorona at the base of a volcano.

"The Bird Hotel" by novelist Joyce Maynard tells the story of this young American who, after suffering tragedy, restores and runs La Llorona. Along the way we meet a rich assortment of characters who live in the village or come to stay at the hotel. With a mystery at its center and filled with warmth, drama, romance, humor, pop culture, and a little magical realism,

Critique: A truly 'must read' pick for the legions of Joyce Maynard fanst, "The Bird Hotel" is a sweeping saga of a novel spanning four decades, and offering lyricism, whimsy, and local color drawn from the author's more than twenty years in which she has spent a significant amount of her time in a small Mayan indigenous village in Guatemala. As original as it is a fun read from cover to cover, "The Bird Hotel" is an particularly recommended addition for community library collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of those who are interested in 'magical realism' fiction, Hispanic American fiction, and Rural/Small Town fiction, that "The Bird Hotel" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $19.99).

Editorial Note: Joyce Maynard (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joyce_Maynard) has published hundreds of essays as well as eighteen books, both fiction and non-fiction, including the memoir At Home in the World and the novels To Die For and Labor Day, both adapted for film. Her novel, Count the Ways, was recently awarded the Grand Prix Literaire in France. Every winter for over two decades, Maynard has led the Lake Atitlan Memoir workshop, Write by the Lake, in Guatemala.

The Walk-On
Richard Podkowski
Acorn Publising
https://www.facebook.com/AcornPublishingLLC
9798885280341, $27.00, HC, 316pp

https://www.amazon.com/Walk-Richard-Podkowski/dp/B0BTZNFV2R

Synopsis: In the twilight of his NFL career as a middle linebacker for the Chicago Storm, Mike "the Steelman" Stalowski masks his physical pain and mental anguish with alcohol and painkillers. The fan favorite has a rebel image and a notorious reputation, and he plays a violent gridiron game fueled by inner rage.

While estranged from his wife and living in the fishbowl environment of professional sports, he unexpectedly meets the fresh-out-of-college Kim Richardson. She sees through Mike's star persona to who he really is-a kind guy from the Southeast Side of Chicago who has never forgotten his humble blue-collar roots. The lives of the star-crossed, seemingly mismatched couple collide during a whirlwind romance that culminates in a tragic series of events.

Critique: Original, deftly crafted, memorable, inspired by professional athletes who have lived in a media fishbowl under constant tabloid scrutiny showcasing any life-altering mistakes, and of special appeal to readers with an interest in sports fiction, "The Walk-On" by novelist Richard Podkowski is a timeless and engaging story of love and loss, the consequences of personal decisions, and the rewards of faith, redemption, and hope. While particularly recommended for community library Contemporary Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "The Walk-On" is also readily available in a paperback edition (9798885280334, $17.00), and in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).

Editorial Note: Richard Podkowski (https://richardpodkowski.com) began writing fiction while studying criminal justice at Loyola University Chicago. As a United States Secret Service special agent, Richard protected U.S. Presidents and foreign dignitaries and investigated major domestic and international financial crimes. After retiring from the Secret Service in 2003 as a supervisory special agent, he became a management member of a Fortune 100 company's global security group. For the last several years, Richard has been a private sector strategic security consultant. Inspired by professional athletes who lived in a fishbowl under constant media scrutiny and made life-altering mistakes, Richard wrote The Walk-On. Other projects include a Christmas romantic comedy screenplay and a crime story.

At the Seams
Pamela Gwyn Kripke
Open Books
https://open-bks.com
9781948598644, $17.95

https://open-bks.com/library/moderns/at-the-seams/about-book.html

At the Seams is a novel of family loss that contains elements of pain and recovery that could prove triggers to readers who have experienced similar tragedy in their lives. This warning aside, At the Seams cultivates a winning sense of discovery and revival. It's presented from the perspective of a precocious eight-year-old who discovers that a baby brother of her mother died in the hospital before she could begin to know or remember him. Kate's discovery leads to a series of investigations and revelations that follow her into adulthood as she navigates her own life and a generational loss that returns to haunt her decisions and perceptions.

How does a newborn, healthy baby suddenly die in the hospital? It's a mystery that emerges out of the blue when a conversation with her mother reveals part of the truth. The tale is narrated by Kate, a grandchild whose legacy is presented in a more forthright manner by her mother, but which still comes shrouded in a mystery that requires further explanation. As her investigation unravels family secrets, motivations for keeping them, and reveals the truth, readers become immersed in a vivid saga spiced with the intergenerational experiences of a family motivated to resist reality.

Pamela Gwyn Kripke does a fine job of exploring the evolving circumstances from the perspectives of a child who grows into the ability to pursue answers to these questions. The strength of this story lies not so much in the original loss, but the long-term impact it has on the entire family structure as secrets are agreed to, kept, and passed down between generations. Kate's pursuit strengthens when, as a single mother, she finds these patterns unexpectedly repeating in her own life and choices. The impulse to hide, disguise, and modify reality is one that has been handed down quite inadvertently on some levels and more purposely on others, and it prompts Kate to grow and pursue where other family members have settled into quiet complacence.

Her revelations aren't always welcomed by her family. In fact, they think she's gone overboard in her focus: "Was it possible that Grandma Lilly wasn't just homesick? Had she forced the baby's death into oblivion in order to survive all these years, only to have it destroy her now? Or was I too obsessed to see straight? Everyone said I was obsessed." Is there such a thing as too much information? Not to Kate's mind. Readers who follow her pursuit will find much food for thought in her story, between her sparking of family resistance and reactions and the links between her own patterns and those mirrored in her grandparents' choices. Libraries and book clubs looking for vivid stories of loss and its resounding impact on generational connections and life patterns will find much food for thought and discussion in At the Seams, a novel which unravels not just the truth, but the hidden costs of accepting or rejecting it.

Dessert with Buddha
Roland Merullo
https://rolandmerullo.com
PFP Publishing
http://pfppublishing.com
9798986626635, $17.85 Paper/$9.85 Kindle

https://www.amazon.com/Dessert-Buddha-Roland-Merullo/dp/B0BX5LYD7D

Dessert with Buddha blends spirituality with self-actualization growth in a novel that follows Dinner with Buddha's spiritual road trip and completes the fourth and final book in the series. Its special flavor of spiritual and social examination will leave readers hungry for more, yet sated by considerations which pique the mind with new flavors of inspection and realization. The introductory paragraphs explore the fine art of letting go in 2022; from a long-held, beloved family house to a sense of power and control over self and world affairs alike. Buffeted by the winds of chance, the protagonist embarks on a journey filled with insights and explorations. As eccentric monk Volya Rinpoche and his brother-in-law Otto enter into new paths and conversations about spirituality, readers are invited into a milieu in which the narrator explores his expectations and underlying convictions about life. Inevitably, this leads a thinking reader to consider similar perspectives about life's meaning as the road trip results in confrontations with uncomfortable truths and new realizations about life.

Roland Merullo is especially adept at exploring the intersections between belief systems, contrasting Rinpoche's unshakable encounters with Christians and others, with the psyches of believers who act and react in different ways. The contrasts are often delightfully revealing and thought-provoking. Ideally, readers of Dessert with Buddha will already have a basic knowledge of Buddhism and a questioning mind. Those ready to embark on an armchair road trip with two characters whose journey and encounters offer enlightenment and revelations will find much food for thought here, which book clubs, in particular, can use in discussions of novels that incorporate powerful spiritual and growth components. Libraries and readers looking for a lively series of dialogues and encounters between belief systems and those holding them close will find Dessert with Buddha a deliciously attractive story.

Dreams of Arcadia
Brian Porter
Legacy Book Press LLC
https://legacybookpress.com
9798986787480, $15.99

https://legacybookpress.com/dreams_arcadia

Readers who want to get closer to the psyche, history, and currents of the American family should take a hard look at the novel Dreams of Arcadia. It embraces these facets and more as it follows the life of city veterinarian Nate Holub, who moves to his dead father's Texas home town to become a rural vet and learn more about his father's life. What he uncovers both proves and tests his ability to adapt, adjust what he's been raised with, face a different truth, and reinforce his ties with both nature and family.

Nate's quest comes with a heavy price tag, but it also brings newfound revelations about his family ties and his own legacy as he uncovers local and family secrets and begins to understand the undercurrents influencing his own life choices. His encounters with locals, the dialogues between them, and Brian Porter's well spent time in building Texas culture and atmosphere brings readers right into this milieu, however foreign it might first seem. This is an achievement, considering that use of the third person tends to accompany an inherent observational distance that first-person descriptions cultivate, in contrast.

The novel's opening lines describe limited veterinary services and why Nate's pursuit will make him valuable to the community, while descriptions of the places he visits builds the all-important backdrops and people supporting his pursuits. Porter's descriptions connect a sense of place and purpose with bigger-picture reflections on Nate's role and efforts. This entwining of place, purpose, and discovery makes Dreams of Arcadia a compelling read. Readers walk alongside Nate in all of his efforts, understand their motivations and ramifications, and find these descriptions of secluded lives and worlds juxtaposes vet work. These are the experiences which make characters and readers feel "totally alive" as haunting truths emerge to inform Nate about deeper levels of living and thinking, which will often surprise his followers, as well.

Dreams of Arcadia's compelling portrait of lives in flux and tangible connections to the past bring this Texas world to life. Libraries and readers seeking fiction rooted in a sense of community and growth will find that Dreams of Arcadia examines and captures the values that bring families together, making difficult secrets and their logic and choices easier to understand and handle for present and future generations.

Growing Down
Michael J. Tuberdyke
Five Senses Publishing
9798218155278, $15.00

https://www.amazon.com/Growing-Down-Michael-J-Tuberdyke/dp/B0BWH2BMMQ

Growing Down is subtitled "A Comedy of Life." It lives up to its promise with a series of revelations about life as experienced by two male buddies who embark on a romp around town after attending their friend's wedding. The novella represents a study and contrast between maturity and immaturity as Sam and Kevin lose control, revisit the past, and reconsider present-day opportunities and losses shifted by the changing lives of their friends. Michael J. Tuberdyke perfectly captures the perceptions of those changed by the evolution of their peers while they remain in a milieu that is both familiar and stagnant.

There is an existential flavor to the ironic inspection and comedy that evolves as the two spend a day together and enter the evening both carousing and contemplating. The duo's explorations of new possibilities are equally fun and thought-provoking. What are individuals newly changed by another's wedding supposed to do in life when they "don't care about anything?" Michael J. Tuberdyke's succinct novella juxtaposes comedy with bigger-picture thinking in a manner that portends both fun and deeper life inspection. Libraries and readers looking for novels about aging and the revelations of life choices will find Sam and Kevin's explorations to be thought-provoking as they reflect on society and their place in it. It's a read that redefines 'comedy', contrasting it with a contemplative atmosphere that can only take place in the bars and kitchens of life.

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