BOOK REVIEW: A Peculiar Grace

Sometimes perseverance does pay off. When I picked up A PECULIAR GRACE by Jeffrey Lent, I was intrigued by the comparisons of Lent to authors Cormac McCarthy, Pat Conroy, and William Faulkner. You have to agree that that is pretty heavy company to be in. The trouble is that Faulkner is very hard for me to read--his sentences tend to get too long.

The first chapters of A PECULIAR GRACE were very Faulknerish and I almost gave up. Soon the characters became so real to me that I would have felt disloyal to them not to finish their story.

Hewitt Pearce is in his early forties. He lives very much alone in the family home in Vermont. He has little contact with other people and even the customers who are willing to pay for his brilliant pieces of custom ironwork are also willing to wait because he gives no guarantee of timing. In addition to his work he is responsible for the art collection that his late father had left in the house and with a family secret.
His hermetic life changes with the arrival of Jessica, a troubled young woman and at the same time he learns the news that the love of his life, Emily, is now widowed.

The actual story line of the book is much more complicated then that, but what made this such an outstanding read turned out to be the style of the author. He covers the New York art scene in the 1940’s, through commune life during the seventies, and rural New England today.

Once I got into the author’s rhythm, I found myself rereading passages of description to savor the changing of the leaves in Vermont or the loneliness of the empty house.

I enjoy an author who can not only create main characters, but surround them with believable neighbors and friends. From Hewitt’s war damaged friend to his strong Irish-American mother, these were real people.  The characters, the use of words, and the situations that are faced would make this a great read for discussion groups.

Personally I would add John Steinbeck, a personal favorite, to the above list of authors. Hewitt should become one of the fictional characters who stay in your mind for a long time. My perseverance means that I have found an other author to add.

BOOK REVIEW: The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine

New Year, new author. Russian author Alina Bronsky’s THE HOTTEST DISHES OF THE TARTAR CUISINE was on the “staff pick” shelf in a book store that I visited over Christmas weekend. I always check that area in a book store; not only do you get some good ideas, but it gives you a feel for the people working there.

The clerk warned me that it would appeal to anyone who had a dark sense of humor. Naturally I brought it home with me and found out that she was right.

Rosa Achmetowna has just learned that her seventeen-year -old daughter, “stupid Sulfa”, is pregnant and not aware of who the father is or how it happened. Rosa tries everything that she knows to avoid the birth, and some things that she is not sure about, but the baby is born.  To Rosa’s delight baby Aminat is a true Tartar and becomes the most important thing in the new grandmother’s life. What follows is Rosa’s fight to win Aminat away from inept Sulfa.

It does not take the reader long to realize that maybe Rosa Achmetowna is not a very reliable narrator. Nobody around her lives up to her expectations of perfection; nobody except herself.  Her husband Kalganow spends his time at work and in the nearby park contemplating death. Sulfa knows nothing about taking care of herself, let alone a baby. Her neighbor is fat and lazy. None of them will listen to her expert advice.

Through manipulation, bribes, and a sleazy German who has noticed Aminat - now a wild and willful teenager, Rosa gets herself, her daughter, and her granddaughter out of Russia and into Germany where the family truly disintegrates.

Bronsky tells her story through Rosa’s eyes. The humor is indeed very dark, but Rosa will teach the reader inventive ways to survive in a country where supplies are scarce and with a family that is not as brilliant at getting things done as she is.

One of the things that I liked about this book was that the translation from German to English was very well done. Too often translated books have a stiffness about them. The language in THE HOTTEST DISHES... stayed fresh and vital.  The book was translated by Tim Mohr who sounds fascinating in his own right. He is a former Berlin club DJ and is co-author of IT'S EASY (AND OTHER LIES).

Alina Bronsky is a new, exciting voice that will be heard in the future. Her style is lean, her characters sharp, her humor subtle, and she develops a plot that keeps a reader turning the pages. It was a good Staff Pick.

THEATER: A Year With Frog and Toad

ARTsmART with the State High Thespians presented A YEAR WITH FROG AND TOAD recently and if you did not take your favorite youngster to see it, you both missed a fun show.

What made this production so special is that the high school students were responsible for everything from the choreography to publicity to sound design, and yes, even to the baking of the cookies. I can not begin to tell of all of the creative touches throughout the show; I loved the actress who played the fire in the fireplace at Christmas time.

Frog and Toad were played by Stephen Zimmerer and Tyler Weakland, respectively. Both young men had exceptional voices and great stage presence. Tyler was as full of fears and negativity as I always pictured Toad, but it was easy to see why he and easy-going Frog were good friends.

It is important that any “animal” show give the audience fun characters while staying within the natural character of the animal. This was probably best shown by Snail as she slooowly delivered the letter to Toad. I thought that Morgan Sichler played Snail because she was pretty and had a lovely smile. Then Morgan did her solo “I’m Coming Out of My Shell” and blew me away. This was no quiet little snail!

The Birds, Kylie Bumbarger, Madeline Lusk, and Jana Bontrager, were delightful. Their voices blended so well, reminding us older folks of the Andrew Sisters. The luggage for the trip South was a nice touch.

It is hard to pick out individuals from the ensemble. The turtles, frogs, seeds, moles, etc were played by Page McDonough, Bryanna Kifolo, Sasha Scherlinsky, Kim Farnsworth, and Taliya Reisterer. Jacob Hopkins was the voice of Large and Terrible Frog and really should check into a future in horror movies. He was frightening. The one person who did stand out for me was Jason Doll. I can not wait to see what he does in the future; he has a voice that I will remember and seemed to be having a ball with his parts, even if it was just standing there being a Christmas tree.

This was a show that was clever, very creative, moved exceptionally well (a vital element for a children’s show) and full of cast and crew who were having a great time. I am already excited to see their Spring Musical.

BOOK REVIEW: The Chosen

The week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve has always been a time for me to pamper--me! Not that I do that much anymore to get ready for the Holidays; it just seems that I don’t feel guilty taking time to do what I want to do and in my case that means reading.

One of my favorite authors is Sharon Sala and because her books tend to be very different, I feel that I can get away with reviewing her now and again.  THE CHOSEN may sound like an odd choice for this festive time of year, but maybe that is why I enjoyed it so much.

The last thing that pimp Jay Carpenter remembered was slapping one of his girls for holding out money on him. In the hospital the medical team removed part of a brain tumor and successfully brought Jay back from death twice. The near death experience was so shattering to Jay that when he returned to the street he took his first step in what he believed was the perfect redemption. He would live as Jesus Christ lived.

January Delena’s job as a well-known journalist has not made her many friends on the police force. The police feel that her on site reporting interferes with their ability to solve the crimes.  Doing research for a piece on near death experiences, she hears of a man called The Sinner who claims to have been to Hell and back. Through Mother Mary, the nun who runs a homeless shelter, January learns that a series of street people have gone missing and several bizarre murders have taken place. January feels that they are somehow connected.

First a street preacher known as Bother John is found beheaded. Then a man named Matt, one named Mark, and Jude, a bouncer at a strip club have disappeared. Later, the police find that the body of recently deceased Walter Leopold Lazarus has been dug up and arranged seated on the bench near his grave. The book races to a finish as the “connection” includes Mother Mary and January Delena herself.

Sala is not your typical sweet little, comfortable murder mystery writer. This book has some horrific scenes in it and a very tense conclusion. The author has a knack for creating such good side characters that the reader gets caught up in their stories, both good and evil.

This is an author that goes on every vacation trip with me. Fortunately, she is prolific and I am able to have a “stash” waiting for the future.