Nevermore's Favorite Fiction: Buster the Dog, Jana Bibi, The Bookseller & more

Buster’s Diaries:  The True Story of a Dog and his Man by Roy Hattersley is pretty much as the title describes it.  Buster is a Staffordshire terrier/ German Shepherd mix who is adopted from a shelter by The Man. The setting is London in the 1990s, and is based on Hattersley’s real dog that ran afoul of Queen Elizabeth II by when he was accused of killing a goose in St. James Park.  The “memoir” is charming, clever, and sometimes quite shrewd in its observations. Our reviewer said it made for an enjoyable couple of hours.

Jana Bibi’s Excellent Fortunes by Betsy Woodman is a delightful tale of a British woman who has lived most of her life in India.  Her son is anxious for her to come to his home in Scotland, a prospect she finds rather depressing but her teaching job will be ending soon and she will need to find a place to go.  News of an inheritance in a rural area of India sends her in search of a new home.  Delightful characters and the 1960s Indian setting made this a very appealing book, recommended by our reviewer.

Tumbleweeds by Leila Meacham follows the stories of three friends in a small Texas town. Trey Don and John are in sixth grade when orphan Cathy Ann Benson moves to town. The three of them form a strong bond, but as they mature, emotions become more complicated.  Then in high school, a prank goes awry and their lives spin off into very different directions.  This is a glorious soap opera, full of drama and plot twists.

Hugo Marston also hailed from Texas, but the former FBI profiler is now head of security for the American Embassy in Paris.  While buying two first editions from his friend Max, the elderly bookseller is kidnapped by at gunpoint.  Hugo finds the French police less than proactive, so he calls in an old friend from the CIA to help solve the case.  The Bookseller  is Mark Pryor’s debut, but is supposed to be the first in a series, and our reviewer found it promising.

Blaze of Glory is the latest Civil War novel by Jeff Shaara. Set during the Battle of Shiloh, Shaara has the knack of bringing history to life by letting the reader glimpse the lives of the officers and enlisted men alike.  This is the first of a new trilogy.  Shaara’s first novel was Gods and Generals, which was a sort of sequel to his father Michael Shaara’s classic Killer Angels.

Nevermore: Jefferson, Boy Kings, and More

History seemed to be Nevermore’s theme this week.  The first book mentioned was Your Inner Fish:  A Journey into the 3.5 Billion Year History of the Human Body by Neil Shubin.  Our reviewer found it a fascinating look at how various human organs and structures have their beginnings in very different forms of life:  a fish, a sponge, or a fly.  Shubin is a paleontologist and professor of anatomy, but the book is written so that a layperson can understand it.  Another member decided to read it as well.

A Cultural Handbook to the Bible by John J. Pilch is a collection of essays which tries to expand our understanding of the Bible by explaining the culture at the time.  Our reviewer wasn’t certain that was relevant; that it was written so that it would be applicable no matter the time or culture.  Other members found it to be both entertaining and enlightening.

Two new books about Thomas Jefferson also drew comments. In Master of the Mountain:  Thomas Jefferson and His Slaves,  author Henry Wiencek makes a compelling case that Jefferson had realized that agriculture was not the way to wealth.  Breeding and selling slaves was far more profitable.  Our reviewer noted that this is not the picture we like to see of Jefferson, but it’s important that people see historical figures in full context.  Jud mentioned the award-winning YA book Jefferson’s Sons by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, which dealt with Jefferson and his relationship to his slaves in a fictionalized way, but fiction backed up by much research.  Jon Meacham’s Thomas Jefferson:  The Art of Power is a more conventional portrait, emphasizing the intelligence, the passion for the new nation, and the appreciation for fine things, like books and wine.  Our reviewer called this the traditional view, seeing Jefferson as a product of his time.

Stranger to History:  A Son’s Journey Through Islamic Lands by Aatish Taseer is a book that’s both personal and global.  Taseer’s mother was Sikh, but his father was a Pakistani Muslim.  After his father’s assassination, Taseer embarked on a tour of Islamic countries as a way to try to understand his father and his father’s faith.  Taseer offers some fascinating insights into the various cultures and beliefs. The author is a journalist who has written for Time, The Financial News, and Esquire.

Our last reviewer was impressed by Domingo Martinez’s memoir of growing up Mexican in Texas in the 1980s.  In Boy Kings of Texas, the reader is introduced to a macho culture that often lures young men into traps, causing them to repeat mistakes.  Even with the same country of origin, the Texas Mexican community is far different than its California counterpart, but both struggle with identity as both Mexicans and Americans.  The book serves as both a coming of age story and a sociological examination of a culture.