Nevermore: Birds of America, Murmur of Bees, An Only Child and Her Sister, Circe

 

Reported by Garry

 

Birds of America by Mary McCarthy is the coming-of-age story of Peter Levi, a sheltered and shy young man who has come to Paris in 1964 to study at the Sorbonne. Determined to live a life free of stress and unnecessary complications, Peter soon learns that adulthood will replace his childhood whether he is ready for it or not. Paralleling Peter’s chaotic emergence into adulthood are the stirrings of war in Southeast Asia and the growing social unrest in the West. Our reader said that McCarthy does an excellent job evoking the overall feelings of the turbulent 1960s in this historical fiction novel, and recommends it highly.  DC

 

The Murmur of Bees is the best-selling magical realism novel by Sophia Segovia. This is the first of Segovia’s novels to be translated into English, and if the reaction of our reader is anything to judge by, this will definitely not be the last. Simonopio is an abandoned child with amazing powers – he is protected by a swarm of bees, and when he closes his eyes he can see the future. The book follows the lives of Simonopio, his adoptive family and the fates and fortunes of those in the small, Northern Mexican town where they live. Set against the backdrop of both the Mexican revolution and the Spanish Flu of 1916, this historical novel is “absolutely beautiful” as our reader exclaimed.  AH

 

An Only Child and Her Sister by Casey Maxwell Clair is the harrowing memoir of a Hollywood family that was dysfunctional to the extreme. Casey and her little sister, Christine were born into an affluent, successful Hollywood family: a starlet mother and a successful songwriter father. But looks can be deceiving – their mother didn’t like or want children, and their father had a hidden drug habit that turned the charismatic, charming man into a hair-trigger rage monster. Our reader was aghast at what the two children went through and was frankly amazed that the writer, Casey, survived to be a successful as she is.  CD

 

Circe by Madeline Miller. Daughter of the Helios, God of the Son, and a beautiful human woman, Circe is a conundrum – she does not appear to have inherited any of her father’s powers or her mother’s beauty. But Circe does possess power: witchcraft, with which she can threaten the very gods themselves. Zeus banishes Circe to a deserted island where she hones her craft and powers until she is forced to choose whether she is a god or a mortal. While the names of the Greek gods confused our reader a bit, she said that the storytelling was top-notch and gives voice to a character whose story has until now existed only on the peripheries of others.  MH

 

Also mentioned:

 

Properties of Thirst by Marianne Wiggins

Finding Your Way Without Map or Compass by Harold Gatty

Mountain of the Dead: The Dyatlov Pass Incident by Keith McCloskey

The Sweet Remnants of Summer by Alexander McCall Smith

Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes

Switchboard Soldiers by Jennifer Chiaverini

Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune

Any Other Family by Eleanor Brown

Geiger by Gustaf Skördeman

Fighting Words by Kimberley Brubaker Bradley

Raising Lazarus: Hope, Justice, and the Future of America’s Overdose Crisis by Beth Macy

When The Moon Turns to Blood: Lori Vallow, Chad Daybell, and a Story of Murder, Wild Faith, and End Times by Leah Sottile

Unmask Alice: LSD, Satanic Panic, and the Imposter behind the World’s Most Notorious Diaries by Rick Emerson

A Melungeon Winter by Patrick Bone

The Aliens of Transylvania County by Patrick Bone

The Books of Earthsea:  The Complete Illustrated Edition by Ursula K. Le Guin

Once and Future Myths

By Jeanne

Mythology has become a hot topic. 

There have been many books drawing from myth and legend over the years—books about King Arthur* alone would fill a library—but there seems to be a recent uptick in the number of titles which draw from myth.  Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series introduced a whole generation of children to the gods of Olympus, a series so successful that it spawned other series dealing with Norse and Egyptian mythology.  He now has his own children’s book imprint, Rick Riordian Presents, which will showcase new writers who are producing myth based fantasy of many cultures. The first book is Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi which uses Hindu mythology as its setting.

On the adult side, Neil Gaiman came out with Norse Mythology last year, a non-fiction book which retells the Norse myths.  Those who know Thor only as one of the Avengers may be in for quite the surprise. The retellings are done with Gaiman’s usual high quality wordsmithing skills, with wonderful imagery, insight, and humor. This book is highly recommended as a starting point.

Following that, anyone intrigued should try Joanne Harris’ writing about the Norse, especially The Gospel of Loki which retells the stories from the point of view of one of the first unreliable narrators—Loki the Trickster.  She had two previous books, set in an alternate world after Ragnarok, Runemarks and Runelight.  Coming in May 2018 will be The Testament of Loki, which picks up right after The Gospel but which ties in with the Runemarks books.

Another new book draws on Greek myths:  Circe by Madeline Miller tells the story of the woman best known today as the enchantress Odysseus encountered on his way back from the Trojan War.  The reviews have been glowing, praising the engrossing story and poetic language. Miller’s previous novel, Song of Achilles, was about the Greek prince Patroclus and his friend Achilles, and how both ended up in going to fight in Troy.

It just goes to show that a good story never really goes away; it is just reworked to suit a new audience. 

*If you are interested in the Arthurian tales, I recommend a classic trilogy by Mary Stewart:  The Crystal Cave, The Hollow Hills, and The Last Enchantment. These are as much Merlin’s story as Arthur’s; in fact, the first book takes place before Arthur is born.  There is a fourth book, The Wicked Day, which is told from Modred’s point of view.

There are many, many others but this is a long time favorite of mine.