I tend to see the events that affect people and countries in the shape of a narrative. Is it any wonder then that I would try my hand at literary fiction, which confers wholeness to stories of turmoil and division? I think not. Finally settling into historical fiction as if Iâd found my true home came as a welcome surprise. Without sounding grandiose, it didnât hurt to be born and raised in a magnificent American city built on seven hills on the edge of the Pacific with deep traditions in literature, music, the arts, and damn good drinking establishments. I wish you happy reading and the thrill of discovery.
Iâm a Steinbeck fan. Why? Because he wrote about California like few other writers. His sweeping descriptions of the land leave me breathless and the characters with their fatal flaws and aching humanity burn into my soul. Over the top? You bet! Working Days, his personal journals of The Grapes of Wrath, is a treasure for writers and lovers of fiction. Itâs no wonder that many of his novels were adapted for the big screen. Who can forget James Dean as Cal Trask in East of Eden?
California's fertile Salinas Valley is home to two families whose destinies are fruitfully, and fatally, intertwined. Over the generations, between the beginning of the twentieth century and the end of the First World War, the Trasks and the Hamiltons will helplessly replay the fall of Adam and Eve and the murderous rivalry of Cain and Abel.
East of Eden was considered by Steinbeck to be his magnum opus, and its epic scope and memorable characters, exploring universal themes of love and identity, ensure it remains one of America's most enduring novels. This edition features a stunning new cover by renownedâŚ
Iâm always intrigued by novels set in places Iâve visited. In the â60s, I first traveled to Greece and then in 2017, my husband and I spent a month there. And if you havenât visited The Henry Ford Museum of Innovation in Dearborn, Michigan, donât miss it. This novel had me on two counts. Itâs the startling story of a Greek American family told through the eyes of a young girl who is becoming a woman. The family lands in Detroit as it becomes the automotive capital of the world and then collapses during the â60s race riots. The rich cultural heritage of Greece unfolds and a secret is revealed about a genetic mutation that changes the principal character from a girl into boy. Hold your hat! It won a Pulitzer, too.
'I was born twice: first, as a baby girl, on a remarkably smogless Detroit day of January 1960; and then again, as a teenage boy, in an emergency room near Petoskey, Michigan, in August of l974.'
So begins the breathtaking story of Calliope Stephanides and her truly unique family secret, born on the slopes of Mount Olympus and passed on through three generations.
Growing up in 70s Michigan, Calliope's special inheritance will turn her into Cal, the narrator of this intersex, inter-generational epic of immigrant life in 20th century America.
Middlesex won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
City of Thieves occupies the top shelf in my library. Why? Is it because now Iâm watching the people of Ukraine battle a merciless enemy or because David Benioff has packed a tale that swings between unlikely comrades, a tender courtship, and the Nazisâ siege of Leningrad in WWII? Maybe both answers. But I read this book years ago. The deep humanity of the story is also a thriller that made me laugh andshudder through its short length of 258 pages. It doesnât hurt that Benioff is a gifted screenwriter, too.
From the critically acclaimed author of The 25th Hour and When the Nines Roll Over and co-creator of the HBO series Game of Thrones, a captivating novel about war, courage, survival - and a remarkable friendship that ripples across a lifetime.
During the Nazis' brutal siege of Leningrad, Lev Beniov is arrested for looting and thrown into the same cell as a handsome deserter named Kolya. Instead of being executed, Lev and Kolya are given a shot at saving their own lives by complying with an outrageous directive: secure a dozen eggs for a powerful Soviet colonel to use inâŚ
It seems as if Iâm consistently selecting novels set during war. But my former recommendation, and this one, is just too good to pass by plus itâs on the top shelf of my library, keeping other favorites company. This one is a love story between boyhood friends and Iâm a hopeless romantic. Match my romantic soul with tragedy and Iâm a goner. Now weâre in Afghanistan where a privileged young boy and his friend, the son of his fatherâs servant, live through their countryâs revolution and are invaded by Russian forces that tear the country apart. The writing is so powerful and eloquent, the subject so timely (it was published in 2003), that I was spellbound by Khaled Hosseiniâs literary genius.
Afghanistan, 1975: Twelve-year-old Amir is desperate to win the local kite-fighting tournament and his loyal friend Hassan promises to help him. But neither of the boys can foresee what will happen to Hassan that afternoon, an event that is to shatter their lives. After the Russians invade and the family is forced to flee to America, Amir realises that one day he must return to Afghanistan under Taliban rule to find the one thing that his new world cannot grant him: redemption.
The first and only full-length biography of Hazel Ying Lee, an unrecognized pioneer and unsung World War II hero who fought for a country that actively discriminated against her gender, race, and ambition.
This unique hidden figure defied countless stereotypes to become the first Asian American woman in United StatesâŚ
Now weâre back in my most favorite place, San Francisco. Place is as much a character as the living, breathing people we meet in the pages of novels or non-fiction, and the author, Andrew Sean Greer, chose to tell a most curious tale in my hometown. Weâre in San Francisco at the turn of the twentieth century where we meet a strange gnome-like man who ages backwards. Heâs in love with a young lady who is normal in every way. With a nod to F. Scott Fitzgeraldâs The Curious Life of Benjamin Button, here time is the great force that shifts reality and asks the age-old question, what does it mean to be a human being?
Born as an old man, Max Tivoli lives his life aging backwards, falling in love and living an odd, sometimes terrifying life in San Francisco at the turn of the ninetheeth century. 20,000 first printing.
Mixing fact and fiction with a dash of noir, Beautiful Illusion is a story of love and deception that explores what happens when human hearts collide as nations are plotting war. It is also the story of the men and women who built San Franciscoâs last worldâs fair, of a city within a city, of glamour and glitz, and of grandeur and pageantry.
A New York Times Notable Book of the Year. The first in a charming, joyful crime series set in 1920s Bangalore, featuring sari-wearing detective Kaveri and her husband Ramu.
When clever, headstrong Kaveri moves to Bangalore to marry handsome young doctor Ramu, she's resigned herself to a quiet life. ButâŚ
This fresh retelling of the Trojan War is action-packed and fun. Hectorâs intelligent wife, Andromache, spins the story as if she's sitting across from you at a campfire, finally setting the record straight. Her wry perspective brings ancient Troy to life, with Paris, the lighthearted lover of beauty, dependable Hector,âŚ