Fiction
Circe by Madeline Miller. This is a tremendous tour de force by the Brown professor, Madeline Miller, who made her mark with The Song of Ulysses (2012). Circe is the retelling of the goddess' story and it's beautiful. The language, the imagery... all of it. Amazing. And, in telling the story of Circe, Miller really tells the universal and eternal story of all women. It's one of my favorite books ever.
A Circle of Wives by Alice LaPlante. “This is a super-fast beach read about a man who was married to multiple wives (only one knew about the others) who is found murdered and the story is about trying to figure out which wife killed him and how. It isn't a wonderful book, but it is readable and does keep you guessing about who murdered the polygamist and why.”
Circling the Sun by Paula McClain – coming this July. Early reviews on Goodreads are very positive about this book by the author of The Paris Wife. “Paula McLain, author of the phenomenal New York Times bestseller The Paris Wife, takes readers into the glamorous and decadent circle of British expats living in Kenya in the 1920s. Circling the Sun tells the story of the beautiful young horse trainer, adventurer, and aviator Beryl Markham, from her childhood in British East Africa to her relationship with hunter Denys Finch Hatton and rivalry with Out of Africa author Karen Blixen—a notorious love triangle that changed the course of Beryl’s life.”
Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudine Rankine. (Poetry) “This book, a meditative poetry/prose hybrid was widely praised and short-listed for the National Book Award. Its main concern is the hot button of race in America but she addresses this huge topic in an intimate and personal way, with small, quiet snippets of conversation and scenarios in which the subtlety of racism (which go by the irksome name of micro aggressions) gets played out. An important book which will be an eye-opener for many."
Citrus County
The City & The City
City of Thieves by David Benioff. “Serious wartime subject matter, yet the humor seeps in. Very entertaining. 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 in his daughter’s wedding cake. In a city cut off from all supplies and suffering unbelievable deprivation, Lev and Kolya embark on a hunt through the dire lawlessness of Leningrad and behind enemy lines to find the impossible."
Clara and Mr. Tiffany
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. “Matryoshka dolls with one inside the other and then pulling back out to our original story. Mitchell is such a fantastic writer. As I would start each story I was thinking ‘damn, I was really getting into that other story - I don't care about a spoiled music student/reporter/old age home captive/futuristic clone/apocalyptic hillbilly’ but then I found myself caring very much about each of these new stories to the point where I was so frustrated when they would abruptly change to the next. Each story takes on a new voice and a new technique (journal, letters, interview, 3rd person and 1st) that give each a completely different feel and perspective from the previous story.”
Cluny Brown by Margery Sharp. You might recognize the author’s name, because she is best-known for her children’s books, especially the Rescuers series. However, she also wrote several charming, engaging adult novels. In 1930s Britain, Cluny Brown’s uncle ships her off to an estate in Devon to “go into service,” because he doesn’t know what to do with her. Cluny is wonderfully unconventional and struggles to find her place in the world. It’s engrossing and funny – a wonderful antidote to our charmless age.
Cocoa Beach by Beatriz Williams. An American nurse and a British soldier fall in love in France during WWI. Upon their return to England, however, the charming soldier appears to be a master manipulator. She flees to the States but remains trapped by his manipulations. What is real and whom can she trust? Many twists and turns make this a fun read to the end.
The Cold Song by Linn Ullman. “Part murder mystery, part examination of family relationships. Written by Ingmar Bergman’s daughter.”
The Collectibles by James J. Kaufman. “In his award winning debut novel, James J. Kaufman delivers a gripping and unforgettable story of two strong men from separate worlds - one touched by tragedy, the other by greed - brought together with unexpected results. In chronicling how their lives and those they touch are dramatically changed by their encounter, Kaufman reveals the power of relationships, the nature of love, and ultimately the meaning of life.”
Colony by Anne Rivers Siddons. Beachy -- SOOO beachy. But no surprise, that's what Siddons writes - beach books, (many are actually set on beaches). This one is about a summer colony in Maine. Lots of family melodrama, very page turney. Was a runaway bestseller when it was released in 2002.
Come, Thou Tortoise by Jessica Grant. “A great, unintended airport discovery. A really offbeat story that features an opinionated tortoise and an IQ-challenged narrator who find themselves in the middle of a life-changing mystery. Audrey (a.k.a. Oddly) Flowers is living quietly in Oregon with Winnifred, her tortoise, when she finds out her dear father has been knocked into a coma back in Newfoundland. Despite her fear of flying, she goes to him, but not before she reluctantly dumps Winnifred with her unreliable friends. Poor Winnifred. When Audrey disarms an Air Marshal en route to St. John’s we begin to realize there’s something odd about her (more than keeping a tortoise). And we soon know that Audrey’s quest to discover who her father really was – and reunite with Winnifred – will be an adventure like no other. May be one of the only books you read this year with perspectives from a tortoise!”
Come West and See by Maxim Loskutoff. I found it on a NYT list of 10 summer reads you wouldn’t normally read. It’s a series of short stories about list in the U.S. West from frontier days to modern times. Excellent. Don’t read in the car with children. Some of the stories are surprisingly sexual. This book really gives you a sense of the Western mentality and Western values.
Comfort & Joy
The Commonerby John Burnham Schwartz. “Interesting fictional account of the life of Empress Michiko. I love this type of story, romance, contemporary and historical fiction of a fascinating culture all in one. Well written too!”
Commonwealth by Ann Patchett. From the back cover: "One Sunday afternoon in Southern California, Bert Cousins shows up at Franny Keating’s christening party uninvited. Before evening falls, he has kissed Franny’s mother, Beverly—thus setting in motion the dissolution of their marriages and the joining of two families. Spanning five decades, Commonwealth explores how this chance encounter reverberates through the lives of the four parents and six children involved. Spending summers together in Virginia, the Keating and Cousins children forge a lasting bond based on a shared disillusionment with their parents and the strange and genuine affection that grows among them.When, in her twenties, Franny begins an affair with the legendary author Leon Posen and tells him about her family, the story of her siblings is no longer hers to control. Their childhood becomes the basis for his wildly successful book, ultimately forcing them to come to terms with their losses, their guilt, and the deeply loyal connection they feel for one another."
The Complete Stories of Truman Capote “A newly issued volume.”