RW Books

Our night with Janet

2009-10-06T13:23:00.000-07:00

As we thoroughly enjoyed Moonlight in Odessa, we were all very much looking forward to our event with Janet Skeslien Charles tonight and I'm happy to report that it was a great event! Janet started the reading with a quiz for our rapt audience about mail order brides and I dare say, we learned quite a few interesting things. For example, I didn't know that mail order brides were already present in the US as early as 1620 or that they were originally called Tobacco Brides!

Check out our audience who more than did well in the quiz...

After the fun quiz, Janet explained to us the process she underwent to bring her book to the public. And then she read a few choice passages from her book. It was quite a treat to hear Daria come to life through her reading and it was like rediscovering the pleasures of the book all over again!

Of course after the reading we all queued to have Janet sign our copies of her book!

Event at the RWB

2009-10-04T08:09:00.000-07:00

One of the year's most exciting debut novels was written by a good friend of RWB and we are very proud to invite all of you to a reading with Janet Skeslien Charles at the RWB on the 6th of October at 7PM. She will be reading from her wonderful new book Moonlight in Odessa. This is the story of Daria, beautiful and smart who longs for something more than what she can have in her beloved native Odessa. And her all elusive search takes her to the world of mail-order brides and marriage. I won't give away the plot, as half the fun is discovering the plot as you read along but this book is one we truly enjoyed reading. Its funny and wise with great characters that will keep you hooked till the last page. We can't wait till Tuesday and we hope to see you all there!

2009-09-18T08:55:00.000-07:00

Guess who came by RWB today? Steve Toltz, writer of A Fraction of the Whole which was longlisted last year for the Man Booker Prize! Always some sort of excitement going on at RWB.

2009-09-14T06:41:00.000-07:00

Its the rentree but we have a pile of great new books that are just begging to be read....

New in Fiction Hardcover/Trade Edition

1. Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood

2. Moonlight in Odessa by Janet Skeslien Charles

3. Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon

4. Too Much Happiness by Alice Munro

5. Summertime by J.M. Coetzee (shortlisted for the 2009 Man Booker Prize)

6. The Quickening Mae by Adam Foulds (shortlisted for the 2009 Man Booker Prize)

7. Juliet Naked by Nick Hornby

8. Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier

9. The Gourmet by Muriel Barberry

10. Ordinary Thunderstorms by William Boyd

11. The Infinities by John Banville

12. Small Wars by Sadie Jones

New in Fiction Paperback

1. The Queen's Necklace by Antal Szerb

2. The Assassin's Song by M.G. Vassanji

3. An Expensive Education by Nick McDonell

4. Touching Distance by Rebecca Adams

5. 2666 by Roberto Bolano

6. A Time to Every Purpose Under Heaven by Karl O.Knausgaard

7. Generation A by Douglas Coupland

8. Hustle by Will Fergunson

9. Downtown Owl by Chuck Klosterman

10. The Way Things Look to Me by Roopa Farooki

2009-09-14T06:26:00.000-07:00

Books I've been reading lately seem to be similarly preoccupied with certain themes though not necessarily of the same time frame. Loving Frank by Nancy Horan is not the usual historical fiction that I normally pick up to read but it sounded intriguing so I didn’t hesitate too long before starting it. The Frank in the title is Frank Lloyd Wright, the celebrated architect whose work revolutionized architecture and ushered in the field’s modern age. The book deals with a rather scandalous episode of his life when he and the wife of a client, Mamah (pronounced May-muh) Borthwick Cheney fall madly in love after he is commissioned to build their house. The lovers flee to Europe and leave their respective families. Needless to say, their affair wreaks havoc on their respective home lives, Wright’s career and virtually destroys Mamah Cheney’s reputation. The book details the trajectory of their relationship until its ultimately tragic ending.

Such a subject matter could have easily turned mawkish and overly sentimental if not for Horan’s careful portrait of Mamah. She doesn’t overly deal with sentimentality or emotion. Instead she paints a portrait of a woman who is constrained by the roles imposed on her by society. During the early years of the 20^th century, women were supposed to be wives and mothers but not much else. It was a time of great agitation for greater female emancipation and participation in society, lead by such stalwarts as Charlotte Perkins Gillman, Emma Goldman and the Swedish feminist Ellen Key. Mamah with her husband and children was an aberration of those times because she wasn’t content with her lot. Though as her sister Liz, later acidly points out, “she had the kind of life most feminists would dream of having.” And the price Mamah pays indeed for daring to break free of the mold and insist on a kind of self-realization was a high one. At the end of the book, Horan leaves it up to us to decide whether such her act was worth the price exerted on her.

2009-09-14T06:21:00.000-07:00

Rebecca Miller’s new novel The Private Lives of Pippa Lee opens with Herb and Pippa Lee moving into Marigold Village a rich retirement community. At 80 years old, Herb is tired and wants to be free of the stresses of a rich and wealthy life, so the house in Sag Harbor and the apartment in Gramercy Park are sold along with the rest of their possessions. Pippa,at 50 is the youngest person in the community. However outwardly perfect, serene and put together she seems to be she’s not quite ready for the retired life and her life soon begins to unravel. How she comes to this point takes the rest of the story to tell. I don’t dare give more away as it is quite a tale and a good part of the pleasure of reading this book is seeing how it unfolds.

Miller’s novel focuses on the quest for personal identity and how this quest is shaped, opposed and nourished by family and circumstances. Pippa’s story is that of an outsider struggling to find her self and consequently her place in the sun and surely, this is one of the most universal of themes. Granted, a few of Pippa’s experiences seem to be more out of the ordinary than what most of us know but then again, who knows what lies beneath the most seemingly ordinary person’s façade. Miller’s great strength is her intelligent and sensitive prose that carries even the most extraordinary episodes. At times, the story seemed to push the limits of credibility but her ability to ground her prose in carefully chosen details saves the tale. Some details stay with you even after you’ve turned the last page. I don’t know why I should have been surprised, she is her father’s daughter after all.

Miller’s central concern for the search for identity becomes an even more poignant question when this search is coupled by an overwhelming desire, a need even, to belong. Pippa, as we all do, wants to belong. But at what point does the need for belonging overthrow your real self?

2009-08-25T13:49:00.000-07:00

We got a lot of great new books and we couldn't resist putting them in our window! Don't you just love it?

A day in August

2009-08-19T13:10:00.000-07:00

Who says that everything is closed in Paris during the month of August? We are certainly open!

Our neighbors though have decided to take off for other shores.....I guess we'll be seeing them again in September

2009-08-17T06:09:00.000-07:00

Don't let summer go by without stopping by RWB and checking out all our great new titles....

New in Fiction Hardcover/Trade Edition
1. A Moveable Feast The Restored Edition--by Ernest Hemingway
2. Between the Assassinations by Aravind Adiga
3. Noah's Compass by Anne Tyler
4. That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo
5. What Becomes by A.L. Kennedy
6. An Expensive Education by Nick Mcdonell
7. Swimming by Nicola Keegan
8. We Are All Made of Glue by Marina Lewycka
9. Little Stranger by Sarah Waters---longlisted for the 2009 Man Booker Prize
10. Brooklyn by Colm Toibin --longlisted for the 2009 Man Booker Prize
11. Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant
12. The White Queen by Philippa Gregory
13. Goldengrove by Francine Prose
14. How to Paint a Dead Man by Sarah Hall---longlisted for the 2009 Man Booker Prize
15. The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun by J.R.R. Tolkien
16. The Sorceress by Michael Scott

New in Paperback

1. Indignation by Philip Roth
2. Me Cheeta by James Lever ---longlisted for the 2009 Man Booker Prize
3. A Good Indian Wife by Anne Cherian
4. A Whole Day Through by Patrick Gale
5. Paris City of Night by David Downie
6. Loving Frank by Nancy Horan
7. Black Orchids by Gillian Slovo
8. La's Orchestra Saves the World by Alexander McCall Smith
9. The Comfort of Saturdays by Alexander McCall Smith
10. Mister Roberts by Alexei Sayles
11. The Great Lover by Jill Dawson
12. Evening is the Whole Day by Preeta Samarasan
13. Apology for the Woman Writing by Jenny Diski

The never ending fascination for Chanel

2009-07-28T23:54:00.000-07:00

More than thirty years after her death in 1971, Coco Chanel remains one of the most fascinating figures in fashion history. There remains an abiding interest in her. Proof being that, just this year alone two new movies on her life were released and a new biography is coming out in September. Before the new biography however, Pushkin press, has published for the first time in English, Paul Morand’s L’allure de Chanel”. I'd read the book as soon as the publisher released a copy and now I'm happy to announce that you can now get your copy from the RWB!

The book was born from the interviews conducted by Paul Morand at the end of WWII when Chanel invited him to visit her in St. Moritz. Strangely enough, the notes were all put away in a drawer and only came to light after Chanel’s death. Lucky for us that the notes came to light when they did! The interviews are separated into different chapters where we have Chanel dishing on her great love affair with Boy Capel, her relationship with Diaghilev and Misia Sert and her often acerbic though still relevant views on work, money, fashion and women. Just consider some of her views:

“Money is probably an accursed thing, but does not our entire civilization derive from a moral concept based on evil? …Money is not attractive, its convenient. Money adds to the decorative pleasures of life but its not life.”

“Expensive jewelry does not improve the woman who wears it any more than costly fabrics woven with precious materials do; if she looks plain, she will remain so.”

Particularly pertinent in our couture obsessed days…

“….And there’s no more art of couture. Couture is a technique, a job, a business…It may be that there is an awareness of art, which is already a great deal, that it excites artists that it accompanies them in their cars, on the path to glory; that a bonnet with ribbons should be immortalized in an Ingres drawing, or a hat in a Renoir, so much the better but it’s an accident; its as if a dragonfly had mistaken Monet’s Waterlilies for the real thing and had alighted there.”

These interviews paint a fascinating picture of this woman. She was a strong woman, sometimes harsh, fiercely hardworking and always determined. Maybe because I’d just read about the Veuve Clicquot (see review under Book Reviews), but there are certainly parallels in their determination to run their respective businesses as they both saw fit. Despite such portraiture there is still an enigma about Chanel. It doesn’t help that she often gave contradicting information. Neither does this book deal with questions regarding her involvement with the Nazis during the war. I guess this was one topic that she didn’t want to talk about and it remains to be seen whether the new biography will tackle the matter. On verra!

2009-07-27T06:56:00.000-07:00

A number of authors have been passing through RWB lately. And while I don't always have my camera with me to record their presence, I did manage a few photos. Darin Strauss, author of More Than It Hurts You, Chang and Eng and The Real McCoy stopped by with his family to browse our shelves.

And yet another was Dr. Shireen Lewis, author of Race Culture and Identity. She is also the founder of SisterMentors, an organization that promotes education among women and girls of color.

Better late than never

2009-07-27T06:46:00.000-07:00

Some long delayed photos from the great night we had with David Francis, who read from his new book Stray Dog Winter. It was a cool and convivial evening, full of friends and well wishers. Hopefully it won't be too long before David graces us with his presence again!

Here's to Eiffel

2009-07-02T12:04:00.000-07:00

This year, Paris' beloved Eiffel Tower is celebrating its 120th birthday! It thus seemed fitting to do a reading with an author whose newest book is on that very subject. Dr. Jill Jonnes' book is an erudite and well written book on the Eiffel Tower and the year of its magical unveiling. For fans of the Eiffel or for those who want to know more about it, this book is a must read. Reading this book makes one realize what an engineering feat was wrought by Gustave Eiffel. After reading the book, you'll certainly look at it through newly appreciative eyes. But aside from the Tower, the book also goes into great lengths to describe all the historic figures for whom the year 1889 was so memorable. I especially loved the book's description of how Buffalo Bill, Annie Oakley and the Wild West show captured the Parisians.

We all had a great time at the reading. It was our own way of celebrating the Eiffel Tower's 120th!

David Francis and T.E. Carhart, great authors who were at the reading

Mingling with some of our guests and friends

A bilingual reading

2009-06-22T07:03:00.001-07:00

Its not so often that we have bilingual readings, RWB being an anglo-phone bookstore. However we do make certain exceptions, the most recent being the reading with poets Marilyn Hacker and Marie Etienne. Their book, which is a translation by Marilyn of Marie Etienne's poems is called King of a Hundred Horsemen. It was published to great critical acclaim and has since publication won two prizes for translation. Its a wondrous collection of poems, taking the form of cycles that themselves form a coherent and beautiful whole. Much of the poems read that night were those that focused on natural themes like birds which for a time greatly fascinated Marie. I have to confess that I didn't know Marie Etienne's poetry till the night of the reading and thanks to Marilyn's masterful translation, I was glad to make my acquaintance with her poems!

Here's a picture of our great audience who considerably livened up the reading with their interested and interesting questions!

Finally, some news

2009-06-17T13:17:00.000-07:00

A million apologies for not having updated the blog in ages. Due to some technical difficulties (first my computer, then our internet connection went awry), I was unable to write about some of the great things that have been going on at RWB. You may remember that we were very excited about our June events and they were certainly something to write about. So without further ado, here are a few photos from our events last June 7.

To start off the festivities of the Paris en Toutes Lettres, we decided to ask the lovely Anne Marsella to read from her new novel Patsy Boone. As always with Anne, the event was lovely, with people asking interested questions. We're all waiting for her upcoming novel called Baby from Belleville.

Our audience included Paul Schmidtberger, himself a published novelist

We were surprised (pleasantly) when Anne decided to ask a friend to play some music for her reading. A surprising choice but one that added an extra fun element to her reading..

We had just finished with the first one when it was time for the next event...this time a book about an elusive piano shop somewhere in the left bank...

Here's Penelope introducing our next writer and his best selling book....

Thad Carhart told us this funny story about a confusion between his book and one written by one of the Hell's Angels.

I'd read the Piano Shop on the Left Bank when it first came out and I've always wondered about the person behind the book. I was certainly very glad to finally meet him. I'm sure members of our audience (including David Burke) would agree with me!

For the final event of our Sunday extravanganza, we had three excellent poets reading from a selection of their works published in Norton's newest poetry anthology American Hybrid.

Stacy Dorris

Jorie Graham

Alice Notley

Our rapt audience included poets Jennifer Dick and Marilyn Hacker (who herself was doing a reading with Marie Etienne the following day)

With so many events taking place all in one day, it was not surprising that many of the authors who came around, either to attend or read had a great time mingling with each other and with RWB's great audience. It was certainly a fun and momentous day for all of us at RWB!

CHANGE IN EVENT SCHEDULE

2009-06-03T04:02:00.000-07:00

As you may have noticed, we have been excitedly telling everyone about the upcoming reading with Sally Gardner tomorrow, the 4th of June. Unfortunately due to some sad unforseen events, Sally won't be able to make it to the event. But this doesn't mean that she won't be back some other time at the RWB for a reading. She has definitely promised to come another day and we will keep you all posted with details.

All our other events are pushing through as planned so we hope to see you at one of them! Starting tomorrow until the 8th of June 2009, Paris is celebrating its first city wide literary festival called Paris en Toutes Lettres and we have a number of great authors coming for this festival. The full programe for the festival is available at RWB.

Don't forget to come to these great events:

7th of June (Sunday)
3PM --Anne Marsella reading from her just published french novel Patsy Boone. This is your chance to ask Anne all about contemporary writing in this fair city of ours.

5PM--T.E. Carhart reading from his beloved and best selling book Piano Shop on the Left Bank.

630 PM--a reading from some of today's most exciting poets from their new anthology The American Hybrid. We will have Cole Swensen, Stacy Dorris, Alice Nottley and Jorie Graham

8th of June (Monday)
7PM--Marilyn Hacker and Marie Etienne will do a bilingual reading of their award winning book King of a Hundred Horsemen

See you all soon!

2009-06-03T03:39:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things to do is to visit local flea markets. It doesn't matter where I go, I always try to visit them. I think its the prospect of finding that special something that I wouldn't be able to find anywhere else that makes me go. Soemtimes I'll come away empty handed after rummaging through piles of junk, but when I do strike gold, it makes my day! I've often wondered if there was a book specifically on markets in France, and it occured to me that I could check quite easily here at RWB. A bit of searching and I found Sandy Price's book The Flea Markets of France. A few clicks and the books were ordered. When I did get them, I took my copy home and literally read it that night. It is a beautiful little book packed with detailed information on markets all over France and gorgeous pictures. It made me want to visit some places that I would never have thought of. Needless to say I earmarked lots of pages.
Imagine my surprise when I got a call last week from the author herself! She was in town visiting her son and she wondered if we had copies of her book. Of course we had them! She came in yesterday, after some visiting some markets over the weekend and she very graciously agreed to answer some of my questions and to make recommendations. So there you have it, Sandy Price with her lovely book....

Events Galore!!!

2009-05-29T06:11:00.000-07:00

Here it is.... drum roll please.... RWB's great line up of events for the month of June. We are very excited to host all these wonderful authors and poets and it would be great if you could join us, for any or better yet, all of them!!!

June 4:
Sally Gardner : The Silver Blade, Orion
Awarding winning author presents the long awaited sequel to the exciting young adult's novel The Red Necklace about the French Revolution: at 6pm at the RWB

June 7:
Anne Marsella : Patsy Boone and Remedy, Portobello, Anne Marsella will talk about writing in English and in French in Paris at 3pm

June 7:
T.E. Carhart : The Piano Shop on the Left Bank, Vintage Press T.E. Carhart will read from his beloved bestseller about the hidden world of an atelier in Paris at 5 pm

June 7 :
Cole Swensen : American Hybrid, Norton and poets such as Kathleen Fraser, Jorie Graham, Alice Notley, Stacy Doris will celebrate the publication of The Norton Anthology of New Poetry -edited by Cole Swensen and David St. John at 630pm

June 8 :
Marie Etienne presents with Marilyn Hacker : King of a Hundred Horsemen (The National Poetry Series) FSG, winner of both the Robert Fagles Translation Prize and Pen Translation Prize at 7pm

June 12 :
Jill Jonnes : Eiffel's Tower, Viking 7pm

June 16 : David Francis: Stray Dog Winter Macadam Cage -7pm

June 29 : Steve Tomasula: Vas: An Opera in Flatland, University of Chicago Press- 7pm

The events are free and will take place at 22 rue St. Paul 75004

2009-05-28T09:32:00.000-07:00

Very often, Penelope will pull a book from our shelves because it looks like an interesting book. But it is not so often that the editor of a book she's pulled out will actually walk in the store! That's exactly what happened to Ben Servier from Penguin who came a -visiting and found a book, near and dear to him. The Little Book by Selden Edwards was one of his babies and here he was justifiable proud when he came across it! We were happy to have made his day!

2009-05-28T04:25:00.000-07:00

Today we had a wonderful surprise when Anita Lobel walked in RWB. It was so nice to meet such a lovely person whose books we enjoy so much. Even better was the news that she has new books out, and we even got copies! And that she is currently working on another one.

Check out the photo with RWB's Aldridge Hansberry who is herself a great musician!

Watch out for the full list of events coming up in June!

2009-05-24T13:46:00.000-07:00

Just before the Ascension weekend, we had two authors visit us at the RWB. Marilyn Hacker stopped by, as excited as we are about the upcoming bilingual reading with Marie Etienne on the 8th of June. Her new book, a wonderful translation of Marie Etienne's poems has just won two prestigious awards, the Robert Fagles Award and the Pen Award for Poetry in Translation. It will certainly be a treat to have such talented poets at the RWB.
The other author who stopped by was the always charming Jonathon Green author of the Chambers Slang Dictionary. He is acknowledged as the English speaking world's leading expert on slang! His book is funny and indispensable and we always look forward to his visits...

Un avant gout for June

2009-05-18T07:42:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful surprise this morning when the lovely Cole Swensen stopped by at the RWB. And we are very pleased to announce that she will be doing a poetry reading along with Ms. Jorie Graham and Ms. Stacy Dorris at the RWB on the 7th of June at 630 PM. The poets will be reading from the book American Hybrid whose introduction and selection of poems are by Cole Swensen.

I can't tell you how excited we are about this upcoming poetry event at RWB!

RWB and Paris en Toutes Lettres

2009-05-18T07:12:00.000-07:00

Recently, Paris' popular mayor Bertrand Delanoe held a press conference to launch the first city wide literary festival. The festival titled Paris en Toutes Lettres will run from 4th of June till the 8th of June and it aims to showcase the city of Paris both as a vivid inspiration for a number of great literature written by both French and non-French speaking writers and as a literary city that welcomes and shelters writers. This is an important literary event that will entail the participation of the city libraries including the National Library, the bouquinistes, cafes, theatres and a good number of independent bookstores, including the Red Wheelbarrow. In connection with this festival, a number of events, readings and special film screenings are being planned. They are even planning to invite a writer to set up at a designated area where he will write until he completes a book during the duration of the festival. I'm sure that's going to be something to see!

We at RWB have planned an exciting array of events in connection with the Paris en Toutes Lettres that will take place within our wonderful store! And because we were so inspired with the planning of the festival events, we went ahead and planned several other events at the RWB for the month of June. We are seriously packed for the month of June. Everyone is welcome to join us and if you want to receive reminders by mail, don't hesitate to send us your email address at good.reading@wanadoo.fr! A full schedule of June's events, including those for the Paris en Toutes Lettres festival will be uploaded on the website (and this blog) within the next few days so stay tuned!

For the Paris en Toutes Lettres Festival, RWB's events are the following...don't forget to write them down in your agendas

4 June 2009 --Sally Gardner who will be reading from the Silver Blade at 6PM

7 June 2009-- Anne Marsella who will be reading from her new book Patsy Boone as well as giving a talk on the craft of writing in a foreign tongue. That's at 3PM

7 June 2009--T.E. Carhart who will be reading from his bestselling book Piano Shop on the Left Bank at 5PM.

8 June 2009--Marilyn Hacker and Marie Etienne doing a bilingual reading from the King of a Hundred Horsemen at 7PM. Marilyn Hacker has just won the prestigious Robert Fagles prize for translation for this wonderful book.

Before I close this post, I wanted to share some pictures I took of the Hotel De Ville. I couldn't resist playing the tourist while inside since these are parts that are normally off-limits to visitors unless you've got an official reason to be there!

One of the lovely great halls that are used for official functions...

This is where we were for the press conference!

The Subversive Copy Editor

2009-05-16T10:39:00.000-07:00

Despite the gray skies, we had a great turnout for the reading of Carol Fisher Saller's new book "The Subversive Copy Editor" published by University of Chicago Press. Fellow editors, writers and lovers of the written word gathered to partake of Ms. Saller's extensive experience in the world of copy editing, now distilled in her great book. After a brief introduction, the reading started appropriately enough with a bit of talk on the Chicago Manual of Style, one of the most regarded and respected writing manual in the world. Then she continued with some passages from the book which were humorous and interesting. Who would have ever guessed that a topic such as copy editing could be so involving? As Ms. Saller points out, we all have, at one point had to "edit" someone's work in one capacity or another!

The relevance of a good editor cannot ever be underestimated, as pointed out by Penelope, who did a bit of reading herself of a book (which shall remain unnamed) that could have done with a bit of good editing...

Here is the author with her good friend Deborah...

Its never complete without an author signing after....

Once again a great event! Special thanks to the University of Chicago Press people (especially Mirjam!) who very nicely contributed to our event.

Now we gear up for our June events. Let me tell you there's going to be plenty! And they're all great!

What a launch!

2009-05-15T15:22:00.000-07:00

What a great time we had tonight at the book launch of Prof. Thornton's book. Loads of friends, colleagues and students stopped by to celebrate this great new addition to the study of Victorian literature which as Prof. Thornton puts it was the beginning of the virtual world. And if you want to know more about that, you'll have to get a copy of her book which was eagerly snapped up tonight!

Here's a shot of some of the happy people in the store...

Everyone was in high spirits, mingling and partaking of the bubbly! Lots of the sparkly heady stuff was opened tonight thanks to a great friend of RWB...

The proud author with her lovely book ...

Penelope with Prof. Colin Jones, whose book on the history of Paris is one of our best sellers! Hidden behind is his wife, Josephine McDonagh . Together with Jon Mee, they are currently working on a new book titled "Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities and the French Revolution". Hmmm....this may be another launch in the making....

Don't you just love our window? I tell you, it may look easy but creating a window, a good one at least, is an artform! Check out Carol Fisher Saller's book sitting proudly next to Prof. Thornton's.

Which reminds me......the reading for The Subversive Copy Editor is tomorrow at 3PM!
See you there!

Book Launch at 6PM

2009-05-14T13:40:00.000-07:00

One last reminder before the big day! Book launch of Prof. Sara Thornton's book at 6PM at 22 Red Wheelbarrow Bookstore, 22 rue St. Paul.
See you there!

Two lovely authors + events

2009-05-11T06:20:00.000-07:00

We had the pleasure of having two lovely authors stop by recently at the RWB.

Carol Bruneau who hails from Nova Scotia has written critically acclaimed short story collections and novels, one of which, Purple for Sky (published in the US as "A Purple Thread for Sky"), won the 2001 Thomas Radall Atlantic Fiction Award as well as Dartmouth Book Award. Her latest novel is Glass Voices about a woman who survives the Halifax explosion of 1917. It was certainly nice to make her acquaintance and we look forward to seeing her again!

Our other visitor was RWB favorite Cara Black who is currently in town to do several events for her newest novel Murder in the Latin Quarter. She stopped by to say hello and later on set up a cosy little interview at the back of the store. Her newest novel brings Aimee Leduc for the first time on the Left Bank. As with the other Leduc novels, this new one is sure to be a good read!

Before I close this post, just a quick reminder for everyone. We have two events this week..

15 May 2009 6PM--book launch of Prof. Thornton's Advertising, Subjectivity and the 19th Century Novel

16 May 2009 3PM--reading by Carol Fisher Saller from her new book The Subversive Copy Editor

Hope to see you all soon!

A long awaited sequel

2009-05-05T14:30:00.000-07:00

Over the long weekend, I finally got the chance to sit and read Silver Blade, the long awaited sequel to the Red Necklace by Sally Gardner. I’d been so looking forward to it, as I was anxious to know how Yann and Sido’s story would play out. I’m happy to report that it’s every bit as good as Red Necklace!

At the beginning of the book, Yann and Sido are apart from each other. This is a time of great peril as the old aristocratic class makes way for the revolutionaries of 1789. Unfortunately the new regime fails to improve the people’s lot and to keep all dissent at bay the guillotine is used to great effect. Yann, who has been blessed with great powers, has decided to stay in Paris to help the people fleeing from Paris while Sido is away in London awaiting the time when they may be safely reunited. Unknown to them, there is danger coming closer every minute from an old and powerful foe as well as those bent on doing away with all dissenters to the new republic.
I can’t tell you enough how exciting the novel was. This is a fine piece historical fiction that is also a great adventure novel and a love story. And while it was written ostensibly for children, this is clearly a book to be enjoyed by readers of all ages. The author captures vividly the darkness and cruelty that pervaded this period of French history through her prose that gleams at times with poetic brilliance. It takes talent to make this particular period of history come alive in fiction form but she’s done a really great job. The only thing I would warn readers about this book is that it may not be for the squeamish or faint hearted as there are a number of gruesome details. But that’s a minor warning.

Her generous gifts of prose likewise enables her to create characters that come alive from the pages of the book. We’ve seen that in Yann and Sido, the principal characters we root for in the Red Necklace. This time around she’s taken pains with her secondary characters like Tetu the dwarf, Monsieur Aulard and Didier so you become attached to them too. You can’t help but be drawn into their story and to remain gripped by their fate till the last page.

This is a gripping read that shouldn’t be missed. Now I can’t wait for her reading at RWB in June!

This time, its not one of the Twilight books

2009-05-05T14:06:00.000-07:00

Blame Stephenie Meyer and her hugely successful Twilight series for the resurgence in interest in all things Vampire related. Granted, there's no shortage of authors writing vampire book series (Laurell Hamilton and Kim Harrison, to name two) but Meyers is the great star in the vampire firmament of late. Having read my fill of the Twilight series, I recently turned my attention on another author who has long been popular for her vampire stories. And I was very pleased to make my acquaintance with Ms. Charlaine Harris (in a manner of speaking), author of the Southern Vampire series.

Charlaine Harris was in fact, already a well known mystery writer when she decided to turn her hand to the vampire genre. Such was the success of her books that HBO recently turned them into a tv series called True Blood. Since it’s always a good idea to start at the beginning, I picked up Dead Until Dark to begin my journey into Harris' universe.

The principal character is Sookie Stackhouse, a waitress in small town Bon Temps Louisiana. She’s goodhearted if a bit isolated from the rest of the people and we learn that Sookie has a gift. She can “hear” people’s thoughts. And the effort of keeping out other people in her mind prevents her from being too close to people. We also learn that in Harris’ world, vampires have recently acquired legal status. Yup, they are now free to move about in the normal world complete with legal rights. The pesky problem of vampires drinking blood is solved with synthetic blood (sold as well in bars) and they’re not dead anymore, just suffering from a disease that makes them allergic to sunlight, silver and garlic. When Bill, a tall good looking (of course!) vampire comes to Bon Temps to set up house, Sookie is overjoyed. Finally here was someone whose thoughts she can’t hear. I suppose its not giving away too much of the plot if I tell you that Sookie falls hard for Bill. Only trouble is, women are turning up dead in town and they have fang marks.

This is the perfect book to read if you’re looking for something diverting and fun. Harris has written a vampire book with some twists. Sookie herself is a refreshingly likeable character, less warrior babe than Anita Blake or Buffy and less maiden in distress than Bella Swan. She’s a waitress but like she says “she’s not stupid or simple or a slut”. Add the fact that the vampires in this world are actually out and about and it makes for an interesting (to say the least) interaction between the humans and non-humans. What’s nice too about Dead Until Dark is that vivid description of a Louisiana small town. Harris is able to capture the nuances of small town life –the gossipy atmosphere of everyone knowing everyone else and their business but also the looking after each aspect that’s sometimes lost in big city living. My thought after finishing the book? I wouldn’t mind going further in the series and getting better acquainted with Sookie’s adventures.

Events of the Month

2009-05-03T13:02:00.001-07:00

We are happy to announce our events for the month of May. Please write them down in your agendas!

On the 15th of May (Friday) at 6PM, we will have the book launch of Sara Thornton's new book Advertising, Subjectivity and the Nineteenth-Century Novel. In her new book, Ms. Thornton examines the interaction between fiction and advertising. This is a unique study in the field of Victorian literature that is sure to enrich and shed new light on the matter.

After advertising and Victorian literature, we are happy to host Carol Fisher Saller in a reading of her book The Subversive Copy Editor on the 16th of May (Saturday) at 3PM. Ms. Saller is a senior editor at the Manuscript Editing Department of the University of Chicago. As such she is in the unique position of reading the numerous writing and style questions lobbed at the Chicago Manual of Style Q and A forum. Her new book is a must for all lovers of language and writing. This is a great opportunity to meet (and yes, ask those questions you've always had!) and partake of Ms. Saller's immense expertise!

All events will take place at 22 rue St. Paul, 75004. To be kept updated on all our events, be a part of our mailing list and send us an email (with the subject RWB Mailing List) at good.reading@wanadoo.fr. Keep reading this blog for all upcoming events in June and July too!

Hope to see you soon at RWB!

2009-04-29T14:39:00.000-07:00

It’s funny how Renee L. and I were reading similar books. She just finished reading Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay (see her review here) and I just finished Pictures at an Exhibition by Sara Houghteling. Both books deal with that black period in recent French history—the Occupation during the Second World War. I’m not a refugee from that period as Renee is but I do share her desire to understand what is not understandable.
Pictures from an Exhibtion is the story of the Berenzon family. The father Daniel is a prodigious collector of art and thanks to his genius in handling artists, some of the era’s greatest works graced the walls of their famous Gallery. Their family was friends with the Camondo family themselves great patrons of art. But while Daniel drills into Max, his only son, knowledge of their great collection, Max is nonetheless unfathomably forbidden to enter into the family business. Instead his father hires Rose Clement a beautiful and brilliant gallery assistant to work with him. Max inevitably falls in love with Rose. Unfortunately for all of them Paris falls into Nazi hands and the family is forced to flee for their lives. When they come back in 1945 their wondrous collection has disappeared. What follows next is Max’ quest to recover the family’s collection.

There is no doubting the horrors that were unleashed during this dark period of history. There is no shortage of documents detailing all the pain, suffering and misery endured by people. Less documented however is the pillage and looting that accompanied this particular war. Make no mistake about it, there was as much pillage and looting carried out during this period as there was during those days of colonial conquest and rule. What was the object of this looting? Art from the greatest collectors of those times, which happened to also be the most persecuted people. This book does a great job retelling the story of this war from the perspective of a citizenry robbed of everything including his art. And a city without its art is one that has lost its soul.

“I walked among the paintings that had not been shipped—Masson, Miro, Picabia, Valadon, Max Ernst, Leger, Picasso, Kisling, La Fresnaye and Klee. On May 26m, they disappeared. On May 27, I arrived at work almost at dawn, and already a column of smoke greeted me above the terrace of the Tuileries. By sunset, the fire still burned, fueled by the five or ten thousand paintings that our occupiers considered so dangerous.”

“On Bastille Day of 1944, Alfred Rosenberg’s organization, the ERR issued an internal report of European confiscations. ….22,004 works of art in all categorized as
10,890 paintings, watercolors and drawings,684 miniatures, paintings on glass and enamel, books and manuscripts, 2,477 furniture pieces of acknowledged historical value, 583 textiles, 5,825 objects d’art,….”

And while the occupiers made off with much of the art, this book doesn’t spare the French art dealers who had made profit from dealings with the Germans and who later tried to sell back furniture and other objects to the same people who owned them before the war.

But just as every story has its villain, there must also be a hero. In this case, it’s a brave heroine. Rose Clement was modeled after real life Rose Valland, who remained at the Louvre and kept meticulous records of paintings that later enabled the government to recover some of the lost art. It’s just a shame that her character wasn’t as well-fleshed out as it could’ve been.
One passage I really liked is one where Rose is in the middle of the Louvre overseeing the removal of artwork for safer destinations.

“The Louvre’s galleries all led, like spokes to the center of a wheel to the Winged Victory of Samothrace. We had arrived there, on the museum’s first floor, looking up to the score of steps that led to its third, over which a wooden ramp had been constructed. Scaffolding sufficient for a house surrounded Winged Victory. The famous bosom was covered by a heavy piece of leather and encircled with rope. A second box of slatted wood was built around the statue, this one with wheels at its corners. The wings of solid marble still looked ready to take flight. A noose cinched where the head been a thousand years before.”

As with Sarah’s Key, Pictures at an Exhibition shines an illuminating light on a very dark period of our past. It’s a portrait of man, made cruel by great greed and common venality. It’s a continuing lesson to all of us not to go down that path again.

2009-04-27T05:35:00.000-07:00

Folks, its almost the end of April and we have all these long weekends in May coming up! To be sure to get your book fix, make sure to stop by at RWB for all our new titles ...

Fiction Hardcover
1. The House of Bilquis by Azhar Abidi
2. Water Ghosts by Shawna Young Ryan
3. Pictures at an Exhibition by Sara Houghteling
4. The Silver Blade by Sally Gardner

Fiction Trade and Paperback
1. The Air We Breathe by Andrea Barrett
2. All the Sad Young Literary Men by Keith Gessen
3. Brooklyn by Colm Toibin
4. Italian Shoes by Henning Mankell
5. The Butt by Will Self
6. Man in the Dark by Paul Auster
7. Yesterday's Weather by Anne Enright
8. Blonde Roots by Bernardine Evaristo
9. Tales of Freedom by Ben Okri
10. The Invention of Everything Else by Samantha Hunt
11. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Schaffer and Annie Barrows
12. The Road from Damascus by Robin Yassin Kassab
13. The Rooftops of Tehran by Mahbod Seraji
14. Winner Stands Alone by Paulo Coelho
15. Cathedral of the Sea by Ildefonso Falcones
16. When will there be good news by Kate Atkinson
17. The Lazarus Project by Aleksander Hemon

And for our younger readers...

1. The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart
2. Just Henry by Michele Magorian
3. Diary of the Wimpy Kid The Last Straw by Jeff Kinney
4. Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen
5. The Ant Colony by Jenny Valentine
6. Prom Nights from Hell with stories by Meg Cabot, Stephenie Meyer and Kim Harrison

Spending the day out and about in the park

2009-04-22T13:30:00.000-07:00

We love our corner of the Marais but sometimes its good to go out of the neighborhood. Today, we did exactly that because of our participation at the current festival at the Jardin d'Acclimatation. The theme? Americans in Paris. And America it was! Or at least an America composed of ideas that people generally have when they think of America.

Its main street USA with the big yellow school bus...

Las Vegas with the Harley (though I'm afraid you can't see it from this photo but trust me it was there) and Hot dogs and cupcakes...

Of course, books in English brought by the RWB.....

Some of the books we had...

A selection of books for everyone, kids and grown-ups!

This stand was (and will probably continue to be) the most looked at, most visited booth in the whole park! Its the stand with 10, yes 10 free X-Box stations!

There was even music and shows all day long. Its safe to say that everyone at the park today had fun! The RWB will be there again next Wed (the 29th of April) and the 6h of May. Hope to see you there!

Peeling back the layers of the familiar

2009-04-21T13:16:00.000-07:00

There is no shortage of guidebooks written about Paris; this city of ours being one of the most visited in the world. Not to mention one of the most beautiful. Clearly, one of the most unique guide book I've ever had the pleasure of reading is Leonard Pitt's Walks Through Lost Paris. Its a relatively new book (published in 2006) and its simply fascinating. It details the author's exhaustive research into the way the city was rebuilt, in some cases from the ground up, during Napoleon III's reign. The fruit of his research is this book filled with pictures of the city before and after the massive works. In this case, these pictures are worth thousands of words as they manage to show modern readers the city that once was. It's really fascinating to see through the author's eyes. The other day, I walked down Rue St. Antoine, trying to picture in my mind the Hotel de Sully as it must have been and I realized that the facade is currently under renovation. I wonder if the city is restoring it to how it was before. Would it then resemble the Hotel de Sully in the book? Now everytime I walk around, I can't help but see bits and pieces of the unfamiliar medieval Paris. I wish I could share with you some of the great pictures that are in this book. But I guess you'll just have to come in and see the book I'm raving about!

Out and about we are...

2009-04-14T23:23:00.000-07:00

This month, RWB is stepping out once more out of its neighborhood. Starting this Wednesday and for the three consecutive ones (the 22nd, 29th of April and the 6th of May) we will be at the Jardin D'Acclimatation for the ongoing Americans in Paris festival. If you've never been to the Jardin before, now is a good time to join RWB there. There is an impressive line-up of activities that is sure to please everyone out there, including a parade, concerts, basketball and baseball matches and many many more. Please consult their complete program at ....
http://www.jardindacclimatation.fr/Programme120x210_v9_BD.pdf

And on the 30th of April, RWB will once again be at the Sorbonne! This time for Graham Swift's talk on his newest book "Making an Elephant, Writing From Within" as well as other writings. Write down these details:

Graham Swift at
Paris IV Sorbonne Salle des Actes
1 rue Victor Cousin, 75005 Paris
30 April 2009 5:30 Pm
Free entrance
For more information, please don't hesitate to consult:
http://www.ercla.paris4.sorbonne.fr/

Hope to see everyone either at the Jardin or at the Sorbonne!

An impressive woman

2009-04-07T13:40:00.000-07:00

Lord Byron once famously declared "that lobster salad and champagne were the only things a woman should ever be seen eating." If this were to be true, then French women would have a headstart given the importance of champagne in french life. Beyond the confines of France, champagne has come to symbolize high glamor and the good life. Its the drink of choice whenever there is a reason to celebrate. Undoubtedly, one of the most recognizable among the champagne houses is the Veuve Clicquot with its distinctive orange label. But as pointed out by author Tilar Mazzeo, hardly anything is known about the person behind the wine. And so she began a search for this elusive woman whose skill, acumen and audacity helped change and redefine the champagne industry.
Thanks to Mazzeo’s laudable efforts, we now have a book devoted to the story of The Widow Clicquot. As the author finds out in the course of her long research, very little material is actually available on Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin. There are only the barest details on her birth, marriage and subsequent widowhood. What the author has done, and in an excellent manner I might add, is to weave these details into a coherent and fascinating story that gives a good idea of the person. We learn for instance that Barbe-Nicole was widowed at a very young age and that rather than give up their shared dream, she chose to pursue the business. And under very perilous conditions. Interwoven into the Widow’s story is the dramatic and often turbulent history of France during the years of the 19th century. It is a tribute to the author’s skills that parts of the book read like a gripping thriller. For example while reading how the Widow conspired to be the first to ship her precious wines into Russia before the actual restoration of international trade at the end of the Napoleonic wars, I actually felt my tension mounting.

Apart from the story of the widow herself, this book is a great mine of information about the wine industry and how champagne itself has evolved. The champagne taste we know and love is actually very different from its original taste. Imagine it 10 to 15 times sweeter, served icy cold and you get an idea of what it used to be. But what is even more unimaginable is the fact that in the beginning, champagne bubbles that are its hallmark now were thought to be disgusting. In fact, wine makers tried very hard to get rid of it. And as for the tale that Dom Perignon was the inventor of the bubbly, it’s a myth. Hard as it is to believe, the British were the first ones to discover champagne.

At the end, I found myself deeply impressed by Barbe-Nicole and her incredible story. And while, centuries separate us, her words continue to resonate with as much, if not more, truth now.
“The world is in perpetual motion, and we must invent the things of tomorrow. One must go before others, be determined and exacting, and let your intelligence direct your life. Act with audacity.”

Some great reviews

2009-04-06T06:33:00.000-07:00

Last month, RWB was at the book launch of the first volume of Samuel Beckett's Letters at the Irish Cultural Center in Paris. It was a well attended affair led by Professor Dan Gunn who also co-edited the book. The book has had some amazing reviews, one of which was written by Joseph O'Neill, whose last book Netherland was shortlisted in the 2008 Booker Prize. You can read the text of the review by clicking on the link below....

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/05/books/review/ONeill-t.html?ref=review

In other news, we literally jumped for joy when we opened the box contained the newest book from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie!

Here's a great review of the book from Telegraph....

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/5094748/The-Thing-Around-Your-Neck-by-Chimamanda-Ngozi-Adichie-Review.html

And finally, I'm not so familiar with Wells Towers but his new book "Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned" has had some excellent reviews . You can read two reviews by clicking below...

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/29/books/review/White-t.html

http://nymag.com/arts/books/reviews/55327/

All three books are available at RWB!

A mystery writer unmasked

2009-04-06T06:19:00.000-07:00

One of RWB's consistent best seller is the Victor Legris series written by Claude Izner. No sooner do we lay them out in our French fiction table do they get snapped up by our readers, eager to read the next adventure. They are mystery novels set in the late 19th century in different parts of Paris. The 4th and latest novel translated from the French is The Marais Assasin. I don't know if its a well known fact already but Claude Izner is actually the nom de plume of the two sisters who co-write these hugely successful books. They are boquinistes by trade. Last Thursday, we had a pleasant surprise when one half of the duo stopped by at RWB. Laurence Lefevre is a quiet unassuming looking woman and it was a real pleasure to meet with at least one of those responsible for Victor Legris. In fact English audiences have a way to go because while the latest one we have is the fth, the series is actually well on its 8th book and the sisters are currently working on the 9th! We are looking forward to more books from Claude Izner!

2009-03-30T11:29:00.000-07:00

Mondays, being the beginning of the week are often a bit quieter for us than the rest of the week. Sometimes though, we'll get a visit that considerably brightens our morning! The special visitor this morning was the charming Lynn S. Meskill whose new book Ben Jonson and Envy has just been published by Cambridge.

And if you're wondering what the fuss is all about, her new book is being hotly touted as "tackling a previously overlooked, but vital aspect of Jonson's poetics."And if you think that's only for academics, consider this--the book in fact, illuminates the way in which the literary is or seems to be informed by popular culture! How can you resist that?

2009-03-30T11:16:00.000-07:00

24 reasons to stop by the Red Wheelbarrow....

1.About Face by Donna Leon
2. Long Lost by Harlan Coben
3. Winter Vault by Anne Michaels
4. Amenable Women by Mavis Cheek
5. 10 Story Love Song by Richard Millway
6. English byWang Gang
7. John by Niall Williams
8. The Immigrant by Manju Kapur
9. Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

and more that you can now carry in your pocket....

10. The Reserve by Russell Banks
11. Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri
12. Past Imperfect by Julian Fellowes
13. The Lady and the Poet by Maeve Hearan

and for those of the more serious bent...

14. The Beats by Harvey Peckar
15. Chaplin: The Tramp's Odyssey by Simon Louvish
16. A Revolution in Taste by Susan Pinkard
17. Warlord by Carlo D'Este
18. The Art Instinct by Denis Dutton
19. Saint Francis and the Sultan by John Tolan
20. South Africa's Brave New World by R.W. Johnson
21. Adam's Tongue by Derek Bickerton
22. The Weight of a Mustard Seed by Wendell Steavenson
23. The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work by Alain de Botton
24. Rebel Land by Christopher de Bellaigue

War and its aftermath

2009-03-24T14:38:00.000-07:00

De Niro's Game is the tale of two childhood friends growing up during the turbulent years of Lebanon’s civil war. Bassam and George ( known also as De Niro for his love of Russian roulette like Robert De Niro’s character in Deer Hunter) have a precarious future before them. Many of their friends and family are dead or missing, and the city is in a perpetual state of war. The foremost question in their lives is how to survive. And if they do, at what cost?

This is an impressive debut novel from Rawi Hage, who himself fled Lebanon for the safe shores of Canada. The book received much critical praise and since its publication has won a heap of prizes. It is brilliant work and betrays none of the usual flaws of a novice writer. Hage infuses his writing with palpable passion and the pages practically crackle with tension as you tear through the narrative. This is by no means an easy book, dealing as it does with the war torn landscape of Lebanon and its aftermath. It is infused with savagery where scenes of people hunting down the street dogs and the even more harrowing scenes of the Sabra and Chantilla massacres have the power to haunt even after you turn the page. Even as he writes about the savageness and horrors of war, Hage is also able to write beautifully poetic passages. A reminder, I suppose that even in the midst of horror, glimpses of beauty remain.

Endless war

2009-03-19T15:10:00.000-07:00

Nadeem Aslam received much critical praise for his two earlier works Maps for Lost Lovers was the winner of the Kiriyama Prize and was longlised for the Booker prize. Little wonder that there was great anticipation for his next novel. Unlike the eleven year wait between the first two books, the wait for this new one was a mere four years. I have to warn you that Wasted Vigil is by no means an easy read.

It’s the story of a Russian woman Lara who arrives in Afghanistan to look for her brother Benedikt, who was sent to fight during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The book’s tone is set when misfortune befalls her at the beginning of her trip. Fortunately for her she falls into the hands of Marcus, a kind Englishman who has been living in the country for the past 40 years as he was married to an Afghan woman. It turns out that Zameen, Marcus’ daughter who was captured by the Soviets might have knowledge of Benedikt's disappearance. From this beginning we slowly discover that their stories are more closely intertwined than we can imagine.

Aslam certainly takes his time to build his story and characters into place. And he spares the reader not one single grim detail of the travails and horrors (mutilations, rapes and landmines are just some of them) that have befallen Afghanistan and its people. If the author’s goal was to provide yet more reasons to fear and loathe the Taliban, he has succeeded admirably. One is left with the impression that there is no redemption for the people who are caught under the Taliban’s yoke. He is likewise unsparing of the US for their responsibility in creating the monstrous oppression that is now entrenched in Afghanistan. To read this book is to have your breath taken away by the horrors. This is not to say that Aslam has written a bad book. Far from it. He has a beautifully poetic way with words and there is a certain tenderness, lyricism even, in the way he writes passages of this difficult story. More importantly he is able to fully present the complexity that is the political history of the country. This is an important book to read if you want to make some sense of the hotbed that is now Afghanist and and Pakistan though I wish he had written it with a bit more hope. I'd like to think that the Afghan history is much more than death and horrors.

Important Update on Anita Desai Event

2009-03-16T07:08:00.000-07:00

Due to some changes, Anita Desai's talk on her book In Custody will be held at the Ecole Normale Supérieure Amphithéâtre Rataud 45 rue d'Ulm, 75005 Paris at 6PM in the evening.

We hope to see everyone there!

Where lost things are kept

2009-03-10T15:15:00.000-07:00

Two things often attract me to a book at first glance—how the cover looks (one good example would be Chez Moi) or the title (how can you resist something called “The Atlas of Impossible Longing”). With Stella Duffy’s new book, it was the title that first grabbed my attention. The Room of Lost Things sent a nice shiver down my back in anticipation of the read ahead.

It’s the story of Robert Sutton who is retiring after 40 or so years of being in the business of dry cleaning. His advertisement attracts Akeel Khan, a young second generation east Londoner who wants to make his mark in the world. Robert trains Akeel in the business and introduces him to the room of lost things where Robert keeps all the secret odds and ends that people leave behind in their pockets. Robert himself is hiding his own big secret. And as they move tentatively towards understanding each other, a curiously moving friendship develops between them. This is only the barest description of a novel brimming in memorable characters and rich details. Ms. Duffy’s great strength lies in her skill at fleshing out characters that grip you till the last page without sacrificing a strong plot.

It's really nice the way the author interweaves Robert and Akeel’s friendship with snippets of other people’s lives. There is Helen who only wants to be loved but is stuck in a fast going nowhere relationship and Stefan who fears intimacy with a passion. And then there is the “Poet” who peeks into other people’s lives as he travels by bus. I shouldn’t forget to mention that one character which was as vivid if not more so than the others in the book, is the city of London, specifically the area of Loughborough Junction. Often, this area is described as a rather rough neighborhood but while reading this book one gets an altogether different view. True, it maybe rough and a little shabby but there is a sense of community and the mix of different people make it a lot more interesting than more fashionable or homogenous neighborhoods. At the end of the day these are ordinary people with ordinary stories but they are somehow imbued with a certain grace that makes reading about them as satisfying as a cup of tea on a cold day.

RWB Events of the Month

2009-03-06T11:30:00.000-08:00

This March, your favorite bookstore in the Marais will be coming out of the neighborhood to participate in several exciting events. Write them down in your agendas!

March 12th- Dan Gunn and George Craig will be launching The Letters of Samuel Beckett 1929-1940 published by Cambridge University Press at 7:30 pm at the Centre Culturel Irlandais, 5 rue des Irlandais 75005 Paris.

March 12th, 13th and 14th- the Congrès de la Société Française Shakespeare will have its annual Shakespeare conference at the Institut National d'Histoire de l'Art, 6, rue des Petits Champs, 75002 Paris. This year's theme is Shakespeare et l'Orient. The list of distinguished speakers include Gary Taylor and Francois Laroque. For more details on the conference please check out their website http://www.societefrancaiseshakespeare.org/document.php?id=1403#tocfrom8

March 18th- the Ecole Active Bilingue Victor Hugo School will be hosting the 14th Annual Teacher Development Day organized by the English Language Schools Association. This year's theme is Dealing with Diversity. Ecole Active Bilingue Victor Hugo School is at 23, rue de Cronstadt, 75015 Paris.

March 18th- La Sorbonne Paris IV in cooperation with E.R.C.L.A. will be hosting Anita Desai at the Maison de la Recherche (28 rue Serpente 75006). Organized by Alexis Tadie and Vanessa Guignery, Ms. Desai will be discussing her novel In Custody. Entrance is free to everyone.

2009-03-06T11:19:00.000-08:00

Lots of great books for this merry month of March....

New in Fiction (Hardcover and Trade Editions)
1. Murder in the Latin Quarter by Cara Black
2. Strangers by Anita Brookner
3. Leaving the World by Douglas Kennedy
4. Solo by Rana Dasgupta
5. The Russian Dreambook of Color and Flight by Gina Ochsner
6. Drood by Dan Simmons
7. The Kindly Ones by Jonathan Littell
8. The Vagrants by Yiyun Li

New in Fiction (Paperback)
1. Wasted Vigil by Nadeem Aslan
2. American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld
3. Wolf Totem by Jiang Rong
4. The Gulf Between Us by Geraldine Bedell
5. The Atlas of Impossible Longing by Anuradha Roy
6. The Voluptuous Delights of Peanut Butter and Jam by Lauren Liebenberg
7. Homesick by Eshkol Nevo
8. Say You're One of Them by Uwem Akpan
9. The Age of Shiva by Manil Suri
10. Six Suspects by Vikas Swarup
11. The Rowing Lesson by Anne Landsman
12. Lush Life by Richard Price
13. The Girl who Played by Fire by Stieg Larsson

A rock star day

2009-03-02T14:14:00.000-08:00

I admit it, I've gotten a bit used to having authors come into RWB on a rather regular basis. Not that meeting them has lost its thrill, it's still great and yes, I'm still waiting for J.K.Rowling and Cornelia Funke walk through our doors but I think its all just a question of time. Today though we had someone else come in and it wasn't someone we would normally expect, though today wasn't his first visit. Pete Doherty came by to buy some books, looking very "rockish", if I do say so myself. He has interesting taste in reading material to say the least and was gracious about having his picture taken.

A few posts ago, I did wonder who would be coming next, and look who turned up! Now if only Cornelia or J.K would come by....

An unusual contest

2009-03-02T13:22:00.000-08:00

Very often, a book will come in the store and just sell itself right off the table. When that happens I don't get the chance to talk about it here. Luckily though a second chance comes around when the book gets published in its paperback format. I was so glad today when I saw on our table of fiction new releases Nicholas Drayson's A Guide to the Birds of East Africa in its lovely paperback form. I'd read this book months ago and enjoyed it immensely. In fact thinking about it now makes me like it even more. Contrary to its title, it’s a novel set in Nairobi Kenya and its actually the story of an unusual contest.

Rose Mbikwa has long led the Tuesday morning bird walk of the East African Ornithological Society. One faithful attendee of the walk is Mr. Malik who has long nursed a secret love for the widowed Rose. Unfortunately he is much too shy to declare his feelings for the fetching Rose. As he attempts to figure out how to ask Rose to the annual Hunt Ball, an unexpected rival, in the shape of the much wealthier, flashier Harry Khan, arrives on the scene. And when Mr. Malik unwittingly blurts out his secret, a bet is set between the rivals. Whoever sees the most number of birds in the week, will ask Rose to the ball.

This is a good old fashioned romantic novel that is both heartwarming and funny. I'm always told that my choice of reading material is often grim or depressing or both, and its true that I'm often stumped when I'm asked for a book that's light but I've found a good one in this book! Drayson writes his characters with great feeling and you can’t help but root for the hapless Malik, who very much resembles David battling Goliath. What's nice as well is that the author is able to infuse his book with the color and sounds of Africa. He even manages without being preachy or heavy, to plausibly weave into the narrative the different problems that beset Kenya. But he does this in a very simple and artless way that keeps the book from being too gloomy or heavy. And unlike Q and A, which I enjoyed reading a lot a few weeks ago, the Guide to the Birds of East Africa doesn't require a suspension of belief. For all you realists out there who prefer their fiction a bit grounded in reality, this is one lite reading that you should be added to your books-to-read pile.

7th Annual Red Wheelbarrow Children's Writing Contest

2009-02-27T02:17:00.000-08:00

Have we got great news! Sally Gardner has just agreed to be the Master of Ceremonies at the Celebration of Writing and Writers Ceremony of the Red Wheelbarrow Children's Writing Contest on the 5th of June 2009. We are super excited with this news as Sally Gardner is one of RWB's favorite authors. She's written a number of great children's books and among our favorites are I, Coriander and The Red Necklace. Her new book will be coming out in April and we are very much looking forward to it! If you haven't had the chance to read her work yet, I strongly suggest you do!

Now for the contest, the rules have been slightly modified so please read carefully as only those stories fully complying with the rules will be accepted. Deadline for submission is the 30th of April 2009

GUIDELINES

1) WHO: All English writers, from Kindergarten/Grande Section through Grade 12/Terminale, in the greater Paris area.

2) WHAT: ONE original story per student written after September 1, 2008. All stories must:

· Have a clear beginning, middle, and end;
· Be submitted under one of two categories: 1) independent project or 2) school-based project. This tells us whether you wrote your
story on your own or had the help of teachers and friends. Please, be honest. Only one submission per student will be accepted.
· Respect the following word limit: 750 words, grades K-5 / GS-CM2
1000 words, grades 6-12 / college-lycée
Longer pieces will not be accepted.
· Be typed, using Times New Roman or Arial fonts, 12 pt, and double-spaced, with 5 cm. margins*
No handwritten work, illustrations or color print, please.

3) WHEN: The deadline for story submissions is 30 April 2009 at midnight. No late submissions will be accepted.

4) WHERE: Submit your stories only by e-mail attachment to rwcontest@gmail.com, using the following directions:

5) HOW:
· In the SUBJECT line of your e-mail, write "Red Wheelbarrow Contest Entry", and your grade.
Example, Subject: Red Wheelbarrow Contest Entry, 3rd Grade (or CM1).
· In the BODY of your e-mail, tell us about you and your story, using the form provided on page 2 of these guidelines.
COPY and PASTE this form onto the e-mail page and fill it in. We cannot accept any stories without this information.
· ATTACH your story to the e-mail as a WORD file, using the story title ONLY as the document name.

IMPORTANT ! PLEASE READ! IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ! IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ! IMPORTANT!

DO NOT include your name anywhere in the story attachment, neither in the story text NOR in the document name. Your document name should be your story TITLE only. We must receive an anonymous copy in order to accept it. When we receive your story submission, we will send you an e-mail telling you so. If you do not receive this e-mail confirmation within 24
hours, we may not have received your story. So please let us know!

Please note also that after all entries are submitted, the school must send a representative to the Red Wheelbarrow Bookstore (22 rue St. Paul 75004) with a list of all participating stories. This way we can validate that you have participated!

6) Do not use obscene language – The winning stories will be published and read by people of all ages.

7) Join us for the Celebration of Writing and Writers with Sally Gardner as Master of Ceremonies to be held at L’Ecole Massillon, on Friday June 5, 2009. Come enjoy a book-making
atelier, workshops, readings, and books, books, books. All participating writers will be honored! The top five writers in each category and grade will be announced (they will be notified in advance so they’ll be sure to come). We strongly encourage all authors to attend!

9) The Red Wheelbarrow Creative Writing Contest is absolutely free-of-charge to enter.

10) Any Questions? Please contact: June or Sarah, rwcontest@gmail.com, or come by the bookstore!

Here is the Info sheet you need to fill up:

7th ANNUAL RED WHEELBARROW CREATIVE WRITING CONTEST
COVER PAGE

Please COPY and PASTE the cover page below into the BODY of your submission e-mail and FILL IN your personal information so that we can clearly identify your story. ATTACH your story to the message as a document with the TITLE of your story as the file
name. DO NOT TYPE your name anywhere on the story.

We MUST RECEIVE an anonymous copy of your story.
- Story Title: ____________________________________________________
- Word Count (total number of words in the story): ________
- Number of Pages: ________
- Author’s Last Name: ______________________________________
- Author’s First Name: ______________________________________
- Author’s submission category: ____ Independent Project
____ School-based Project
- Author’s School/Program: _______________________________
- English teacher’s name (if applicable): _______________________________
- Grade/Year in which author is enrolled: _______________________________
- Author’s age on 10 April 2009: _______________________________
- Author’s address (street, postal code, city): _______________________________
_______________________________
- Author’s Email Address: _______________________________

Please type YES or NO in response to the following:
Authors:
On your honor, did you imagine and write this story yourself? _____
On your honor, was this story imagined and written after 1 September 2008? _____
Parents:
Do you give permission for your child’s story to be used to promote the Red Wheelbarrow Writing Contest? _____
Do you give permission for the author’s photo to be used to promote this contest? _____

Eh voila...ready set go!!!

2009-02-20T15:11:00.000-08:00

Our week was considerably brightened by two authors who passed by RWB. First to visit was Judith Adler Hellman whose book The World of Mexican Migrants was named outstanding academic title of 2008 by Choic, magazine of the American Library Association. Judith is a friendly and interesting person and we are very much looking forward to doing an event with her before she leaves our shores.

We very nearly didn't recognize our next author. In fact, it wasn't till nearly the end when we realized it, and he 'fessed up to being Horatio Clare, author of Running for the Hills. His book has received wide praise for being beautifully written and with an eye for the wild landscape of Wales.

Who will come a -visiting next, I wonder?

Who wants to be a millionaire?

2009-02-10T13:55:00.000-08:00

Q and A, Vikas Swarup’s debut novel begins with its protagonist Ram Mohammad Thomas in jail. Reason? He has just won a billion rupees in India’s Who Will Win a Billion. Since he is a poor uneducated boy from the chawls (or slums), producers of the show reason out that he couldn’t have won on merit and instead cheated. They ask the police to “persuade” Ram to confess to cheating. He is saved from the tender ministrations of the police by a lawyer who demands to know how exactly he came to know the answers. Thus begins Ram’s Scheherazade like telling of his life, whose twists and turns fortuitously give him the answers to the various questions.
Reading the book, I could see how its plot could be taken to form the basis of a movie. And a hugely successful one too; last I heard, Slumdog Millionaire had 10 Oscar nominations and was being called the little film that could. The book though is one that could be enjoyed independently of the movie. Granted, Swarup’s plot requires a suspension of belief but it is a hugely enjoyable story nonetheless. He writes with a deft and engaging hand and the plot twists and turns make it a fast novel to read. He has given Ram a distinctive voice that carries along the tale. What Swarup has done really well with this book is to paint a portrait of modern India with all its squalor and filth but also the vibrancy and grit of its inhabitants. He has written this story with genuine humor and sympathy for those whose lot in life is most unfortunate. All the more reason to cheer for Ram’s one billion rupees. At the end of the day, don’t we all want a happy ever after?

On Paris Guide books

2009-02-06T13:33:00.001-08:00

Today was a blessedly beautiful day, blue skies and relatively mild weather. Finally. It was certainly a welcome relief. So we threw open our doors and who should walk in but Heather Stimmler-Hall who's just published her own unique guide to Paris. Her book is called Naughty Paris Guide and it is chock full of insider tips about this fabulous city of ours, albeit with an empahsis on its sexy side. As Heather puts it, "there were a lot of people asking her about these details". So for all you ladies out there, if you've ever wondered where to buy those corsets (leather or otherwise) and lingerie that add that va-va voom touch to your wardrobe, or wondered where a fabulous woman may hang out and maybe meet the love of her life, this is the book for you. Champagne and roses not included.

Another Paris guide book to look forward to is the one by Ami Sioux a talented photographer who was in RWB today. Her idea behind her guide books is highly original and wonderfully interesting. The idea is to ask 50 different people to draw a map of their favorite place and she goes out to take a photo of each place. It sounds simple but the result is a unique guide to what makes a city so special to the people who live in it. As she puts it, "its not about the latest or trendiest cafe". To get an idea of what her Paris book will be like, check out the first one on Reykjavik http://scintillalimited.com/

Here's a page on Reykjavik...
For more of Ami's work, check out http://www.amisioux.com/

Also in the store today were Jobic and Emilie Le Masson. If you guys aren't yet aware of it, we are carrying Hill, Jobic's awesome first CD. In my completely unbiased opinion, this is a great CD and one you should be listening to. If you have the chance to hear Jobic play, you should definitely do so. For more information on his concerts, check out his website http://jobic.lemasson.free.fr/

What's new at RWB

2009-02-04T11:52:00.000-08:00

Its a freezing start to this month but we have stacks of new books that can keep you company at home and away from the cold. But before giving you the list, I wanted to share the news that we will soon post up the revised rules for the 8th annual Red Wheelbarrow Children's Writing Contest. One of the more important changes, I can already tell you is that, this year the deadline for the submission of entries has been extended from April 1st to May 1st. Keep reading the blog for further information.

Now for those books..

New in Nonfiction
1. Byron in Love by Edna O'Brien
2.Up From History: The Life of Booker T. Washington by Robert Norrell
3. The Forever War by Dexter Filkins
4. The Dark Side by Jane Mayer
5. Angels and Ages by Adam Gopnik
6. The Widow Clicquot by Tilar J. Mazeo
7. Love's Civil War: Elizabeth Bowen and Charles Ritchie: Letters and Diaries 1941-9173 edited by Victoria Glendinning
8. Passing Strange by Martha Sandweiss
9. Great Powers: America and the World After Bush by Thomas Barnett
10. Fidel and Che: A Revolutionary Friendship by Simon Reid-Henry

New in Fiction (Hardcover and Trade Paperback)
1. The Women by T.C. Boyle
2. The Devil's Brood by Sharon Penman
3. The Associate by John Grisham
4. The Naqib's Daughter by Samia Serageldin
2. The Other Queen by Philippa Gregory
3. The Truth about Love by Josephine Hart
4. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
5. UFO in her Eyes by Xiaolu Guo
6. The Chalk Circle Man by Fred Vargas
7. The Great Lover by Jill Dawson

New in Fiction Paperback
1. The Miracle at Speedy Motors by Alexander McCall Smith
2. Death at Intervals by Jose Saramago
3. Sorrows of an Amerian by Siri Hustvedt
4. A Partisan's Daughter by Louis de Bernieres
5. The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa
6. Beaufort by Ron Leshem
7.The Room of Lost Things by Stella Duffy
8. Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie
9. The Last Queen by C.W. Gortner
10. Submarine by Joe Dunthorne
11. God's Own Country by Ross Raisin

The newest Newberry Medal winner

2009-01-27T11:45:00.000-08:00

We had some exciting news today when the winner of the Newberry Medal was announced. Drumroll please….the John Newberry Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature was awarded to Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book. Despite the great number of excellent children’s books out there, I think the Graveyard Book totally deserves its award and all the praise that’s come its way.
It’s the story of a young boy who survives the assassination of his family by a talented murderer. He finds sanctuary at a graveyard where its denizens decide to adopt him. They name him Nobody (Bod for short) and he is given a guardian to ensure that he will be fed and educated properly as the only living boy in the graveyard. But this is only the beginning of his story.
When we first received the book, I thought that its premise was one of the most unusual ones I’d ever come across in awhile and I thought to myself that I had to read it. I’m so glad I did as it is clearly the work of a master storyteller. In some ways, it reminded me of Kipling’s Jungle Book which I loved when I was a kid. Like Jungle Book, Gaiman’s tale has all the necessary elements to take away the reader from the mundane –a smart and loveable hero, exciting plot twists and turns and huge heapings of humor. It is also wonderfully inventive and I wonder how Gaiman comes up with all his ideas. And if that weren’t enough, the book is illustrated by the very talented Dave McKean and his illustrations capture perfectly the spirit of the story.
If you’ve never read Gaiman before, this is a great introduction to his universe and if you are already acquainted with him, I guarantee you will not be disappointed.

A difficult question

2009-01-26T13:45:00.000-08:00

Long before Hollywood set its sights on The Reader, it had already attracted much attention when it was first published in 1995. The Reader or Der Vorleser (“one who reads aloud") by Bernhard Schlink was the first German book to hit the NY Times Best seller list and was heaped with much critical praise in Germany. The story begins when 15 year old Michael Berg falls ill with hepatitis and is helped by the then 36 year old Hanna. After his recovery he returns to thank her and they embark on a passionate affair. Later on she disappears mysteriously from his life. He meets her again when he attends the trial of several women, including Hanna for war crimes during WWII.
In framing the story against the WWII and its aftermath, Schlink poses one of the most difficult questions –what would you do if the person you love is guilty of doing horrific things? There are no easy or definite answers to such a question and it is one that Michael grapples with all his life. And in posing this question, Schlink doesn’t limit the question to the crime to which Hanna is accused of and later incarcerated for. He poses this question to the generation that was present during the war. “Our parents had played a variety of roles in the Third Reich. Several among our fathers had been in the war, two or three of them as officers of the Wehrmacht and one as an officer of the Waffren SS. Some of them held positions as in the judiciary or the local government. We all condemned our parents even if the only charge we could bring was that after 1945 they had tolerated the perpetrators in their midst.” And if this is the case, what should the second generation (the children and their children) do with the knowledge of such crime? Do they stop loving the person? Or are they too condemned because they continue to love this same person?
This novel is not by any means an easy read. But I can't recommend it enough to other people. Schlink doesn’t provide easy answers neither for his character nor for us readers. What he has done is to write his novel with great sensitivity and insight that allows for much reflection. The objective is not so much to assign guilt or blame to specific people but to make us understand that there are some crimes especially those born out of hatred and prejudice that transcend the specific perpetrators. And while there aren’t any answers, there is room for the possibility of redemption and even love. In the end, this is perhaps the great lesson to be learned.

2009-01-21T13:49:00.000-08:00

New year, new stack of books....

New in Hard Cover Fiction
1. Lark and Termitte by Jayne Anne Phillips
2. The Size of the World by Joan Silber
3. The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet by Colleen McCullough
4. What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell
5. Once on a Moonless Night by Dai Sijie
6. The Last Bachelor by Jay McInerney
7. The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill

New in Trade Paperback Fiction
1. The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb
2. My Sister, My Love by Joyce Carol Oates
3. The Book of Unholy Mischief by Elle Newmark
4. Land of Marvels by Barry Unsworth

New in Paperback Fiction
1. The Senator's Wife by Sue Miller
2. Trauma by Patrick McGrath
3. The Commoner by John Burnham Schwartz
4. Dreamers of the Day by Mary Doria Russell
5. The Other Hand by Chris Cleave
6. Cost by Roxana Robinson
7. Call Me By Your Name by Andre Aciman
8. Netherland by Joseph O'Neill
9. 20 Fragments of a Ravenous Youth by Xiaolu Guo
10. My Mistress' Sparrow is Dead edited by Jeffrey Eugenides

2009-01-19T10:01:00.000-08:00

These gray gray days require uplifting reading material. I initially picked up Mediterranean Summer by David Shalleck and Erol Munuz from my shelves because its bright yellow cover stuck out invitingly. And I love my copy with its beautiful cover containing scenes of the French and Italian Riviera. It was with a sense of snuggling down for a light read that I started the book. I have to say it exceeded my expectations in the most wonderful way.

Essentially it distills David’s experiences while working as a chef on board a luxury sailing yacht owned by one of Italy’s most prominent couples. In the book Il Dottore and La Signora as he calls them, hire him to for the summer as they cruise their way from the French Cote D’Azur all the way to Italy’s Emerald Coast and then back again for the summer season ending Regatta Cup at St. Tropez. And lest you think these are regular folks who want regular meals, they are not. As instructed, David is to prepare three to four course lunches and dinners, taking care not to repeat a single dish for the entire duration of the vacation and using only the freshest local ingredients to make traditional cucina italiana. No mean feat. And let me tell you, as someone who can barely plan a week’s menu, I can fully understand David’s reservations about being able to fulfill the stringent requirements. But fulfill them he does and he passes with flying colors.

This is a book to get deliciously lost into. It is not merely a travelogue detailing the various places they visit, neither is it merely a book on food. It is that wonderful blend of travel and food, that captures with an accurate eye the essence of the places and people that he encountered. It helps enormously that David is a more than an able writer. He writes with genuine flair and even honesty. There is no disguising the fact that his sojourn was mostly work with barely enough time for rest or recreation but through his writing you get a sense of the real love that he has for his work. And if you love to read up on food, this one is full of mouthwatering dishes that make you dream. As an added bonus, he includes recipes of the most memorable dishes at the end of his book.

I closed the book with a sigh, sad that I finished it too quickly. I went to bed dreaming of Positano and red tomatoes ripening in the sun.

2008-12-22T12:13:00.000-08:00

Christmas lights notwithstanding, our December has been considerably brightened by some recent author visits. RWB's great favorite Jay Cantor is in town for the holidays with his lovely family and so it was inevitable that he would pay a visit at your favorite bookstore in the Marais. He is the author of Krazy Kat, The Death of Che Guevarra and Great Neck (which you see pictured here) as well as two books of essays (The Space Between: Literature and Politics and On Giving Birth to One's Own Mother). He is also a professor of creative writing at Tufts University.

Another author who dropped by for a visit was David Burke, whose book Writers in Paris is a nice addition to our shelves on all things French related.

A book for these troubled times

2008-12-22T12:06:00.000-08:00

In May 1992, a little after the beginning of the Sarajevo war, 22 people were killed by mortar fire while waiting to buy bread at a bakery. To honor and mourn the people who had lost their lives Vedran Smailovich, a cellist decided to play at the square where they died for 22 straight days. His actions formed the basis for Steven Galloway’s novel The Cellist of Sarajevo.
The book traces the lives of three people caught in the middle of the war. There is Kenan, a father of three who must make his way across the dangerous streets of the city to fetch water for his family and a cantankerous old neighbor. Then there is Dragan, a baker whose wife and son were able to leave the city for the safe shores of Italy and finally there is Arrow, a young woman recruited by the city’s defenders to shoot the snipers. Her latest mission is to save the cellist from being killed as he plays his tribute.
In the hands of a less skilled novelist, a story like this has the potential to become melodramatic and overwrought. Fortunately, Galloway is skilled enough to let the story tell itself. And it is a moving one. It brings home the horrors and alienation caused by war and the toll it takes on every individual. One of the most touching moments of the book comes when Dragan sadly realizes that the beautiful Sarajevo of his memories is fast being degraded by the current war torn state of his city. It is one of the most heartrending parts of the book. Reading it made me marvel at our collective capacity to make war when it exerts such a high toll.
Despite the grimness of the story, there are flashes of hope. Incongruous as it may seem, we see in Arrow’s character, the promise of a better future (clichéd as that may sound) when she refuses to forget the decent person that she once was and by choosing to be this person despite the ultimate sacrifice this entails.
Many books on all the different wars that have blighted our history have been undoubtedly been written but Cellist of Sarajevo is a worthy addition to our shelves and is a definite must read. And after reading it, I'm sure you will have the same urge I had to pass it on.

When wine and books meet

2008-12-04T13:49:00.000-08:00

As you might have noticed, RWB hardly ever does events outside of its cosy confines. Tonight was an exception when we had the book launch of Robert V. Camuto's Corkscrewed at Juveniles wine bar. Juveniles, owned by a genial Scotsman, is a cosy little place filled with bottles of wine and it set just the right ambiance for tonight's launch and of course wine tasting.

Robert was in fine form tonight. For this event, we had several wine growers in the audience (as well as Le Figaro, so watch out for an article on Monday's issue) so to start things off, he made a nice little introduction. Then it was on to the serious business of signing his books and chatting with all the folks who came by.. you can see how seriously he did it!

And here are some RWB friends who dropped by for the launch and sample the wine....
You can tell its a nice little wine bar with all the crates of the heady stuff stacked up along its walls...

Corkscrewed is going to be one of those great holiday gifts so we suggest dropping by RWB to get hold of a copy. We've also prepared a little list of holiday reads you might like for your friends. Before anyone notices, it'll be Christmas!

Wine!

2008-11-30T07:20:00.000-08:00

RWB is proud to invite everyone to the book launch of Corkscrewed: Adventures in the New French Wine Country by Robert V. Camuto on the 4th of December (Thursday) from 6-8 pm at Juveniles (47 rue Richelieu 75001). And because this will take place in a cosy little bar a vins, there will also be wine tasting for all oenophiles. We at RWB are looking forward to this event and we hope to see everyone there!!

Poetry night

2008-11-27T11:57:00.000-08:00

Continuing RWB's tradition of hosting great poetry readings, we had a very interesting night of poetry with Beverley Bie Brahic, Elizabeth Haukass and Jonathan Regier last Tuesday. As always our evening began with an introduction by Penelope Le Masson and after a bit of deliberation amongst the three poets, it was decided that youth would come before experience....

So the poetry began with Jonathan, who read from his book Three Years from Upstate. He also took time to explain a little bit about the structure of his poems...

Up next was Elizabeth Haukaas, whose new book Leap will be available next year in the US. She read a series of selections from Leap whose main subject matter is a sobering one--that of a single mother dealing with children's illnesses.

And last (but definitely not the least) we had the wonderful Beverley who read a carefully chosen selection of her works from her book Against Gravity as well as her translations of Francis Ponge's poems. She read in a wonderfully cadenced way that allowed the audience to fully savor the lines of the poems.

Of course our wonderful audience couldn't resist asking the poets questions which they graciously answered..

And here are some pics of those who came and I dare say, enjoyed themselves thoroughly!

Up next for RWB is the book launch of Robert V. Camuto's book Corkscrewed. Write this date down, its going to be on the 4th of December (from 6-8) at the Juveniles wine bar 47 rue de Richelieu 75001. I'm sure that's going to be another fun evening!

Upcoming poetry night

2008-11-20T13:32:00.000-08:00

Before the weekend comes upon us, I just wanted to send you all a reminder of our upcoming Night of Poetry on the 25th of November 2008 (7PM) with poets Beverley Bie Brahic, Elizabeth Haukass and Jonathan Regier. As with all our other readings at the RWB, this night promises to be a stimulating and exciting one and we are very much looking forward to seeing you all there!

A book to read under these dreary skies

2008-11-20T13:20:00.000-08:00

I’ve found the perfect book for curling up in the sofa while snugly wrapped in your warmest throw. I spent many delicious hours reading Sandra Gulland’s newest book Mistress of the Sun. Sandra whose previous books were on the life of Josephine Bonaparte has turned her sights on Madame Louise de la Valière, the first Maitresse en titre of Louis XIV. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Louise de la Valière was born into a humble family. Early in life, she tames a wild horse through bone magic, an act which haunts her throughout her life. She believes that this act of transgression against her faith marks the beginning of her family’s disastrous descent starting with the untimely death of her father. After a series of events, she finds herself in the unlikely position of lady in waiting to the Princess Henriette, King Louis XIV’s sister in law. And such brings her to the attentions of the young Sun King, though their first meeting takes place long before she comes to court in a forest with either of them unknowing of the other’s real identity. When they meet again at Court, the King becomes enamored of the virtuous Petite, as she was known. Slowly she succumbs and they embark on a long affair resulting in four children. Despite the happiness their love affair brings her and the privileges her position affords her and her family, Petite is forever haunted by her conscience. In the end she must learn to find peace in the midst of her royal life.
This is a great piece of historical fiction and a worthy addition to your shelves. Sandra Gulland shows a meticulous eye towards the details of this period. And she paints a vivid picture of Paris under the Sun King. Her lively descriptions of city life and the traffic among the barges as they wait their turn to cross the Seine gives us an extremely rich picture of Paris as it must have been. As the love affair between the King and Petite begins quite early on in his reign, we also see how Versailles is transformed from a humble hunting lodge to the immensely extravagant palace it is now. Rich descriptions aside, what elevates this book from romantic fiction (though I have to admit that there’s nothing wrong with a good romance, now and then) is the portrait Gulland paints of Petite. As portrayed under Gulland’s skillful hands, Petite is a conflicted person who struggles to do her best according to her convictions. While she loves the King greatly, she is unable to reconcile this love with her religious convictions. And it doesn’t help that she is told by court priests that giving in to the King involves a higher moral duty that takes precedence over the simple tenet of respecting marital vows. Unfortunately for Petite, she lived at a time when the King’s word was paramount and there were very little options open to women. It is a triumph of her own personal will when Petite is finally able to make her way towards the peaceful life that long eluded her. “Sin was in her, she knew that, but she would not give way this time.”

Our evening with Agnes and Anne at RWB!

2008-11-16T10:35:00.000-08:00

I'm happy to report that last Friday's reading with the lovely Anne Marsella and Agnes Desarthe was a rousing success! Despite the rather gloomy weather, people came in droves and our cosy little haven was full. Our evening started off with an introduction by RWB's Penelope of these two books and why we loved them. These were grown up books, she declared set in or about Paris, and it shows people how life can be in our city, far from the glossy pages of the numerous guidebooks.

So we had Anne start the reading, by introducing her Remedy, a unique young girl, whose adventures in the city can give Carrie or Bridget a run for their money. We were also lucky enough to be introduced to Anne's latest heroine, Patsy Boone. As this is her first book in French, be sure to get it in your favorite French bookstore.

After Anne, Agnes took the floor.....she read out one of the funniest passages from her book...

Here's a photo of some of the people who decided to spend the evening with us.... lots of friends but also new faces we will undoubtedly be seeing again..

After all our questions were exhausted, Anne and Agnes signed their books to the delight of the audience.

All in all a great evening! And if you missed last Friday, no need to fret, we have a Night of Poetry coming up. Don't forget to write down this date in your agenda---25th of November (Tuesday) at 7PM with Beverley Bie Brahic, Jonathan Regier and Elizabeth Haukass!

Reminder!!

2008-11-13T14:28:00.000-08:00

If you still haven't written it down on your agenda, here's a last minute reminder---Tomorrow night 14th of November 7PM, RWB is happy to have two wonderful Paris writers ---Agnes Desarthe and Anne Marsella for a reading. Agnes will be reading from her novel Chez Moi (originally titled Mangez-Moi in french) while Anne will read from Remedy. She will also be presenting her newest novel in french Patsy Boone. It's sure to be a great night and we're looking forward to seeing everyone there!

Now, as you know your favorite Anglophone bookstore is always stocked full of new and lovely books. Here's the latest stack to carry you through the second half of November:

New in Fiction Hardcover
1. Lulu in Marrakech by Diane Johnson
2. A Mercy by Toni Morrison
3. Mistress of the Sun by Sandra Gulland
4. The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway
5. The Unpossessed City by Jon Fassman
6. The Journey by H.G. Adler
7. Stray Dog Winter by David Francis
8. The China Lover by Ian Buruma
9. The Cathedral of the Sea by Ildefonso Falcones
10. Eunoia by Christian Bok

New in Fiction (Trade and Paperback)
1. The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
2. People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks (see review below)
3. The Fire Gospel by Michael Faber
4. Them by Nathan McCall (see Renee's review by clicking on the link below
5. Past Imperfect by Julian Fellowes
6. Blank Gaze by Luis Peixoto
7. A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell (see Renee's review by clicking on the link below)

New in Non Fiction
1. Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
2. Annie Leibovitz at Work by Annie Leibovitz
3. The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family by Annette Gordon Reed
4. In High Fashion by Edward Steichen
5. Delta Blues by Ted Gioia
6. Music at the Limits by Edward Said
7. Stories Done by Mikal Gilmore
8. Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris
9. The Mexican Dream by J.M.G. LeClezio

2008-11-11T13:13:00.000-08:00

On Monday, we had the pleasure of Prof. Richard Wilson's company at the RWB. He is a professor at the Cardiff University and a leading expert on Shakespeare. To wit, he has written

Shakespeare in French Theory: King of Shadows, Secret Shakespeare: Studies in theatre, religion and resistance and Will Power: Essays on Shakespearean authority. His books are a welcome addition to our Shakespeare shelf and he is as charming as he is erudite. One other plus, he can be counted on for a rhyming couplet as he exits!

The Sarajevo Haggadah

2008-11-11T12:43:00.000-08:00

I love the dedication of this book. It seems very fitting that it is “For all the librarians.” For this is all about the Sarajevo Haggadah. It is an illustrated manuscript that contains the traditional text of the Passover Haggadah to accompany the Passover sedar. The Sarajevo one is unique in that it is beautifully and sumptuously illustrated in gold and precious minerals. This is a remarkable fact given that at the time of its creation in the 14th century, Jewish theology o the times forbade graven images. It has survived all these long years and was saved at least twice from destruction by Muslim hands. It is one of the most beautiful and valuable books in the world. And yet, the facts surrounding its creation and survival remain a mystery.
From the bare yet known facts about the Sarajevo Haggadah, Geraldine Brooks has fashioned a richly imagined tale of its creation and travel till it comes to rest under the auspices of the Sarajevo National Museum. The story is told through Hanna Heath, a young Australian restorer of ancient manuscripts who is selected to restore the Sarajevo Haggadah. As Hanna works on the manuscript, she discovers several tiny artifacts embedded within ---a wing fragment, a strand of white hair, salt and wine. From here the narrative splits into two directions, with one strand unfolding the tale behind each ancient fragment while the other strand tells Hanna’s story.
While the story is told through Hanna, there is no doubt that the main protagonist of this book is the Sarajevo Haggadah. It is clear from the writing here that Brooks has done an enormous amount of research in order to imagine the tale of this important book. In vividly tracing the trajectory of the book from its creation in 14th Century Seville by a young African woman illustrator, to the time of the Jewish Expulsion, through its sojourn in Venice in the 17th century and 19th century Vienna and the harrowing years of WWII and the Saravejan war, Brooks has crafted a rich tapestry of stories that will beguile any reader. “Saltwater and White Hair” are especially moving. I had to pause after these chapters to recover my breath before I continued on.
Occasionally the device of using Hanna’s story as a jump of point for the more ancient tales is a bit jarring but the Haggadah narrative is so compelling that it more than makes up for it. And perhaps, because the stories behind the Haggadah are so compelling, it makes it difficult for Hanna’s story to be as compelling. Nevertheless she is a greatly likeable character and it is through her that we get a real insight into the work that goes into restoring precious old manuscripts. “Of course, a book is more than the sum of its materials. It is an artifact of the human mind and hand. The gold beaters, the stone grinders, the scribes, the binders, those are the people I feel most comfortable with. Sometimes, in the quiet, these people speak to me. They let me see what their intentions were, and it helps me to do my work.” It would be hard to resist such a heroine and you'll come to root for her as I did.

When truth and history collide

2008-11-08T07:04:00.000-08:00

I never would have heard about Sebastian Barry’s The Secret Scripture, had it not been for the Booker Prize. Being shortlisted for the Booker Prize is by no means Barry’s first time under the limelight. He received much critical praise for his earlier novels The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty as well as A Long Long Way. In fact, the Eneas McNulty in his earlier book plays a small but pivotal role in Secret Scripture.

The story is told in alternating chapters between Roseanne McNulty, née Clear and Dr. Grene. When the book opens, we learn that Roseanne has been confined for the past 60 or so years in the Roscommon Regional Mental hospital. Due to the building’s age, it has been slated for demolition and it falls upon Dr. Grene to determine who among the old patients can be transferred to the new hospital. He tries to elicit from Roseanne the story of how she came to be confined, all the while suffering from his own personal crisis. Unbeknownst to him, she has started to write down her story, secreting the pages of her life under a loose board in her room.

It is a bit slow going in the beginning and you need to be patient in order to reap the fruits of Barry’s writing. But, as the story progresses, the reader is rewarded by the mastery he has over language. Barry is able to turn in the most fetching of phrases even for the most mundane details. To wit, the town of Sligo is described as “a cold dark town, assaulted by rain so brutal, it makes the houses shiver and huddle like people at a football match.” What finally engages the reader however is the character of Roseanne who is very much a modern heroine but has the misfortune of being born during the wrong era. It’s a tale of woe as she suffers deprivation and marginalization at the hands of the cruel and the prejudiced. At this point you might be wondering why bother with such a story, and the answer is that we come to care for this character whose will to survive and to believe in inherent goodness remains intact.

What is interesting as well in this novel is the way Barry captures the vagaries and shifting nature of truth. There is no one objective truth in this novel (as in life), just the different facets of it, as viewed from different points of view and by different individuals. And if truth is a slippery ever shifting thing, memory and history which is supposed to rely on it, can never be fully reconciled. As Roseanne points out, “No one has the monopoly on the truth, and that is vexing and worrying thought.”

So much of the characters personal history must as well be evaluated against the canvass of history. In this novel, this is an Ireland ravaged by war with deep and lasting enmities. Against such a backdrop, the characters can never escape and are condemned to struggle perpetually against the weight of their own history. It makes it all the more remarkable that Roseanne is able to reach for her own happiness, fleeting though it may be.

See you all on the 14 of November 2008

2008-11-04T13:13:00.000-08:00

Just a little reminder of our upcoming RWB reading on the 14th of November (Thursday) with Agnes Desarthe and Anne Marsella. Our reading starts at 7PM.

As I cannot claim credit for this great poster, I want to thank King Domingo for coming up with our poster!

Fashion, Lagerfeld and St. Laurent

2008-11-04T13:09:00.000-08:00

If you are an avid student of fashion history or if you are simply a fashionista, the one book you must absolutely read is The Beautiful Fall (Fashion, Genius and Glorious Excess in 1970s Paris) by Alicia Drake. Certainly, it is one of the most controversial books ever written on Yves St. Laurent and Karl Lagerfeld. In fact, Lagerfeld tried to stop the publication of this book, and failing that, tried to prevent bookstores from carrying this book. Controversial beginning aside, this is one of the most fascinating books I’ve had the pleasure of reading in recent memory.
The book takes as its focal point the parallel lives of Lagerfeld and St. Laurent who are arguably two of the most influential designers in fashion. It paints in vivid and rich details their respective careers, from their auspicious beginnings, to their full blown unrelenting rivalry against the backdrop of 70s Paris and all the way until the emergence of Lagerfeld at the head of Chanel. In Drake’s hands, Paris, as it emerges from the restrained post war years to a more exuberant and reckless mood is the crucial third character to the duo of Lagerfeld and St. Laurent who certainly used the city as the staging ground of their artistic aspirations and their more personal undertakings. There is no shortage of controversial details in the book. But such controversial facts never distract from what is clearly a well researched portrait of two figures that couldn’t be more different from the other. Drake paints in careful brushstrokes the heady parties, the excessive relationships and the simmering jealousies that surrounded Lagerfeld and St. Laurent and you come away with a sense of being immersed in a completely different world, one that is normally off limits to mortals like you and I. More importantly we come away with a much greater understanding of these two gigantic personalities. Whatever else we might think of them, this book allows us to have a much greater appreciation of their enormous talent, their verve and yes, survival skills. Equally intriguing are the stories behind seemingly well known facts about various famous personages. Just one example would be what we learn about Pierre Bergé who emerges as a much more sympathetic figure. This book contains a veritable who’s who in the fashion world.
Lest you think that this book is all glitter and gossip, it must be pointed out that it is also an invaluable resource for appreciating in far greater detail the giant steps taken by fashion at the hand of these two masters. Women now take for granted the ease of the trouser suit but this was a highly daring and innovative move when St. Laurent first debuted the “le smoking” in the late 60s. Nor should we underestimate how much Lagerfeld changed the way people viewed fashion by nimbly adapting trends even before people knew what they wanted. More importantly, he was the first to realize the almost global impact that fashion could have. As a master of endless reinvention, Lagerfeld is the best and Madonna is not fit to holds candle to him.
So the next time you have the urge to read a good biography, a fashion book, or one set in Paris, I suggest you go with The Beautiful Fall. You won’t regret it.

2008-10-31T12:47:00.000-07:00

We had a little avant-gout this afternoon when Beverley Bie Brahic stopped by at RWB. She is excited, as we are, about the upcoming poetry reading (on the 25th of November) with Jonathan Regier and Elizabeth Haukass. Needless to say, we are all looking forward to our evening of poetry!

Update on November readings at RWB

2008-10-29T15:08:00.000-07:00

Exciting update on our November readings...

We have just confirmed that Agnes Desarthe will be joining Anne Marsella for our reading on the 14th of November (Friday). She will be reading from her latest book Chez Moi (Mangez Moi in french). Along with Anne Marsella's book Remedy, Chez Moi is one of our most recommended books. Penelope and I loved this book! To read a review of her book, please click and scroll down here. Needless to say, we are very excited and happy to welcome Anne and Agnes on the 14th of November at RWB!

When two favorite authors meet

2008-10-29T14:52:00.000-07:00

Recently, I had the pleasure of attending a conference with Alberto Manguel. He is one of my favorite writers and it was such a thrill to see him and to listen to him lecture. I spent many happy enraptured hours perusing his Dictionary of Imaginary Beings and being engrossed in his monumental History of Reading. His writing is never too highbrow to detract from the clarity and vividness of the thoughts behind. And how can one not love a dictionary on imaginary beings? Naturally with the conference, I found myself looking though RWB’s shelves to discover something that I hadn’t read before. Of course, I discovered a pearl I hadn’t discovered before.
When he was 16 years old, while working at Buenos Aires’ Pygmalion bookstore, Manguel was asked by Borges if he would like to be his reader. Borges had already gone blind by the time he asked, and in fact had gotten into the habit of asking any and everyone. And so for four years, Manguel would visit three or four times a week to read to him. His book, With Borges, distills those years.
While his sessions with Borges were reading sessions, it was enough for an astute observer like Manguel to capture Borges’ essence as a writer. For fans of Borges, myself included, this is an invaluable addition to his writings. There is no doubt that Borges was a prolific and more importantly, a beautiful writer but short of having access to academic works or his biography, it is rare to find a volume that discusses his philosophy of writing in such a succinct yet elegant manner. We can never underestimate Borges influence on writing or other writers and even on his country. As Manguel points out, “Borges renewed the Spanish language…that his generous reading methods, allowed him to bring into Spanish felicities from other tongues: English turns of phrase or the German ability to hold until the end of a sentence its subject.” But more than refreshing the Spanish language, Borges’ writings have fixed Argentina permanently into the collective consciousness. “When Borges began writing, Buenos Aires (so far from Europe, the perceived center of culture), felt vague and indistinct, and seemed to require a literary imagination to impose it upon reality. Now Buenos Aires feels more real because it exists in Borges’ pages.” That’s quite a feat if you think about it.
My favorite passage, is that which talks about books. “For Borges, the core of reality lay in books, reading books, writing books, talking about books. In a visceral way, he was conscious of continuing a dialogue begun thousands of years before and which he believed would never end. Books restored the past.” As someone who lives and breathes books on a daily basis, this is one credo to live by.

2008-10-27T13:19:00.000-07:00

Along with all our November events, we have a stack of great new books for the upcoming vacances scolaire....

New in Fiction (in Trade edition and paperback)

1. The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff
2. The American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld
3. The Widows of Eastwick by John Updike
4. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski
5. World without End by Ken Follett
6. Almost Moon by Alice Sebold (currently no 1 in the best seller lists in UK)
7. Biografi by Lloyd Jones
8. The Collection by Gioia Diliberto (one of my favorite books on Chanel, and to read the review I wrote, click and scroll down here)
9. Breakdowns by Art Spiegelman

New in Non Fiction

1. Payback by Margaret Atwood
2.The Anglo files by Sarah Lyall
3. The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World by Niall Fergunson
4. In Tearing Haste by Deborah Devonshire and Patrick Leigh Fermor
5. Angler: Inside the Shadow Presidency of Dick Cheney by Barton Gelman
6. Sartre's Sink by Mark Crick
7.Out of the Shadows by Francois Maspero
8. Chagall by Jackie Wulschlager

And for all Francophiles...
1. French Milk by Lucy Knisley
2.I'll Never Be French (no matter what I do) by Mark Greenside
3. Journal by Helene Berr

Upcoming events

2008-10-20T12:48:00.000-07:00

The month of October is drawing almost to a close and we're excited to tell you all the upcoming events for the month of November and December! Maybe its a bit early, but it can't be too early to write down these dates...

14th of November (Friday)--RWB reading with Anne Marsella. She will be reading from her book Remedy, which was included in the Telegraph's article of 50 Most Worth Talking About Books. For more details on the article, see... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/3212732/Most-worth-talking-about-books.html. Anne will also be presenting Patsy Boone her first book in French.

25th of November (Tuesday)---a night of poetry with Beverly Bie Brahic, Elizabeth Haukass and Jonathan Regier. Beverly will be reading from "Against Gravity," and her translations of Hélène Cixous’s "Portrait of Jacques Derrida as a Young Jewish Saint," "Manhattan," "Dream I Tell You" , as well as from "Unfinished Ode to Mud," her new selection of prose poems by Francis Ponge. Elizabeth will be reading from her new poetry collection, Leap which won the Walt McDonald First-book Award for Poetry. Jonathan Regier will be reading from his debut collection of poems titled Three Years from Upstate.

4th of December (Thursday)---RWB will be at the official Paris launch of Corkscrewed:Adventures in the New French Wine Country by Robert V. Camuto at Juveniles Wine Bar 47, rue de Richelieu, 1e, Mº Pyramides. There will be a book signing and, since its all about wine, set in a wine bar, its only fitting that there will also be wine tasting.

Eh voila..marvelous things coming up! Keep reading us for further details about all the exciting things going on at your favorite bookstore!

2008-10-16T10:51:00.000-07:00

He walked in today, quiet as you please but with an affable smile. "I didn't realize there was an english bookstore here" were his initial words and I was happy to tell him that RWB was on its 8th year. He browsed carefully and finally, confessed almost shyly that we had his books. His newest books in fact! And so I made my acquaintance with Andrew Miller, whose latest novel One Morning Like A Bird, we received recently. This is his fifth book and this time it is set in Tokyo in the 1940s. It has received favorable reviews thanks to his meticulous attention to detail and the way he captured beautifully the mood and atmosphere of those times in far away Japan. It was certainly a pleasure to meet the nice man behind One Morning Like a Bird.

Literary News

2008-10-14T23:58:00.001-07:00

The Man Booker judges have just announced that the winner for this year's prestigious Man Booker Prize is Aravind Adiga, author of White Tiger. I had the pleasure of reading his book over the summer when it was longlisted ( see review under RWB Fiction category) and I was quite blown away by his story and prose. For more details on the news, see http://www.themanbookerprize.com/news/stories/1146

Get your copy now of White Tiger at RWB!

On other news, it was recently announced that Jean Marie Gustave LeClezio has just won the Nobel Prize for Literature. He is the 14th French writer to win the prize, which includes among others Jean Paul Sartre and Albert Camus. For more details please see http://www.themanbookerprize.com/news/stories/1142

Author visit and other things...

2008-10-14T13:30:00.000-07:00

Last Friday, RWB had a lovely visit from Orel Protepescu the charming author of Two Sticks. Being THE children's bookstore in Paris, she stopped by to show us her book. Two Sticks is the story of Maybelle, a spirited young girl who uses her Two Sticks to rattle, click and clack her way out of a peculiar situation. Its a book as charming and lively as the author and it was wonderful to meet Orel. We are looking forward to her next children's book!

Being in the bookstore biz, we couldn't help but cackle when we found the Black Book Shop..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIvnz73Zsws

And finally, remember when Stephen Clark came out with his newest book Dial M for Merde? It seems that people will believe anything, which I think, is the reason why he was obliged to come up with his own stint over at You Tube...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILPyRZurJJE

RWB Event of the Month

2008-10-06T13:09:00.000-07:00

After Amy Bloom and Cara Black, RWB is pleased to announce a reading with Joe Ashby Porter on the 13th of October at 8pm. He is a professor of English and Theater studies at Duke University. He is the author of a number of books, both non-fiction (The Drama of Speech Acts and Shakespeare's Mercutio, his edited Critical Essays on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, and his eight co-edited volumes of Renaissance Papers) and fiction (Eelgrass, Resident Aliens, and The Near Future, and the collections The Kentucky Stories, Lithuania: Short Stories and Touch Wood: Short Stories.). He has won Pushcart Prizes and the NEA/PEN Syndicated Fiction awards. He will be reading from his newest collection of short stories All Aboard.

We are looking forward to seeing everybody at RWB on the 13th of October for Joe Ashby Porter's reading!

2008-10-06T12:55:00.000-07:00

New month, new stack of reading material to indulge in..

New in Hardcover Fiction
1. The Whiskey Rebel by David Liss
2. Happy Families by Carlos Fuentes
3. The Wednesday sisters by Meg Waite Clayton
4. The Dancer and the Thief by Antonio Skarmeta
5. A Good Husband by Anne Cherian

New in Paperback Fiction
1. Diary of a Bad Year by J.M. Coetzee
2. The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry
3. The Pyramid by Henning Mankell
4. The Given Day by Dennis Lehane
5. The Comfort of Saturdays by Alexander McCall Smith
6. Tales from the Town of Widows by James Canon
7. Anathem by Neal Stephenson
8. Taxi by Khaled Al Khamiss
9. The Abstinence Teacher by Tom Perotta
10. Sweetsmoke by David Fuller
11.Confessions of a Fallen Angel by Ronan O'Brien
12. A Time to Every Purpose Under Heaven by Karl O. Knausgaard
13. The Other Hand by Chris Cleave
14. Me and Kaminski by Daniel Kehlmann
15. The Bend Boys by Richard Lange

2008-09-30T13:21:00.000-07:00

Le Figaro called it the revelation of the year. Lire called it the masterpiece of the year. It even won the Prix Femina last year. We’re talking about “L’Elegance du Herisson” by Muriel Barbery which recently came out in English. With such lofty praise it seemed almost ridiculous not to see what the fuss was all about.
The story is told in alternating chapters between Madame Renée Michel, the concierge at no 7 rue de Grenelle and Paloma Josse, the precocious daughter of one of the bourgeois families of the building. Renée hides a fierce intelligence, love of literature (notably of Leo Tolstoy) and love of Japanese culture. But, she is forced such shining facets of her personality under the veneer of what the French have come to expect from a concierge—stupid, old, ugly and sour. She only has her friend Manuela, to relieve the tedium and penury of her existence. Paloma on the other hand, is an extremely intelligent (in her own words) young girl who is disillusioned by her family and their privileged, if pointless, way of life and as such has decided to end her existence in a fiery blaze on her 13th birthday. Each seem set on their respective course till an elegant Japanese gentleman comes to live in their building. From such a random occurrence their collective lives change as they discover that there is more to the other than meets the eye.
I have to admit that my main problem with the book was its basic premise that a person, deemed lowly in social station, could not possibly be more than what society thinks the person should be. This book assumes that its (French) readers would take it as a matter of course that a concierge would be lacking intelligence and culture. Even worse was the way it was repeated all throughout the text. Barberry takes pains to drive home the lowliness of Renee’s station every so often that it jars the reader from the text. It was quite disturbing for me, but perhaps as an Anglophone reader, there is a cultural context here that I am missing. The fact that the whole story hinges on this presumption undermines what Barberry set out to do—which in essence is to write a meditative tale on philosophy, art and unlikely friendships. There are passages in the book that are quite lovely especially her philosophy musings on art and beauty and what these concepts mean to us. Or how beauty can be found in the most fleeting of moments. To wit, “the most noble concepts often emerge from the most coarse and commonplace things….Beauty is consonance [but] if you think about it at all seriously, esthetics is really nothing more than an initiation to the Way of Consonance, a sort of Way of the Samurai applied to the intuition of authentic forms. We all have knowledge of harmony, anchored deep within. It is this knowledge that enables us, at every instance, to apprehend quality in our lives and on the rare occasions when everything is in perfect harmony , to appreciate it with the apposite intensity. ..Those who feel inspired as I do by the greatness of small things will pursue them to the very heart of the inessential where, cloaked in everyday attire, this greatness will emerge from the certainty that all is as it should be, the conviction that it is fine this way.” Barberry is in her element when it comes to writing these parts of the book and to my mind, they are the best parts.
Read the Elegance of the Hedgehog if you want to have an insight into the French psyche with its deep and abiding interest in philosophical musings on art, beauty and truth.

On fantasy books and other funny things

2008-09-27T02:21:00.001-07:00

It certainly was an exciting week for us at RWB. After two readings, I literally jumped up with joy when we received .....drumroll please..... the new Cornelia Funke and Christopher Paolini books. And I am sure that I am not alone in celebrating this as it has been a rather long wait.

Inkdeath closes the Inkworld (Inkspell and Inkheart) trilogy by Cornelia Funke. It is one of the most well written fantasy series, currently available and dare I say it, more than holds its own against Harry Potter. Not to be disloyal to the boy wizard but Meggie and Farid are memorable characters and their story lingers long after the last page has been turned. While written for the young adult market, there is enough action, humor and fantasy in the series to satisfy the most discerning adult reader. I can't wait to get started on Inkdeath.

Brisinger by Christopher Paolini is the concluding volume to the Inheritance Cyle (Eragon and Eldest being the first two). Paolini had quite a memorable debut since Eragon was published when he was just 17. Pretty impressive and his book has since been turned into a movie! Brisinger promises to be another exciting addition to the fantasy genre.

Eh voila..another week comes to a close but we had another funny thing in store for us when we received the paperback copies of Peter Carey's His Illegal Self. We didn't realize that the publishers had decided to use Jules Le Masson for the cover...Hmmm....maybe we should ask for modeling fees?

September readings

2008-09-25T14:15:00.000-07:00

I think one of the coolest things about working for RWB is the chance to meet authors we love, whose work we unashamedly recommend to everyone we know. It may arguably be cooler than meeting a famous rock star or celebrity even. I think because they are authors I’ve read (and whose works I love), it frees me to talk and discuss with them, in a way that I probably couldn’t with a famous celebrity. This week we struck gold by having two of our favorites.

Last night we were privileged to have the wonderful Amy Bloom with us at the RWB. We never tire of telling everyone that her book Away is one of our favorites and its true too. It was with great excitement that we asked Amy to come for a reading and luckily she accepted right away. In person, she is smart as a whip and despite her jet lag was witty and funny. I loved how the way she read Away gave an extra dimension to Lillian, its memorable heroine. And I’m glad that she didn’t kill her off because we learned that she actually contemplated killing Lillian while writing the novel. Lucky for us that her editor talked her out of it! Because we were a rather intimate group last night, we were able to have a good discussion with her. Our questions ranged from what inspires you to advice on the writing process. I thought it was really interesting how she made the distinction between sentimentality and romanticism. The line between the two is clearly a blurry one and a less skilled writer can’t or doesn’t always distinguish between the two. If you think about it, there are a great number of sentimental novels passing themselves off as romantic ones. What’s great about Amy’s work, whether in the short story form or the novel, is that she is able to cut out all the extraneous sentimentality to leave the bare bones of feeling in the stories that make them even more unforgettable. Before we closed our evening with her, we asked her who her favorite authors are and we were surprised (though I don’t know why it should be surprising) to learn that she is a great fan of mystery novels ,P.D. James and Ed Mcbain being some of them. I thought that was a nice segue into the next author to have a reading with us who just happens to be a great mystery writer!

It is none other than Cara Black who was with us tonight. She is famous for her Aimeé Leduc mystery novels. Eight novels so far, each set in different arrondissements of Paris. Despite her cold, Cara was en plein forme, wonderfully entertaining and lively. She is a great raconteur and we were treated to stories behind her books. She did a great job whetting the audience’s appetite for Murder in the Rue de Paradis which is set in the 10th arrondissment of Paris. And while I knew that an enormous amount of research goes into each of her books, it was clear from tonight just how much really goes into each one. We are fortunate for her attention to detail because the books really come alive for their authenticity and richness of details. It was a lively group tonight with people peppering Cara with questions on how she came to write about a female detective. And it was interesting to learn that she in fact based Aimeé on a family run detective company, whose office is in a street on Rue du Louvre. A switch of the syllables and from Deluc we have Leduc. One of the most interesting things to come out of our reading tonight was something Cara said. She said that a mystery novel is a really great way of telling a story. Why? For the simple reason that there is a neat and tidy resolution to it that we rarely have in real life.

Books to already look forward to in 2009--the new short story collection of Amy Bloom and the 9th Leduc mystery--Murder in the Latin Quarter by Cara Black!

2008-09-21T23:53:00.000-07:00

As you all know by now, all of us at RWB loved Amy Bloom’s Away. It is one of our favorite books. Since we have the pleasure of Amy’s company on the 24th (Wednesday 7PM), I thought I would read one of her earlier books. I picked up Come To Me, her debut collection of stories and was happy to discover that her gift is just as strong with short stories as it is with a full length novel.
The running theme through this collection is love, in all its forms and all the ways by which we seek, destroy and nurture love. But this is by no means a fairy tale collection of maidens and princes with their happy ever after stories. Instead we have stories of flawed people struggling with death and crippling grief (Love is not a Pie, Sleepwalking and Semper Fidelis), madness and illness (Silver Water) and loneliness (Light Breaks Where No Sun Shines and When the Year Grows Old). What leavens the potential for despair is the luminous prose and the palpable sense of hope that permeates these stories. Underlying each story is the rich empathy with which Bloom writes. In this day and age where a true happy ending begins to seem like a myth, Bloom offers us stories of the next best thing—the possibility of happiness and that all important second chance.

2008-09-16T11:56:00.000-07:00

Before diving into Amy Bloom and Cara Black's books in preparation for their readings next week at RWB, here are the newest books in fiction and non fiction for your reading pleasure...

New in Hardcover Non-Fiction
1. The Definitive Guide to Stuff White People Like by Christian Lander
2. Eat Me--The Food and Philosophy of Kenny Shopsin
3.Turkemeniscam by Ken Silverstein
4. An Exact Replica of a Figment of my Imagination by Elizabeth McCracken
5. Churchill's Wizards by Nicholas Rankin
6. Left in Dark Times by Bernard-Henri Levy
7. The Terminal Spy by Alan Cowell
8. Moving to Higher Ground by Wynton Marsalis
9. The Wrecking Crew by Thomas Frank
10. Mrs. Woolf and the Servants by Alison Light

New in Hardcover Fiction
1.Indignation by Philip Roth
2. The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barberry
3. Fine Just the Way it is by Annie Proulx
4. The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent
5. Home by Marilynne Robinson
6. Spook's Mistake by Joseph Delaney

New in Paperback Fiction
1. The Believers by Zoe Heller
2. Doors Open by Ian Rankin
3. The Wasted Vigil by Nadeem Aslam
4. An Arsonist's Guide to Writer's Homes in New England by Brock Clarke
5. The Night Villa by Carol Goodman

And if you haven't written down the dates, here they are again--Amy Bloom on the 24th of September and Cara Black on the 25th. Readings start at 7pm!

2008-09-11T00:22:00.000-07:00

I finished Sea of Poppies yesterday just as they announced the Booker Shortlist. And guess who made it in the shortlist? Amitav Ghosh! Hah! Vindication maybe for the long hours I spent on his book. But lest you get the wrong idea, I was happily enslaved by Sea of Poppies and towards the end, could hardly tear my eyes off the page.
It tells the story of a group of disparate strangers, brought together by fate in the guise of the workings of the British Empire in the Far East to one place, the Ibis. The Ibis is an old slave ship, newly out fitted for its new purpose of trading opium from India to China. But before it commences its opium journey, it must first transport a group of slaves destined for the islands of Mauritius.
With this premise, Ghosh carefully lays in place the stories of the principal characters. There is Deeti, with the clear gray eyes of a witch who loses her husband to opium addiction and is forced to flee her abusive brother in law. Paulette Lambert, an orphan who seeks a way of returning to Mauritius, her mother’s birthplace after she learns that she is to be engaged against her will. Then there is the disgraced Raja Neel Halder, who unwittingly loses all his property to his British partner Benjamin Burnham. And finally there is Zachary Reid, a free mulatto man seeking to make his fortune in the Far East. Despite their different stories they are all forced to flee their circumstances and somehow end up in the Ibis. In the hands of a less skilled writer, the weaving together of these different tales might well seem implausible, even contrived, but such is Ghosh’ skill that he is able to do so in a perfectly convincing way. It is to our benefit that he takes his time to tell each tale so that they blend together seamlessly. There is also a strong narrative structure that propels the story forward. Length ceases to matter as the story takes you irresistibly along. Don’t be put-off by the shipping jargon and free use of the Bhojpuri language. This is an epic and addictive tale and you will be swept along.
More than the engaging story however and the irresistible narrative, what really elevates Ghosh’ work is the way he perfectly captures the sense of displacement that is engendered by colonialism. He is able to describe in heartbreaking detail the callousness with which the British overlords enriched themselves at the expense of their Indian colonies. Set in the 1830’s when opium was the primary trading good of the British, these were the days when Indian farmers were forced to grow poppy, and only poppy. For me, what was most galling was the idea that the natives were supposed to be grateful for being on the receiving end of civilisation and religion as brought to them by the British. But at what price?
As Deeti puts it “in the old days, the fields would be heavy with wheat in the winter, and after the spring harvest, the straw would be used to repair the damage of the year before. ..But now, the factory’s appetite for opium never seemed to be sated. Come the cold weather, the English sahibs would allow little else to be planted; their agents would go from home to home, forcing cash advances on the farmers making them sign asami contracts. It was impossible to say no to them.”
Little wonder then that hundreds would be forced to take desperate measures to save their lives and their families, even such measures that would take them far away from all that they know and love. One of the most beautiful passages in the book comes almost to the end, when the characters have crossed the line into the Black Water, the great unknown…"How had it happened that when choosing men and women who were to be torn from this subjugated plain, the hand of destiny had strayed so far inland, away from the busy coastlines, to alight on the people who were, of all the most stubbornly rooted in the silt of the Ganga, in a soil that had to be sown with suffering to yield its crop of story and song? It was as if fate had thrust its fist through the living flesh of the land in order to tear away a piece of its stricken heart.”

September Readings

2008-09-10T14:46:00.000-07:00

Today we had a surprise visit from author Cara Black who just arrived in the city. She is in town for a series of readings including one at the Red Wheelbarrow. Folks, its time to write this date down---Cara Black at the RWB on Thursday the 25th of September 2008. Cara is the author of the hugely successful Aimée Leduc mystery series which are set in various arrondissements of Paris.

For the other surprise of today, we are happy to announce that Amy Bloom will also be coming to do a reading of her latest book Away at the RWB. Her date with us is Wednesday the 24th of September.

We hope to see everyone on these dates! Keep reading the blog for further details on these events.

A Merde Encounter

2008-09-09T12:31:00.000-07:00

Penelope always says that sooner or later all authors come through our doors. Our recent author visitor was none other than Stephen Clarke whose new book Dial M for Merde is hot off the press! In this latest installment, Paul West becomes embroiled in a plot to kill no less than the new French President. It sounds like good rollicking fun and fans are sure to enjoy the latest in the hugely successful Merde series. Get your signed copy while you can at the RWB!

Here's Stephen with another one of his books...

2008-09-02T02:23:00.000-07:00

In 1770, the Viennese court was held in thrall by the exploits of the Mechanical Turk, a chess playing automaton. His creator was Baron Wolfgang von Kempelen. The Mechanical Turk was a royal sensation and even embarked on a tour to better display his prowess. From such historical basis, author Robert Lohr ( and ably translated by Anthea Bell) has crafted a historical novel about the Turk and his creator, von Kempelen. It is now a well accepted fact that the automaton was a clever hoax but not much is known of the person behind the Turk. Where it deviates from historical fact is a murder for which the Turk comes under suspicion. If that were not bad enough, the hapless victim is the Baroness Ibolya Jesenak , von Kempelen’s former lover. Naturally it is the Turk and Von Kempelen, who fall under much suspicion.

Lohr distinguishes his novel by the rich imagery and vivid details with which he infuses his prose. Viennese court life and life of the nobility in Pressburg (now known as Bratislava) are skillfully depicted. He captured my attention immediately with the wealth of details with which he presents his story. Even more than the period details however, what really captured me was the theme of struggle between science and religion which was of foremost concern during those times. Von Kempelen (the Pressburg Promethus, as Lohr cleverly calls him), the creator of the machine was indisputably at the forefront of a movement which threatened the religious institution. A great deal of the frenzied prosecution directed against him stemmed from the fear on the part of the religious institution that he represented a great, if not mortal, danger to the institution. For the clergy, “the chess playing Turk represented a presumption in the face of God’s creation.” A gauntlet thrown with such audacity must be addressed in no uncertain terms. There is a particularly wonderful passage in the book which perfectly captures this mighty struggle. It is the scene where von Kempelen is summoned by the Primate of Hungary and Archbishop of Gran (or the Pressburg Zeus to von Kempelen’s Promethus). They enter into a duel of words where Promethus is forced to defend his thinking automaton before Zeus. If only for this part alone, the book is elevated above the usual run of the mill historical fiction.

Happy Birthday Wheelbarrow!

2008-09-01T14:21:00.000-07:00

Today (the 1st of September) marks the 8th birthday of your favorite English bookstore in Paris. Yup, the Red Wheelbarrow just turned another year older! Hooray! Let's raise a toast to many many more years to the bookstore which has come to mean so much to so many people.

2008-08-21T14:24:00.001-07:00

Halfway through August and people are starting to trickle back into town. Just in time for the great new books that have just arrived in store...

New in Hardcover Fiction
1. From A to X A Story in Letters by John Berger
2. Man in the Dark by Paul Auster
3. The Private Patient by PD James
4. A Case of Exploding Mangoes by Mohammed Hanif
5. The Lazarus Project by Aleksander Hemon

New in Paperback Fiction
1. The Bad Girl by Mario Vargas Llosa
2.Right Livelihoods by Rick Moody
3. Good to be God by Tibor Fischer
4. By George by Wesley Stace
5. Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian
6. Nina Todd has Gone by Lesley Glaister
7. Drive Time by James Meek

2008-08-20T13:27:00.000-07:00

After having read the excellent Uwem Akpan’s debut novel, I turned my attentions to Aravind Adiga’s White Tiger. It is another first novel, this time from an Indian writer and like Akpan’s novel has been drawing a lot of attention. It is even in the Booker Longlist for this year. It is an impressive debut and I was curious to see what the fuss was all about.
The first lines immediately drew me in. It is in fact written as a series of letters over a period of seven days to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. Through these letters, Balram Halwai wants to tell the story of how he rose from the position of lowly servant to respectable entrepreneur. And it is quite a tale. Be prepared to be hooked. From the beginning he is different from the rest of his family in his desire to be something else than what has been planned for him. And he is prepared to take the necessary steps to achieve his goals. So he eavesdrops on people, resorts to blackmail and finally, commits murder. As I said it’s quite a tale.
Balram is an amoral and deeply cynical character but despite this, he is an oddly charismatic one. One can’t help but be fascinated by him and his story. He commits murder yet still honors the memory of the man he killed. He saves his nephew yet ponders the thought that it might one day be necessary to do away with him. Perhaps the trait he possesses, which we can all identify with, is his enormous will to make something of himself despite all the odds against him. And the India described in this tale certainly stacks the odds against him. There is the caste system or in Balram’s words the Rooster Coop that prevents anyone from getting out. It is the kind that is self perpetuating and perpetual because the family conspires to keep its members in it in order to survive. How to get out? Only someone prepared to see his family destroyed will be able to fly the coop, as Balram points out. Then there is the immense poverty and pervasive corruption that eats away at everything and anyone. This India is brutal, corrupt and downright ugly. In Adiga’s hands, this India is fascinatingly drawn and more importantly his prose rings with the uncomfortable ring of truth. Given all of the above who is to say that Balram’s act was perhaps the only way to be free?

2008-08-20T13:25:00.000-07:00

There is no shortage of African writers, some notable examples being J.M.Coetzee and Andre Brink. One of the newcomers on the literary scene worth watching is Uwem Akpan whose debut book Say You’re One of Them has been reaping rave reviews from critics everywhere. It is a collection of novellas which takes as its primary theme the different experiences of the children of Africa. However these are not gentle children’s tales but rather harrowing tales of poverty, abuse and racial conflict escalating into violent murder. Akpan doesn’t flinch at the gruesome details and instead relates them dispassionately and almost with a clinical detachment. Word to the wise, this book is not for the squeamish. But you’ll be drawn in immediately as I was. From the first story, I realized that this was not going to be an easy read yet the prose is compelling and I was almost unable to surface for air till the last word. There is a masterly grasp of first, the subject matter and second, of the language.
These stories take place all over Africa. From Kenya where a child’s sister turns to prostitution to send him to school and to put food on the table, to Rwanda where the tribal conflict forces parents to do the unimaginable and finally to Nigeria where to my mind, the best story of the collection is set. Luxurious Hearses is by far the longest story in the bunch and can pretty much stand on its own as a novella. What is interesting about this tale is the way it shows a microcosm, through the interaction of the characters , the different aspects of the country itself. All sorts of issues arise and the characters interact in myriad ways with each other. At times they are antagonistic against each other (two women battle for space) at times they band together to come against another (such as when they defend Jubril against the Chief who usurps his seat). When tragedy does befall the principal character, it comes so swiftly that you are left feeling bereft that it could not have been otherwise.
All these stories are heartbreaking in their own way and they bring the desperateness and brutality that are the everyday conditions of these countries in a way that cold hard news doesn’t. If news doesn’t move you, I’m pretty sure these stories will.

2008-08-04T14:14:00.000-07:00

At long last, one of the year's most awaited books, if not THE most awaited book is finally available! After its stateside release on the 2nd of August, RWB is proud to announce that Breaking Dawn is now available at the store. The fourth and concluding volume in the ongoing Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer, this book promises to finally reveal the fates of Bella, Edward and Jacob.

Get a copy while you still can! Watch out for future reviews of Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse here in the blog.

2008-07-31T13:14:00.000-07:00

Another wonderful pile of books for all faithful readers of RWB:

New in Fiction
1. Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo
2. Careful Use of Compliments by Alexander McCall Smith
3. Assassin's Song by M.G. Vassanji
4. Life Class by Pat Barker
5. The Deportees by Roddy Doyle
6. The Boat by Nam Le
7. The Case of the Imaginary Detective by Karen Joy Fowler
8. The Birthday Present by Ruth Rendell writing as Barbara Vine
9.All the Colors of Darkness by Peter Robinson
10. Molly Fox's Birthday by Deidre Madden

New in Non-Fiction
1. What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami
2. Vermeer's Hat by Timothy Brooks
3. The Necesary Revolution by Peter Senge
4. Ghost Train to the Eastern Sea by Paul Theroux
5. The Sharper your Knife, the Less you Cry by Kathleen Flynn
6. The Return of History and the End of Dreams by Robert Kagan
7. What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception by Scott McClellan
8. Children of the Revolution by Robert Gildea

RWB likewise has in stock the following titles which have been Longlisted for the Booker Prize of 2008:

The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie
The Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh

The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry

The Clothes on their Backs by Linda Grant

A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz

Child 44 by Tom Robb Smith

The Lost Dog by Michelle de Kretser

Others in the longlist will be available Mid-August.

The Great Perhaps

2008-07-31T13:10:00.000-07:00

What happens when you go looking for something beyond the mundane and you find more than what you bargained for? This is by no means an easy topic to tackle but John Green does a magnificent job of doing just that in his book “Looking for Alaska”. It’s the story of Miles “Pudge” Halter, avid biography reader and fan of famous last words (his abiding motto is to go and find the great perhaps—as Rabelais) and his transfer to the Culver Creek Boarding School. It is at Culver Creek that he meets and befriends Chip “Colonel” Martin, Takumi and Alaska Young with whom he falls hopelessly in love with. Never mind that she is out of his league and as she puts it “totally in love with her boyfriend”. And since this is a book about teenagers, it is full of class room life and pranks (industrial blue colored dye in hair gel being involved in one) but it veers from such a simple direction once tragedy strikes.
This is an immensely likeable novel. It is one of those novels whose language just flows, is poetic and often beautiful. Add the fact that it captures perfectly the rhythm and cadence of teenage life without once resorting to cliché or is in any way condescending for their concerns. There are deeper things afoot in the novel and it is framed by Alaska herself when she poses that most existentialist of questions “how do we ever get out of this labyrinth of suffering?” As questions go, this has been the focus of countless minds and the subject of books far too numerous to recount. And author John Green is able to handle such a topic in a graceful and humorous way. If I had a quibble with this book, it would be to say that perhaps the characters are a little aware and philosophical for teenagers but at the same time, it cannot be denied that teenagers now are much more worldly and knowing than grown ups give them credit for. But that is just the tiniest quibble in this otherwise excellent novel that ends in the most satisfyingly positive way. “That part of us greater than the sum of our parts cannot begin and cannot end, and so it cannot fail.”

Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name

2008-07-29T12:59:00.000-07:00

Sometimes its all in the title. This book has been sitting in my shelf for awhile now and every so often my eyes would light upon it and the title would resound in my head, progressively tugging at my mind till finally, I picked it up. The title is certainly arresting enough and the much of the story takes place in the exotic landscape of Lapland.
It begins with the death of Clarissa’s father and a discovery that changes her life. I realize that a statement like that doesn’t reveal much, and those who are wary of spoilers, should skip ahead to the review of the book. She learns that the father she’s just buried is in fact not her father. This discovery poisons her life and pushes her to find answers and her mother who had disappeared from their family 14 years earlier. And her search takes her to the little known lands of the Sami people, from whom she is descended.
Much of the novel’s strength lies in the control author Vendela Vida wields over her heavy subject matter. There are secrets built upon other secrets and she reveals them slowly while ensuring that we stay engrossed in Clarissa’s story. In a way the exoticness of the story’s locale underscores the psychological terrain that Clarissa’s character explores. There is an overlapping theme of searching for identity, making a new one at the same time creating multiple lives to fit these different identities. And it is extremely interesting to read a character that is able to do so completely without regard to the emotional cost to those who love her. I think one of the most brutal lines I’ve ever read comes about almost at the end of the book, where Olivia, Clarissa’s mother tells her “you poor thing…you always tried so hard to get a reaction from me. Can you put another log on the fire?” A cold character to say the least, but the story is so well told, that while I was horrified, there was a basis from which I could see how it could come about and even felt a sort of sympathy or empathy for her. Ultimately its ending is consistent with its theme of finding, renewing and creating identities that finally, allow one to live. Re-reading it now, as I write, I find that it is a gratifyingly hopeful one.

Aside from Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name, RWB also carries Vida's well received debut novel And Now You Can Go.

2008-07-26T07:36:00.000-07:00

I don’t know about you but I’ve always had a hard time with mathematics. It was something I could never wrap my mind around and it was a struggle to make sense of formulas and all that it entailed. It was thus always a source of marvel for me to hear about individuals for whom numbers held no secrets.
Gifted by Nikita Lalwani is exactly about one of those special individuals except in her case, the prodigy discovers her talent when she is seven. Rumi and her family are immigrants from India hoping to carve out a better life for themselves in the United Kingdom. When they learn that Rumi has an exceptional talent for math, it transforms their life. Their lives increasingly begin to revolve around her gift and the goal of making it to Oxford by the time she is 15.
The biggest enjoyment in reading this story is the language employed by Lalwani. Whether she is describing the immigrant experience or the teenage Rumi’s growing sense of isolation and confusion, she is able to capture the situation in a language both elegant and which rings true. There was real pleasure just from the way the language flowed, funny and pithy at times, at other times, belligerent and bleak. I loved the way she transposed the language of math into Rumi’s daily life. One scene I particularly liked was one where Rumi is walking home after a particularly bitter rejection by a friend, and while walking counts of to the beat of her shoes “powering up to exponents of two with the left and subtracting one with the right each time, creating Mersenne numbers (2 to the power n minus 1). Each time she created a new total she checked to see if it was a composite or prime number, working out the possible mutations in her head. Whenever the number was prime, indivisible, it felt like a little stab, a minute betrayal, the tiny catheter of pain, insinuating its way into her heart. 2 to the power of 7 minus 1= 127, which number was particularly painful. Maybe because it had such promise-carrying all the world in it: the certain 1, the right now unbearable 2 and then 7, which would always be lucky and sexy, cheeky and cool. Everything she wasn’t .” Enjoying the language with which Gifted is written in a way, allows the reader to get past the sometimes unlikeability of the characters and the somewhat negative slant it takes towards family and the perpetual concern of fitting in and making something of oneself, which is especially poignant when far from the familiar comforts of home.

2008-07-21T10:08:00.000-07:00

Loads of new books (paperback and hardcover) that are perfect for the summer holidays! Here are just a few of them...

1. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
2. City of Thieves by David Benioff
3. Now You See Him by Eli Gottlieb
4. The Impostor by Damon Galgut
5.Tree of Smoke by Dennis Johnson (now in paperback!)
6. Origin by Diana Abu-Jaber
7. Austenland-Shannon Hale
8. First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde (now in paperback!)
9. Collector of Words by Iliya Troyanov
10. Design Flaws of the Human Condition by Paul Schmidtberg

We've also got in stock this year's Orange Prize Winner Road Home by Rose Tremain and the other shortlisted books for the award:

1. When We Were Bad by Charlotte Mendelson
2. Fault Lines by Nancy Huston
3. Greater Love by Lucy Wadham