Books I Gave Family Members for Christmas

As I have mentioned more than once here, I do most of my holiday gift shopping in bookstores. Here is a look at what I gave some of my family members for Christmas this year. To my mother, to whom I love to give books, as she now has more time to read, and I know her taste, I gave “Someone,” by Alice McDermott; “This is the Story of a Happy Marriage,” by Ann Patchett; “Longbourn,” by Jo Baker; and “The Lowland,” by Jhumpa Lahiri. (Regular readers of this blog will note that I have posted on all four of these books within the past two months.) To one brother I gave Khaled Hosseini’s “And the Mountains Echoed,” and a vegan cookbook (he is vegan). To another brother, whose wife is Chinese and who has visited China, I gave Amy Tan’s newest novel, “The Valley of Amazement,” and -- because, like me, he loves San Francisco so much -- photographer/journalist Gary Kamiya’s “Cool Gray City of Love: 49 Views of San Francisco.” I loved this latter book so much that I also gave it to my daughter, who also dearly loves San Francisco and now lives in "The City" again. (I will very likely buy myself a copy as well). In addition, in a nod to her two years living in and thoroughly enjoying New York City, I gave my daughter “Humans of New York,” by photographer Brandon Stanton. I gave my daughter’s fiancé, who is a lawyer for a tech company, Dave Eggers’ novel “The Circle” (about a Facebook-type company) and Mark Binelli’s “The Afterlife of an American Metropolis,” about the city of Detroit (he spent part of his childhood and adolescence in a suburb of Detroit). This is a sampling of what I gave my family; I hope I chose well, and I hope my family members will enjoy these books. My mom tells me she has already started reading "Someone," and likes it very much.

"Crazy Rich Asians," by Kevin Kwan

“Crazy Rich Asians” (Doubleday, 2013), by Kevin Kwan, is an over-the-top immersion in the world of super-rich families of Chinese heritage in Singapore (and all the other places they live, vacation, and shop – from Paris to New York to Sydney to Shanghai and elsewhere). This novel is a compelling combination of glitz and glamor, soap opera, romance, and social commentary. My motivation for reading it was dual: part of me was drawn to the frou-frou fun of it all, and another part was interested in what the novel says about social class and privilege, something I research and write about in some of my academic publications. Although it is perhaps exaggerated (but maybe not?), it also rings true, and some of my own knowledge of wealthy Chinese students at U.S. universities, such as the one where I teach, corroborates at least some of the details of the portrait of extreme affluence. But the novel is not only about huge parties, private jets, and hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on designer clothing. It is also about the power of the (relatively) old families who place strict expectations on their children and grandchildren about whom they may associate with and, especially, whom they may marry. When Nick, a young professor at an American university, invites his girlfriend, another young professor of Chinese heritage, to Singapore for the summer, she has no idea of the massive wealth he comes from there, nor of the strict traditions of his family. What follows, as we meet various members of the wealthy families, is a complicated dance of intrigue, pride, secrecy, and clashes between the old and the young, the old ways and the new. The novel is fascinating, and I can assure you that you will definitely not get bored reading it.

"The Casual Vacancy," by J. K. Rowling

I have to thank my friend S. for convincing me to read J.K. Rowling’s novel for adults, “The Casual Vacancy” (Little, Brown, 2012). She knew that I was not at all interested in Rowling’s Harry Potter books, as I do not read fantasy or science fiction. She and others have told me that the Harry Potter series is different, and I should give the books a try, but I never have. So when I heard Rowling had written this adult novel, I somehow, even though I knew it wasn’t fantasy, felt (unreasonably, I know) that I would not like it. Well, S. kindly sent it to me, I started reading it, and I couldn’t put it down! The set-up is perfect for my tastes: it is the story of a small town in England, the main characters in that town, and their relationships, interchanges, and secrets. The novel is expertly plotted; the characters and their relationships are compelling, and there is something new and surprising around every corner. Some of the characters are very unlikable; some are likable or admirable or both; best of all, most of them are the usual human mix of good and bad. The children and young adolescents are particularly believable in their unpredictability and poignant in their vulnerability. Some of the stories are heartbreaking. Much of what occurs has to do with human nature, pride, politics, and perhaps most especially, social class. I was impressed. Thank you, S., for getting me to read “The Casual Vacancy”!

The Fourteen Best Books I Read in 2013

As we near the end of 2013, I offer a list of fourteen books that I especially admired, loved, and enjoyed over the past year. They are all beautifully written. Eleven are novels and three are short story collections. Two were written by the same gifted author: Hester Kaplan. Two have the same title (“Life after Life”) but are very different novels by very different writers. Most but not all of them were published in 2013. They are listed in the order that I read and posted about them on this blog. After each title, I list the date that I posted on the book. Perhaps you will find ideas for last minute holiday gifts here! 1. “I Knew You’d Be Lovely: Stories,” by Alethea Black (1/18/13). 2. “The Edge of Marriage: Stories,” by Hester Kaplan (2/5/13). 3. “The Priory,” by Dorothy Whipple (2/22/13). 4. “Songs for the Missing,” by Stewart O’Nan (3/14/13). 5. “Life after Life,” by Jill McCorkle (4/20/13). 6. “Last Friends,” by Jane Gardam (6/22/13). 7. “The Tell,” by Hester Kaplan (6/29/13). 8. “The Gardens of Kyoto,” by Kate Walbert (7/13/13). 9. “Shakespeare’s Kitchen,” by Lore Segal (7/22/13). 10. “Life after Life,” by Kate Atkinson (8/6/13). 11. “The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox,” by Maggie O’Farrell (8/24/13). 12. “The Home Jar: Stories,” by Nancy Zafris (9/8/13). 13. “The Lowland,” by Jhumpa Lahiri (10/26/13). 14. “Someone,” by Alice McDermott (11/27/13).

Please Buy Holiday Gifts at Independent Bookstores!

For those of you doing holiday shopping, please consider doing so at independent bookstores. Books are such great gifts, and we need to support our independent bookstores, the numbers of which are shrinking. I have never republished one of my blogposts before, but today -- in order to summarize reasons to patronize independent bookstores -- I reprint below my post of 2/11/10. (Although I have to note an update: nowadays some of the chains have also gone out of business, and the main competition to independent bookstores is online sellers. But the reasons for sticking with independent bookstores remain the same.) "At the risk of preaching to the converted, I urge readers to spend their money at independent bookstores rather than at the large chains or online vendors. Some of the many reasons to do so are as follows: 1. Local, independent bookstores are more individualized, often more specialized. They are attuned to their local customers and their locales. They do their own buying, rather than having a national office make decisions for the whole country. 2. Booksellers at independent bookstores are usually more knowledgeable about books. 3. Independent bookstores often have great readings and classes. It is true that some chains do as well, but the local bookstores can focus on local authors and cater to local interests. 4. Independent bookstores are more community-oriented. They often have programs that benefit local schools and other community institutions. 5. Statistics show that a much higher percentage of profits of independent bookstores goes back into the local community; profits don't go to the national corporate offices as they do with the chains. 6. Chains are often predatory, moving in very nearby to existing independent bookstores, undercutting the prices of those bookstores (because they have the corporate resources to do so), driving them out, and then sometimes raising prices again. (I have seen this happen in the area where I live; a few years back we lost the beloved A Clean Well Lighted Place for Books, here in Marin County, this way.)"

"Living to Tell," by Antonya Nelson

Antonya Nelson’s novel “Living to Tell” (Scribner Paperback Fiction, 2000) is all about family, family, family. An older couple, their three grown children, and two grandchildren all live in the house in Kansas in which the children grew up. They are slightly aware of the oddity of the situation, yet proud of being a close family, taking care of each other. But there are big cracks in the closeness. The son, Winston, the golden boy, has just gotten out of jail for driving drunk and accidentally killing his much-loved grandmother; his father can’t seem to forgive him, although he does not show his feelings overtly. The older daughter, Emily, seemingly so calm and competent, has had her walks on the wild side, but now is taking care of her two children very well without the help of her immature ex-husband. Mona, the third adult child of the family, is emotionally unstable, has attempted suicide, had an affair with her brother-in-law and now is having another unsuitable affair with another married man. The father of the three adult children, “Professor Mabie” as the retired academic is always called, struggles with missing his sick and then deceased best friend from work, Betty, along with worrying about all of his children. His wife, Mrs. Mabie, tends her family fiercely, yet has withdrawn in recent years, sometimes seeming more connected to her garden than to anything or anyone else. There are other characters too, but the core of the story is the five adults in the Mabie house. The ambivalent connections among the family members are perhaps manifested in the family name Mabie (maybe?). This is a curious family story: the family sticks together, yet sometimes does not trust each other. And Nelson dares to make the five main characters not entirely likable. The reader feels torn between pulling for the family and pulling away from them. Nelson also dares to leave us with an ambiguous ending. This is an author I have come to count on as always writing something interesting, something different, and this novel does not disappoint.

"This is the Story of a Happy Marriage," by Ann Patchett

As I approached the counter to pay for some books a couple of days ago in one of my favorite independent bookstores, Books Inc., in Laurel Village, San Francisco (part of a very local mini-chain), I heard a customer ahead of me and a salesperson discussing Ann Patchett’s independent bookstore in Nashville. I said (horning in on their conversation, but they didn’t seem to mind), “Oh, I am reading her book ‘This is the Story of a Happy Marriage’ right now!” The customer enthusiastically replied, “Oh, me too! I love it!” So the three of us started talking about the book, and Patchett’s earlier books (including “Bel Canto” and “State of Wonder”), and her bookstore. We all are big fans. And we agreed that this latest book, “This is the Story of a Happy Marriage” (Harper, 2013), a collection of essays, is absolutely absorbing, and makes us feel we actually know Patchett. I think of this little episode (which is, by the way, the kind of thing that happens often in independent bookstores, one of the reasons I so love these centers of literature and community) as an example of how Patchett is not only a gifted writer, but an engaging one, and as the creator of an independent bookstore in Nashville when its other bookstores had closed, a heroine to those of us who are rooting for the survival of such local, special bookstores. I have now finished the book, and was absolutely caught up in it. Patchett writes about her childhood, her apprenticeship as a writer, her relationship with her grandmother, her childhood teacher (a nun) with whom she reconnects as an adult, her beloved dogs, her book tours, the controversy over her book about her late friend Lucy (the book was chosen as the assigned freshman book by Clemson University, and then protested by many conservative parents and others in the area), and much more. The title essay tells how, as the child of a family riven by multiple divorces over several generations, Patchett was reluctant to marry, and even when she found the right person, it took her eleven years to agree to marry; the couple is now -- as the title indicates -- very happy. In each essay, Patchett’s warm voice makes us feel we are actually in conversation with her. Of course the conversational style of the writing is deceptively simple, and is in fact extremely well-crafted…that is one of the marks of a true writer. I can’t help thinking, though, that no one could present such a seemingly candid and engaging self if she were not really like that. Is that naïve of me? In any case, for fans of Patchett, as well as for those who have not read her before, I strongly recommend this book.

"If I'd Known You Were Coming," by Kate Milliken

The short stories in Kate Milliken’s “If I’d Known You Were Coming” (University of Iowa Press, 2013) are full of quirks, hard edges, sharp angles, and surprises. The characters are often confused, and confusing, but still make witty remarks and offer sharp observations. The women characters in particular are very bright but sometimes make strange decisions, often about relationships. The narrator in “Man Down Below,” for example, moves away from her apartment in order to get away from a stalker neighbor, yet when she runs into him later, is strangely drawn to him. “No, no, no!” you want to exhort her, but being a mere reader, you are helpless to change the course of the story; you cannot sway her from her clearly unsuitable feelings and actions. Some characters appear in more than one story, allowing us to get to know them better on each appearance, yet still mysteriously changing and disappearing at will. The final story, “Inheritance,” starts off uneventfully, but after a while we see how sad and sick one of the main characters is, and must watch helplessly as she self destructs, but at least is supported by her new friend in his inherited house. And somehow, even in her self-destruction, this character manages to keep and display a flash of her personality, and make us wonder if she will perhaps survive after all.