The Possibility of Everything, by Hope Edelman (2009)

Hope Edelman's true story of dealing with her young daughter Maya's imaginary friend will, I believe, capture the interest of a wide range of readers. This is due to the fact that Hope's journey covers a wide range of solutions that she was willing to follow to try and help her daughter.

As Hope discovers, it's not that unusual for three year olds to develop imaginary friends. However, when these imaginary friends cause the child to hit other people, to scream uncontrollably, or to have night terrors, the aberrant behaviour can become a nightmare for the entire family.

Hope is willing to reach out to professionals for help. She talks to Maya's preschool teacher, to doctors, to friends, to psychologists. When conventional wisdom fails to bring resolution to the family, she begins to consider alternatives beyond her own comfort zone. Her daughter's nanny suggests a more radical solution: perform a native Nicaraguan healing ritual to rid Maya of this unwanted companion. Hope is very suprised when the ritual actually brings relief and the imaginary friend disappears for a few days. When the imaginary friend, or evil spirit, comes back, Hope must decide how best to help her daughter.

Could her daughter actually be in contact with an evil spirit? Would a native healer, or shaman, be of help? When Hope and her husband plan a Christmas trip to the jungles of Belize, the opportunity to meet such healers comes their way. Will Hope be able to overcome her skepticism and reach out for help?

Read this memoir and travel with Hope and her family as they struggle to deal with this frightening phenomenon that has taken over their daughter's personality and the family's peace of mind.

Tales of the City, by Armistead Maupin (1978)

San Francisco in the late 70's was in it's heyday of defying Middle American standards and values. In this wonderful series of vignettes, first published as a newspaper serial, Maupin captures the highs and lows of life in on the hill.

Mary-Anne Singleton is trying to escape what she sees as an inevitable fate of suburban marriage and ennui in Cleveland, by moving to San Francisco. She finds herself a great apartment in a house full of other singles, running the gamut from hetero to homo, from upbeat to down. Each chapter in the story follows one of the inhabitants as they mingle and match with an assortment of offbeat, but totally believable characters in the world beyond their lodging house on Barbary Lane.

Maupin's gift for original and honest dialogue creates wonderful characters. I can't wait to read the sequel "More Tales of the City."

Warrior's Princess, by Barbara Erskine (2009)

Fans of Barbara Erskine's novels will, I imagine, find this latest historical fiction novel to be quite up to snuff. I really enjoyed the historical settings and drama that the author portrayed in this book.

For Warrior's Princess, we are transported between Wales and Rome at the time the British tribes are being eradicated by the Romans. Caratacus, king of one of the tribes, is captured, along with his wife and daughter, the princess Eigon. All three are taken to Rome to await their fate at the hands of the Roman Emporer, Claudius.

Back in the present day, the main character, Jess, finds herself linked in a psychic connection to the Princess Eigon and, while attempting to flee from her modern day pursuer, she travels to Rome to discover the parallel pursuer who threatened Eigon's life two thousand years ago.

For the most part I did enjoy this book, especially the historic story of ancient Rome. However, I do have some reservations about the modern story. The main character, Jess, seems to be a bit contrived, in my opinion. She is supposed to be an intelligent woman, yet she cannot think clearly about her situation. Her desire to keep everything a "secret" and handle things on her own leads her into more and more problems. Her problem solving seems out of character and ends up being a mere vehicle to keep the story line going.

As well, the dialogue of the characters in Ancient Rome seems problematic at times. While it would be impossible to translate exactly the Latin of the day into modern fiction without it seeming stilted an difficult to follow, it seems a bit too modern when one young Roman woman refers to a young man as "dishy."

These points notwithstanding, the book is an enjoyable read.

Have a Little Faith, by Mitch Albom [2009]

I am not sure why Mitch Albom's path crisscrosses with people who are grappling with the issue of death, but the theme is one he handles very gracefully. Following on his "Tuesdays with Morrie," where Mitch begins a five-year dialogue with his dying professor, "Have a Little Faith" is an eight-year journey with his childhood rabbi, Albert Lewis.

The book begins with a request by the rabbi that Mitch write his eulogy. That Mitch has not attended a religious service in decades, or that the rabbi is not imminently in danger of dying is no deterrent to the beginning of a relationship that brings meaning, friendship, and learning to both parties.

Over the eight years that Mitch and the Rabbi Lewis carry on their frienship, Mitch also becomes involved in the life of another religious leader, Henry Covington. Henry's journey to faith has led him from a life of crime and drug addiction in the slums of Detroit, to the role of pastor for the homeless and indigent of his home town.

This book will appeal to readers of all faiths who are interested in the human condition, in the journey of life, and of finding our own paths to enlightenment.

Short Girls, by Bich Minh Nguyen (2009)

Unlike some other immigrant groups to North America, Vietnamese immigrants have often kept silent about their past lives in Vietnam. In Nguyen's portrayal of two sisters born in the U.S. by Vietnamese parents, it is easy to see how the silence between the two parents led to the stunted emotional lives of the daughters, Van and Linny. Their insular upbringing has left them feeling very apart from each other. Living separate lives in separate cities, it is only their father's widowhood and need for help that brings them together.

But, as each sister faces an emotional turning point in their lives, they find themselves reaching out to each other for the first time since childhood. Can they transcend the bounds of silence that pervaded their childhood years?

I found this book both well written and a wonderful opportunity to learn more about the Vietnamese-American community.

Day After Night, by Anita Diamant

There are so many fiction and non-fiction books that tell the stories of Holocaust survivors that it is a testament to Anita Diamant's creativity and research as a writer that her latest book, Day After Night, brings a fresh awareness of what happened to some of the survivors.

After harrowing ordeals in Europe during World War II, some Jewish survivors are able to make their way to Palestine, only to find themselves imprisoned in British "internment camps." Now held captive by the British political cap on immigration into Palestine, this story follows the lives of four young women who are trying to put the horrors of the past behind them, to assuage the grief of being the sole survivor of their families, and to find a reason to live and perhaps even to hope for a new life in Palestine.

The young women, Tedi from Denmark, Shayndel a Polish Zionist, Zorah a concentration camp survivor, and Leonie a French woman, become unlikely friends as they cope with their individual and collective pain. Each woman hides a secret wound in having survived the hellhole of Hitler's Europe.

While the story contains many unbearably sad stories, there is a thread of hope for these women, that having survived hell on earth, they may one day find peace in their time.

Salmon Fishing in The Yemen, by Paul Torday

I have to admit to passing up this book several times before I actually read it. I mistakenly thought it was about salmon fishing, but it is so much more than that. For anyone who is a fan of British understated humour, this book reads as mix between the TV show "Yes, Prime Minister" and a good Bill Bryson book.

A potential reader may wonder: Why Salmon? Why in the desert-like Yemen? These are excellent questions, and the book will answer both questions in a delightful story.

We meet the hapless Dr Alfred Jones, tireless scientist and salmon fishing enthusiast for the British National Centre for Fisheries Excellence, whose tour de force to this point in his career is a published article on mussels in alkaline solutions. Hardly a page turner, and hardly the makings of an adventurous take-charge scientist willing to bring salmon fishing to the Yemen.

However, hired and inspired by Sheik Muhammad ibn Zaidi of the Yemen, Dr. Jones will do everything he can to make the Sheik's dream come true. In doing so, he finds strength and awareness in himself that he never thought possible.

This is a wonderful, fun and joyous book.

The Family Man, by Elinor Lipman [2009]

Lipman's latest novel is, to put it succintly, a real hoot. The characters are wonderful, the situations original and the writing is beautiful.

Henry Archer's quiet life changes overnight when he decides to do the "right thing" and send a note of condolence to his ex-wife on the loss of her husband. The note brings aforementioned ex, Denise, back into Henry's life and, inadvertently, also brings the stepdaughter he's been mourning for the last fifteen years.

This book is quite quirky and very funny. It's made an instant fan of me and I plan to go back and read Lipman's other books!

A Guide to the Birds of East Africa, by Nicholas Drayson

Nicholas Drayson has written extensively on wildlife and natural history, but this latest book is a fictional novel that is an absolute gem.

Set in post-colonial Nairobi, the plot centres on two gentlemen, the brash Harry Khan, and the more reticent Mr. Malik. The former has returned to Nairobi after decades abroad seeking a bit of respite from his latest divorce. When Harry Khan chances upon a bird walking tour, fate brings him to meet Mr. Malik. The two men soon realize they were once school mates. They were not friends by any stretch of the imagination, as Harry was a golden boy, while Mr. Malik was the butt of Khan's jokes and pranks.

Nonethelss as adults they find common ground when they both fall in love with the birdwalker's tour guide, Rose Mbikwa. When the two men begin a birdwatching competition to decide who shall take the lovely Rose to the Hunt Ball, the fun begins.

This book will delight all readers regardless of their depth of knowledge of birding. It's a wonderful read, humourous, thoughtful, and insightful.

Shakespeare: The World as Stage, by Bill Bryson [2007]

There are not too many writers who can turn Shakespeare's life into light reading, but Bryson manages to do just that. With his usual wit and unique perspective, Bryson distills massive volumes encompassing speculation and conjecture about Shakespeare biography produced over the last hundred years, and delivers a wonderfully lucid and lighthearted romp through Shakespeare's life and times.

From Shakespeare's birth, to his marriage, to speculations on a possible tendency to wayward sexuality, Bryson cuts through all the academic posing and supposing and delivers the few actually documented facts about Shakespeare's life, the political goings on during the late days of Elizabeth the First's reign, and the culture of theatre life in general.

A wonderful read.

Your Sad Eyes and Unfogettable Mouth, by Edeet Ravel

Your Sad Eyes and Unforgettable Mouth, by Edeet Ravel (2008)

I've been a big fan of Edeet Ravel and thoroughly enjoyed her trilogy on Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Her latest book, Your Sad Eyes, is a departure in themes but not a departure in style.

Set in Montreal in modern times, the book follows Maya from her present day struggles with relationships back to her teenage years as she searches for identity. Maya is part of a small circle of friends; the uniting factor is their parents' survival of the concentration camps of World War II. Ravel offers a point of view for the children of survivors, who struggle with guilt at surviving, fear of governments, ill health, and other life long consequences of being over "there" (which is how the parents refer to their war-time experience).

Children of survivors grow up with a lot of unbearable stories and unshared secrets. Some try to be "perfect" children so their parents need never be sad again. Others rebel and distance themselves. How do these children thrive when so much of their lives are tied to the past? When Maya and her best friend Rosie become involved with two older brothers, their world and their futures are irrevocably altered.

Ravel's writing style is beautiful. I often found myself rereading a sentence simply to enjoy her choice of words. While the subject matter is a serious one, Maya's life is full of hope and humour.

Windflower: A Novel by Nick Bantock and Edoardo Ponti

Nick Bantock is well known for his artistic "Griffin and Sabine" series, works that combine art and story. Windflower continues in this tradition blending the most beautiful, surreal artwork on the bottom of each page with a mythological story that reminds me of Paulo Coelho's writing.

The story follows Ana, a young Capolan dancer who runs from her Romani tribe on the morning of her marriage. Disobeying her father's wishes to marry, Ana feels instead she must learn how to dance a sacred dance that will enable her to lead her people back to the nomadic lifestyle they have abandoned.

To develop the sacred dances within her, she travels to Serona, searching out a possible instructor. In Serona, she meets with the four mythological aspects of the Wind, disguised as men who set out to woe Ana. Guided by a wise friend, Ana must figure out which of the men represents true love and which are not to be trusted!

Consequences, by Penelope Lively

It's so nice to read a well-written book, and Consequences is a total gem to read. Set in Britain, just prior to World War II, the story follows the relationships of three main characters over a span of forty years. The story begins with Matt and Lorna, two characters who lived in different spheres and classes, but whom chance brings together. Their romance is heightened by the threat of war, and soon Matt must make the choice to stay or become a soldier. The consequences of this decision along with world events shape their lives, the life of their daughter Molly, and eventually Molly's children as well.

Laughing Without An Accent, Firoozah Dumas (2008)

Firoozah Dumas was born in Iran and moved to Southern California when she was seven. Her observations of growing up between two cultures are humourous and insightful. Dumas's writing is engaging and forthright. You'll love reading about parents (especially her dad's love affair with blue velour jogging suits, the hideous red bedspread, and tongue stew). Dumas's obvious pride for both her country of origin and her adopted country are plain to see.

This book combined two of my favourite aspects of a good book, I learned something new and I laughed out loud while reading!

Sleepwalking in Daylight, by Elizabeth Flock (2009)

What makes one family tick, while another simply implodes? Elizabeth Flock attempts to answers these questions in her well-written book, Sleepwalking in Daylight. Juggling several dynamics at once, from the lack of marital communication to the issues of adopted children feeling alienated, Elizabeth explores the lives of the Friedman family in a dramatically tight and readable novel.

The book provides two perspectives simultaneously, that of the mother and the daughter. The mother, Samantha Friedman thinks she may be falling out of love with her husband and he is bored with her. Trying to figure out a teenage daughter who has gone goth, two twin boys, and the flirtations of a handsome man she meets, Samantha is worried, and with good reason, that she will be unable to cope with it all.

The daughter, Cammy, provides the second viewpoint of the family. Cammy searches for her birth mother without her parents' knowledge but will she have the emotional skills to deal with the feelings of being rejected by the woman who kept her for two years before placing her up for adoption. Cammy is looking for answers, but is spiralling into a world that is threatening to overwhelm her.

Home Safe, by Elizabeth Berg

Home Safe, by Elizabeth Berg (2009)

I am a big fan of Elizabeth Berg's writing. She has a gift for creating believable characters and exploring the psychology of being humanness in a fictional setting. Her latest book is another winner.

The book introduces readers to Helen Ames, a middle-aged woman is in transition, her husband has just died unexpectedly, her daughter is fighting for her own independence, her father's health is failing and she has a severe case of writer's block. When Helen finds out that her husband spent the bulk of their retirement money one week before his death, the last vestige of normalcy and her old way of being is severed. She must try and find a way to embrace all these changes and we, the readers, get to travel this journey with her.

One of the wonderful aspect of this story is that the heroine is portrayed with all her flaws. She is not a one-dimensional figure who is always right, or always wrong, or always the victim. She is complex, as we all are, and she struggles to become more self aware as her friends and family react to her grieving process.

Despite dealing with many serious issues, the book itself is about life, love, and hope, and an excellent read.

The Expected One, by Kathleen McGowan

(Book One of the Magdalene Line)

Readers will quickly be drawn into this historical fiction account of Mary Magdalene's life and her role as Jesus' partner. The vehicle into the past is Maureen Pascal, a modern-day journalist who feels a special affinity for the ancient Mary. This affinity grows into obsession as Maureen begins to experience visions of Mary and finds herself part of an ancient secret and a modern search for Mary Magdalene's gospels.

A mystery that travels around the globe, around the century, and down the art world of Da Vinci, Cocteau, Poussin and others.

This book is sure to resonate with readers who enjoyed the Da Vinci Code.

A sequel to this novel is due out in 2009.

Still Alice, by Lisa Genova

For anyone who is curious about or has lived with the consequences of Alzheimer's disease, this book will illuminate the devastation that this illness brings to everyone's lives. When Alice Howland, a Cambridge professor, discovers she has early-onset Alzheimer's, her world, and the world of her husband, children, students, and friends are all effected. As Alice tries to prepare herself and others for the loss of her identity, every relationship is strained and must be transformed.

This beautifully written book, told from Alice's point of view, does not sugarcoat the heartbreak of Alzheimer's, but looks at the essential qualities of what makes us who we are. I highly recommend this book!

Sing Them Home, by Stephanie Kallos

Following on the success of her first book, Broken For You, Stephanie Kallos has written another great story, full of human pathos and engaging characters. The story focuses on the Jones family, a small-town doctor, his wife and their three children.

The orderliness of their lives is torn apart by the wife's illness. Parallel to the whirlwind of emotions that ensues as illness rearranges their daily routines, are the violent tornados that sweep through the small town. Time passes, the children grow up and we find ourselves looking at how their childhood traumas have shaped their adult lives. When another trauma surrounding their father brings the adult children back together, they have an opportunity to put the past into a new context and can finally try to break free from their pasts.

Watermelon Syrup, by Annie Jacobsen (2007)

Published posthumously, Annie Jacobsen's story is a wonderfully written and moving book that illuminates some of the history of the Mennonite people of Canada and their way of life.

The story revolves around Lexi, a young Mennonite girl from Saskatchewan who moves from a impoverished family home ruled by a strict and domineering father, to the liberal and wayward household of Dr. Gerald Oliver in Waterloo, Ontario.

Lexi's taste of freedom away from the Mennonite culture is tempered by the emotional chaos she undergoes learning about the world beyond her childhood. As she becomes embroiled in the marital problems of the Olivers, Lexi must learn about the facts of life quickly in order to survive.

When she is drawn back to the family to care for her ailing mother, Lexi discovers her brother's old journals and learns more of her family's desperate move to Canada and the personal tragedy of her mother's life. Lexi finds that maturity comes from within as she struggles to find her voice and her way toward adulthood.

The Salaryman's Wife, by Sujata Massey (1997)

This first book of Sujata Massey's series follows amateur detective Rei Shimura through the streets of Tokyo and its surroundings. At age 24, Japanese-American Rei, who was raised in sunny California has moved to Japan to make her living as a teacher of English to salarymen and ends up involved in murder and mayhem.

Winner of an Agatha Award for mystery writing, the Massey's writing seems stilted at times, but the insights into life in everyday modern Japan more than make up for a young writer's lack of linguistic style. Any reader interested in learning more about Japanese history and modern culture and who enjoys a good mystery (with a bit of romance thrown in) is sure to enjoy this book.

The sequels to Salaryman's Wife are: Zen Attitude (1998), The Flower Master (1999), The Floating Girl (2000), The Bride's Kimono (2001), The Samurai's Daughter (2003), The Pearl Diver (2004), The Typhoon Lover (2005), Girl in a Box (2006), and Shimura Trouble (2008).

Economics made fun!

Predictably Irrational, by Dan Ariely (2008)

If economics has never turned you on, you may want to try this book anyway. Ariely explores our human nature and why we do what we do, why we might purchase Item A instead of Item B, and how marketers can take advantage of our basic human nature.

Written in non-economic language, this book is a fun look at ourselves. It will certainly make readers more savvy in the marketplace and in all aspects of one's life.

Families, families, families

Body Surfing, by Anita Shreve (2007)

I was already a big fan of Anita Shreve's book, having devoured Fortune's Rock, The Pilot's Wife, A Wedding in December, and others.

This book kept me up until the wee hours as I did not want to put it down. The story revolves around a young woman, Sydney, who seeks out a quiet tutoring position in New Hampshire. Followed the turmoil of being a divorcee and a widow, the last thing she is looking for is romance.

However, her plans for rectitude are disrupted when she meets the two adults sons of the family who both fall in love with her and draw her deeper and deeper into their family. The portrayal of all the members of the family are rich with detail and the plot line has enough twists to make this a terrific read.

A terrific cast of characters

Crossing California, by Adam Langer (2004)

An amazing cast of characters muddle through life together in Chicago in late 1970s and early 80s. A book based on transitions in teens, adults, families, and the city itself. Whether divided by California Avenue which marks the transition between old and new, between safe and slummy, between hope and poverty, the characters in the book will draw you in and keep you reading.

For Art Lovers....

Lydia Cassatt Reading the Morning Paper, by Harriet Scott Chessman (2001)

As a lover of Impressionist paintings, I couldn't wait to read this fictionalized account of the relationship between artist May Cassatt (1844-1926) and her sister Lydia.

Chessman has managed to create a voice for both women that echoes the style and feel of an impressionist painting. She brings depth to the lives of the two sisters with faint brushings of words and glimpses of a three-year period of their life together in France. As Lydia faces the reality of her failing health, her sister May tries to capture her image unwilling to lose her beloved sister and companion.

The book also contains five reprints of May's painting allowing for a close examination of the artist's style, interpretation, and use of colour.

A Blast From the Past

The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir, by Bill Bryson

Taking a very humourous trip down memory lane, Bill Bryson recreates life in middle America in the 1950's and 1960's with style and finesse. While changing names to protect the innocent, and the infamous, Bryson brings a quirky band of characters to life.

From summer vacations, led by his Dad who preferred to save a dollar and avoid line-ups by going to out-of-the-way holiday spots, such as "battlefields of the little-known War of the Filipino Houseboys" to the attraction of the "stripper tent" in the yearly carnival, Bryson coats childhood, Des Moines, and post World War II America in a sugar-coated veneer. While his reminiscences of a perfect small-town boyhood may seem a tad too-sugary at times, Bryson's smooth writing style and wonderful sense of timing make this memoir enjoyable and a must-read for anyone old enough to reminisce about anything!

Another Great Independent Film....

New Year Baby, by Socheata Poeuv

Another wonderful independent film, this documentary follows the Cambodian-American Poeuv family. When daughter/filmmaker, Socheata, discovers that her older sisters are actually her cousins and her older brother is really a half-brother, she sets out to unravel the puzzle of her patchwork family.

Socheata convinces her parents and brother to accompany her on a trip to Cambodia, revisiting old friends and families, and helping her understand the devastation that the Khmer Rouge brought to Cambodia and how her parents survived the forced labour camps.

Directed by Charles Vogel, produced by Broken English Productions

Must See Movie!

Everything is Illuminated, directed by Liev Schreiber

Based on the book of the same title, written by Jonatahn Safran Foer, this is an amazing and very poignant and offbeat independent film.

Everything is Illuminated stars Elijah Wood as Jonathan Safran Foer, a young Jewish man who wants to learn how his grandfather escaped from the Nazi incursions into Russia. He flies to Europe and hires a tour guide of a young man and his crotchety grandfather. The car trip to Odessa envelopes the lives of the three men in ways that will change them forever.