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!