James: A Novel

James: A Novel by Percival Everett is a masterpiece. It is a retelling of the story of Huck Finn through the eyes of Jim / James, which changes everything about the tale.

The Mississippi River, 1861. When the enslaved Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a new owner in New Orleans and separated from his wife and daughter forever, he flees to nearby Jackson’s Island until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck Finn has faked his own death to escape his violent father who recently returned to town.

So begins a dangerous and transcendent journey along the Mississippi River, towards the elusive promise of the free states and beyond. As James and Huck navigate the treacherous waters, each bend in the river holds the promise of both salvation and demise. And together, the unlikely pair embark on the most life-changing odyssey of them all . . .

I first read Percival Everett almost twenty years ago. I still think about his book Wounded. He is one of the best writers of our time and has so much to say. Put one of his books on hold today - or two, as James will likely have a long wait! 

Everett, Percival. (2024). James: A Novel. New York: Penguin.

A Gentleman in Moscow

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles is a beautiful book that everyone should have the privilege to read. Though it was written recently it will surely join the classic must reads.

After the Russian revolution, the Bolsheviks have sentenced Count Alexander Rostov to house arrest. Luckily for him, he lives in the world-famous Metropol Hotel in the center of Moscow. Unfortunately, with his sentence, he is moved from his beautiful suite, filled with his family heirlooms, to a ten-by-ten room in the attic. 

Over the following years readers will delight in meeting the various visitors, residents and employees of the Metropol. And get to explore the hotel from every angle - especially after the Count makes friends with a young girl who cannot let any mystery or curiosity go unexplored.

Towles is a wonderful writer and storyteller. Read everything he publishes but buy this book today!

Towles, Amor. (2016). A Gentleman in Moscow. New York: Penguin.

Passing

Passing is a classic novel of a light skinned Black woman in the 1920s passing for white. Clare Kendry married a white man and no one in her life knows/realizes she is Black.

A chance encounter with a childhood friend, Irene Redfield, in a Manhattan restaurant brings feeling of nostalgia for childhood and the African American community.

After the first encounter, Clare keeps visiting Irene – each time risking someone finding out about her passing.

Larsen, Nella. (1929). Passing. New York: Penguin (2021 edition).

Regeneration

Regeneration by Pat Barker is the story of the effects of war on soldiers. It is the first book in a trilogy following the same men from their time under the care of a psychiatrist through the end of World War I. 

In 1917 Siegfried Sassoon, a poet and war hero, refuses to continue serving in the war due to the senseless slaughter. He is classified as mentally unsounds and sent to Craiglockhart War Hospital in Scotland. 

Psychiatrist Dr. William Rivers is in charge of helping a cast of soldiers in various degrees of trauma from the war. He believes in the controversial idea that men should talk about the things that happened to them instead of pushing down their feelings. 

Based on actual people, Barker has created the story of what war does to the people who fight it. She challenges the relationship between doctor and patient, between classes, between men and women, and between men and men. 

This book should be required reading. 

Book two is The Eye in the Door, and book three The Ghost Road. 

Barker, Pat. (1991). Regeneration. New York: Plume.

The Gilda Stories

The Gilda Stories by Jewelle Gomez is a different kind of vampire tale. Written in segments, the first being published in the Village Voice, this tale follows a young Black woman from escaping enslavement through the year 2050.

In the 1950s, outside of New Orleans, Gilda finds a young woman hiding in her cellar. The Girl has escaped and fled from Mississippi. Gilda takes her in, moves her to town to help at her brothel. 

After a few years, when Gilda is ready to move on, she turns the girl - giving her the chance to live until she decides otherwise. All she asks is that the girl use the name Gilda.

The chapters that follow lead Gilda to San Francisco, Boston, New York and more. While telling the story of a gentler vampire archetype, one who gives as she takes, Gilda travel through generations of changes in civil rights.

Gomez is a classic lesbian novel. She explores Blackness, radical ecology, redefinitions of family, and the fluidity of the vampire in human society.

Gomez, Jewelle. (1991). The Gilda Stories. San Francisco: City Light Books.

Pachinko

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee is a family epic based on four generations of a Korean family in Japan beginning in the early 1900s.

Sunja, the daughter of an innkeeper in Yeongdo, a small fishing village in Korea, falls for a stranger at the market. She assumes he will marry her, but when she becomes pregnant she discovers that he is already married.

Isak is a minister traveling from the north of Korea on his way to Japan. He seeks out the boarding house that his brother stay in years ago. There he meets Sunja and offers to marry her and take her to Japan with him.

When they arrive in Japan, both are shocked to discover it is not the promise land they were lead to believe. Koreans are required to live in the ghetto. Prejudice controls every part of their lives.

As time passes, the family faces many obstacles. They succeed as well as their station allows. During WWII they find help from a surprising source. Sunja and Isak's sons continue the struggle as the generations continue.

Pachinko is a wonderful book about a minority family in a homogenous country. An instant classic beautifully written. Read it now.

Lee, Min Jin. (2017). Pachinko. New York: Grand Central Publishing.

Rebecca

Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier is a classic for a very good reason – you will keep thinking of this story far after you finish the book.

The main character, never named in print, is working as a lady’s companion. She is not from the noble class and has few options outside of a good marriage. She is in Monte Carlo as companion to an American woman she does not really care for when she meets Maximilian de Winter, the owner of he famous house on the cliffs – Manderley.

When her lady becomes ill and she finds herself with free time, she is surprise to find the she and Maxim get along quite well despite a large age difference. He is easy to talk to and they enjoy spending time exploring Monte Carlo.

Soon they are married. After some more travel in Europe, it is back to Manderley in England where the new Mrs. de Winters finds herself well out of her element. Maxim is busy with estate affairs and there is no one to guide her in the new role she is thrust into. She begins to wonder if Maxim is regretting their decision to marry.

The housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers, keeps comparing her to the late Mrs. de Winters, or Rebecca. Rebecca’s shadow seems to hang over the house and the new, young wife feels that she is not living up to the standard Rebecca set.

In Rebecca, Du Maurier has created a thrilling novel of suspense where all is not as it seems.

Du Maurier, Daphne. (1938). Rebecca. New York: HarperCollins.

The Count of Monte Cristo

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas is one of the best stories ever told. After being harassed to read it for years, I gave in. And I loved it!

Edmond Dantes is a sailor. He is only nineteen, but when his ship's captain dies, he takes over the running of the ship. Once they get back to port it looks like he will become the captain. Dantes, on top of being a good sailor whom the crew loves, is engaged to a beautiful woman named Mercedes.

But back in port in Marseilles, Dante finds out that not everyone is happy for him. Three men, all of who are jealous of him for some reason, plot together to have him arrested. The prosecutor, who at first seems like a good guy, is influenced by his ambitions.

Soon Dantes finds himself thrown into the notorious prison Chateau d'If - a fortress island.

All of this is just the set up for a story of revenge. I will not give any more plot details even though they are well known. I will say that at 1400 pages, I was not ready to leave this book! Read it. Buy your own copy because you will want to re-read it again and again. The Modern Library 2002 translation is the version I read.

Dumas, Alexandre. (2002). The Count of Monte Cristo. New York: Modern Library.

Life After Life

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson is an amazing book. Read it now!

Ursula was born on a snowy night in February 1910 to Hugh and Sylvie Todd. She is the third Todd child, to be followed by two more.

But there are complications. Ursula is born with the umbilical cord around her neck - blocking the flow of oxygen. She dies.

Again, February 1910 on a snowy night - Ursula Todd is born and the doctor arrives in time to save her.

And so her life goes. Either a divine intervention resets Ursula's life so that she lives, or we are seeing one of the possibilities - alternate timelines - of her life.

Ursula lives in a fascinating time in western history. Her father, Hugh, will fight in WWI. England, and the lives of everyone in it, will be greatly affected by World War II a few years later. Siblings Pamela and Teddy, aunt Izzie and Ursula's parents live through good times and bad - with the decisions Ursula makes bearing more weight that any of them would think.

I cannot say much else without major spoilers. This is one of the best books I have read. The writing is excellent, the storytelling superb and the twist - the thing that makes this book absolutely unique - combine to make it a must read. Fans of writers like Lauren Groff, AnneMarie MacDonald or Sarah Waters will especially love it.

Atkinson, Kate. (2013). Life After Life. New York: Back Bay Books.

The Martian

The Martian by Andy Weir has been called a Robinson Crusoe on Mars.

Ares 3 from NASA is the first manned mission to Mars. After a few unmanned explorations and fourteen flights to deliver equipment, Ares 3 is on Mars with six astronauts. They are to be there for less than a month and then use the Mars Ascent Vehicle, or MAV, to get back to their ship.

On day six a massive wind storm his the base. Due to needing everything to be as light as possible to get enough lift to get back into orbit, the MAV is fragile. If it tips more than 13 degrees off of the base, there will be no escape. As the winds get stronger, the mission commander orders an evacuation. Visibility is down to almost nothing.

Leaving teams of two, astronaut engineer and botanist Mark Watney is struck by part of an antenna, thrown backward into the dust and his crewmates think him dead. Commander Lewis spends as much time as she can looking for him, but has to get in the MAV to save the rest of her crew.

Watney is not dead. Because he landed face down, blood sealed the hole in his suit and prevented too much oxygen from escaping. Now he must figure out how to make enough food for six people to last one month last him four years until the next mission is due to land on Mars. As far as he knows, everyone on Earth thinks he is dead.

Weir has created a science fiction book that is sure to become a classic. Watney is a creative and humorous character who is a cross between Robinson Crusoe and MacGuyver. The science is as accurate as possible, both with his fixes and with NASA's reaction. Even readers who didn't know they liked science fiction will find this a great read. The Martian is sure to become a classic.

Weir, Andy. (2014). The Martian. New York: Broadway Books.

To Kill A Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee has won many awards - including the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction - with good reason: it is an important and excellent book.

Jean Louise "Scout" Finch and her brother Jem live in the Maycomb, Alabama. Their father is Atticus Finch, a lawyer, who is about to go to trial defending a black man who is accused of raping a white woman - in 1935... in the South.

Scout and Jem are raised by their father and the cook, Calpurnia. As their world view slowly grows - first with their neighborhood, then school and the larger town - Scout learns lessons about life. Written with intelligence and wit, Lee captures the development of childhood in a time of racial prejudice. When the trial starts, she must learn to stop fighting the people who say mean things about her father.

And as the trial unfolds, the family reflects on the state of affairs - how some people can treat other differently based only on the color of their skin, not on their own merit. And how people can ignore fact in the face of that prejudice.

Though written in 1960 and set in 1935, To Kill A Mockingbird still has lessons to teach readers. It is a sad fact that we, as a society, are not as evolved as we like to think and books like this one are important lenses into our past and possible futures.

Lee, Harper. (1960). To Kill a Mockingbird. New York: Harper.

Typhoon

Typhoon by Joseph Conrad captures the feel of a hurricane from the decks of an early-1900s steam ship upon the South China Sea.

Using delightful language, Conrad tells the story of a ship's captain so calm and stead that his men think him dull. He speaks little and does only what must be done. Owners of ships love him because he is reliable. Jukes, the chief mate, things he is about to get them killed.

Captain MacWhirr lives in the moment - not to say that he takes life by the horns, but he has no concern of the events that have past or may happen in the future. He has seen what he calls "dirty weather" before and is not concerned that a typhoon could be any match for his new ship.

What follows is the tale of a ship fighting a hurricane without being prepared for the force of the storm. Conrad describes the violence of the wind like "the sudden smash of a vial of wrath." Having lived through two hurricanes on land, I could not imagine what is would be like to face one on a ship, but Conrad's tale captures the event with both wit and accuracy. Great read.

Conrad, Joseph.(1903). Typhoon. New York: Forge.

The Little Prince

The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery is still a masterpiece. The latest English translation is by Richard Howard and contains the original drawings.

In one of the most wonderful stories of all time, The Little Prince tells the story of a pilot who crashed into the desert. As he is trying to fix his airplane before he runs out of food or water, the pilot is interupted by a small prince who asks him to draw him a picture of a sheep.

What follows is a fable about what is important in life - something that kids have naturally and most people lose by the time they become adults. It is good to be reminded to use our imaginations.

De Saint-Exupery, Antoine. (1943). The Little Prince. New York: Harcourt.

The Night Circus

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern is a wonderful, magical book and has joined the ranks of my favorite books.

Le Cirque des Reves arrives without warning. One morning when you awake it may be in a field of the edge of town. It posts no flyers or advertisement of any kind; it simply appears and draws a crowd.

All within the circus is black or white (or a shade of grey) but lack of color only adds to the magical feel. There are tents that will delight all of your senses, from the maze of clouds to the garden of ice. There are performers who will astound you, from the beautiful illusionist to the tattooed contortionist.

The circus is a stage - not just a stage for the performers - but at its heart it is a contest between two people who were placed there to compete within some vague rules with no clear idea of how to win. But the contest is not adversarial. Each side creates pieces that delight and amaze not only the patrons of the circus, but each other as well.

Morgenstern has created beautiful characters that readers will love, a unique and magical setting that will delight all who visit, and an overall novel that is to be treasured. Buy a copy and start reading it today. Allow yourself to be amazed by this book that I am sure will soon be considered a classic of modern literature.

Morgenstern, Erin. (2011). The Night Circus. New York: Doubleday.

Captains Courageous

Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling is the tale of one boy being whipped into shape.

Harvey Cheyne is the spoiled son of an American millionaire. His father owns railroads, among other things. Harvey spends his time with his mother traveling. Though the travel was meant to give Harvey a broader understanding of the US and the world, he has become an obnoxious fourteen year old with little to contribute but his allowance.

When Harvey and Mrs. Cheyne set sail for Europe, Harvey falls off of the boat. He is fished out with the cod and placed on a fishing boat, the We're Here. When he tells captain Disko Troop that his father is a millionaire, Troop thinks he is ether lying or mad from his dunk in the Atlantic. Harvey is told that they will not abandon the fishing season for the ramblings of a boy. He will join them for the season and will be taken to Gloucester when the boat is full of fish.

Harvey spends the next months learning to be a man. He works for the first time and learns skills. He holds his own on the ship and for the first time feels pride in himself and not in his father's money. And he is earning $10.50 per month (significantly less than is $100/week allowance).

Kipling has described life upon the sea in a late 1800s fishing boat as if he had fished himself. He knows the slang and shanties and all of the rigging of a sailing ship. Written in 1897, this small classic is worth a re-read.

Kipling, Rudyard. (2004). Captains Courageous. New York: Signet Classics.

The Grapes of Wrath

The Grape of Wrath by John Steinbeck is the Great American Novel. The story uses one family to tell of the awesome migration of 250,000 people from the middle of the US to California at the end of the Depression.

Farmers in the middle of the country owned the land their forefathers had gotten through the homesteading acts. But as times were tough, they slowly borrowed money from the bank against poor crops. Eventually, the banks owned all of the land. So when the banks decided to collect the land and make huge farms that could be plowed and planted by one man on a tractor, farmers and their families were forced off of the land.

At the same time, business practices in California - where the land was also owned by banks or very large landholders - advertised across the country that they were looking for workers to pick cotton/peaches/grapes. The more people who responded, the lower they could pay in wages as there would always be some hungry enough to work for any hope of food.

In The Grapes of Wrath, one family is followed from their farm in Oklahoma on their way to California to find work. When Tom Joad gets out of jail after four years, he finds his family's farm abandoned. The house is leaning to one side and appears to have been push over by a great force. Cotton is planted right up to the front door. An old neighbor who is passing through tells Tom about families being forced off of the land by the tractors and that his family is at his uncle's farm about to leave for California.

Tom joins his family and together the 12 of them plus a family friend pile into a newly purchased truck with all of the belongings they cannot leave behind or sell. Both Tom and his brother Al have some mechanical knowledge to keep the used truck running if they can afford parts.

What follows is the heart-wrenching tale of a family - that always thought of itself as being part of the land - set adrift with the hope of finding a new home. With no land to hold them together it will be a battle to keep the family intact.

Steinbeck has long been haled as one of the Great American Authors and this book is an excellent example of why. Though the pace of novels has increased through time, this novel holds its own in terms of plot, characterization, and suspense. Though history determines that the Joad family will not have an easy life - readers will be up late hoping that they beat the odds. Reading The Grapes of Wrath is like learning the roots of American as it is today and watching a train wreck in slow motion all tied up into one astounding novel.

Steinbeck, John. (1939). The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin Classics.

Robinson Crusoe

Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe is one of the original adventure books. Written in 1719 it still holds its own with high sea adventure tales of today.

Crusoe, being told by his father that the best life to have is one of the lower of the upper class, cannot content himself with sitting idly by in a life in the country. He must make an effort to explore the world.

On his first trip aboard a ship, a storm hits and the ship is sunk. But does he take this as a hint that maybe a seafaring life is not for him? Nope. He sets sail again. In his further voyages he is captured as a slave, escapes, buys land but realizes he is living the life his father suggested, sails again and is marooned on an island for 28 (!) years.

Defoe writes in a matter of fact way that makes the story both remarkable and commonplace. And somehow he makes Crusoe's life on a tropical island sound like the perfect life (if only a new box of books would appear every few months).

Defoe, Daniel. (2003). Robinson Crusoe. New York: Barnes and Noble Classics.

Treasure Island

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson is one of the original pirate adventures. Originally published in 1883, it was written for Stevenson - one chapter per day - for his stepson.

Jim Hawkins lives at the Admiral Benbow inn in southern England. When a salty old sailor moves into the inn his life is in for a change. The sailor pays him to keep an eye out for a man with one leg. Though the one-legged man does not show up - others come looking for the old sailor.

Soon Jim finds himself assigned as a cabin boy on a ship that has set sail for Treasure Island to seek buried treasure.

Stevenson has written many books - most of which have become classics that are still read today, including The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Kidnapped.

Stevenson, Robert Louis. (2001). Treasure Island. New York: The Modern Library.

The Catcher in the Rye

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is a book that people usually love or hate.

Holden Caulfield has just been kicked out of another boarding school. He has a couple of days left before Christmas break when he will return to his parents in shame.

But Holden does not want to wait to leave. He decides to leave early and spend a couple of days in NYC before he goes home. He does not want to arrive before the letter from the school.

I can see why this book is a classic and how the writing style - written as if Holden is talking - would appeal to teens.

Salinger, J.D. (1951). The Catcher in the Rye. New York: Little, Brown and Company.

CATCH-22

CATCH-22 by Joseph Heller is a classic worth reading. (Though to be honest I have enjoyed most of the classics I have talked myself into reading.)

Yossarian is a bombardier in the US Army. He has been at war long enough to reach the number of bombing runs required to go home - except his commanding officer keeps raising the number to keep everyone flying.

The book opens with Yossarian in the hospital. He has a pain in his liver but he does not have jaundice. He has a fever but not too high. The doctors keep monitoring him because at this point they cannot treat him. But Yossarian is not sick, he is trying to avoid the war.

Other than being ill, the only way to be grounded is to be labelled crazy. Unfortunately, due to the nature of a catch 22, if you asked to be grounded you are sane because you fear for you life and if you are crazy but flying, hey we can use all of the help we can get, it is war after all.

Heller's look at war and bureaucracy, while hilarious at times, make readers think about the war machine and wonder how any side could ever claim to have won. Heller takes a subject and twists it enough to have readers laughing out loud but thinking about the impact war has on the lives of all affected.

Heller, Joseph. (1961). Catch-22. New York: Simon & Schuster.