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Weekly Words about New Books in
Independent Bookstores
March 29, 2015
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A Trio of New Titles Tackles Timely Family Struggles
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The Harder They Come by T.C. Boyle. My wife is among those who cite Boyle's Tortilla Curtain as a revelatory read, and his 1987 novel, World's End, won the PEN/Faulkner Award. Not surprisingly, he is an indie bookseller favorite, so there is great excitement surrounding the arrival of his new book  this week. The Harder They Come explores the volatile connections between three damaged people - an aging ex-Marine and Vietnam veteran, his psychologically unstable son, and the son's paranoid, much-older lover - as they careen toward an explosive confrontation. Here's what one of his bookseller fans had to say:
"Take a nap before starting T.C. Boyle's new book, The Harder They Come. The novel addresses two difficult and timely topics: gun violence and society's treatment of the mentally ill. Parents Sten and Carolee Stenson are faced with balancing their love for their unstable adult son, Adam, and the safety of others as his behavior becomes increasingly erratic and threatening. Boyle is a masterful storyteller and this is his best book yet."
- Mamie Potter, Quail Ridge Books & Music, Raleigh, NC
After Birth by Elisa Albert. This acerbic and often funny novel about a woman's struggles with modern motherhood tackles issues of emotional exile and female friendship. It's been a year since Ari gave birth to Walker, though  it went so badly awry she has trouble calling it "birth" and still she can't locate herself in her altered universe. When Mina, a one-time cult musician - older, self-contained, alone, and nine-months pregnant - moves to town, Ari sees the possibility of a new friend, despite her unfortunate habit of generally mistrusting women. Soon they become comrades-in-arms, and the previously hostile terrain seems almost navigable.
With insight, humor, and a dose of purifying anger, Albert issues a wake-up call to a culture that turns its new mothers into exiles and often leaves them bereft of communal support.
What Comes Next and How to Like It by Abigail Thomas. This is the second memoir by Thomas, whose first - A Three Dog Life - chronicled her life after her husband was institutionalized following an accident left him brain damaged. That book described her efforts to rebuild her life in a small country town with three dogs. Now, with her beloved husband finally gone for good, Thomas writes about what comes next. What form does her lifelong platonic friendship take after a certain line is crossed? How does she cope with her daughter's  diagnosed illness, or the death of her beloved dog? Is life worth living without three cocktails before dinner? And most of all, how to accept, appreciate, and enjoy her new life?
Two writers that couldn't be more different, Stephen King and Anne Lamott, do share at least one commonality - their admiration for What Comes Next and How to Like It. King called the book "a beautifully felt, deeply moving memoir, the best work yet by a woman who has already done some of the best work in the field... Abigail Thomas is the Emily Dickinson of memoirists, and so much of this book's wisdom is between the lines and in the white spaces. It may only take you two days to read, but the impact will stay with you for a long, long time."
Lamott also weighed in with this praise - "This may be the most honest book I've ever read, by one of the most beautiful writers I know-- dizzyingly truthful, often funny, lyrical, wise."
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Not Hard to Imagine This Friendship
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The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend written and illustrated by Dan Santat. One of the hottest-selling children's books these
 days is this year's Caldecott Medal winner. The award is given to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children, and
The Adventures of Beekle certainly is deserving of the honor.
The story is charming - an imaginary friend named Beekle waits a long time to be imagined by a child and given a special name, and finally does the unimaginable - he sets out on a daunting quest to find his perfect match in the real world. In four delightful visual chapters, Santat sends his hero on an emotional
 journey looking for his human. Beekle is wonderfully imagined as well - a plucky marshmallow of a friend who is easily identifiable in Santat's mixed-media illustrations.
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COMMENTS, FEEDBACK
I always love hearing from folks, so please feel free to let me know what you're reading, make a comment, or ask a question.
Email me
anytime.
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WHERE TO FIND
AN INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORE
Many of you already have a favorite local bookstore, but for those of you without such a relationship,
this link
will take you to a list of Northern California
indie bookstores
by region.
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A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ME
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My name is Hut Landon. I'm a former bookstore owner who now runs the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association (NCIBA) in San Francisco.
My goal with this newsletter is to keep readers up to date about new books hitting the shelves, share what booksellers are recommending in their stores, and pass on occasional news about the book world.
I'm not into long, wordy reviews or literary criticism; I'd like HUT'S PLACE to be a quick, fun read for book buyers. If you have any friends who you think might like receiving this column each week, simply click on "Forward this email" below and enter their email address. There is also a box in which to add a short message.
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