The March Staff Picks can also be viewed or printed as a PDF
Staff Picks March 2015 (2MB)
Staff Picks March 2015 (2MB)
MARCH FEATURE
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara.
I think about this book every day,
it is so deeply affecting, the characters are
so memorable, the writing is so courageous.
But grab hold of your seat because
it will take you to deep dark places that
you may never have traveled to before.
~ Liz Barnum
This novel explores friendship at its most tragic and its most uplifting. Yanagihara's story is deeply woven into the lives of four men. Without cloaking despair, the author illuminates how deeply transformative friendship can be. ~ Becki Trudell
The characters in this utterly devastating novel about unspeakable suffering, loyalty, and love will insert themselves into your heart, perhaps for a lifetime. This is a novel to be discussed, wept over, celebrated. ~ Amy Palmer
FICTION
NEW PAPERBACK
City of Blood
by Frederique Molay. Human remains
are discovered during the excavation of a famous conceptual artist's
work at a Paris Museum Park. Meanwhile, the "Paris Butcher"
murders two men in rapid succession. Police Chief Sirsky thinks
the cases may be related. Exciting. ~ Reviewed by Sarah Knight
Someone
by Alice McDermott. A flawless
rendering of the ordinary life of Marie, the daughter
of "lace-curtain" immigrants, whose simple yet
profound life is revealed in snippets of reflection - sitting with girl
friends watching stick ball on the stoops of Brooklyn, employment
in Fagin's funeral parlor, near death in childbirth
- as sister, wife and mother. ~ Reviewed by Amy Palmer
Redeployment
by Phil Klay. Through these stories about
the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the author shows the reader a
world of confusion, absurdity, violence and isolation. The collection
includes views from inside the combat, behind the desks,
and between the worlds of civilian and military life. Nothing is
ever simple in these devastating and brilliantly
written stories. ~ Reviewed by Stan Hynds 
The Painter
by Peter Heller. A novel by the author of The
Dog Stars. The value of his work soars after a popular Santa Fe artist,
who spends as much time fishing as he does painting, becomes a
murder suspect. The family of the victim is trying to kill him, while
the ghosts of his heartbreaking and violent past continue to haunt
him. ~ Reviewed by Stan Hynds
Our Endless Numbered Days
by Claire Fuller. A decidedly
dark and uneasy journey narrated in the voice of eight year old
Peggy Hillcoat. Leaving London with her survivalist father, Peggy
believes she is being taken on a camping holiday, but deep into
the forest she is told the world has ended and her
mother gone. A haunting and accomplished debut. ~ Reviewed by Nancy Scheemaker
Mayhem
by Sarah Pinborough. When headless female torsos
turn up in the Thames, Scotland Yard's renowned Dr. Bond is asked
to investigate. During his investigation, he encounters a bizarre
priest with an unbelievable story. Is the priest delusional or is he a
figment of one of Bond's opiate induced dreams? ~ Reviewed by Jennifer Canfield
One More Thing
by B. J. Novak. A blind date with a warlord,
a principal who strikes "rithmetic" from the school curriculum,
and Aesop's tortoise challenging the hare to a rematch are a few of
the topics considered in this very funny collection. ~ Reviewed by Amy Palmer
NEW HARDCOVER
The Buried Giant by Kuzuo Ishiguro. This is an unorthodox Arthurian tale written in the landscape
of the imagination in the author's exquisite language. Ishiguro's
knights and princesses are wise and unruly. A timeless story
for the ages. ~ Reviewed by Maeve Noonan NONFICTION
NEW
H Is for Hawk by Helen Mcdonald. This is a
superbly crafted
memoir, incredibly
original in its
depth and visceral
impact. Self deprecating
humor vies
with wonder and grief as Macdonald
manages to make the reader see, hear
and feel every aspect of her incredible
journey. ~ Karen Frank
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari. This brilliant
book allows the
reader to look
at the history
of man from the Space Station of
the Mind. The arrow of evolution
is revealed in clear, readable and
fascinating detail and, if enough
people read it, there is hope for the
continuation of the species. ~ Karen Frank
poetry
Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine. This
book addresses the
subject of racism in
America from personal
and political
perspectives. Rankine
writes honestly, spares nothing,
and gives us a brilliant, beautiful book
of poetry. ~ Reviewed by Carol Graser
OLD FAVORITE
The Little Drummer Girl by John Le Carre. A young unemployed
British actress
is hired by the Israelis
to set up a Palestinian
terrorist in this novel
of trust and betrayal,
which is as good and
timely an espionage novel as when it came
out in 1983. Wonderful characters and
marvelous writing. ~ Reviewed by Sarah Knight
HARDCOVER
Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson. The torpedoing
of the Lusitania
was considered
an act of unparalleled
barbarism in
1915, but whispers that the great
liner was deliberately left vulnerable
in dangerous waters have
never completely abated. This is a
thorough examination of a disaster
that claimed 1,200 lives and an intelligent
evaluation of the questions
that surrounded it. ~ Reviewed by Alden Graves
The Cabot Creamery Cookbook by Cabot Creamery Co-op. The
Cabot Creamery
(owned by dairy farm families in
New York and New England) has
finally blessed us with a cookbook!
With recipes for every meal this is a
true "down on the farm" cookbook
sure to please even the most discriminating
palate. ~ Reviewed by Sarah Donner
The Greatest Knight: The Remarkable Life of William Marshal, the Power Behind Five English Thrones by Thomas Asbridge. This book chronicles the
life of William Marshal, Earl of
Pembroke, nearly hanged at age 5,
who was thought to have been the
model for the "ideal" knight. He was
a wealthy and politically powerful
man, proponent of the Magna Carta,
and Earl and Templar. ~ Reviewed by Maeve Noonan
The Wilderness of Ruin by Roseanne Montillo. This
compelling true
story follows the
life of Jesse Pomeroy,
a 14-year-old
boy who became the youngest
convicted serial killer in the nation's
history. Ms. Montillo contrasts
the compassion that was extended
towards the child with his steadfast
(and lifelong) refusal to recognize
the savagery of his actions. ~ Reviewed by Alden Graves