1) Second Place by Rachel Cusk
Few, if any, recent novels has better captured the inner and outer tumult of
lives in our century. Fierce.
2) Cadillac Desert by Marc Reisner
Cadillac Desert was first published in 1986 and stands as the definitive
history of water policy in the American West. A jeremiad against
the dam happy Bureau of Reclamation, the book's full force is
only being felt now as these marvels of twentieth century
technology are being removed from Western rivers. The group think and
hubris displayed by the Bureau is the main focus of the book: not for
nothing does Reisner preface this tome with Shelley's Ozymandias.
However, unlike some environmental screeds, Cadillac Desert is a
balanced book that makes history come alive. There are memorable
portraits of such indelible figures as John Wesley Powell, William
Mulholland, and Floyd Dominy.
3) The Blithedale Romance by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Here is an old chestnut pertinent to our times. Socialistic
communes. A ménage à trois. Grifting spiritualists. Sounds like
present day Oregon to me.
4) Perspective(s) by Laurent Binet
This is an epistolary novel set in 16th century Florence which centers
on the (fictional) murder of painter Jacopo da Pontormo. The characters,
nearly all of them actual historical figures, are a who's who of Renaissance
Italy: Cosimo de' Medici, Piero Strozzi, Giorgio Vasari, Cellini, Bronzino,
Plautilla Nelli, Michelangelo, etc.. I have thoroughly enjoyed the three
previous historical novels by the resourceful French writer and
Perspective(s) proved equally memorable. Below is Pontormo's Venus
and Cupid which figures prominently in the book. Egads!
5) The Last Manager by John W. Miller This biography expertly captures the complex makeup of its subject,
Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver. Weaver was the premier
entertainer of Baltimore during my youth, just eclipsing non-baseball
fan John Waters, so one can rightly surmise that I am biased. Weaver
was not only a brilliant baseball tactician, but also a great showman. His
contretemps with the umpires enlivened many a dull game. Miller
traces the vaudevillian side of Weaver to his childhood in St. Louis where
he enjoyed the antic of the Cardinals' Gashouse Gang. Miller also ably
outlines the many years Weaver spent in the minor leagues, both as a
player and a manager, that helped mold the fiery bantam. The Last
Manager is a book as wily and compelling as its subject.
6) The Prone Gunman by Jean-Patrick Manchette
This taut 1981 noir sticks everything but the landing.
7) Dolly and the Bird of Paradise by Dorothy Dunnett
One of my favorite writers. I try to dole out my readings of her because
I'm afraid I'll run out of these treats before I expire. The book is a part of
her Johnson Johnson mystery thrillers which you could always lend
to your Aunt Minnie. More Sayers than Christie with modern trappings;
though Dunnett is way hipper than your Aunt Minnie.
8) James by Percival Everett
No doubt you've heard of this one. I did not like it as much as
Erasure, but surrendered to it the moment that the character of
Dan Emmett, author of the song Dixie, was introduced. Belongs on the
shelf with Ishmael Reed's Mumbo Jumbo, a similar treatment of
minstrelsy, cultural cross-pollination and appropriation.
9) Radetzky March by Joseph Roth
to Roth who died just before the start of World War 2. Radetzky March
traces the decline of the Austro-Hungarian Empire through three
fictional generations of military officers. I have a feeling that Emeric
Pressburger was making mental notes when he read this.
I also enjoyed:
Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin, The Brutalists by Owen Hopkins
Tecumseh and the Prophet by Peter Cozzens
The Journey of August King by John Ehle
Twisted Kicks by Tom Carson, Caravaggio by Andrew Graham-Dixon
Bing Crosby by Gary Giddins, Kudos by Rachel Cusk
Malaparte by Maurizio Serra
