Nancy Pearl Book Reviews Podcast

Nancy Pearl Book Reviews for 6/27/2009

webhelp@kuow.org (KUOW 94.9 Public Radio) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 15:05:00 -0700

Perrin Ireland's novel "Chatter" is about a woman who discovers, 18 years into her marriage, that her husband has a daughter from a previous relationship. Our book reviewer Nancy Pearl says it's also about the reality of the post 9/11 world; a place where people find themselves desperate for comfort and shelter from emotional and physical traumas. Nancy spoke with KUOW's Dave Beck.

Nancy Pearl Book Reviews for 6/20/2009

webhelp@kuow.org (KUOW 94.9 Public Radio) — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 15:05:00 -0700

In her memoir, "The Sisters Antipodes," Jane Alison describes what happens to the children in the wake of a complicated family swap. It's about two couples who get divorced in order to exchange spouses. Our book critic Nancy Pearl says it's a gripping memoir marked by writing that is searing in its honesty and pain. Our book critic spoke with KUOW's Dave Beck.

Nancy Pearl Book Reviews for 6/13/2009

webhelp@kuow.org (KUOW 94.9 Public Radio) — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 15:05:00 -0700

There are no longer any topic areas off limits to women writers. That's what Elaine Showalter says in her new literary survey called "A Jury of Her Peers: American Women Writers from Anne Bradstreet to Annie Proulx." Our book critic Nancy Pearl has a review. She speaks with KUOW's Dave Beck.

Nancy Pearl Book Reviews for 6/6/2009

webhelp@kuow.org (KUOW 94.9 Public Radio) — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 15:05:00 -0700

Our book reviewer Nancy Pearl says the new novel 'The Sealed Letter' is a vivid reminder that Victorian Era England was every bit as scandalous as Clinton Era Washington DC. It's also a novel about the staggering costs of remaining true to one's beliefs. KUOW's Dave Beck speaks with author and radio librarian Nancy Pearl.

Nancy Pearl Book Reviews for 5/30/2009

webhelp@kuow.org (KUOW 94.9 Public Radio) — Sat, 30 May 2009 15:05:00 -0700

Our book reviewer Nancy Pearl shares the skeptical world view of one of her favorite authors, John LeCarre. Nancy tells us that LeCarre's latest book 'A Most Wanted Man' is especially critical of covert activities carried out in the name of national security. Nancy speaks with KUOW's Dave Beck.

Nancy Pearl Book Reviews for 5/23/09

webhelp@kuow.org (KUOW 94.9 Public Radio) — Sat, 23 May 2009 15:05:00 -0700

I was laughing pretty much all the time I was reading Terry Darlington's delightful "Narrow Dog to Indian River" (Delta, 2009). Despite their ages (70s) and the fact that it had never been done before, Terry and his wife Monica leave their home in Stone, England to take their narrowboat, Phyllis May (named for Terry's mother, who, though many years dead, sometimes reappears in odd places), on the 1,150 mile Intercoastal Waterway from Virginia down to the Gulf of Mexico, accompanied by their whippet, Jim. A narrowboat, as I learned, is also known as a canal boat; it's six feet, ten inches wide (Jim, the whippet, is about six inches wide) and 60 feet long (just imagine what it looks like!), with a top speed of 6.2 miles per hour. It's perfect for cruising the canals of Europe, but perhaps not so great for the open water that the Darlingtons will encounter on their journey. Nonetheless, the trio set out, encountering — as Terry relates in hilarious vignettes — ice storms, high seas, piranhas, chiggers, the southern phenomena of sweet tea, grits, good 'ole boys and their families and lots of that hospitality the region is known for (despite Jim's behavior at Christmas, which I'm still chuckling about). While I don't think I'm brave enough to ever reproduce the trip the Darlingtons made, reading this made me think about a) getting a whippet and b) taking a narrowboat trip through the canals in England.

When Sarah O'Rourke, the editor of a Vogue–ish monthly in Britain, takes her husband on a junket to a Nigerian resort in what she knows will likely be a futile attempt to save her marriage (futile because, in fact, she's not all that keen to), they become forever and fatally linked to the lives of two African sisters. We're pretty far into the novel before we learn what actually occurred that day on what was supposed to have been a bucolic beach. In fact, we first meet Little Bee, the youngest of the sisters, two years later after the events on the beach, when she's uneasily residing at a detention center in England. She is spooked by the past and, fearful of every encounter, always planning various ways to kill herself, should "the men" ever come near her again. The events in Nigeria, how (and why) Little Bee and Sarah reconnect in England, and what follows their reunion; form the basis of "Little Bee" (Simon & Schuster, 2009), an unforgettable novel by Chris Cleave. Cleave's writing is breathtaking and the story will, quite simply, break your heart. He moves readers effortlessly between the points of view of both women, so that we come to understand both Little Bee and Sarah's thoughts, as well as the various actions they are forced by choice and circumstance to take. Cleave's decision to make Sarah not always either totally admirable or even entirely likeable (although her actions on that beach in Nigeria seem to me to be honorable), goes a long way toward making her much more three-dimensional and real than many fictional characters seem to be. Because of the solid characterizations, the dynamite ending, and the particulars of the plot, "Little Bee" is an excellent choice for book groups.

Nancy Pearl Book Reviews for 5/16/09

webhelp@kuow.org (KUOW 94.9 Public Radio) — Sat, 16 May 2009 15:05:00 -0700

Every fiction writer not only has to bring the setting of his work to life, but must convince the reader that the story and characters make sense for that time and place. KUOW's Dave Beck spoke with Nancy Pearl.

Nancy Pearl Book Reviews for 5/9/09

webhelp@kuow.org (KUOW 94.9 Public Radio) — Sat, 09 May 2009 15:05:00 -0700

The poetic writing in Paul Harding's debut novel 'Tinkers' deserves to be read aloud. Our book critic Nancy Pearl says the short novel packs the emotional punch of books three times its length. KUOW's Dave Beck talked to Nancy about her latest reading adventures.

Nancy Pearl Book Reviews for 5/2/09

webhelp@kuow.org (KUOW 94.9 Public Radio) — Sat, 02 May 2009 15:05:00 -0700

Our book reviewer Nancy Pearl has found a new memoir that isn't about dysfunctional families, lousy childhoods, or the terrors of addiction. It's about a kid from England who discovers the joys of Dungeons and Dragons. KUOW's Dave Beck spoke with Nancy.

Nancy Pearl Book Reviews for 4/25/2009

webhelp@kuow.org (KUOW 94.9 Public Radio) — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 15:05:00 -0700

Our book reviewer Nancy Pearl says readers with a taste for exotic locales and tales of secrecy and surprise shouldn't miss the new novel "The Piano Teacher." It's set in Hong Kong in the years just after World War II. KUOW's Dave Beck speaks Nancy Pearl about her latest reading adventures.