The Road to Grace-Richard Paul Evans

The Road to Grace


Richard Paul Evans

Simon & Schuster, May 8 2012, $19.99

ISBN: 9781451628180



Still grieving the death of his wife McKale from a fall off a horse, widower Alan Christoffersen realized he had nothing left in Seattle. Adding to his sense of no connection was his business partner Kyle Craig stole all their clients and his home and cars were repossessed. Alan decided to walk across America to the farthest point from Washington State: Key West (see The Walk).



He has made it to Custer, South Dakota (see Miles to Go) where the one person besides his former partner that he never wants to see pleads with him to talk to her. That person is McKale’s mom, who he met once before at his wife’s funeral. Alan refuses as he considers her name on a par with Hitler for abandoning her daughter. Filled with remorse, Pamela refuses to give up on her need for forgiveness from Alan. Filled with regrets and guilt, he cannot grant to her what she covets for only her late daughter can do that and she is no longer here. However, Pamela explains she understands that but just having him forgive her would be a small step towards her redemption



The entertaining third Alan Christoffersen diaries continue the protagonist’s travels as he heads from South Dakota through Iowa to St. Louis. The people he meets (especially those overwhelmed by abject loneliness) and the places he visits brings to life these three states although at times the plot can be overly melodramatic. Still this tender tale focuses on “To err is human, to forgive divine”; but Alan is a grieving human so The Road to Grace may be one he refuses to travel.



Harriet Klausner

Aerogrammes: and Other Stories- Tania James

Aerogrammes: and Other Stories


Tania James

Knopf, May 15 2012, $24.00

ISBN: 9780307268914



“Lion and Panther in London.” In 1910 Gama the Great India wrestling champ comes to London but no one challenges him until the John Bull Tournament is arranged to crown the world champ.



"What To Do with Henry?" Retired Ohio teacher Pearl travels to Sierra Leone to bring to Canton the daughter Neneh her husband sired during one of his research trips. Henry the chimpanzee joins them.



“The Gulf.” In India she was four when her father left to work in Dubai; she is eight when a stranger insists he is her dad.



“The Scriptological Review: A Last Letter from the Editor.” Scriptological Review editor Vijay studies his father’s handwriting trying to understand his death.



“Aerogrammes.” Newcomer Hari hates Renaissance Gardens where his family dumped him but he has no options while waiting for a son who never seems to visit him until he meets demented May.



"Ethnic Ken." Ammu the tweener visits her grandfather but detests his behavior as being old fashion even as she needs her Barbie to have a Ken.



“Light & Luminous,” In India Minal the dance instructor desperately wants to win the contest, but upsets her students as she acts the diva instead of the mentoring teacher.



"Escape Key." Neet teaches creative writing near Boston. When his brother fell off a roof, he returned home to India while realizing his fiction is terrible.



"Girl Marries Ghost." Lonely Gina meets once married Hank the ghost who looks forward to marrying her so he can return to the physical world;



These are nine excellent shorts that probe the diversity of loneliness when one feels like a stranger in a strange land whether a person is home or living in a foreign land.



Harriet Klausner

The Chemistry of Tears-Peter Carey

The Chemistry of Tears


Peter Carey

Knopf, May 15 2012, $26.00

ISBN: 9780307592712



In 2010 London, Swinburne Museum Horologist Catherine Gehrig finds out her married lover of thirteen years, Head Curator of Metals, Matthew Tindall died from a heart attack. Catherine knows she must hide her grief so that her late beloved’s name is not smeared for the sake of his two sons. Her sympathetic boss Head Curator of Horology Eric “Crafty” Crofty says he will arrange the deletion of personal email using the office account and assigns to work at the Annexe so that no one in the Museum proper will notice her anguish.



He assigns her to revive an avian automaton. Catherine begins to fix the precise clockwork machine while also discovering eleven notebooks written in 1854 by the first owner, Henry Brandling; who had it built by Germans as a distraction for his son Percy suffering from consumption. Catherine finds solace in Brandling’s journals and with the automaton he had made for his child.



This is a powerful story of love and grief as a century and a half apart; two people connected by a mechanical swan mourn their losses. Rotating between Catherine’s saga and Henry’s notebooks, readers will appreciate this terrific character driven poignant tale as grieving individuals seek objects to personify their loss who they will always love.



Harriet Klausner

The Undertow-Jo Baker

The Undertow


Jo Baker

Knopf, May 15 2012, $25.95

ISBN: 9780307957092



In 1914 London, recently married William and Amelia Hastings are excited over her pregnancy though he leaves to fight in the war. William sends home postcards to his wife and baby Billy. In Malta, William has sex with a local just before dying in combat at sea. His shipmate George Sully visits Amelia with William’s last postcard. Billy distrusts Sully so he protects his mom from a man he thinks is a lowlife.



When WW II breaks out, stand out cyclist Billy goes off to fight riding a bike during the D-Day invasion. He returns from combat to marry Jewish Ruby, who has had issues with George that she hid from her spouse. Their first child Will suffers from Perthes disease and his father is unable to love him unconditionally.



Will becomes a professor, but he keeps everyone at an emotional distance includong his first wife and their daughter Billie even though he wants desperately to get close to his offspring. Instead his father has the relationship Will wants with his daughter. Though Will remarries and has a son who fights in the Afghanistan War, he struggles with showing his daughter how much he loves her and wants to be part of her life.



This is a great British family drama with a strong cast starring in each of the featured decades. The storyline focuses on the impacts of war even years after the combat is over on people at the front and at home. Fans of epic sagas will want to read the mostly twentieth century tale of the four generations of “Wills”.



Harriet Klausner

Wallflower in Bloom-Claire Cook

Wallflower in Bloom


Claire Cook

Touchstone, Jun 5 2012, $24.99

ISBN 9781451672763



Deirdre Griffin feels like a ghost when compared to her siblings. This she feel is especially true as she is at best a wilted wallflower in comparison to her charismatic brother Tag, considered the “next big thing.” As his personal assistant and house sitter Deirdre puts up with a lot, but in Austin, she abruptly quits when she feels he abuses her support of him.



When her on and off boyfriend tells her he is marrying the woman carrying his baby, Deirdre explodes as he had told her no children. Intoxicated by drinking Tag’s vodka, Deirdre uses her sibling’s humongous massive online fan base to arrange for her inclusion on Dancing with the Stars as she decides it is past time for a wallflower to bloom.



This amusing lighthearted contemporary story is a strong coming of age tale as the wallflower struggles to overcome her doubts and insecurities. The storyline is fast-paced with readers rooting for the heroine to succeed at Dancing with the Stars and in Austin with Steve the garden guru. With a nod to America’s Sweethearts, fans will enjoy the comedic yet deep look at a Wallflower in Bloom.



Harriet Klausner

The Grim-Raynetta J. Stocks

The Grim


Raynetta J. Stocks

Dog Ear Publishing, Mar 30 2012, $19.99

http://dogearpublishing.net

ISBN: 9781457509971



Jaycee Baynes misses her son Noah, but knows she is going nowhere as she is a resident of the Grim psychiatric facility. She does not remember killing her lover Tony who haunts her, but cannot recall shooting him numerous times. Jay worries about her delicate best friend Maddy at the institution and wonders whether Aaron who says he loves her will still want her as a notorious murderous lunatic.



Though he believes Jaycee does not want to mentally heal as she never cooperates, facility director Dr. Stewart assigns Dr. Tina Roarke to try to get through to her. With Tina’s help, psychotic Jaycee struggles with a need to know what happened that led to her killing Tony, but ironically she believes only Tony can help set her free.



Aptly titled, this deep character study of a mentally ill individual is an insightful tale as the reader gets inside the head of Jaycee and a close up of a psychiatric facility symbolized by the lights out bureaucratic operating procedure that metamorphic denotes lights out on hope. The action is limited, as the storyline focuses on the protagonist’s struggles to regain her mind by recovering her repressed memory of what happened on that fatal day. Readers will root for Jaycee (and Maddy) while hissing at night nurse Evelyn as life inside the Grim is grim for patients and caregivers.



Harriet Klausner

Porch Lights-Dorothea Benton Frank

Porch Lights

Dorothea Benton Frank

Morrow, Jun 12 2012, $25.99

ISBN: 9780061961298



With the death of her firefighter husband Jimmy in a blaze, army nurse Jackie McMullen returns home to Brooklyn from Afghanistan for the funeral and being there for their ten year old son Charlie. Her father Buster did not attend the funeral because her mother “Glan” who did is estranged from him. Buster visits his daughter and grandson and realizes they are in trouble. Charlie tells his mom the house is creepy without his dad. Jackie drives them to her mom’s home on Sullivan Island in South Carolina.



Glan welcomes them as she is elated to have them staying with her. When Charlie cries as he listens to his dad talk on voice mail, knowing they hurt, Glan plans to keep them occupied. She introduces her family to her new neighbor widower Dr. Steven Ploffer and his two dogs. Jackie notices her mom is attracted to the younger man who seems interested in her instead though the widow has no plans of reciprocating his feelings. Steven hires Charlie to walk his dogs. Glan offers Jackie rooms at her house, but her daughter plans to accept a job at the VA hospital in Brooklyn. Buster arrives and is great with Charlie who insists he wants to stay here. As a storm hits, Charlie runs away.



This is a warm tale of healing as the solid ensemble cast each grieves in their own way. The rotating perspective between the grandmother and her daughter deftly enhances the relationship family drama. Although there is no action until late and we never learn why Buster left his wife years ago, fans will enjoy returning to Dorothea Benton Frank’s Lowcountry (see Folly Beach and Sullivan’s Island).



Harriet Klausner