Book shelf

September Books

FICTION Matrix, by Lauren Groff

A woman’s power is of ten judged by her beaut y, wealth and situation in life. Marie — awkward, too tall, illegitimate, without means, and orphaned — has none of these. Sent to the most wretched abbey England has to of fer in 1158, Marie comes to understand that a woman’s power comes from cleverness, ingenuit y, fortitude and the bond of sisterhood. In this first novel since the brilliant Fates and Furies, Grof f delivers a stor y that shakes the walls of the age-old patriarchy. The Magician, by Colm Tóibín

In a provincial German cit y at the turn of the 20th centur y, T homas Mann grows up with a conser vative father, bound by pro priet y, and a Brazilian mother, alluring and unpredictable. As a boy, Mann hides his ar tistic aspirations f rom his father and his homosexual desires f rom ever yone. He is infatuated with one of the richest, most cultured Jewish families in Munich, and marries the daughter, K atia. T hey have six children. On a holiday in Italy, he longs for a boy he sees on a beach and writes the stor y Death in Venice. He becomes the most successf ul novelist of his time, winner of the Nobel Prize for literature, a public man whose private life remains secret. In a stunning marriage of research and imagination, Tóibín explores the hear t and mind of a writer whose gif t is unparalleled, and whose life is driven by a need to belong and the ang uish of illicit desire. The Magician is an intimate, astonishingly complex por trait of Mann, his magnificent and complex wife, K atia, and the times in which they lived — World War I, the rise of Hitler, World War II, the Cold War, and exile. Cloud Cuckoo Land, by Anthony Doerr

Like the characters of Marie-L aure and Werner in Doerr’s novel All the Light We Cannot See, Anna, Omeir, Seymour, Zeno and Konstance are dreamers and outsiders who find resourcef ulness and hope in the midst of the gravest danger. Their lives are gloriously intertwined as Doerr’s dazzling imagination transports us to worlds so dramatic and immersive that we forget, for a time, our own. Dedicated to “the librarians then, now, and in the years to come,” Cloud Cuckoo L and is a beautif ul and redemptive novel about stewardship — of the book, of the Earth, of the human heart. The Santa Suit, by Mary Kay Andrews

W hen newly divorced Iv y Perkins buys an old farmhouse sight unseen, she is looking for a change in her life. The farmhouse, The Four Roses, is a labor of love, but Iv y didn’t bargain on just how much labor. The previous family lef t so much f urniture and so much junk, it’s a f ulltime job sorting through it. At the top of a closet, Iv y finds a Santa suit, beautif ully made and decades old. In the pocket is a note written in a childish hand from a little girl who has one Christmas wish, and that is for her father to return home from the war. The discover y sets Iv y of f on a mission. W ho wrote the note? Did the man ever come home? W hat mysteries did the Rose family hold? Iv y just might find more than she ever thought possible: a welcoming town, a family reunited, a myster y solved, and a second chance at love.

NONFICTION Cuba: An American History, by Ada Ferrer

Cuba’s histor y is f ull of violent conquest, invasions and militar y occupations; conspiracies against slaver y, colonialism and dictators; revolutions attempted, victorious and undone. Ferrer, a celebrated New York Universit y professor and the daughter of Cuban immigrants, brings her personal perspective to this sweeping histor y of Cuba, and its complex and intimate ties to the United States, utilizing stories from both well-known and little-known characters from Cuban histor y. She documents the enormous influence the U.S. has had on Cuba and the many ways in which Cuba is a recurring presence in U.S. histor y, beginning with its key role in the American Revolution.

Travels with George: In Search of Washington and his Legacy,

by Nathaniel Philbrick

W hen George Washington became president in 1798, the United States of America was still a loose and quarrelsome confederation and a tentative political experiment. Washington undertook a tour of the ex- Colonies to talk to ordinar y citizens about their lives and their feelings about the new government, and to imbue in them the idea of being one thing — Americans. Philbrick embarked on his own journey into what Washington called “the infant woody countr y” to see for himself what it has become in the nearly 225 years since. Writing in a thought- f ul first person about his own adventures with his travel companions (his wife and puppy), Philbrick follows Washington’s tour of America — an almost 2,000 -mile journey. The narrative moves smoothly back and forth from the 18th to 21st centuries, seeing the countr y through Washington’s eyes as well as Philbrick ’s. Written at a moment when

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www.tharringtonsmith.com 910-660-0487 America’s foundational ideals are under scrutiny, Travels with George grapples bluntly and honestly with Washington’s legacy as a man of the people, a mythical figure of the early republic, a reluctant president, and a plantation owner who held people in slaver y. Philbrick paints a picture of 18th centur y America as divided and fraught as modern America, and comes to understand how Washington, through belief, vision and sheer will, created a sense of national solidarit y that had never existed before.

CHILDR EN’S BOOKS Isobel Adds Up, by Kristy Everington

Isobel loves to solve problems. Multiplication, subtraction, addition, bring them on! But she begins to have some trouble when a new loud neighbor moves into the apartment next door. Of course, clever Isabel has a solution and maybe also a new friend. Math-loving young readers will delight in this f un new problem-solving stor y that is sure to bring on some giggles. (Ages 5-7.) Negative Cat, by Sophie Blackall

W hen a boy finally gets his long-awaited cat, things don’t go quite as expected, but sometimes it takes a bit to discover the joy that comes from being just a little outside the box. Fun for anyone who loves an animal that’s just a little unusual, and a perfect read-aloud by the Caldecott-winning illustrator Sophie Blackall. (Ages 3- 6.) Dozens of Dachshunds, by Stephanie Calmenson

Dozens of dachshunds waltz, woof and wag their way across the page and into the hearts of readers in this adorable read-aloud. L ong-haired, smooth-haired and wirehaired dachshunds alike are all dressed in costume (of course there’s a hot dog!) for the Dachshund Day parade. With a seek-and-find game and back matter on real Dachshund Day celebrations, this one’s sure to have ever yone barking for more. (Ages 3- 6.) PS Compil e d b y Kimberly Dani els Taws an d Ang i e Tally.