honest here; written in the first-person narrative, the story would have felt too close to home, and I may not have had the courage to finish this novel. A good writer knows when to take a step back in order to achieve a closer look.
Joyce's Choices by Joyce B. Wilcox
APPARENTLY, it’s now officially springtime no matter if you’re one of the snowbirds on the fly heading north or like me, if you’re one of the many winter wrens who resisted flying the coop and are basking in a Michigan heatwave of 40 degrees. Either way you can enjoy nature and have an appreciation for spring’s warm embrace of rebirth, hope, and optimistic joy. They say that hope springs eternal and for this reason hope is the theme uniting this issue’s spring book selection. You can look for hope in many ways: whether it’s hope for starting over in life; discovering the truth; righting a wrong; understanding the past; or overcoming obstacles. So, as you slip on your spring jacket, why not try on one of these book jackets for size? American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins All of the action in this novel takes place within fifty-three days throughout the months of April and May, but this story will stay with you for a lifetime. At its core, American Dirt is a novel which any parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, or sibling can relate to; it’s about a mother’s love for her eight-year-old son and the lengths she will go to in order to protect him.
Now place this mother and son in present day Acapulco surrounded by some of the best and worst that society has to offer. Suddenly horrendous events unfold forcing mother and son to attempt to flee their country any way that they can in order to escape the wrath of a vengeful and murdering drug cartel. Add to this storyline with a fluctuating group of refugees attempting and competing to make the same escape for a variety of reasons and the reader is as trapped in the story as the characters. This author is also savvy enough to give the characters a glimmer of hope to help sustain them on their arduous cross-country journey. This same hope helps the reader weather the events regardless of the outcome. Cummins is a best-selling New York Times’ author for some very good reasons. She has managed to shine the spotlight on a volatile international situation that is making headlines in today’s news while simultaneously remaining non-political. Facts and people are humanized on both sides of the issue. This novel also reaches deeply into the reader’s heart while conjuring up events which are brutal as well as compassionate; realistic as well as unimaginable; and terrorizing as well as ever hopeful. Cummins permits the readers just enough distance from the sometimes-gruesome action by her well-played literary card: writing this novel in the third person narrative. I’ll be c a n a d i a n l a ke s .o r g
Anxious People by Fredrik Backman Not only has Frederick Backman authored a one-of-a-kind-novel, but he’s also mastered this very creative technique of permitting the reader a glimpse inside of his head as he simultaneously manages to get inside of the head of his readers. This novel takes the reader along for an exciting ride as clues about a failed armed bank robbery are slowly unraveled. The story unexpectedly escalates into a hostage situation when the robber flees into an adjacent apartment building to hide out. But unbeknownst to the robber, there’s an apartment open house in progress so the group winds up being held hostage. Known for his talent for creating bizarre and troubled characters, Backman doesn’t disappoint with this unlikely band of eccentric hostages. This group of extremely strange strangers reveals their life stories during their time as hostages and once again as they’re interrogated by the police. Chaos rules the day. And don’t forget to add two bumbling officers who manage to allow the bank robber to escape hours later while the hostages are released. As noted by the author quite early in the book, “This story is about a lot of things, but mostly about idiots.” Spanning the emotional highs and lows of each character’s life, you will ride their responsive roller coaster journey along with them as you alternate between laughing out loud with shedding a few tears along the way. Fredrik Backman knows how to speak directly to you from his gut while grabbing your heart and simultaneously piquing and maintaining your interest. While entrenched in this book there were times that I actually felt the author’s presence in the adjacent chair in my living room and I had the urge to speak out loud to him. With Backman’s well placed occasional asides to the reader, I felt that he was speaking directly to me. And judging from my husband’s reaction to 37
