May 9, 2013
Hi
In this issue of BookBrowse Highlights we review A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra and go "beyond the book" to explore the 2004 Tsunami - the backstory to Sonali Deraniyagala's Wave.
We also feature four books that our members have been reading recently for First Impressions; and have copies of The Pigeon Pie Mystery to give away.
Best regards,
Davina,
BookBrowse Editor
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Readers Recommend
Each month we give away books to members to read and review (or discuss). Members who choose to take part tend to receive a free book about every three months. Here are their opinions on four recently published books:  The Laws of Gravity by Liz Rosenberg
Publisher: Amazon Publishing
Publication Date: 05/07/2013 Novels, Number of reader reviews: 19 Readers' consensus:  BookBrowse Members Say
" The Laws of Gravity is a heart-wrenching tale that will capture you from word one. On one side a young mother trying to stay alive and on the other a relative trying to do what he thinks is right for his family...If you like Jodi Picoult, this one is definitely for you." - Darshell S. (Warwick, RI)
"This book is a real tear jerker but it has an important message...The book will touch your heart. I recommend you run...not walk...to the nearest bookstore to purchase it." - Colleen L. (Casco, ME) "This was a beautifully written and incredibly sad novel that was thought-provoking & would be a perfect novel for book clubs. The strong story line & well-developed characters made it a book that I read almost at one sitting...Overall, a winning & insightful book - just make sure you have a box of tissues handy. You'll need them." - Cynthia C. (Peekskill, NY) "This is truly a beautiful story about family. It would be a good book for a book club to read, as it is bound to lead to a lot of discussion." - Donna W. (Wauwatosa, WI). Above are 4 of the 19 reviews for this book. Read all the Reviews Buy at Amazon
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Readers Recommend
 A Dual Inheritance
by Joanna Hershon
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: 05/07/2013
Novel, 496 pages
Number of reader reviews: 17
Readers' consensus: 
BookBrowse Members Say
"This book traces the lives and families of two extremely different men who become friends as undergraduates. One is born into wealth and establishment - but wants to save third world countries. The other is born poor and Jewish - and wants to make a fortune. The author does an outstanding job of portraying, with great clarity, all aspects and intricacies of these two lives." - Ann J. (Brenham, TX)
"I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It keeps ones interest and also raises many questions about love, family loyalty moral decisions and the power of money. The characters are well drawn and believable. The themes and plot are universal and would appeal to both men and women." - Margaret M. (Venice, FL)
"It was funny and sad and very well written. I also enjoyed the different foreign settings." - Sheila S. (Supply, NC).
"I really enjoyed reading about two different families and how they were connected. I think it would be a great book club book as there are a number of characters with different personalities to discuss, plus it's a great book with a great story." - Tracey S.
Above are 4 of the 17 reviews for this book
Read all the Reviews
Buy at Amazon
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Readers Recommend
The Jericho Deception
by Jeffrey Small
Publisher: West Hills Press
Publication Date: 05/02/2013
Thriller, 396 pages
Number of reader reviews: 22
Readers' consensus:
BookBrowse Members Say
"A multi-faceted novel about the discovery of a way to turn on the God Spot in the brain and how that discovery becomes a military tool for brainwashing people. The book is fast paced and the characterizations are vivid. It had me guessing right up to the last page, with a possible hint of a sequel. I can definitely see this as an action film." - Mary R. (San Jose, CA)
"This fantastic novel will have your brain working overtime; Jeffrey Small's writing reminds me of Dan Brown with all the intrigue, the thrills and surprising conclusion. It is perfectly balanced and fast paced." - Jeanette L. (Marietta, GA)
"I loved this book. It was a fascinating subject about the possibility of producing religious visions and ecstasy and as in all good thrillers the misuse of this knowledge. I had been looking for a 'can't put down read' and this was it." - Kathy M. (Neptune Beach, FL)
"An exciting story of intrigue, love, and violence. I look forward to reading Mr. Small's debut novel The Breath of God." - Jim S. (Austin, TX)
"An interesting, thoughtful storyline full of action and deeper insights into who we are, what we believe and how we are all linked together." - Angela S. (Hartland, MI).
Above are 5 of the 22 reviews for this book.
Read all the Reviews
Buy at Amazon
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Readers Recommend
 Peking to Paris: Life and Love on a Short Drive Around Half the World by Dina Bennett
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
Publication Date: 05/01/2013
Memoir/Travel, 276 pages
Number of reader reviews: 19
Readers' consensus:
BookBrowse Members Say
"An engaging tale of an almost 8,000 mile car rally in 2007 across China, Mongolia, Siberia, and on to Paris. Dina Bennett, the author, couldn't be more different from her older French husband: he's a confident, experienced driver, she's a self-doubting, carsick worrier. How these two manage this adventure makes a great read." - Susan J. (Twain Harte, CA)
"I do so wish I had the nerve to do what Dina Bennett did when she went from Paris to Peking as the navigator for a road race with her husband......she and I would be good friends, I think, as we have one foot in the 'want-to' and the other foot in 'oh, no - I can't do that.' What an adventure for all involved!" - Deb Y. (Blanco, TX)
"If you have ever wondered what it would be like to be in a classic car with your husband for 30 days racing half way around the world, this is the book for you! Funny, scary and highly entertaining." - Anna R. (Oak Ridge, TN)
"A marvelous, descriptive guide to places in the world I won't see anytime soon." - Judith G. (Ewa Beach, HI)
"Part travelog, part exploration of human relationships, and part history lesson. A very well written book." - Donna W. (Wauwatosa, WI).
Above are 5 of the 19 reviews for this book.
Read all the Reviews
Buy at Amazon
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Featured Review
Below is part of BookBrowse's review of
A Constellation of Vital Phenomena.
Read the review and backstory in full here  A Constellation of Vital Phenomena
by Anthony Marra
Hardcover (May 2013), 400 pages. Publisher: Hogarth Books ISBN 9780770436407 BookBrowse Rating:  Critics' Consensus: Review: Anthony Marra's debut novel A Constellation of Vital Phenomena is set in 2004 in war-torn Chechnya. As the story opens, village physician Akhmed is trying to get his eight-year-old neighbor Havaa to safety after her father has been "disappeared" by Russian soldiers, who have also burned her home to the ground and are actively looking for her. He decides to take the girl to a nearby hospital, where he hopes the only surgeon in attendance, Sonja Rabina, will be able to hide and protect her. As the novel proceeds we learn these characters' backstories as well as those of others with whom their lives intersect, and how all have been traumatically impacted by living in a war zone. Marra weaves a wonderfully complex tale around these characters that abounds with old secrets and unexpected convergences. As I started writing this review I got online to see what other books Marra had written, and I was surprised to discover that this is his first. The writing is astonishingly good and that it's from the pen of a new novelist makes it that much more extraordinary. His prose is beautifully descriptive and atmospheric, creating detailed scenes that convincingly relay life in a war zone without bogging down the plot:
The forest rose around them, tall skeletal birches, gray coils of bark unraveling from the trunks. They walked on the side of the road, where frozen undergrowth expanded across the gravel. Here, beyond the trails of tank treads, the chances of stepping on a land mine diminished. Still he watched for rises in the frost. He walked a few meters ahead of the girl, just in case. The author also has an outstanding talent for writing dialog. Each character's voice is distinctive as he or she interacts with the others in the novel. Sometimes the conversations are playful, sometimes regretful, sometimes confessional - but they all ring true. The banter between Akhmed, Sonja and her nurse Deshi in particular provide some of the lighter moments in the book.
Marra's forte may very well be his ability to create characters his readers really come to care about. Every one of them, from the lowliest guard up, is drawn in detail but with a minimum of words - at times it feels we have learned all there is to know of a character in just a few sentences. He even leads his readers to understand and sympathize with the book's most unsavory character, something that is extraordinarily difficult to do.
The novel ends on a note of hope and a promise of better things to come for some of those whose stories we have learned, but for the most part it's a pretty tragic book. Not one of the characters has had a pain-free life; horrible things have happened to each of them, and it's heartbreaking reading. There's so much suffering expressed in these pages that to be frank I found it challenging to finish. I was glad that I did see it through - it's one of the most memorable and well-written books I've come across in a long time - but it was not an easy read.
In short, A Constellation of Vital Phenomena has it all - wonderful writing, a moving, believable plot, and three-dimensional characters one comes to love. Marra is a gifted writer, and his debut is enormously impressive. Reviewed by Kim Kovacs Above is part of BookBrowse's review of
A Constellation of Vital Phenomena. Read the review in full here Browse the book
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Beyond the Book
At BookBrowse, we don't just review books, we go 'beyond the book' to explore interesting aspects relating to the story.
BookBrowse Rating:
Critics' Consensus:
Memoir, Hardcover (Mar 2013), 240 pages
The 2004 Tsunami and Effects on Sri Lanka
Wave is not a linear account of the tsunami, and because the author's stark focus is internal, the disaster and events in the months and years that followed, are often hazy. Because of this, it's worth taking a look at the magnitude and nature of the tsunami the author survived.
A tsunami is a series of giant waves caused either by an earthquake or a volcanic eruption under the sea. Either of these phenomena leads to water displacement which in turn churns large quantities of water into massive waves. A tsunami is not just one wave but a series of walls of water minutes or even up to an hour apart.
The 2004 tsunami, which caused widespread destruction, was triggered by a massive earthquake of magnitude 9.0 just off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The two tectonic plates which triggered the earthquake were the Burma and India plates. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, this earthquake released the energy of 23,000 Hiroshima-type atomic bombs. By the end of the day (December 26), more than 150,000 people were dead or missing across 11 countries and millions more were rendered homeless. The tsunami is estimated to have taken close to 230,000 lives. Indonesia, especially the region of Aceh, was the hardest hit with an estimated toll of 170,000.
The author, a native of Sri Lanka, was vacationing there, when the tsunami hit. According to a United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security report, it took two hours for the wave to hit the coast of Sri Lanka, where it reached a height of about 20 feet. In 2004, Sri Lanka had no tsunami warning system in place and, "...had no living memory of a tsunami," arriving to a "population completely unaware and unprepared." The tsunami affected 57.4% of Sri Lanka's total population, leaving, "35,000 dead and over a million displaced, some 150,000 without jobs, over 100,000 houses destroyed and a reconstruction bill of over $3 billion."
Recovery efforts in the country were complicated by an ongoing civil war and clashing interests from competing ethnic groups. Nevertheless Sri Lanka is coming back and the country is enjoying a resurgence in tourism.
Tsunami map picture from Worldatlas.com
Reviewed by Jo Perry
Above is backstory to BookBrowse's review of
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Win
The Pigeon Pie Mystery
by Julia Stuart
Publication Date: May 2013
Enter the Giveaway
From the Jacket
When Indian Princess Alexandrina is left penniless by the sudden death of her father, the Maharaja of Brindor, Queen Victoria grants her a grace-and-favor home in Hampton Court Palace. Though rumored to be haunted, Alexandrina and her lady's maid, Pooki, have no choice but to take the Queen up on her offer.
Aside from the ghost sightings, Hampton Court doesn't seem so bad. The princess is soon befriended by three eccentric widows who invite her to a picnic with all the palace's inhabitants, for which Pooki bakes a pigeon pie. But when General-Major Bagshot dies after eating said pie, and the coroner finds traces of arsenic in his body, Pooki becomes the #1 suspect in a murder investigation.
Princess Alexandrina isn't about to let her faithful servant hang. She begins an investigation of her own, and discovers that Hampton Court isn't such a safe place to live after all.
With her trademark wit and charm, Julia Stuart introduces us to an outstanding cast of lovable oddballs, from the palace maze-keeper to the unconventional Lady Beatrice (who likes to dress up as a toucan - don't ask), as she guides us through the many delightful twists and turns in this fun and quirky murder mystery. Everyone is hiding a secret of the heart, and even Alexandrina may not realize when she's caught in a maze of love.
Reviews:
"Stuart combines vivid historical detail, layers of intrigue, and plenty of humor in this intelligent mystery that will appeal to Agatha Christie fans as well as those who enjoy G. M. Malliet and C. S. Challinor." - Booklist
5 people will each win a paperback copy of
The Pigeon Pie Mystery.
This giveaway is open to residents of the USA only, unless you are a BookBrowse member, in which case you are eligible to win wherever you might live.
Enter the giveaway here
Past Winners
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The Comfort of Lies opens May 21
In The Shadow of the Banyan opens Jun 3
The Execution of Noa P. Singleton opens Jun 10
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Featured Reading:
Central Asia
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Author Interviews
Ira Byock explains the philosophy behind palliative care and how, in many ways, it is a solution to the needless suffering many Americans experience before death.
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Lyndsay Faye discusses her latest book, Gods of Gotham, and the difficulties in creating such a vivid description of New York in 1845.
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Wordplay
Solve this clue "I I M B T
Give T T R" and be entered to win the book of your choice Entry & DetailsAll winners are contacted by email. View list |
Answer to the Last Wordplay
H F T Best A P F T W Hope for the best and prepare for the worst Meaning: Be optimistic but also be prepared for all possibilities Background: In or around 46 BC, Cicero wrote to a friend saying, "you must hope for the best"; but the first known use of the full expression is in The Tragedie of Gorbuduc by Thomas Norton and Thomas Sackville in 1561 which was performed by the Gentlemen of the Inner Temple before Queen Elizabeth in 1562. It is believed that Norton wrote the first three acts and Sackville the last two. It is believed to be the first tragedy written in English and the first full length play composed in blank verse. continued
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News
May 07 2013:
The US Senate have passed the Marketplace Fairness Act, requiring "remote" retailers with out-of-state sales of at least $1 million to collect applicable state and local sales tax on all purchases. The bill now goes to the House of Representatives... (more)
May 01 2013:
Following a pilot project, Hachette has announced that it will make its full catalogue available to libraries to lend in e-book form. ...(more)
May 01 2013:
The first major book on the Tsarnaev brothers, the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings, will be published by Riverhead Books and written by the Russian-American journalist Masha Gessen, the author of "The Man Without a Face," a biography of Vladimir Putin. Ms. Gessen is well qualified to...(more)
May 01 2013:
Three authors have filed suit against self-publishing service provider Author Solutions, and its parent company Penguin, airing a laundry list of complaints and alleging the company is not a publisher so much as a "vanity press."...(more)
Apr 30 2013:
Workers in two Amazon facilities in Germany--in Leipzig and Bad Hersfeld - have voted to authorize a strike that could begin within three weeks...(more)
Read these news stories, and many others, in full
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