Recent Reads I Recommend

"The Night Watchman" by Louise Erdrich, HarperCollins--Native American Literature/Literary Fiction (2020).  Erdrich's ability to tell a maddening, heartbreaking story (the federal government's culturally mindless, racist efforts to terminate the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa in North Dakota in the 1950s) with such love, wit, humor and grace that the reader is more interested in the lives of her wonderful characters, like Thomas Wazhashk (the night watchman and tribal chairman created in the image of Erdrich's grandfather), his wife Rose,  and Patrice Parenteau (among many others) than in the author's incisive political and cultural messages.  I highly recommend this book. 

"The River" by Peter Heller, Vintage--Wilderness Thriller/Sea Adventures Fiction (2019).  This is a good read by a writer who's more adept at describing white water canoeing in the northern Canadian wilderness than creating suspenseful situations and dialogue.  Nonetheless, I enjoyed this story of two college friends, opposites in every way except for their love of the outdoors, who didn't expect to encounter a raging forest fire or domestic violence on their summer adventure.  I feared the worst, and . . .  . 

"Ordinary Grace" by William Kent Krueger, Atria Books--Historical Mystery/Coming of Age Fiction (2013).  I've read (and enjoyed) several of Krueger's Cork O'Connor crime novels but think this book is his best.  Set in a fictional town (reminds me of New Ulm) in Southern Minnesota in the early 1960s, Ordinary Grace showcases Krueger's gifts as a storyteller as his protagonist, a precocious thirteen-year-old boy, deals with a lifetime of tragedies in one transformative summer.  Weaving the innocence and hopefulness of the time before assassinations and Vietnam into a story that also delves into racism (especially towards Native Americans) and domestic violence, the author tells the tale through the eyes of young Frank Drum but looking back on events forty years later.   Many of the characters are intentionally stereotypes with the notable exceptions of Frank's minister father, dissatisfied mother and stuttering, prophetic, moral compass of a little brother (reminded me of Owen Meany).  For me, this was a nostalgic, pleasurable read and might be somewhat autobiographical (or not).

"Before the Fall" by Noah Hawley, Grand Central Publishing--Political Thrillers & Suspense (2016).  I was curious about the writing ability of Mr. Hawley, whom I knew as the writer/producer of the engaging and sometimes bizarre Fargo television series on FX.  The crash of a private jet in bad weather is the starting point and draw of his novel, but investigating the cause of the crash (two unlikely survivors out of eleven passengers) has very little to do with a story about human nature, the evil that can be perpetrated by the media and the randomness of fate.  Hawley's an excellent writer, and I recommend this book for the depth and intrigue of the story, though it's certainly not a thriller.

"Virgil Wander" by Leif Enger, Grove Press (2018).  Like a lot of readers, I loved "Peace Like a River" and, when I heard Enger's new story took place on the North Shore of Lake Superior, I couldn't wait to get it.  Big disappointment.  I list it here in case I missed something.  There's nothing in the book that remotely resembles the North Shore, and when all the characters are quirky, no one is quirky.  He tries to bring Lake Wobegon's charm to Lake Superior, but it doesn't work for me.  Virgil should have drowned in the lake.   Then it could have been a mystery.

"A Pilgrimage to Eternity:  From Canterbury to Rome in Search of Faith" by Timothy Egan, Viking--General History of Religion/Travel (2019).  The Pulitzer-prize winning New York Times journalist is a little full of himself, but he probably deserves to be.  Egan chronicles a thousand-mile journey (almost entirely on foot) on the historic Via Francigena, the medieval road starting in England and winding through sacred sites (cathedrals, shrines, monasteries, cemeteries) in France and Switzerland before ending in Rome.  Though raised Catholic, he is clearly an agnostic before and after the journey, and the book is more religious history lesson and travelogue than a return to faith.  Nonetheless he's a skilled writer and I highly recommend the read.

"A Separation" by Katie Kitamura, Riverhead Books--Psychological Thriller (2017). Ms. Kitamura has a sparse, unique style that I enjoyed. The narrator's estranged husband disappears in Greece, and she goes there to ascertain his fate. Not much happens in the book but the writing compels the reader to find out more about the village, the hotel, the other woman and the unnamed narrator. Is what we ultimately learn worth the ride? You tell me..

“Blacktop Wasteland” by S. A. Cosby, Flatiron Books—Black & African American Mystery, Thriller & Suspense (2020). This guy can really write—unique and riveting. Strongest recommendation.

Favorite Books and Authors

"Angle of Repose" by Wallace Stegner, Vintage Reprint Edition--Classic American Literature (1971--Pulitzer Prize)

"A Land More Kind than Home" by Wally Cash, William Morrow--Small Town & Rural Fiction (2013)

"This House of Sky" by Ivan Doig, Mariner Books--Western U.S. biographies (1980)

"A Man Called Ove" by Fredrik Backman, Washington Square Press--Humorous Fiction (2013)

"The Story of Edgar Sawtelle" by David Wroblewski, HarperCollins--Coming of Age/Family Saga (2008)

"The Stand" by Stephen King, Doubleday--Dark Fantasy/Post-apocalyptic (1978)

"Ghost Story" by Peter Straub, Coward, McCann & Geoghegan--Horror Fiction (1979)

"Canada" by Richard Ford, Ecco Press--Crime Action & Adventure/Rural Fiction (2012)

"Montana 1948" by Larry Watson, Milkweed Editions--Western Coming of Age/Native American Fiction (1993)

"A Thousand Acres" by Jane Smiley, Alfred A. Knopf--Domestic Realism (1991--Pulitzer Prize)

"Peace Like a River" by Leif Enger, Atlantic Monthly Press--Family Saga Fiction (2002)

"Atonement" by Ian McEwan, Anchor Books--Psychological Fiction (2003)

"Being Mortal:  Medicine and What Matters in the End" by Atul Gawande, Metropolitan Books--Hospice Care /Sociology of Death/Health Policy

"Presumed Innocent" by Scott Turow, Farrar, Straus & Giroux--Legal Thriller (1986)

"Dalva" by Jim Harrison, Dutton--Native American Fiction/Family Saga (1988)

"Lonesome Dove" by Larry McMurtry, Simon & Schuster--Western Adventure /Historical Fiction (1985)

"Saint Mudd:  A Novel of Gangsters and Saints" by Steve Thayer (originally self-published), Viking--Mystery (1991)

Mystery/Detective series by Martha Grimes (Richard Jury), John Sandford (Lucas Davenport), William Kent Krueger (Cork O'Connor), P. D. James (Adam Dalgliesh) and Margaret Truman.