In celebration of National Library Week, we issue an Ex Libris full of staff favorites. Our goal is to showcase Raynor Memorial Libraries’ Browsing Collection and to identify a broad range of contemporary fiction and nonfiction for the general reader. In addition to staff choices, we selected two books by faculty members and some recent prizewinners. All readers in the Marquette community are invited to suggest books, or better, to write a brief review for Ex Libris. If you missed an alert, earlier issues of Ex Libris are available online.
Clicking on the title or cover image will take you to the book's MARQCAT record; please note locations carefully as items may be in the Browsing Collection (Raynor 1st level) or in the Memorial stacks. Books that are checked out may be reserved by clicking on the blue recall/hold button at the top or bottom of the MARQCAT record.
Ivan Doig (Harcourt, 2006)
In 1910, Halley’s Comet came. This is a story about that year in the life of one family and a one-room school in a tiny community in Montana. Paul Milliron, now an adult, narrates the events beginning with his mother’s death. The family hires a housekeeper, Rose, to help out; she provides some surprises in her own right, but the scholarly brother who comes with her is the big one. Through happenstance, her brother Morrie becomes the schoolteacher. And though he is an accidental teacher, Morrie successfully engages his students, especially Paul, who is an exceptional student. Paul relates one incident after another in the lives of the school and his family; from ridiculous (a horse race with the school bully), to calamitous (a serious injury to Paul’s little brother), frightening (the bully’s father), and simply ordinary (using the comet in the school curriculum). The obvious happy ending for Rose and Paul’s father is there, but the puzzle of who Rose and Morrie really are leads to some accelerated growing up for Paul. Doig’s writing is to be savored: he’s a real storyteller, and he uses the English language to its fullest in describing the landscape, the people, and the events of this special year.
Recommended by Valerie Beech, Business Reference Librarian
Richard Stark (Mysterious Press, 2006)
Feel like taking a walk on the wild side? When master mystery author Donald Westlake writes as Richard Stark, you know he'll be talking about Parker, the professional thief and dispassionate hard guy whose exploits he's been chronicling for over 30 years. In Ask the Parrot, we pick up right from the end of Nobody Runs Forever, when Parker's running from the police and their dogs after a job gone wrong. He bumps into Lindahl, a man with a gun, a hideout – and a proposition. Parker's willing to hear him out. After all, Lindahl's the only game in town. Soon, Parker's out with a posse--hunting for...Parker! This doesn't go so well, either. And, with Lindahl, he's plotting another heist. But this one has its own complications, and Parker has never been so exposed. Morally ambiguous because Stark makes you want Parker to win, this classic noir series continues to get better and better. A bit of Westlake's trademark dark humor creeps in here with the parrot, who chooses a bad time to start talking.
Recommended by Bill Gagliani, Stacks Supervisor
Sara Gruen (Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2006)
This is the charming story of Jacob Jankowski, a still-feisty nursing home resident at age 90 (or maybe 93, his memory is a little fuzzy). Because of overwhelming family circumstances, Jacob drops out of Cornell’s veterinary school just before graduation and in the midst of the Great Depression. Penniless, he hops a train and finds himself part of the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. The colorful cast of characters includes the unscrupulous manager, Uncle Al; the star of the equestrian act, Marlena; a dwarf named Kinko; and Rosie, an elephant of uncertain credentials, but possibly the salvation of the hardscrabble outfit. According to her endnotes, the author immersed herself in circus archives and she included an archival photo with each chapter. The circus and animal stories are so rich, the reader has to keep reminding himself that it’s only a story. This novel has Atmosphere with a capital A—gritty and heartwarming at the same time.
Recommended by Susan Hopwood, Outreach Librarian
Joe Hill (William Morrow, 2007)
From the moment aging Ozzy Osbourne-style rocker Judas Coyne is tricked into adding one more item to his collection of bizarre artifacts, he is faced with danger from beyond the grave. What he buys on an Internet auction site is a supposedly ghost-bearing "dead man's suit" that comes packed in a heart-shaped box. Unfortunately, the ghost is real and he seems to be seeking vengeance for the way Jude neglected a troubled girlfriend who then committed suicide. But there's more to it than that as the ghost threatens to wreak his revenge by killing first everyone around Jude, and then Jude himself. Accompanied by current girlfriend Marybeth and a pair of very loyal dogs, Jude embarks on a desperate cross-country road trip to unlock some deep secrets, many of them his own, and the destination will surprise you as it surprises him. This first novel by the author of the collection 20th Century Ghosts crackles with supernatural energy and the moving character study of a man whose life as a rock star has almost leached away his humanity. Joe Hill proves his talent. Oh, and you might have heard of his dad... goes by the name of King, Stephen King.
Recommended by Bill Gagliani, Stacks Supervisor
Special Topics in Calamity Physics
Marisha Pessl (Viking, 2006)
This is an astonishing and edgy debut novel by a 28-year-old author. The quirky narrator is brainy adolescent Blue van Meer, whose life has consisted of being frequently moved all over the U.S. by her widowed, college professor father. In her senior year of high school, she finds herself at an elite private school with a privileged group of “blue bloods” and befriended by an enigmatic film teacher, Hannah Schneider. Blue’s life has revolved around voracious reading and she footnotes her every observation (amounting to thousands of references to books and movies), along with school-girlish drawings. The novel itself is a 30+ chapter survey of great literature, each chapter inspired and dedicated to a separate classic from “Othello” to “Women in Love” and “One Hundred Years of Solitude.” As she prepares her application to Harvard, Blue’s story descends into a darker tale of intrigue and murder, into which she plunges with analytical matter-of-factness. For an introduction, take a look at the book’s Web site.
Recommended by Susan Hopwood, Outreach Librarian
Irène Némirovsky, translated by Sandra Smith (Knopf, 2006)
The true story that surrounds Suite Française is as gripping as this extraordinary novel itself. The author was a Jewish Russian immigrant who fled the Bolsheviks as a teenager and settled in France. A gifted, popular novelist prior to writing Suite Française in 1941-42, Némirovsky planned a 5 part series. The first 2 parts, “Storm in June” and “Dolce,” comprise Suite Française, but tragically, she perished in Auschwitz before completing the ambitious project. Her daughters survived Auschwitz and retained the manuscript, which was published 64 years later. What Némirovsky left behind is a masterpiece--a tragic, rich, and startlingly personal account of the French experience during the German occupation. “Storm in June” tells the story, from various viewpoints, of the experience of fleeing Paris as the German army advanced. “Dolce” focuses on the relationships within a small village outside of Paris during the occupation. Suite Française, uniquely French and compellingly real, is not to be missed.
Leslie Quade, Bindery Preparation Supervisor, Serials Department
Flower Confidential: The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful in the Business of Flowers
Amy Stewart (Algonquin Books, 2006)
Celebrate spring by adding Flower Confidential to your reading list. The book is full of fascinating facts about the $40 billion cut flower industry and Stewart effectively contrasts the simple beauty of a flower with the complexities of the flower business. She delights the reader with the magnificent “Esperance” tri-color rose that fades from pink, to white to pale green with a flower nearly the size of a baseball, yet reveals that most commercially available roses no longer have a scent since scent adversely affects vase life. Stewart brings the reader along on her travels to Sun Valley Floral Farms, the largest cut flower producer in the U.S.; the Dutch flower auction; the flower trade show in Latin America; Miami International Airport, the hub for floral imports where forty flights carrying Valentine roses arrive daily from Columbia as February 14th nears; a small flower kiosk in Santa Cruz, California, and more. The reader learns that 80% of the cut flowers purchased in the U.S. are imported primarily from South America, a phenomenon largely driven by consumer demands for low prices and the desire to have their favorite flowers available regardless of season. While Stewart exposes the business side of flowers, her passion for blossoms remains evident, making this a very interesting and enjoyable reading experience.
Recommended by Jean Zanoni, Head, Bibliographic Control
The Varieties of Scientific Experience: A Personal View of the Search for God
Carl Sagan (Penguin Press, 2006)
Here is an addition to the abundant debate between religion and science. Carl Sagan (1934-1996) delivered his contributions to the prestigious Gifford Lectures on natural theology in 1985 and his widow recently found and edited the transcripts for publication. In the introduction, Sagan explained that the lectures are only his personal exploration of natural theology, which he understands to be “everything about the world not supplied by revelation” or “this boundary area between science and religion.” Topics he addressed include: definitions of the divine (from culturally specific to Einsteinian) and arguments for its existence; the possibility of extraterrestrial life and its folklore; how religion may have developed and its functions; the origin of life; and nuclear war and the danger it poses. Some of Sagan’s beliefs are unambiguous--he believed in scientific method and the self-correcting nature of science (there are some fascinating side trips into the history of science). It is perhaps less clear what he believed about the idea of the divine: the God of Einstein or Spinoza he can clearly accept, but he gives short shrift to the very literally religious, and sometimes his arguments are less than kind. But these lectures convey his sense of wonder at the universe and the human quest for knowledge, and his deep concern about our future, all in his own inimitable voice.
Recommended by Valerie Beech, Business Reference Librarian
Richard Klatte Prestor (Arcadia, 2000)
Would you like a fun-to-read, entertaining book about Milwaukee’s past? The several hundred photos in this book provide a glimpse into the city's early days. Photographs from the 1880s through the middle of the twentieth century represent all types of early Milwaukee life: people at work and recreation, family functions, early cars and other transportation, buildings, schools, orphanages, and businesses. Whenever possible, photo captions contain explanations and identification of persons. This is a light-hearted look at Milwaukee’s early years and a great way to learn tidbits of information about its history. For example, “Miller High Life” was first used by the Miller Brewing company in 1903 and was the winner in a brand-naming contest. This book is part of a local history series, Images of America.
Recommended by Rose Trupiano, Research & Outreach Librarian
War Letters: Extraordinary Correspondence from American Wars
Andrew Carroll, editor (Scribner, 2001)
This book contains actual letters written by U. S. service men and women who fought in wars from the Civil War through the Persian Gulf. Through correspondence with their family members and friends back home, we get personal glimpses into the great sacrifices these people made. We learn of their struggles, fears, and hopes and we see the horrors of war close-up through their experiences. For each letter, the editor provides background information on the battle or activity in which the soldier was involved. Sadly, some of the soldiers were killed in combat shortly after sending off their letters. This grim, yet fascinating collection represents just a portion of the thousands archived in the Legacy Project, which the editor started in 1998 as a tribute to those who have served our country. In addition, this book provides many details and facts about the American wars. Reading this book allowed me to see a personal side of history and helped me to further appreciate the immense sacrifices these men and women made on behalf of our country.
Recommended by Rose Trupiano, Research & Outreach Librarian
Spotlight on the 2007 First-Year Reading Selection
Anthony Grooms (One World, 2002)
Grooms’ debut novel is the story of Walter Burke, a soldier whose exposure to violence during the Vietnam War forces him to look back on his childhood in Birmingham during the civil rights demonstrations of the 1960s. Grooms is a professor of creative writing at Kennesaw State University in Georgia and has also written Ice Poems (1988) and Trouble No More: Stories (1995). Members of the community will want to read Grooms’ account as we recognize the 40th anniversary of Milwaukee’s marches for open housing that began near the Marquette campus.
Spotlight on the Graphic NovelWhile books of collected comics have been around since the 19th century, a new genre has evolved since the mid-1900s in books that present an extended narrative in a sequence of pictorial images. The term “graphic novel” came into use after the critical success of Will Eisner’s semi-autobiographical A Contract with God, and Other Tenement Stories (1978). Also frequently cited as a landmark in mainstreaming the genre is Art Spiegelman’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Maus: A Survivor’s Tale (1986). The Marquette Libraries have collected a few examples of graphic novels for the study of contemporary literature and creative writing. It should be noted that in library cataloging practice, the genre label applies to both fiction and nonfiction works, and both adult and juvenile readership. Fun Home was a 2006 finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in the memoir/autobiography category. |
Alison Bechdel (Houghton Mifflin, 2006)
Fun Home owes much to the pioneering ‘comic’ book memoirs of R. Crumb and Art Spiegelman. In exploring her family's life running the Bechdel Fun(eral) Home and growing awareness of her own lesbianism, Bechdel, who draws the syndicated comic strip"Dykes to Watch Out For," has written (and drawn) a memoir both funny and heartbreaking. The story she tells does not proceed chronologically, as if in remembering apparently disparate details, she comes to understand her life up to the early 1980s. Hovering over the whole book is the figure of her father, Bruce Allen Bechdel. Alternately distant and mercurial, Bruce possesses a secret which eventually shatters the family and causes feelings of guilt in young Alison that, one senses, she is only now resolving. Did I mention that Fun Home is also funny? As the subtitle of her memoir conveys, it is a "Family Tragicomic."
Recommended by Steve Blackwood, Access Services
Spotlight: Recent Books by Marquette Faculty Members
The Cielo: A Novel of Wartime Tuscany
Paul Salsini (iUniverse, 2006)
Salsini, who has taught journalism at Marquette for 36 years, wanted to tell the story of his Tuscan cousins’ flight from Hitler’s army. Because of his training as a journalist, his instinct was to write non-fiction, but weak Italian prevented him from doing necessary documentary research, so he decided to “just make it up and write fiction.” Read his interview in the Catholic Herald.
The Language of Elk: Short Stories
Benjamin Percy (Carnegie Mellon University Press, 2006)
A native of the high desert of Central Oregon, Percy is visiting assistant professor of English. Percy’s stories reverberate with the landscape and mountains of the West. His newest collection of stories, Refresh, Refresh, will be published later in 2007 by Graywolf Press. His Web site provides reviews and insight into his career and writing.
Spotlight on Prizewinners
The 2006 National Book Critics Circle Awards were announced in March. Every year the NBCC presents awards for the finest books and reviews published in English. The winners (and some of the finalists) are: Simon Schama’s Rough Crossings: Britain, the Slaves, and the American Revolution (Ecco) won the nonfiction award. Kiran Desai’s The Inheritance of Loss was named fiction winner, adding to the book’s string of awards (it won the 2006 Booker Prize as reported in the November Ex Libris). Daniel Mendelsohn won the memoir/autobiography category for his The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million. James Tiptee, Jr.: The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon by Julie Phillips won the biography award.