LAVA Discussion Book Candidates for May 2003 - Dec 2004

This list comes from several sources, including suggestions by LAVA members, favorites of other book clubs, and various lists of "The Year’s Best Books."  

Voting procedure: first review Choosing LAVA Discussion Books, which reflect some of the things we have learned about choosing LAVA books over the years.  Then rate each book on a scale of 1 to 10, using 10 to indicate books that you think would generate the best Lava discussions.  You can rate them all 10’s if you want, or all 1’s, or any combination.  Naturally you are encouraged to do your own research; most of these books can be examined at the larger libraries and bookstores.

Our general practice is to read books with from about 200 to 350 pages (or a little more) for regular sessions and a heftier book during the summer break.  Of course, nothing forces us to follow this rule, but people seem to be happy with it, so I separated candidates for regular sessions from candidates for summer reading.

Candidates for Regular Meetings

Bee Season, by Myla Goldberg.  274 pages; 2001.  When a young girl begins to gain attention by winning a series of spelling bees, her emotionally fragile family begins to fall apart.  Booklist says, "There is so much pain in this powerful first novel about a family's unraveling that it often seems on the edge of unbearable.  And yet, as we watch nine-year-old Eliza Naumann transform herself from underachiever to spelling prodigy, we endure the pain out of respect for one girl's courage and all-consuming love."  Andi says this book prompted an invigorating discussion in her other book group.

The Book of Ruth, by Jane Hamilton.  328 pages; 1989.  Winner of the 1989 PEN/Hemingway Foundation Award for best first novel, its setting is a small Illinois town around 1950.  Amazon.com says, "Hamilton has perfect pitch.  So perfect that you wince with pain for confused but fundamentally good Ruth as she walks a dead-end path."  Kirkus Reviews says, "Hamilton maps the best and worst of the human heart."  An Oprah Book Club Selection.

The Chosen, by Chaim Potok.  284 pages; 1976.  This is the most widely read novel by one of the most prominent chroniclers of Jewish life.  In Brooklyn in the 1940s, two young men, one a secular Jew with an intellectual Zionist father, the other the brilliant heir to a Hasidic rebbe, form a deep friendship despite intellectual and spiritual clashes between fathers, between sons and fathers, and between themselves. 

The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, by Carl Sagan, noted scientist and Pulitzer-Prize winning author.  434 pages, of which we would read 317; written in 1996.  Sagan looks into astrology, UFOs and other reports of wondrous things and comes up with lots of commonsense questions: why does the Virgin Mary keep asking peasants to convey messages to the authorities instead of just telling them herself?  The book is as much about human nature as it is about science, especially the ease with which we mislead ourselves (in the 1800’s, astronomers “saw,” mapped and named hundred of canals on Mars).  Sagen himself is very much in awe of the wonders of the universe but believes that a healthy dose of skepticism is crucial to a democratic society.  Chapter 18 and beyond discuss the need for more science education in schools, which, although certainly worthwhile cause, is not a compelling topic for discussion.  Those chapters would therefore be optional reading.  

Disgrace, by J. M. Coetzee.  220 pages; 1999.  The winner of the 1999 Booker Prize, this novel explores the tensions between generations, sexes and races in modern South Africa.  The Christian Science Monitor says, "This is a novel of almost frightening perception from a writer of brutally clear prose."  The New Yorker says, "A novel that not only works its spell but makes it impossible for us to lay it aside once we've finished reading it."  Andi’s other book club read it and liked it.  She describes it as painful and complex, similar in many ways to The Reader, which LAVA read in 2000.

Enduring Love, by Ian McEwan.  262 pages; 1999.  Two strangers are thrown together while trying to prevent a tragic accident.  One of them, a deeply disturbed young man who suppresses his homosexual inclinations in Christianity, becomes obsessed with the other, a non-believer.  Kirkus Reviews says, "A sad, chilling, precise exploration of deranged love...  Painful and powerful work by one of England's best novelists."  The Washington Post says, "McEwan has fashioned a remarkable novel, haunting and original and written in prose that anyone who writes can only envy."  It created a lively discussion in Andi’s other book club.

The House Gun, by Nadine Gordimer, widely recognized as one of the best living novelists.  294 pages; 1998.  A progressive white South African couple is appalled to discover that the police are stupidly accusing their son of murder.  Slowly the truth dawns on them.  The New York Times says, "The murder is not a political act, but this elegantly conceived, flawlessly executed novel surely is, for it arrives in the heat of a major South African debate....  Along the way, using to brilliant effect the jagged abruptness of her prose style, Gordimer tells a love story unlike any I have ever read."  It generated a lively discussion in Andi's other book club.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou.  289 pages; 1983.  The first volume of her autobiography, it "recounts a youth filled with disappointment, frustration, tragedy, and finally hard-won independence."  This widely praised book was on the New York Times bestseller list for three years.  Kirkus Reviews says, "Maya Angelou is a natural writer with an inordinate sense of life and she has written an exceptional autobiographical narrative."

King Richard III, by William Shakespeare.  256 pages (Cambridge edition).  Appointed the protector of Edward V, who had inherited the throne while still a boy, Richard apparently arranged for his murder and then proclaimed himself as king.  Richard was defeated in a battle that established the Tudor dynasty.  “A horse!  A horse!  My kingdom for a horse!”  Recommended by Garrett.

The Leopard, by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusas.  320 pages; 1960.  Considered by some to be the greatest Italian novel, it is set in Sicily in the 1860’s.  "The decline of the Sicilian aristocracy is traced in a classic novel that is both an indictment and a lament."  The New York Times says, "The genius of the author and the thrill it gives the reader are probably for all time."  The New Yorker calls it "A majestic, melancholy and beautiful novel."

The Plague, by Albert Camus, who won the Nobel prize for literature.  308 pages; 1948.  An outbreak of the plague in Algeria and the way people deal with it becomes a metaphor for the spread of Nazism in Europe.  This thought-provoking novel is one of the classics of 20th century literature.  The New Republic called it "A perfect achievement."

Rising from the Plains, by John McPhee.  213 pages;1987.  AudioFile’s description says this book is part of the author’s “Pulitzer Prize-winning account of the geology encountered along the fortieth parallel as it crosses the United States. This part deals with the state of Wyoming and presents a fascinating geological history of the state while profiling a field geologist who has contributed greatly to our understanding of the region.”  Recommended by Garrett.

A Student of Weather, by Elizabeth Hay.  364 pages; 2001.  Two sisters in Saskatchewan are lifelong rivals for the same man.  Though the youngest is only eight when he first appears, she is consumed by a love that "turns her both monstrous in her scheming and nearly saintly in her devotion," according to Booklist, who describes the book as, "painterly in its lyricism, profoundly female in its voluptuousness, and acute in its psychology."  Kirkus Review calls it "a dramatic first novel from an award-winning Ottawa journalist and short-story writer.  In stunningly precise and suggestive prose, Hay tells a story of obsession and rivalry."  Andi and Bill have both read it and think it would create a good LAVA disicussion.

Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe.  209 pages; 1958.  The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature says: "The novel was praised for its intelligent and realistic treatment of tribal beliefs and of psychological disintegration coincident with social unraveling.  Things Fall Apart helped create the Nigerian literary renaissance of the 1960s."  It has sold 8 million copies in 50 languages.

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Make a Big Difference, by Malcolm Gladwell, a staff writer for the New Yorker.  280 pages; 2000.  "Just as a single sick person can start an epidemic of the flu, so too can a few fare-beaters and graffiti artists fuel a subway crime wave, or a satisfied customer fill the empty tables of a new restaurant.  These are social epidemics, and the moment when they take off, when they reach their critical mass, is the Tipping Point.  Gladwell analyzes fashion trends, smoking, children's television, direct mail, and the early days of the American Revolution for clues about making ideas infectious."  Kirkus Reviews says, "An easy-to-read book of big ideas that is sure to cross the boundaries of sociology, business, and contemporary thought."  Fortune magazine says, "A fascinating book that makes you see the world in a different way."

The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts, by Louis de Bernieres.  383 pages; 1990.  The first novel by the author of Corelli's Mandolin, which Lava read in 1998.  The Sunday Independent (Britain) says, “A fat, juicy tropical fruit of a narrative… There is astonishing landscape.  There are numerous good jokes.  And, indispensably in such a novel, there is magic.”  Recommended by Garrett.

Warriors of God: Richard the Lionheart and Saladin in the Third Crusade, by James Reston Jr.  383 pages; 2001.  Publishers Weekly says, "A worthwhile introduction for those eager to be swept along by an often lively narrative thick with disturbing and provocative details.  The interweaving of Islamic perspectives with those of Christians is especially valuable."  Booklist says, "In this superb dual biography, both Richard and Saladin are presented as complex, multidimensional leaders."  The comment from Forbes on the back cover says, "Reading this book, one sways between horror and exhilaration.   The magnitude of human suffering is mind-boggling, but the warriors' adventures are the stuff of boyhood fantasy." 

Candidates for Summer Books (we read one per year)

The Corrections, by Jonathan Franzen.  566 pages; 2001.  A Pulitzer Prize finalist, a New York Times Editor’s Choice book for 2001, and an Oprah Book Club selection.  Noting that it has a "fiendish puzzle of subplots," the New York Times says, "The important thing to know about Jonathan Franzen’s novel is that you can ignore all the literary fireworks and thoroughly enjoy its people."  The Village Voice asks, "Could this be the first great novel of the 21st century?"  Franzen was recently involved in a well-publicized dust-up with Oprah Winfrey.  (Last minute update: Andi reports that several members of her other book club have read this book and recently decided not to use it as a discussion book because they were disappointed in it.)

The Elegant Universe, by Brian Greene.  448 pages, 2000.  A Pulitzer Prize finalist written by a leading theorist of “string theory,” which hopes to explain the basic underpinnings of the universe.  The New York Times Book Review says, “In the great tradition of physicists writing for the masses, The Elegant Universe sets a standard that will be hard to beat.” The Sunday Times (London) says, “Not since the extraordinary success of A Brief History of Time has a scientific book caused such a stir.”  Recommended by Garrett.

A Fine Balance, by Rohinton Mistry, who was born in Bombay and now lives in Toronto.  603 pages; 1995.  This novel won the Commonwealth Writers Prize, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in Fiction, was a finalist for the Booker Prize and is an Oprah Book Club selection.  Kirkus Review calls it, "A sweeping story, in a thoroughly Indian setting, that combines Dickens's vivid sympathy for the poor with Solzhenitsyn's controlled outrage, celebrating both the resilience of the human spirit and the searing heartbreak of failed dreams."  The protagonists work to "maintain a fine balance between hope and despair.''  The Independent (Britain) says it is "Compulsively readable, also funny, intensely moving and, like Bombay, pullulating with humanity."  The Boston Globe, however, complained about its "heavy-handed sentimentality."  Andi says it is one of the all-time favorites of her other book club.

The Histories, by Herodotus.  The length is from 543 to 664 pages, depending on the edition.  Written around 420-450 BCE.  One of the earliest books of history, it centers on the war between the Greeks and the Persians.  The author also embarks on a number of digressions about the marvels of his world, informing the reader not only about the monuments of Egypt, for example, but also about a tribe of “dog-headed men.”  Historians today treat the book as a unique source of information about that era, but one that must be taken with quite a few grains of salt.  Recommended by Garrett.

John Adams, by David McCullough.  651 pages, 2001. This best-selling book was a New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice.  During his career, the author has won a number of literary prizes, including the Pulitzer.  Publishers Weekly says, “Here a preeminent master of narrative

history takes on the most fascinating of our founders to create a benchmark for all Adams biographers.”  Recommended by Garrett.

Personal History, by Katharine Graham.  625 page; 1997.  The Pulitzer-Prize winning autobiography of the woman who inherited control of the Washington Post not long before the Watergate era.  Overcoming a privileged but troubled childhood, an extraordinarily difficult marriage (her mentally ill husband committed suicide) and a thoroughly sexist work atmosphere, she began to assert herself in midlife, playing a significant role in the exposure and downfall of Richard Nixon.  Graham’s story includes insights into the personalities of well-known acquaintances, including such unlikely characters as Thomas Mann and Warren Buffett.

Ulysses, by James Joyce.  Length is from 783 to 1078 pages, depending on the edition; written in1922.  With a reputation as one of the most intimidating of the classics, this novel is written in a stream-of-consciousness style.   Here is a random selection:  “Query.  Who’s astanding this here do?  Proud possessor of damnall.  Declare a misery.  Bet to the ropes.  Me nantee saltee.  Not a red at me this week gone.  Yours?”  Recommended by Garrett.

White Teeth, by Zadie Smith.  448 pages; 2000.  A satirical first novel about two eccentric multiracial families in London.  It was a New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice and is recommended by several book discussion groups on the web.  Kirkus Reviews says it is a, "frenetic, riotous, unruly tale, which hops, skips, and jumps from one end of the century to the other while following the Jones and Iqbal broods."  Newsweek says, "Smith has an astonishing intellect.  She writes sharp dialogue for every age and race--and she's funny as hell."  The Guardian (UK) called it, "a British publishing phenomenon, a sprawling and unapologetically literary novel of ideas that has sold more than a million copies."