BuzzingAboutBooks
Cutting for StoneCommencementThe Lotus EatersMurderer's DaughterThe Bolter




AUTHORS IN THIS ISSUE

Abraham Verghese

J. Courtney Sullivan

Tatjana Soli

Randy Susan Meyers

Frances Osborne


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July 15, 2010

Greetings:

We're thrilled to bring you another issue of Buzzing About Books, a newsletter for curious readers.  In this issue:

- Abraham Verghese writes of twin brothers born under mysterious circumstances in an Ethiopian hospital, and growing up in a country on the brink of revolution, in Cutting for Stone.

- Writing about four unlikely friends who meet in their freshman year at Smith College, J. Courtney Sullivan explores friendship in college and beyond in Commencement.

- Tatjana Soli's vivid debut novel, The Lotus Eaters, brings readers to Saigon at the close of the Vietnam War, where an American female combat photographer struggles with love and the ravages of war.

- In The Murderer's Daughters, debut novelist Randy Susan Meyers depicts two sisters trying to make sense of their mother's death by their father's hand.

- Frances Osborne explores the life of her great-grandmother, Idina Sackville -- a woman who broke the rules and bolted from her marriage -- in The Bolter, a novel based on family letters, diaries, and legend.

Warm regards,

Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp
[email protected]
bookclubcookbook.com
 

CuttingForStone



Susan KuklinCutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
Fiction / 688 pages / Paperback 

Vintage / January, 2010



Dear Reader:

I hope you enjoy the world of Missing Hospital, truly a world away from our lives. The genesis of the story was not place or geography for me as much as it was the fascination I had for medicine as a child, and the romance and adventure of being a medical student. I wanted to convey the awe and the privilege of another human being allowing me to hear their story and to examine their body.
 
I worry that these days in the sterile hallways of modern medical-industrial hospitals, there isn't much evidence of the adventure and romance.  That's why I began with a mission hospital in Africa, a place so basic, that there is no remove between doctor and patient, no layers of technology. In such settings, the nature of the suffering never feels like an abstract
Credit: Joanne Chan
Susan Kuklin
construct. Then I pictured very human, fallible characters -- the likes of  Sister Mary Joseph Praise and Thomas Stone. I often told myself that I wanted the whole novel to be of medicine, exactly in the way Zola's novels are of Paris -- every page giving off the sights and sounds and miasmas of that place. You will tell me if I have succeeded.
 
Abraham Verghese
Stanford, California


About Cutting for Stone:

Marion and Shiva Stone are twin brothers born of a secret union between a beautiful Indian nun and a brash British surgeon. Orphaned by their mother's death and their father's disappearance, bound together by a preternatural connection and a shared fascination with medicine, the twins come of age as Ethiopia hovers on the brink of revolution.
 
Moving from Addis Ababa to New York City and back again, Cutting for Stone is an unforgettable story of love and betrayal, medicine and ordinary miracles -- and two brothers whose fates are forever intertwined.
 

Reviews for Cutting for Stone
:
 
"A winner. . . . Filled with mystical scenes and deeply felt characters. . . . Verghese is something of a magician as a novelist."
-USA Today
 
"A masterpiece. . . . Not a word is wasted in this larger-than-life saga. . . . Verghese expertly weaves the threads of numerous story lines into one cohesive opus. The writing is graceful, the characters compassionate and the story full of nuggets of wisdom."
-San Francisco Chronicle


For more information about Abraham Verghese, visit his website or Facebook page.



Block2
Commencement
Commencement
by J. Courtney Sullivan
Fiction / 432 pages / Paperback
Vintage / May, 2010


Dear Reader:
 
In college, I met a group of amazing women. On the surface, we had nothing in common except our housing assignments, but we soon became best friends over study breaks and quad parties and long talks in the dining hall.
 
After graduation, our lives shot off in different directions-some were settling down and getting married, some were suffering through bad Internet dates. Some were making six figures, while others were in grad school eating ramen noodles.
 
There were a lot of judgments in the air. (She's dating him? Since when does she care so much about money? You're changing your last name?) Sometimes I imagined a glorious fight in which we'd all finally say what we thought of one another. Of course, we were far too polite for that, so I had to write a novel about it instead.
 
Commencement is a book about the way friendships change
Credit: Jerry Bauer
Susan Kuklin
and endure. The characters are part of the first generation of American women to have an abundance of choices, which can be both a beautiful gift and a terrifying proposition.
 
I hope you enjoy the book and want to pass it along to your own best friend.
 
Yours,
 
J. Courtney Sullivan


About Commencement:

Assigned to the same dorm their first year at Smith College, Celia, Bree, Sally, and April couldn't have less in common. Celia, a lapsed Catholic, arrives with a bottle of vodka in her suitcase; beautiful Bree pines for the fianc� she left behind in Savannah; Sally, preppy and obsessively neat, is reeling from the loss of her mother; and April, a radical, redheaded feminist wearing a "Riot: Don't Diet" T-shirt, wants a room transfer immediately. Written with radiant style and a wicked sense of humor, Commencement follows these unlikely friends through college and the years beyond, brilliantly capturing the complicated landscape facing young women today.

Reviews for Commencement:


"One of the year's most inviting summer novels.... A smart, discerning book about school years.... Sullivan introduces strong, warmly believable three-dimensional characters who have fun, have fights and fall into intense love affairs."
-The New York Times
 
"Wickedly sharp. . . . Ms. Sullivan's voice is funny and smart. . . . A fun, fresh . . . insightful read."
 -The New York Observer


For more information about J. Courtney Sullivan, visit her website or Facebook page.


ThreeBlock



The Lotus EatersThe Lotus Eaters
by Tatjana Soli
Fiction / 400 pages / Hardcover
St. Martin's / March, 2010

Dear Reader:
 
My debut novel is the story of a young woman, Helen Adams, who goes to Vietnam to become a combat photographer. The Lotus Eaters is an adventure story and a love story, as Helen discovers her own courage in the face of the devastations of war, and comes to love two very different men. Set during the fall of Saigon, and spanning the beginning of the American involvement, The Lotus Eaters is about the power of love and war, and the ultimate victory of human connection.
Tatjana Soli
Please visit my website at www.tatjanasoli.com to learn more about my inspirations for writing the book, my ten-year journey to publication, watch the trailer, and even listen to the playlist that forms the emotional soundtrack for the book.
 
Best,
Tatjana


TATJANA SOLI IS GIVING AWAY 5 COPIES OF THE LOTUS EATERS. ENTER TO WIN A COPY.


About The Lotus Eaters:

A sweeping novel about an American female combat photographer in the Vietnam War, as she captures the chaos and finds herself torn between the love of two men.

The North Vietnamese army is poised to roll into Saigon. As the fall of the city begins, two lovers make their way through the streets to escape to a new life. As they race to leave, they play out a drama of devotion and betrayal that spins them back through twelve war-torn years.

A searing portrait of an American woman's struggle and triumph in Vietnam, a canvas contrasting the horror of war and the narcotic of obsession with the redemptive power of love, The Lotus Eaters is a novel of passion, duty and ambition among the ruins of war.


Reviews for The Lotus Eaters:

"A splendid first novel. . .Helen's restlessness and grappling, her realization that 'a woman sees war differently,' provide a new and fascinating perspective on Vietnam. Vivid battle scenes, sensual romantic entanglements and elegant writing add to the pleasures of The Lotus Eaters."
-Danielle Trussoni, The New York Times Book Review
 
"The novel is steeped in history, yet gorgeous sensory details enliven the prose. . . 35 years after the fall of Saigon, Soli's entrancing debut brings you close enough to feel a part of it." -People
 

For more information about Tatjana Soli, visit her website, audio/video page, blog, or author Q & A.

Tatjana is available to speak with your book club.  Please contact Tatjana through her website to submit your request.

FourthBlock



Susan KuklinThe Murderer's Daughters

by Randy Susan Meyers

Fiction / 320  pages / Hardcover
St. Martin's
/ January, 2010

Dear Reader:

When my sister was eight, my mother warned her against opening the door for our father. Perhaps she also cautioned me, but I was barely five and can't remember. However, my sister fed me details and I heard Daddy sweet-talking his way in. My mother's screams echoed.
 
I kept wondering what if? What if my sister hadn't been brave enough to get the neighbors? What if the police hadn't come in time?
 
What if my mother had died?
 
Writing is like that for me, a series of "what if" after "what if "...Randy Susan Meyers
 
When my sister and I were young, after being forced to turn out the lights, we'd take imaginary books off imaginary bookshelves and ask each other: what are you dreaming tonight?
 
The Murderer's Daughters is from that childhood shelf.
 
Warm regards,
 
Randy Susan Meyers


RANDY SUSAN MEYERS IS GIVING AWAY 5 COPIES OF THE MURDERER'S DAUGHTERS. ENTER TO WIN A COPY.



About The Murderer's Daughters:

Lulu's mother says don't let Daddy in, but he's impossible to ignore. He cajoles and bullies his way past Lulu, who listens in horror as her parents struggle. She runs for help, but he murders her mother, stabs her sister, and tries to kill himself.
 
Abandoned by relatives to a terrifying group home, they plot to be adopted by a good family, but all the girls really have is each other.
 
For thirty years, they try to make sense of what happened. Their imprisoned father is a specter in both their lives, shadowing every choice they make. One spends her life pretending he's dead; the other feels compelled to help him, but both fear the day their imprisoned father's attempts to win parole meet success.
 

Reviews for The Murderer's Daughters:

"From the squalor of an orphanage to the empty silences of suburban living, is all too believable and heartbreaking."
-Los Angeles Times, 'Knock Out Debuts'
 
"Meyers, in a remarkably assured debut, details how the sisters process their grief in separate but similarly punishing ways."
-The Denver Post

For more information about Randy Susan Meyers, visit her website, or follow her on Facebook or Twitter.

Randy Susan Meyers is available to speak with your book club in person or through Skype.  Please contact Randy through her website.

FifthBlock



The BolterThe Bolter
by Frances Osborne

Fiction / 368 pages / Paperback
Vintage / May, 2010

Dear Re
ader:
 
Book groups tell me that The Bolter is the rare nonfiction book that reads like a novel, inspiring lively conversations about those individuals who have the courage to break the rules and challenge convention. Idina Sackville's story also raises questions about the changing roles of women, the nature of freedom and promiscuity, and the true meaning of
Credit: Tony Buckingham
Frances Osborne
motherhood and individuality. It also seems that every time I visit the United States, somebody tells me about another Happy Valley themed party inspired by the book, or a "Bolter" dinner party. They assure me that they only discuss the book and stop short of The Bolter's partner-swapping after-dinner games!
 
Warmly,
 
Frances Osborne



About The Bolter:


In an age of bolters -- women who broke the rules and fled their marriages -- Idina Sackville was the most celebrated of them all. Her relentless affairs, wild sex parties, and brazen flaunting of convention shocked high society and inspired countless writers and artists, from Nancy Mitford to Greta Garbo. But Idina's compelling charm masked the pain of betrayal and heartbreak.
 
Now Frances Osborne explores the life of Idina, her enigmatic great-grandmother, using letters, diaries, and family legend, following her from Edwardian London to the hills of Kenya, where she reigned over the scandalous antics of the "Happy Valley Set." Dazzlingly chic yet warmly intimate, The Bolter is a fascinating look at a woman whose energy still burns bright almost a century later.

Reviews for The Bolter:


"If notorious relatives make for the best dinner-party anecdotes, then Frances Osborne should be able to dine out for decades. . . Enthralling."
-The Plain Dealer
 
"Ms. Osborne has succeeded in her stated aim, to write a book that 'has in a way brought Idina back to life.' And what a life it was."
-The Wall Street Journal
 
 

For more information about Frances Osborne visit her website or Facebook page.


 
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