This week I finished Natalie Bakopoulos’ first book, The Green Shore, a novel set in Greece in the 1960s and 70s. I celebrated with a gyro on the deck at Keifer’s.

Ms. Bakopoulos came in Wednesday night for a reading, and I had a chance to sit down and talk with her at length about Greece, writing, and history (we’ve both learned most of our world history from novels). With that being said, before I began The Green Shore, my post-World War II knowledge of Greek history was feeble at best. I have therefore set myself on a track of diligent YouTube video study in order to educate myself on the finer points of Greek culture (I’ve included some links at the bottom of the blog).

The Green Shore opens with a coup d’état: it’s 1967, and the right-wing Junta, led by three officers in the Greek military, have overthrown the democratic government and established themselves as the rightful government of Greece. Backed by the USA, the Junta removed eleven articles of the Greek constitution and left the Greek people unprotected from their own government. Almost simultaneously, Greek intellectuals and politicians were imprisoned and tortured.

Ms. Bakopoulos’s book is not so much about Greece, as much as it is about a family abandoned by their own country—expatriates in their own homes. Eleni, a widowed mother of three children, struggles to come to terms with the radical change in government while her eldest daughter distributes leftist literature and her son prepares to leave for college in the States. Even under the hand of harsh rule, the microcosm of family is what really keeps the plot pushing forward. Anna, Eleni’s youngest child, falls in love with a married man twice her age. Various members of the family are imprisoned, underground health clinics are opened, and summer holidays to Hydra are rife with intrigue. The book culminates with the Athens Polytechnic School uprisings which eventually was the harbinger for the end of the dictatorship.

The best part of the book? Ms Bakopoulos’s self-portrait she drew in my copy.

Recent Riots in Athens

Cool Greek Chill Out Music

How To Make Greek Gyro

My Big Fat Greek Wedding

George Seferis–Nobel Prize winning Greek Poet

by Kelly Pickerill

I can’t believe we haven’t talked about this book yet. The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes won the Man Booker last year. It’s now in paperback, so no one has an excuse not to read it. It’s a small, quiet, British book. But that doesn’t mean it’s not thrilling. Tony Webster, divorced and in his 60s, reflects back on his adolescence and early adulthood when a puzzling reminder of that time prompts him to look up a college girlfriend. As Veronica reluctantly opens up, Tony begins to suspect his perspective of that time in their lives, which ultimately resulted in the destruction of his friendship with Adrian, who dated Veronica after Tony and eventually ended his own life, is flawed somehow. The end of this taut novel, which could be read as a treatise on memory, will leave you reeling.

He’s not British, but Peter Carey’s new book is. I’m only a third of the way into The Chemistry of Tears, which opens as Catherine, a conservator at a museum in London, finds out that her married lover of 13 years has died. Unable to show her grief outwardly, Catherine immerses herself in her work. She’s presented with the parts of an automaton duck from the 19th century, but before beginning the process of reconstruction she delves into the journal of the man who first had the duck assembled for his consumptive son. These journal entries, which describe his journey to a small town in Germany where he gets the help of a mysterious clockmaker, are interspersed with chapters in 2010, as Catherine reflects on the nature of life and of the soul when juxtaposed with artificial existence.

I haven’t started it yet, but I also just picked up Mark Haddon’s new book The Red House, in which a British couple vacations with the wife’s estranged extended family. Simon’s just finished it and will probably write about it soon. Get a signed copy from us today; they’re going fast!

In her NYT review of The Sense of an Ending, Liesl Schillinger begins, “Many literary careers have been made, and doubtless more will be, by conveying the inwardness, awkwardness and social anxiety that constrict British mores like a very tightly wrapped cummerbund.” Mark Haddon, in his 2003 bestseller The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, explored the awkwardness of a teenage boy with Asperger syndrome, and Ron Charles, in his review of Haddon’s new book in the Washington Post, says, “in The Red House, [Haddon] proves that he’s just as astute about the verbal miscues and social awkwardness suffered by anybody.” And what could be more awkward than a horologist grieving in secret while she tinkers with an over 150-years-old robot duck that eats and defecates? Celebrate awkwardness this summer; read a British novel.

Adam Levin’s stories have the sense of Salvador Dali’s surreal portraits—if you focus, you can even visualize the mad scientist making broad and lovely brushstrokes behind this canvas. And, like Dali’s own melting clock, this book introduces us to characters who are frozen in weird time. One is stuck working on an invention—a doll that digests food, no less—for fifteen years; another tells herself that she lost her legs to a jungle cat as an infant, denying the truth about a car accident and breaking her parents’ hearts with this charming delusion. We struggle each day with moments of risk assessment, of whether or not to text and drive, of what will hurt others and what will hurt us. We wonder, what if we had invented that gadget—what if I had written my novel?

I love a short story writer who can put these human peculiarities of feeling to the music of language, shining light into a microscope at a tiny person, who simply reflects that light back into our own souls. These stories are extra real—what some call hyper realism. Hence, the appropriate title, taken from a story, Hot Pink. This book is not dusty, and the stories are not about boring situations or characters; as Richard Ford said at the reading Tuesday, the writer’s job is to tell us something—not something we already know about. This collection is something quirky, different, constantly rewarding your attention with little surprises. No two stories even look the same on the page. They will, I think, ignite a twinkle in your eye, bestowing a taste for the bright beauty in everyday human longing.

Come visit Lisa’s new short story nook in the fiction room and try holding this good-looking volume in your hands.

WARNING: These stories aren’t loyal to much tradition; they hover in the neon light, collapse time, take up the story right in the brunt of the action. But they will certainly delight readers who aren’t afraid of a little hot pink.

Reminds me of: Grace Paley, Kevin Canty, Andy Warhol, Salvador Dali, Lydia Davis (Each story seems to take inspiration from a different contemporary storyteller. It will be interesting to watch this writer hone his influences and develop a more distinctive voice in future work.)

by Whitney

The first time I read Lauren Groff’s Monster’s of Templeton, I paused on the 1st  page to the realization that the last original plot had been written in the opening sentence–“the day I returned to Templeton steeped in disgrace, the fifty-foot corpse of a monster surfaced in Lake Glimmerglass”. So when I heard that Lauren Groff had released her second novel, I didn’t  know if I should anticipate a second book to rival the first, or disappointment. Nothing could have prepared me, however, for how quickly Arcadia swept me up.

Arcadia follows Bit, a boy born into a 1970s commune (from which the book derives its title), as he grows up in the microcosm of hippie culture and is spit out after the world his parents built collapses. Where many authors would revert to caricature, Lauren Groff weaves Arcadia a culture all its own, where “the women wash clothes and linens in the frigid river, beat wet fabric against the rocks. In the last light, shadows [grow] from their knees and the current sparkle[s] with suds”.

Bit has the honor of being the first child born into Arcadia, the son of two of the founding members. His childhood is one of springtime plantings, birthings, hungry winters, breakfasts of soy-eggs and fresh baked bread. He is witness to the rise and fall of Arcadia. The most steadfast of all the members.

The story jumps to the present. Bit has accustomed himself to the world outside of Arcadia and is living in post 9/11 New York City,  teaching the lost art of dark room photography. He is a man steeped in the past; caught in the dichotomy of his childhood and his present life.

The book concludes in 2018; the effects of global warming have begun to chip away at the culture with which we ourselves are familiar. Within Lauren Groff’s imagined future, we return one last time to Arcadia. “The sun and wind pour into the sheets on the line. There are bodies in the billowing, forms created and lost in a breath”.

In 1974, the year before Lemuria opened, Michael Shaara published his now classic novel of the civil war, The Killer Angels. Killer Angels depicts the Battle of Gettysburg as told from the view points of Robert E. Lee and James Longstreet and some of the other men who fought there. Shaara wanted to know what it was like to be there, what the weather was like, what the men’s faces looked like. To understand this state of mind, he had to write it and a modern classic was the result. Through his own interpretation of character, he brought the battle to life. The reader is able to understand these men, the way they talked and thought. The Battle of Gettysburg comes alive within the pages of this great American novel.

Killer Angels won the Pulitzer Prize in 1974 and was also declared a must-read by all who discovered its truth and form. Published in a small edition by a non-literary publisher, David McKay, first editions of Killer Angels are rare and valuable today in nice condition. I found my copy in my own library, laid in with an enclosed inscription from my dear friend Valerie Walley. Another reminder of the pleasure of maintaining a home library.

As Killer’s readership grew, more and more fans proclaimed the novel a must-read. Finally, I picked it up on vacation and read it as a birthday present to myself. Then I became a hand selling bookseller fan for Michael’s great work. In my opinion, Shaara created a new historical fiction art form.

Jeff Shaara is Michael’s son and he is extending his father’s legacy. Jeff visited Lemuria October 11, 1996 for his first novel Gods and Generals. Jeff now returns for his newest novel, A Blaze of Glory: A Novel of the Battle of Shiloh. Jeff has adopted his father’s style of character insight to record one of the bloodiest battles fought on American soil.

I’m finding Blaze of Glory to be as battlefield insightful as his father’s first novel many years ago. The quality of research and writing demands that Lemuria choose Blaze of Glory as our May First Editions Club pick. For those who might dismiss this book as war fiction, don’t be so quick. Jeff’s character development and plot progression possess literary essence while stimulating the reader’s interest. Shiloh becomes people and people convey the battle’s character. It is the fiction of life in difficult and demanding circumstances.

For those of you who read and enjoy Blaze, you will be pleased to know that it is volume one of a trilogy, with the Battle of Vicksburg being volume 2 and Georgia and the Carolinas being volume 3. I have no doubt that this trilogy will stand the test of time, just as Michael Shaara’s novels have done. Shelby Foote’s civil war trilogy will never be replaced, however, I feel that Michael and Jeff’s civil war writings will be on the same book shelf in many reader’s libraries.

As a last thought, one other title should be on the shelf with Foote and Michael and Jeff Shaara: The Civil War Battlefield Guide. This book is essential in understanding the flow of battle. Concise essays and easy to read maps explain the timelines of troop movement. These maps give you a guide to what actually happened as men gave up their lives for a cause they believed in.

.

Jeff Shaara will be at Lemuria Thursday, May 31 for a 5:00 signing & 5:30 reading.

It is finally here . . . Hilary Mantel’s sequel to Wolf Hall, Bring Up the Bodies.  Is it as good as the Booker Prize-winning first book? YES!!!

The word on the street is that Bring Up the Bodies can be a stand alone novel.  I guess that is correct but why would you want it to be?  Why would you want to miss reading about the seven years it took Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn to be together? All the intrigue and conspiracies involved some of the most famous figures of English history.  Cardinal Wolsey did everything that was humanly possible to bring about the conclusion of Henry and Katherine’s “marriage” only to fall from grace and have his secretary, Thomas Cromwell rise in his place.  Katherine of Aragon’s fight to remain the true Queen of England and hold her daughter, Mary’s, position as the true heir with help from her nephew, The Holy Roman Emperor and the constant threat of war.  The Boleyn family’s rise in power and wealth and always giving advice (good and bad) to the King. Finally, Thomas More, best friend to the King, who while working the keep peace between the Crown and the Church becomes a huge obstacle to what Henry VIII wants more than anything.

These stories are told through the eyes of Thomas Cromwell. Cromwell, a self-made man, can get things done for the King that no one has been able to achieve and because of this he becomes the second most powerful man in England behind Henry VIII.  After working so hard to see Henry and Anne married at last which in turn helped bring the religious reform that Cromwell so desperately strives for, the King sees Jane Seymour and everything begins to unravel.  Thus begins Bring Up the Bodies and the three weeks that lead up to the beheading of Anne Boleyn.

Y’all know I have read a lot of historical fiction and the story of Henry VIII and his wives is one of my favorites.  What is so different and interesting about Mantel’s telling is that the narrator is Thomas Cromwell.  In most stories, Cromwell is this evil guy that you just love to hate but here you realize that though he does everything Henry wants him to do Cromwell knows that his King is very fickle.  He knows that Henry could turn on him on a dime and he must tread very carefully.  He understands that to achieve what he wants he must make alliances with his enemies but he always knows how to break them when necessary.  He is ready to do anything the King asks of him but will he in the end have to pay the ultimate price?  And of course, we know the answer but it is such a joy to “relive” it again.

Just to preface, I have never been one to read war-type fiction.  Granted, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk does not contain very many scenes on the field of battle (in fact I can only think of one), but there is no doubt that the Iraq war is the character you never actually meet.  I’ve always veered away from war fiction, with the exceptions of Catch-22 and Slaughterhouse Five.  When Ben Fountain’s new book found its way into my hands, I reconsidered my stance.  The cover houses a very impressive blurb by Karl Marlantes:

The Catch-22 of the Iraq war

That in itself made me curious.  I myself have yet to have the pleasure of reading a book by Karl Marlantes, but I know what that name carries.  I know that I don’t have to read Matterhorn (but I plan to!) to know that Marlantes is more than a solid writer.  A name like his comparing anything to Catch-22 in even the smallest way will get my interest in what he’s selling.  Marlantes continues the blurb by saying:

This funny, yet totally sobering, dissection of the American way of watching war will have you squirming at the same time you are laughing out loud; Fountain applies the heat of his wicked sense of humor while you face the truth of who we have become.  Live one day inside Billy Lynn’s head and you’ll never again see our soldiers or America in the same way.

Needless to say, when this book ended up in my hands, I wanted to indulge.  What I found was a book that made me both hate and love America.  At times I would feel such pride for the soldiers.  Just soldiers in general.  Every one of them serving anywhere.  At times Fountain would give me such pride in my country that I would find myself considering a possible life in the military.  These soldiers are noble, but Fountain seems like he is questioning whether everyone in charge is as noble.  The book is certainly just as snide as it is patriotic, but one could read once over without even acknowledging that fact.

I appreciated, more than anything, that the character of Billy Lynn has been forced by the military to be one wise nineteen year old.  But he is still just a kid.  Throughout the book Ben Fountain gives him a voice that in his mind that he has grown in Iraq, but doesn’t even seem to know it.  If I had to guess what being a young soldier was like, that would probably be my first guess.

by Simon

Several years ago I saw a fascinating movie called Wristcutters: A Love Story, did a little research and found out it was based on a novella titled Kneller’s Happy Campers by Etgar Keret.  After a bit more research I found Kneller’s Happy Campers in a book of short stories called The Bus Diver Who Wanted To Be God.  Since that discovery I’ve had a great love for Keret and his wonderful short stories.

“Keret can do more with six strange and funny paragraphs than most writers can with 600 pages.” -Kyle Smith, People

That blurb from the back cover of Keret’s latest book, Suddenly, a Knock on the Door says it perfectly.  Keret can do things with short stories that I’ve never seen before.  He is truly a master of his craft.

by Zita