What makes a book a bestseller? Interesting theme, well respected author, a sense of anticipation at the prospect of spending time away from our everyday humdrum existence. This season, we have a cornucopia of literary goodies.
While there’s no sure thing in the world of publishing, any time there’s a new John Grisham book, you can bet it will fly off the shelves. THE LITIGATORS takes a turn toward the comic side with lawyers Oscar Finley and his partner of over twenty years, Wally Figg. Together, the two attorneys scratch out a living through quickie divorces and ambulance chasing. Definitely not Chicago’s finest, but it will do until the real thing comes along. When it does, in the person of burned out David Zinc, a once up-and-coming young lawyer, Finley and Figg anticipate their shot at the big time.
If Grisham is king of the legal thriller, Robin Cook rules in the land of the medical thriller. DEATH BENEFIT questions whether or not private insurance information is being manipulated to allow investigators to benefit from the deaths of others. Heroine Pia Grazdani is a fourth-year med student at Columbia University. Haunted by a miserable childhood, she throws herself into her work, and joins the team of her mentor, Dr. Tobias Rothman. The work includes discovering the ability for the human body to grow new organs. But if people live longer healthier lives, how will this affect the scheme being cooked up? Would it be worth killing to stop the research from coming to fruition? Soon, Pia finds herself in more danger than she’s ever expected working in a lab.
Michael Lewis is an author who makes fact read like fiction. BOOMERANG, subtitled “Travels in the New Third World,” explores what went wrong with the global economy. Lewis reveals how the countries struck down by the lure of easy credit acted according to national characteristics. The Greeks, Irish, and citizens of Iceland all succumbed. The fact that the larger-than-life people who appear in Lewis’s book are real, not made up, makes the story even more fascinating.
THE ECSTASY OF INFLUENCE is Jonathan Lethem’s foray into understanding our contemporary culture. This collection of the author’s writing includes essays on everything from his boyhood in Brooklyn to sex in the movies, with stops at cyber-culture, 9/11, book-touring, and graffiti. Along the way, Lethem has encountered luminaries in the worlds of show business and publishing. An excellent read for those who prefer their books on the intellectual end of the spectrum.
Paulo Coelho is no lightweight, either. ALEPH is a deeply personal novel that explores our understanding of love, time, and fate. Real happiness eludes the protagonist because of a cowardly betrayal committed five hundred years before. With Hilal, a gifted young violinist whom he loved in his past life, he undertakes a mystical voyage to understand forgiveness and courage. The trans-Siberian railway is only part of this remarkable trip.
Fans of Julian Barnes have been waiting impatiently for THE SENSE OF AN ENDING. Already being hailed as a future classic, this slim volume is full of the grace, skill, and insight treasured by those who appreciate this contemporary English writer. Tony Webster thought he’d left his old life behind, but now he’s confronted by those from his past- both living and dead. His complacency destroyed, Webster must reevaluate all he thinks is true.
Richard Paul Evans gives a modern twist to the parable of the prodigal son in LOST DECEMBER. Luke Crisp has always been a good son to his father, Carl, but when he goes away to school, he falls in with bad companions and begins to go down the drain. Drinking, cheating on his girlfriend, and finally jetting off to Europe become his preferred lifestyle. Only after he truly hits bottom does Luke discover what riches are really available in his life. Called “The King of Christmas Fiction,” Evans once again has presented a tale to be enjoyed by all those who cherish the holidays.
THE DOVEKEEPERS is the latest in Alice Hoffman’s long string of hits. It took the author five years to research and write; Toni Morrison has called it “beautiful, harrowing, a major contribution to twenty-first century literature.” Indeed, this novel has been called Hoffman’s “Beloved.” Set in Israel in 70 AD, the story of Masada is brilliantly brought to life through the voices of four women. Definitely a “woman’s book” in the best sense of the word.
Along with all our other blessings this holiday season, let’s count the wonderful good fortune that lets us live in a time when we can enjoy a variety of excellent books.
Michall Jeffers is an accomplished Cultural Journalist and an avowed bibliophile. She writes extensively, both in print and online. Her eponymous cable TV show is syndicated throughout the tri-state area, and features celebrity interviews, reviews, and commentary. Michall is a voting member of National Book Critics Circle. www.michalljeffers.com
