Go to the dedicated blog for the meme to see the complete tour schedule in the right sidebar.

This week two books arrived at my house:

The good folks at Random House sent me a copy of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce (July 24, 2012).  Harold Fry is recently retired and lives in a small English village with his wife, Maureen, who seems irritated by almost everything he does. The days blend into each other until one morning a letter addressed to Harold arrives from a woman he  hasn’t seen or heard from in twenty years. Queenie Hennessy is in hospice and is writing to say goodbye. Henry’s decision to walk six hundred miles from Kingsbridge to the hospice in Berwick-upon-Tweed believing that as long as he walks, Queenie will live, is the pilgrimage at the heart of this novel. Described as “a novel of unsentimental charm, humor, and profound insight into the thoughts and feelings we all bury deep within our hearts,” The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry is a debut which is getting wide praise.

Rachel Joyce has written over twenty original afternoon plays for BBC Radio 4, and has created major adaptations for the Classic series and Woman’s Hour, as well as a TV drama adaptation for BBC2. In 2007 she won the Tinniswood Award for Best Radio Play. Joyce moved to writing after a twenty-year career in theatre and television, performing leading roles for the RSC, the Royal National Theatre, The Royal Court and Cheek by Jowl; and winning a Time Out Best Actress Award and the Sony Silver. She currently lives in Gloucestershire with her family and is at work on her second novel.

Also from Random House is Prime Time by Jane Fonda (May 22, 2012). Jane Fonda explores how midlife and beyond can be the time when we become our most energetic, loving, and fulfilled selves in her latest book. She outlines the 11 key ingredients to vitality—from exercise and diet, to forging new pathways in the brain, to loving, staying connected, and giving of oneself. She explains how performing a life review helped her clarify goals and move ahead, and shows how we can do this too.

I will most likely be giving this one away during Armchair BEA this year…so stay tuned if you want a chance to win it. I found a home for this one already!

Jane Fonda is an Oscar- and Emmy-winning actress and highly successful producer. She revolutionized the fitness industry with the Jane Fonda Workout in 1982 and has sold more than seventeen million copies of her fitness-focused books, videos, and recordings. She is involved with several causes and is the founder of both the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention and the Jane Fonda Center at Emory University. She is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller My Life So Far, and she received a Tony nomination in 2009 for her role in 33 Variations. She lives in Los Angeles.

What books arrived at YOUR house this week?

“What do you mean? When did we meet?”

“You asked me my last name before. I told you I couldn’t tell you, because you wouldn’t believe me. Possibly you still won’t.”

“Why wouldn’t I believe that? After everything else?”

“Because my name is Kate Ashford. And I’m your wife.” – from Overseas -

Kate Wilson is living in Manhattan, working as a Wall Street analyst in 2007. Her life is fast-paced and drums with the excitement of the financial world. When she meets Julian Laurence at a business meeting, she is immediately taken with his handsome good looks, extraordinary intellect, and a manner which is at once old fashioned and romantic. As their relationship heats up, not only is Kate surprised by how fast and hard Julian has fallen for her, but she begins to suspect that their love may have started a long, long time ago in France during WWI. How does the life of Captain Julian Ashford from decades before connect to the Julian Kate knows in the twenty-first century?

The past collides with the future in Overseas, the debut novel by Beatriz Williams who knows how to spin a tale so enthralling that the pages almost turn themselves. Romance, intrigue, dark secrets and betrayal…this book has it all. As I was reading, I was reminded of the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. Like Gabaldon, Williams sets the reader down in a place of long ago, throws in a splash of time travel, and thrills her reader with a romance which transcends time.

Williams writes her story from the first person point of view of Kate – a decidedly modern woman who finds herself wooed by a very romantic and devastatingly gorgeous guy. Kate is smart and funny, a woman who thinks that love in the twenty-first century cannot take the place of climbing the career ladder…until she meets Julian.

The story unspools mostly in the present time, with some interspersed chapters set in France during WWI. Williams is a talented storyteller – just when I thought I knew the plot, she put a nice little spin on it which kept me reading to discover the ending.

I do not read a ton of romance – but I do love a good historical novel and Overseas was a terrific balance of the two. Readers will need to suspend some reality for this book…but, those who allow themselves to sink into the lives of Julian and Kate will be richly rewarded with a good, old-fashioned romantic journey through time.

I predict that this novel will make Beatriz Williams a new favorite for readers who love the romance and historical fiction genres. Full of sizzle, this memorable story of love is an addictive read…and an admirable first novel.

Recommended.

• Quality of Writing:
• Characters:
• Plot:

Overall Rating:

FTC Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher for review.

Readers wishing to purchase this book from an Indie Bookstore may click on the book link below to find Indie sellers. As an Indiebound Associate, I receive a small commission if readers purchase a book through this link on my blog.

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May 20, 2012

Good morning – welcome to the Sunday Salon! If you are interested in other Salon posts, visit the Facebook page to get links.

We are having gorgeous spring weather here in Northern California…and yesterday I finished up a scrappy table runner to brighten up the dining room table a bit. I had a bit of fun experimenting with different designs using free motion quilting.

I have so many unfinished projects in my sewing room…hopefully I will have two more lap quilts done before the end of the month (they are pinned and ready to quilt).

I have pretty much accepted the fact that my reading this year is just going to be slow. I’ve been reading some great books, but I am not plowing through them like I used to…and that is okay (although my to-be-read piles are making me anxious).

Last week I finished up The Lola Quartet by Emily St. John Mandel (read my review) which I really loved. I’ve read all of her novels, and I think this one is my favorite so far (although Last Night in Montreal also blew me away – read my review). The Lola Quartet is dark and written with a subtle tension which kept me turning the pages. Mandel’s ability to develop characters and put them in impossible situations is wonderful! The book is now out in bookstores…I hope you’ll get a chance to read it.

My current read reminds me a bit of Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series in that it has some historical fiction components, time travel and a luscious romance to take your breath away. Overseas by Beatriz Williams is our feature book over on the Chunkster Challenge blog this month…and although I don’t typically read romance, I am finding myself swept up in the story. Williams is a talented storyteller who I think is going to become very popular with this debut novel!

I’m a bit under the gun to finish Overseas because I am touring Make it Stay by Joan Frank on May 24th for TLC Book Tours…and so I have to get that one read SOON! Luckily, Make it Stay is short at 176 pages, so it should be a relatively quick read.

So what am I doing today? Well, I have to paint a little table for the porch, and I need to cut out my blocks for the Block of the Month club for this quilt (I’m two months behind now)…and I need to finish Overseas today and get a review written. I also have some left over paperwork from work last week which needs to be written up before tomorrow morning. But, first I’m taking a walk to enjoy this beautiful spring morning. What about you? What is on your schedule for today?

Oh, and if you haven’t had a chance to read about our trip up to Oregon to the Cascades Raptor Center, I hope you’ll visit that post. I am still marveling over those beautiful birds!

What do you do with inspiration from here…

And this:

And this:

You start cutting, and stitching, and moving things around on your design wall until you have this – a spring, scrappy table runner which measures about 15.5″ X 38.5″:

I loved using up some of my humungous stash of scraps to make this bright and spring-like table runner. I used all scraps for this one, except for a large piece of purple fabric for the back:

I even used scraps to make the binding (and for the batting):

This was the simplest of  projects, but it really brightens up any surface. Here are some photos of it draped over some outside furniture:

A little of the center detail:

I decided to stretch my free motion quilting skills on this – I figured with a small project, I could play a bit. So I stitched circles and squares and even did some pebbling on the ends:

It really is a touch of spring:

And now it sits on my dining room table to brighten up the room:

This quilt counts toward the second quarter of the 2012 Finish Along (visit my pre-quarter post to see all the quilt projects I hope to finish this quarter).

*Click on any photo in this post to enjoy a larger view.

On the southeast edge of Eugene, Oregon, nestled among tall trees, sits the Cascades Raptor Center (CRC). Visitors to the center pull into a gravel parking lot and are greeted with the haunting calls of eagles, hawks, osprey and falcons.

Kip and I visited the center on May 6th and expected to only spend about an hour there. Instead, we found ourselves completely engrossed in what this amazing center has to offer…and nearly four hours later, we were still there!

The center is a 501c3 non-profit nature center and wildlife hospital founded in 1987.  Public education activities are provided both on and off-premises and the center is open to members and the general public six days a week, as well as by appointment or for field trips and group tours on other days or at other times.

One of the primary goals of CRC is to rehabilitate, and release back to the wild, sick and injured birds (primarily raptors) which include owls, hawks, eagles, falcons, osprey, corvids, kites, and vultures. Up to 200 orphaned sick, and injured raptors are treated there each year. Nearly 1300 birds have been returned to the wild in the last seventeen years.

CRC also has resident birds whose disabilities make it impossible for them to survive in the wild. It is these birds who visitors to the center may observe in the large outside enclosures. The resident birds are used for education. Some have lost vision, or have wings which were fractured and did not heal well. Others suffered head injuries or are developmentally delayed. Learn more about the center by visiting this page on their site.

While we were at the center, there was an educational presentation by two volunteers. A great horned owl was one of the birds on display during this presentation (the bird in the photo on the top left of this post). I was surprised to learn that horned owls love to prey on skunks. I think we could use a few of these fellows on our property where the skunk population is rather large!

Danu, an osprey with developmental delays, was also on display at the presentation. She is a beautiful bird who ended up in captivity after her father was killed and her mother was unable to care adequately for her brother and her. Despite efforts to rehabilitate her and return her to the wild, Danu’s delays and slow growth have prevented her from being freed.

There are many ways to support CRC, including purchasing a membership at the center or sponsoring a raptor. Wish list items may also be donated. And of course, volunteers are always needed.

If you happen to be passing through the Eugene area, I hope you’ll take the time to visit the Cascades Raptor Center – it is truly a wonderful place. I feel honored to have spent time with some of these majestic birds.

Here are more photos from our visit there:

Gavin Sasaki is living his dream job writing stories for a New York newspaper. Then his editor sends him to Florida, where Gavin grew up, to do a story on dangerous and exotic wildlife living in the suburbs. Back on his old stomping grounds during a meal with his sister, Gavin is shocked to learn he may have a daughter. The revelation stirs up old memories and slowly Gavin begins to unravel. When he gets back to New York, he inserts a small lie in his Florida story…a lie which opens the door to more lies and eventually the loss of his job.

The point was that Gavin had opened a door, cracked it just slightly, and he could see through to the disgrace and shadows on the other side. If you tell a lie it’s easier to tell another. An abyss yawns suddenly at your feet. – from The Lola Quartet -

The unraveling of Gavin’s life brings him back to Florida to the home of his sister where he begins his own private investigation into the disappearance of his high school girlfriend, Anna, and the search for his now ten year old daughter. As he navigates the murky and dark waters of his youth, Gavin reconnects with the members of the Lola Quartet, a high school jazz group including Jack (a college dropout who is sinking into the shadows of prescription drug abuse), Sasha (Anna’s half sister who is struggling with a gambling addiction), and Daniel (a black cop with a tattered past of failed relationships). What he uncovers and the consequences of his search will forever change Gavin’s life.

Emily St. John Mandel’s third novel is haunting and carefully crafted. It is a little like peeling an onion with the layers slipping away until the core of the story is uncovered. Mandel has constructed her story from multiple view points, dipping back and forth in time, allowing the reader to get glimpses of the complexity of relationships before finally exposing the complete truth of what has happened. It is a unique style of narration which creates subtle tension and keeps the reader fully engrossed.

The characters in The Lola Quartet are damaged and very flawed. Once young and hopeful, these characters are now facing an uncertain future. One impulsive act in youth has led to dire consequences in adulthood.

Mandel takes her readers on a twisty course, building her story to its inevitable end. But it was not the plot which grabbed me, it was the train wreck of the characters’ lives and the secrets they hold. And this is something which Mandel does extraordinarily well – she creates living, breathing people and puts them in terrible situations so that we may examine their motivations, their sense of morality (or not), and the fragile balance between fate and choice.

The Lola Quartet is a terrific novel which I would classify as a literary suspense-thriller. Written with Mandel’s signature style, filled with complex characters, and revolving around the simple, yet compelling, concept that one decision can have lasting echoes far into the future.

Highly recommended.

• Quality of Writing:
• Characters:
• Plot:

Overall Rating:

• Check out this fabulous story about the author in Overflow Magazine.
• Read a Publisher Weekly’s article about the author’s literary noir style.
• Get more information about the book, read an excerpt and learn more about the author by visiting the dedicated publisher’s page.

FTC. Disclosure: This novel was sent to me by the publisher for review on my blog.

Readers wishing to purchase this book from an Indie Bookstore may click on the book link below to find Indie sellers. As an Indiebound Associate, I receive a small commission if readers purchase a book through this link on my blog.

Shop Indie Bookstores

Go to the dedicated blog for the meme to see the complete tour schedule in the right sidebar.

Last week my husband and I were traveling so I failed to post about the books I received. Because of that, this week’s Mailbox Monday is overflowing! As usual, some books that arrived in the last two weeks were unsolicited, but several were ones I requested.

The Emperor of Lies by Steve Sem-Sandberg will be released as a Picador Paperback in July 2012. I’m excited that we will be featuring this chunkster over on the Chunkster Challenge blog during its release month which will include a giveaway.

This from the publisher:

A haunting, profoundly challenging novel, The Emperor of Lies chronicles the tale of Rumkowski’s monarchical rule over a quarter-million Jews for the next four and a half years. Driven by a titanic ambition, he sought to transform the ghetto into a productive industrial complex and strove to make it—and himself—indispensable to the Nazi regime. These compromises would have extraordinary consequences not only for Rumkowski but for everyone living in the ghetto. Drawing on the detailed records of life in Lódz, Steve Sem-Sandberg, in a masterful feat of literary imagination and empathy, captures the full panorama of human resilience and probes deeply into the nature of evil. Through the dramatic narrative, he asks the most difficult questions: Was Rumkowski a ruthless opportunist, an accessory to the Nazi regime motivated by a lust for power? Or was he a pragmatist who managed to save Jewish lives through his collaboration policies? How did the inhabitants of the ghetto survive in such extreme circumstances?

This novel was a breakout bestseller in Sweden and won the August Prize, Sweden’s most important literary award.

Steve Sem-Sandberg is an author and critic who was born in 1958. He has published a dozen novels, investigative stories, and collections of essays. Theres (1996), a novel about the journalist and RAF terrorist Ulrike Meinhof, has been translated into several languages. Sem-Sandberg divides his time between Vienna and Stockholm.

Canada by Richard Ford will be on sale later this month through Harper Collins/ECCO. When fifteen-year-old Dell Parsons’ parents rob a bank, his sense of normal life is forever altered. With his parents’ arrest and imprisonment the future for Dell and his twin sister, Berner, is uncertain. As Berner flees their home in Montana, Dell is spirited across the Canadian border by a family friend. Arthur Remlinger is an enigmatic and charismatic American whose cool reserve masks a dark and violent nature. Described as a “haunting and spectacular vision,” Canada is a “profound novel of boundaries traversed, innocence lost and reconciled, and the mysterious and consoling bonds of family.”

Richard Ford is the author of the Bascombe novels, which include The Sportswriter and its sequels, Independence Day—the first novel to win the Pulitzer Prize and the PEN/Faulkner Award—and The Lay of the Land, as well as the short story collections Rock Springs and A Multitude of Sins, which contain many widely anthologized stories. He lives in Boothbay, Maine, with his wife, Kristina Ford.

Strindberg’s Star by Jan Wallentin and translated by Rachel Willson-Broyles (Viking Adult, May 2012) is a novel that piqued my interest although it is outside my usual fare. Described as “a multi-layered international thrill ride at breakneck pace,” the novel melds a hydrogen balloon crash during the mysterious Andrée Expedition to the North Pole in 1897 and a concentration camp in 1942 Germany with the discovery of a dead body by cave diver Erik Hall in present day Sweden. “Each of these fascinating strands weaves together to create a mind-blowing cross-genre thriller that includes arctic explorers, a secret railroad network, Norse mythology, Nazis, and ancient symbols—and a shocking secret that’s been hidden for centuries.”

Jan Wallentin is a journalist. He is forty-one years old and has three children. He lives in Stockholm and is currently working on his next book. This is his first novel.

Harper Collins sent me an Advance Readers Edition of Into the Darkest Cornerby Elizabeth Haynes (July 2012). When Catherine Bailey meets a charismatic man named Lee, she is flattered by his attentiveness and passion. But what started as an idyllic affair turns to raging jealousy as Lee’s behavior becomes more controlling and frightening. Catherine plans her escape and four years later, Lee is behind bars. But is she really safe? Described as a convincing portrayal of obsession, this novel looks like a nail-biter.

Elizabeth Haynes is a police intelligence analyst. She started writing fiction in 2006 with the annual challenge of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and the encouragement of the creative writing courses at West Dean College. She lives in a village near Maidstone, Kent, with her husband and son. Learn more about Haynes and her work by visiting the author’s website.

Simon & Schuster sent me a finished copy of The Road to Grace by Richard Paul Evans which is already on bookstore shelves. After losing his wife, his home, and his business, Alan Christoffersen, a once-successful advertising executive, has left everything he knows behind to begin an extraordinary cross-country journey. Carrying only a backpack, he is walking from Seattle to Key West. His journey is graced by the people he meets along the way: a mysterious woman who follows Alan’s walk for close to a hundred miles, the ghost hunter searching graveyards for his wife, and the elderly Polish man who gives Alan a ride and shares a story that Alan will never forget. The Road To Grace is described as “compelling” and “inspiring” and a novel “about hope, healing, grace, and the meaning of life.”

Richard Paul Evans is the #1 bestselling author of The Christmas Box. There are more than thirteen million copies of his books in print, and they have been translated into more than twenty-two languages. Evans is the winner of the 1998 American Mothers Book Award, two first place Storytelling World Awards for his children’s books, the 2005 Romantic Times Best Women’s Novel of the Year Award, and two Wilbur Awards for Fiction (Book). He received the Washington Times Humanitarian of the Century Award and the Volunteers of America National Empathy Award for his work helping abused children. He lives in Salt Lake City, Utah. Learn more about Evans and his work by visiting the author’s website.

Two suspense-thrillers arrived from Doubleday:

The Paris Directive by Gerald Jay (June 2012) opens in a Berlin hotel room in the late 1990s, where two former French intelligence agents hire Klaus Reiner to eliminate an American industrialist vacationing in southwestern France. But the hit is compromised when three innocent people are in the wrong place at the wrong time. Inspector Paul Mazarelle is charged with bringing his experience and record of success in the capital to bear on the gruesome quadruple homicide at the height of tourist season. “Crisp prose” coupled with skillful writing promise a thriller with international intrigue.

Gerald Jay is a nom de plume. He lives in New York City and is at work on a second Mazarelle novel.

Fireproof by Alex Kava (July 2012) is the next novel in the Maggie O’Dell series. Description by the publisher: “When a building bursts into flames on a cold winter night in D.C., investigators see a resemblance to a string of recent fires in the area. There is one difference, however: This one has a human casualty. The local team insists they’re looking for a young white male, suffering from an uncontrollable impulse to act out his anger or sexual aggression. But when special agent Maggie O’Dell is called in, everything she sees leads her to believe that this is the work of a calculating and controlled criminal.”

Alex Kavas two stand-alone novels and ten novels featuring FBI profiler Maggie O’Dell have been published in more than twenty countries, appearing on the bestseller lists in Britain, Australia, Poland, Germany, and Italy.  She is a member of Mystery Writers of America and International Thriller Writers.  She divides her time between Omaha, Nebraska and Pensacola, Florida. Learn more about Kava and her work by visiting the author’s website.

Two books arrived from Penguin UK:

A Rural Affair by Catherine Alliott is currently available in both the US and UK. Description from the publisher: “When Poppy Shilling’s bike-besotted, Lycra-clad husband is killed in a freak accident, she can’t help feeling a guilty sense of relief. For at long last she’s released from a controlling and loveless marriage. Throwing herself wholeheartedly into village life, she’s determined to start over. And sure enough, everyone from Luke the sexy church organist to Bob the resident oddball, is taking note. Yet the one man Poppy can’t take her eyes off seems tantalizingly out of reach – why won’t he let go of his glamorous ex-wife? But just as she’s ready to dip her toes in the water, the discovery of a dark secret about her late husband shatters Poppy’s confidence. Does she really have the courage to risk her heart again? Because Poppy wants a lot more than just a rural affair . . .”

Read the opening pages.

Catherine Alliott is the author of nine bestselling novels including A Crowded Marriage, Not That Kind of Girl, A Married Man and The Old-Girl Network. She lives in Hertfordshire.

The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty will be on sale in the US through Riverhead Books in June 2012 and is currently available in the UK. This novel opens in the summer of 1922 when Cora Carlisle boards a train from Wichita, Kansas, to New York City, leaving behind a marriage and a past that she buried long ago. Charged with the care of a young girl with a jet-black fringe and eyes wild and wise beyond her fifteen years, Cora is a chaperone and her life is about to change.

Read the opening pages.

Laura Moriarty earned a degree in social work before returning for her M.A. in Creative Writing at the University of Kansas. She was the recipient of the George Bennett Fellowship for Creative Writing at Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, and is now a professor of Creative Writing at the University of Kansas. She lives in Lawrence, Kansas. Learn more about Moriarty and her work by visiting the author’s website.

Finally, from Atria Books came The GQ Candidate by Keli Goff (out in paperback now). From the publisher: “A sex scandal brings down a local politician, and Luke Cooper finds himself catapulted into the Michigan Governor’s mansion, making him one of the few black and—by virtue of adoption—Jewish elected officials to hold such an office. His national celebrity is increased when he heroically saves the life of an avowed racist, and his good looks and charm earn him the nickname “The GQ Candidate.“ When Luke decides to run for President, his friends offer to help host a fundraiser. But scandals and gossip threaten the campaign.

Keli Goff is an author, blogger and political analyst whose commentary on politics and pop culture appears regularly in national television, print and online publications. She is a frequent guest on news programs on the networks CNN, FOX, MSNBC and NPR, and is a regular contributor to TheLoop21.com and the Huffington Post. She is the author of the book Party Crashing: How the Hip-Hop Generation Declared Political Independence. This is her first novel. Learn more about Goff and her work by visiting the author’s website.

Whew – that’s a lotta books! Did anything wonderful arrive at your house recently?

May 13, 2012

Good morning and welcome to this week’s edition of The Sunday Salon (visit the Facebook page for links to more posts). Last week Kip and I headed into central and southern Oregon for a six day trip to celebrate our nine years of marriage. We had a fantastic time eating out, visiting waterfalls and raptor centers, antiquing and quilt shop hopping, and just enjoying being together without work or obligations getting in the way. I didn’t post a Salon post last week because I was out of town and taking a blogging break…so this post will cover the last couple of weeks of book related stuff!

Before I start talking about my reading, I do want to apologize for my terrible track record in responding to comments. I read them all, but I don’t always manage to get a timely response posted. In general, my reading and blogging and visiting other bloggers has suffered in 2012 for a variety of reasons. Yesterday I saw that I had thousands of unread blog posts in my Google Reader. I started to go through them, and then I felt completely overwhelmed and after taking a deep breath, I hit “mark all as read.” If I have missed something important on your blog, I am truly sorry. I hope I can be better in the future with all of this!

I finished reading A Beautiful Place to Die by Malla Nunn which I really enjoyed for a number of reasons (read my review). This Edgar Award nominee is well written and kept me intrigued from beginning to end.

I also managed to finish The Submission by Amy Waldman which I absolutely loved (read my review). This book has been getting some really mixed reviews – some people love it, others couldn’t finish it, and still others felt just meh about the book. I have a feeling that the subject matter makes some readers uncomfortable. But, Waldman’s prose is exceptional and she raises some great moral questions in the novel which would be terrific fodder for a book club. Have you read this book? It was recently long-listed for the Orange Prize which I thought it deserved, and if you have not read it yet, I highly recommend it.

I just completed The Lola Quartet by Emily St. John Mandel. This is Mandel’s third novel (I’ve read them all) and it is tightly written in multiple points of view. There is a central mystery, and well developed characters – both trademarks of this talented author. I’ll be posting a review later today…but I can tell you that I do recommend this one for those readers who love literary mysteries.

In non-book related news, I decided to enter McCall’s Quilt Design contest. The contest runs over many months and is currently in the first phase of  competition. There are nearly 150 entries in the amateur class (where I entered) and voting will continue through May 20th (you may vote once per day if you wish). I would love if people felt moved to support me with a vote as public opinion will be weighed by the judges who will ultimately choose the quilts which will move on to the next round of competition. Here is a direct link to my entry where you may cast your vote, if you wish!

It looks like it is going to be a gorgeous day here in Northern California. Yesterday I cleaned my front porch furniture and put the cushions out. I also bought a bunch of flowers for the pots out there and will be getting those planted today. I’m looking forward to reading a bit on the porch later. How about you? What is on your “to do” list today?

Two years after the 9-11 tragedy, a group of jurors has been selected to choose a memorial design to occupy the space where the twin towers once stood. The jurors include art critics and one family member still reeling from the death of her husband. The submissions are anonymous to the jurors – they have only the designs and no names to make their final decision. After a contentious process, one design is finally chosen and the name of the designer is finally revealed…Mohammad Khan, an American born Muslim. Khan’s selection ignites a firestorm of protest. Should a Muslim be allowed to design this memorial which touches the hearts of so many Americans? Does one’s religion define who they are? Thus begins Amy Waldman’s provocative and deeply emotional novel.

Told in multiple points of view, The Submission takes a searing look at one of the most traumatic events in American history and examines our prejudices and fears seated in religious ideology, patriotism, and collective grief. Claire Burwell, the lone family member on the jury, is a complex character who initially fights for Khan’s design. But political pressure and media propaganda work on her emotions, making her doubt her convictions. Khan himself is an enigmatic character – a man who doubts his religion and then discovers it matters not what he believes so much as the label attached to him.

What was he trying to see? He had been indifferent to the buildings when they stood, preferring more fluid forms to their stark brutality, their self-conscious monumentalism. But he had never felt violent toward them, as he sometimes had toward that awful Verizon building on Pearl Street. Now he wanted to fix their image, their worth, their place. They were living rebukes to nostalgia, these Goliaths that had crushed small businesses, vibrant streetscapes, generational continuities, and other romantic notions beneath their giant feet. Yet it was nostalgia he felt for them. A skyline was a collaboration, if an inadvertent one, between generations, seeming no less natural than a mountain range that had shuddered up from the earth. This new gap in space reversed time. – from The Submission, page 32 -

Waldman includes several engaging characters including a rabid journalist who is willing to twist the truth for a story, a power-hungry politician who finds the controversy is very good for votes, a radical anti-Islamic extremist, and a Muslim woman who is in America illegally and who is mourning her husband who worked as a janitor in the doomed towers.

This is an affecting novel which uses one question to propel its complicated plot. I found the title itself to be fascinating as it alludes to not only the design which is “the submission,” but also examines the process of judgement and the struggle for a common ground which unfurls throughout the novel. Synonyms for the word submission include: appeasement, assent, backing down, giving in, humility, resignation, and surrender. And, indeed, these are words which resonate in the story. Khan is forced to examine his motivations for submitting his design in the face of pressure to step down and give up the commission.

Waldman also explores creative inspiration. From where do our artistic renderings come? Is inspiration a simple process, or does it encompass experience, ideology and something less tangible which is difficult to define? Some characters in The Submission insist on labeling Khan’s design as anti-American and read intent where none may exist. Khan himself seems, at times, to wrestle with the origins of his work – what exactly was the inspiration?

The Submission is compelling fiction and would be a terrific book club choice. It was recently nominated for the Orange Prize for Fiction and I believe it deserves that nomination. Waldman writes with clarity and passion and challenges readers, especially Americans, to look deep within themselves about essential questions related to religion, politics and fear.

Highly recommended.

• Quality of Writing:
• Characters:
• Plot:

Overall Rating:

FTC Disclosure: This book was sent to me by the publisher for review on my blog.

Readers wishing to purchase this book from an Indie Bookstore may click on the book link below to find Indie sellers. As an Indiebound Associate, I receive a small commission if readers purchase a book through this link on my blog.

Shop Indie Bookstores

One of my favorite bookstores in Oregon is Bloomsbury Books. Located in the quaint downtown area of Ashland, this is an independent bookstore with loads of charm and friendly staff. We browsed the bookstore and I picked up a few books which called out to me including:

Children and Fire by Ursula Hegi

Trapeze by Simon Mawer

 I have long been wanting to read a Hegi novel and this one looks really good. And after reading The Glass Room, a book I loved (read my review), I have been dying to pick up another novel by Mawer.

While we were in the store, I struck up a conversation with an employee named Becky who is blogging at the bookstore’s website. She and I bonded over our mutual love of Jenny Lawson, and found out we shared the same love of literary fiction. I hope you’ll check out her blog…and if you ever happen to be passing through Ashland, don’t miss Bloomsbury Books. I promise you’ll be happy you stopped by!