New Books This Week: February 15
Lisa See visits here on Friday, February 24, and her Dreams of Joy (Random House $15) is now here in paperback. The author of the beloved Snow Flower and the Secret Fan returns to the story of sisters Pearl and May from Shanghai Girls.
Dan Chaon's Stay Awake (Ballantine $25) has him return to his roots as a masterful short story writer. Here, anxious souls and restless families examine the darkness of their lives, often in the dark of night. Don't read at bedtime.
Harrowing real-life drama plays out in Behind the Beautiful Forevers (Random House $27) by Katherine Boo. India may be a country with a growing high-tech side, but grueling, unimaginable poverty is just behind the curtain. Boo's extensive research and interviewing makes us care deeply for the souls of Mumbai's underbelly striving for "the big enjoy".
Perhaps just as chilling, although on a grander scale, is Robert Kagan's The World America Made (Knopf $21). One wave of political thought is the U.S. should withdraw more from world affairs and tend to the home front. But Kagan's view of what would happen to the world (and to us) without American influence, and dominance, is not one we'd care to cause.
Patrick deWitt's The Sisters Brothers (Ecco $14.99) is now in paperback. If you loved Charles Portis' True Grit, you'll love this blood- and humor-laden tribute to the Old West.
Anne Rice departed from the supernatural of her vampire chronicles for some years, but has returned with The Wolf Gift (Knopf $25.95). A fateful night assignment leads to a young journalist's attack - and Rice's delicious entry into the world of werewolves.
For thriller fans, Vince Flynn offers Kill Shot (Atria $27.99). It's a young but just as lethal Mitch Rapp at the start of his CIA career.
For the children:
Fancy Nancy, one of picture books' most endearing characters, returns in Fancy Nancy and the Mermaid Ballet ( Harper Collins $17.99) by Jane O'Connor and Robin Preiss Glasser. Nancy and Bree both want the lead role. Envy and friendship are at odds, but you know Nancy will always come through with her head on straight (with a tiara, of course!). Ages 4 and up.
