Ellen Elow-Mintz

‘Before the Fall’ is a Summer Thriller

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Before the Fall by Noah Hawley (Grand Central Publishing, 2016)
In 40 words or less: Hawley, an award-winning TV screenwriter, producer and showrunner’s fifth novel about a small plane crash touches on the risks of privilege, news/entertainment hyperbole, and privacy issues while exploring the lives of the victims and discovering the cause of the crash.
Genre: Thriller
Locale: Primarily New York/Martha’s Vineyard
Time: Contemporary
Read this for a fast-paced story and perfect vacation read.

The Batemans seem to have it all, but every family has its problems. Dad, David, is the key man at a news/entertainment network whose top property is an outrageous loudmouth with a propensity for getting scoops via secret (and illegal) wiretaps. His wife Maggie and two children, Rachel and JJ, spend the summer at their home on Martha’s Vineyard, at the farmer’s market and local cafe, befriending some of the locals. Their daughter’s kidnapping years earlier has top-notch round-the-clock security with the family at all times.

At the summer’s end, they prepare to return to New York on their private jet. Maggie offers a ride to a couple returning at the same time and to a local artist, hoping to revive his career with a series of new paintings he’s shopping to galleries. As the plane is ready to leave, David learns that the husband is to be indicted for serious financial wrongdoing. The artist barely makes it on the plane as the doors close. And there seems to be something unsettled among the crew. Eighteen minutes after takeoff, the plane crashes in the water.

Scott, the artist, awakens in the water and discovers JJ is still alive. Swimming has been in Scott’s blood for years. Although rusty, Scott’s obsession with strength through swimming and Jack LaLanne kicked in to help he and JJ survive an arduous and unlikely swim to shore. Hawley grabs the reader in his description of the swim and positions Scott as JJ’s protector and the flawed but righteous hero of the story. Of the eleven on board, they are the only two survivors.

Chapter by chapter, Hawley unrolls the backstory of each character, raising and answering questions about whether this was an accident or targeted attack. As the investigation continues, family, the media and Scott all have their interest in JJ, now a very wealthy four-year-old, questioned. There is ample reason and opportunity to root for the good guys and jeer at the villains, and while there are suspicions, the specifics of whodunit and why are not revealed until the very end.

There is place on my bookshelf for page-turners. Going in knowing a novel is unlikely to be a book group read gives me the freedom to just escape in the story. Whether he is doing this with his TV shows (Fargo, Bones and more) or his latest novel, Noah Hawley has me hooked.

‘The UnAmericans’ deserves your attention

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The UnAmericans by Molly Antopol (W.W. Norton & Company, 2014)
In 40 words or less: In eight stories, Antopol crosses continents and decades bringing together politics, love, longing and the human condition.
Genre: Short stories
Locale: Various
Time: Various
Read this to experience the richness of an excellent collection of short stories.

I admit it. It took far too long for me to pick up Molly Antopol’s extraordinary collection of stories. From the opening sentences, each story in the UnAmericans drops the reader into a distinct location and time. Throughout the collection, Antopol brings in elements gleaned from her family’s Eastern European experience and their leftist leanings when they arrived in the U.S. Several stories in the collection take place in Israel, each depicting very different family situations. The precision with which she creates the wide range of settings is extraordinary in writings of this length.

The first story, The Old World, brings together a lonely dry cleaner and a woman longing for her life in Ukraine before Chernobyl. Antopol deftly weaves in each character’s backstory, bringing in the disapproving daughter and son-in-law to underscore the businessman’s vulnerability.

Both The Quietest Man and The Unknown Soldier are twists on the classic theme of divorced fathers seeking to elevate themselves in their child’s eyes. The Unknown Soldier is set as an actor-father leaves prison, having been jailed as a result of the McCarthy hearings. His celebratory road trip with his son does not go as planned, each wanting it to be the other’s trip of a lifetime. In The Quietest Man, a young woman has sold her first play. Long divorced, she has spent little time with her father over the years. Her parents were Czech activists and her father was a celebrated lecturer on their arrival in the U.S. While in the spotlight he neglected his family. Over the years, as new world crises arose, his fame declined. Now her father brings her for a visit seeking reassurance that his image isn’t tarnished in her writings.

With all the different timeframes and settings, there are recurring themes throughout the book. Family is key. Standing up for your beliefs should be lauded, fakery punished. Love isn’t always what it seems. It is how these themes are revealed that differentiates Molly Antopol from most other writers. Antopol was recognized by the National Book Foundation as “5 Under 35” author for this book. She won the New York Public Library’s Young Lions Fiction Award, was longlisted for the National Book Award, and finalist for numerous other awards. The UnAmericans appeared on more than a dozen “Best of” lists in 2014. My only criticism is I enjoyed the stories so much that I rushed to read through them rather than taking more time to savor each one.

So many choices for so many reasons

Who knew? May is short story month. Even the most casual reader likely has noticed the appearance of short story collections on various bestseller lists and individual stories offered up as e-book exclusives. Alice Munro, a specialist in the genre, won the 2013 Nobel Prize for Literature for the body of her work. Publishers are bringing out new compilations from classic short story writers, for example, Let Me Tell You, a new collection of short stories, essays and other writings by Shirley Jackson, was published last year on the 50th anniversary of her death.

If you aren’t already reading or listening to short stories, you really should give them a try. A small collection, by a single author or many, easily fits into whatever tote, briefcase or bag you may carry. And while War and Peace is ill-suited for reading on your phone, short stories are the perfect small bite when you just want to read NOW or while waiting at the MVA, or the doctor’s office, or the train station, or…. you get the idea. Some are even available as audiobooks.

Many find reading short stories different from reading a novel. The author must set the stage, flesh out the characters and reveal the plot in a few short pages. The ending must be clear, even if intended as a cliffhanger. Some authors have characters reappear throughout a collection, or link the stories through locale or theme. While it is a different experience, it is a fine way to get a feel for an unfamiliar author.

Podcasts are a fine way to listen to a variety of authors and readers. One of the best known is Selected Shorts from PRI. Each week, some of the finest actors in American theater read two or more stories during the hour-long podcast. The stories may be by the same author or connected thematically. For those unfamiliar with podcasts, click above to test it out. You may hear an old favorite or discover a new author to add to your reading list.

Neil Gaiman, a writing juggernaut for all ages and genres, has a variety of his stories available in audio and electronic versions at no charge at OpenCulture.com. Another favorite source of unexpected short stories is One Story, a nonprofit organization that publishes and promotes the short story and authors who write them. Subscriptions are available in print (pocket-sized) or for the Kindle or iOS device. A perfect small bite delivered every few weeks, in your preferred format.

Independent bookstores are great resources for all things book. Powell’s in Portland, OR, has put together a list of short story titles from some of the greatest authors, from James Joyce to Jhumpa Lahiri to Etgar Keret and David Foster Wallace. There is something for almost every taste.

Having taken the opportunity to highlight the genre, watch for reviews of several short story collections in the next few months.

Matchmaking for readers – Book Expo Part 3

For all the money spent on advertising and the push to get great reviews in the “right” publications, it is independent booksellers and readers, like you and me, who really determine whether a book is successful or not. At Book Expo, I spoke with publishers and marketing reps to hone in on those titles that would speak to my friends and the book groups I work with. Over the years, I’ve learned where to go and who to speak with and developed enough relationships that a few in the industry came to me when there was a book that they want to “test drive” with some groups. Some of the books they’ve touted have been great successes, for the groups and commercially. Others have just missed the mark.

At the National Book Festival in 2003, James McBride, the author of The Color of Water and The Good Lord Bird, started his presentation by thanking the Jewish and African American women readers and book groups in attendance for his success as an author. He knew it was word of mouth, not the initial reviews, that kept The Color of Water on the bestseller list for over two years. Today the internet, and Amazon and its stepchild, Goodreads, can feed short-term bookselling frenzies (did you pre-order Go Set A Watchman last spring?) but many titles with simmering staying power are those chosen by book groups.

One of the final events at Book Expo for the last several years has been Book Group Speed Dating. Thanks to ReadingGroupGuides, book group leaders and power readers register to attend a 90-minute session where representatives from about 25 publishers present on their upcoming titles of potential interest. The 150+ guests sit at round tables and one or two publishers at a time give 8-minute pitches about their lists to 8 people at the table.

So what do publishers think we want to read? Mostly novels, with occasional memoirs and short story collections in the mix. These are titles with complexities to the plot and/or characters, no bodice-rippers and few whodunits. Many of the titles are available on the tables to be taken home so they are scrutinized then and there. And the poor soul who suggested a 1,200-page magnum opus! There was unanimous sentiment that it was a non-starter for this audience regardless of the literary merit. Of course, for every rule, there is the exception. Jonathan Safran Foer’s Here I Am will be published in September and is just short of 600 pages.

For your TBR (to-be-read) pile here are two books released earlier this month. From the author of A Man Called Ove, Fredrik Backman, is his latest Britt-Marie Was Here. Chris Cleave’s Everyone Brave is
Forgiven looks to touch the readers of All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr’s wonderful novel.

In August/early September, there will be numerous big releases. Adnan’s Story will have previously undisclosed information in a book written by the family friend key in the case that became the “Serial” podcast sensation. Ann Hood’s The Book That Matters Most is tailor-made or book groups and she will be Skype-ing with many in the coming month. The Gone Girl/The Girl on the Train variety of thriller is still going strong. You will see the promotional material for these everywhere.

Now it’s time to get back to the books and read!

Authors on the importance of writing and the worlds they create – Book Expo Part 2

After a day of travel and 5 miles on the conference floor, it took some energy to arrive back at McCormick Place in time for the 8 am Adult Book & Author Breakfast. I am so glad I did.

One lesson learned – humor that may fly at 8 pm with a glass of wine can fall flat at 8 am when the caffeine has yet to do its job. Faith Salie, a TV and radio journalist, and panelist on “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!”, hosted the event and spoke first about her humorous memoir Approval Junkie. Her opening monolog was a mix of intentionally bad publishing jokes and one-liners about her pursuit of a baby-daddy as she reached forty. When she finally segued to the importance of reading and writing throughout her life, Salie set the tone for the serious content to follow.

Colson Whitehead spoke next about The Underground Railroad, his upcoming novel that imagines this path to freedom as a physical railway traversing the country. It’s a book he’s been imagining for years and finally put to paper. He described his journey, from a lowly staffer at The Village Voice more than two decades ago. And he told of how he “giggle-tested” the story line to see if the project was worth pursuing. In The Underground Railroad Whitehead confronts the issues and danger of that time in a story that may remind readers of Swift’s writings. I can’t wait to read my copy.

I’ve been a huge Louise Penny fan for years. Her books are one of my go-to choices when I need to refresh my reading palate. A Great Reckoning is Penny’s latest mystery about the small village of Three Pines and Armand Gamache. She spoke about her childhood and the magic of books, showing her that anything was possible and that bravery, strength, and love could be found within. She shared that Gamache has been modeled on her husband, the former head of hematology at Montreal’s Children’s Hospital, a very caring man who had to see patients and their parents under the worst of circumstances. And then she told that over the last three years the husband she has known for decades has suffered from severe dementia, unable to walk, speak or recognize her. Each day begins with her reminding him he is strong, brave, handsome and loved. Louise Penny is clearly all those things as well.

Were this not enough, the final author on the panel was Sebastian Junger. He came to fame most almost twenty years ago after writing A Perfect Storm. In 2010, his war documentary, Restrepo, about a platoon of soldiers in Afghanistan came to the screen with widespread acclaim and awards. Out of this began a further study into PTSD, the importance of connections and belonging, the result of which is Tribe. The subject and his conclusions should bring about many conversations in the coming months.

It was a very good morning – informative and thought-provoking. From the four, I have literary fiction, mystery, nonfiction, and humor choices for any particular mood. And as I read them, I’ll keep you posted!

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