Book reviews added in the week of 9/9-9/15

Hi all,

Multiple links to full-length professional reviews of the following
books have been added at http://www.reviewsofbooks.com in the last
week:

"The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri - Ashima and Ashoke Ganguli are recent
immigrants to Boston from India in 1968 when they give birth to their
first child, a son. Their son ends up with the pet name of Gogul,
when his "good name" never arrives from India. Gogul despises his
name and grows up as American as he can while his parents cling to
their Bengali past while living what appears to be a typical American
suburban lifestyle. Jhumpa Lahiri (winner of the Pulitzer Prize for
"Interpreter of Maladies") has written a novel about immigrant lives,
families, and bonds that can never be broken. "The Namesake" has
received high praise from most reviewers. Michiko Kakutani begins her
review for the New York Times, "Jhumpa Lahiri's quietly dazzling new
novel, 'The Namesake,' is that rare thing: an intimate, closely
observed family portrait that effortlessly and discreetly unfolds to
disclose a capacious social vision."
Excerpt and reviews are at: http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/namesake

"The Fortress of Solitude" by Jonathan Lethem - Dylan Edbus and his
artistic, hippie parents moved to a Brooklyn street in the 1970s,
where he is the only white boy in the neighborhood. His mother leaves
and his father disappears into his studio to work on his animation
masterpiece. Dylan is bullied and shook down on the way to school
every day, and longs just to be invisible. His finally becomes
friends with a black boy named Mingus, who also has an absent mother
and a father who has retreated into himself. Together they explored
their early adolescent life, filled with comic books, superheroes,
graffiti, and ring that allows them to fly. Jonathan Lethem's novel
has received high praise for his portrayal of two boys trying to find
themselves in a world of neglect, race, gentrification, crime, drugs,
and friendship. The Rocky Mountain News says, "This is a novel to be
savored, a book to be read slowly, a process of discovery for the
reader, just as it is for the protagonist. 'The Fortress of Solitude'
is this generation's 'Catcher in the Rye,' and Dylan Edbus its Holden
Caulfield."
Excerpt and reviews are at:
http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/fortress_of_solitude

"Bleachers" by John Grisham - John Grisham takes a break from usual
lawyer-in-peril thrillers to write a story about high school football
and its effect on the people involved in it. Messina is a small town
in an unnamed southern state where the football field holds more
people than the town population. The tough-as-nails coach, Eddie
Rake, drove his boys hard to win state championships and the hero
worship and extra privileges that come with it. The coach is now on
his deathbed, and his old players come back to Messina to say goodbye
and relive memories of those days. It's a look at how a single-minded
obsession and hero worship at a young age can affect many lives.
"Bleachers" has received mixed reviews from "engaging little novel"
(USA Today) to a "moribund and misbegotten little novel"
(Entertainment Weekly).
Excerpt and reviews are at: http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/bleachers

"Teeth of the Tiger" by Tom Clancy - In Tom Clancy's "Teeth of the
Tiger," Jack Ryan, Jr. takes center stage, working for a shadowy
government organization called "The Campus." It's a secret group that
hunts down and assassinates terrorists. Jack Jr. has the talent to
search CIA, FBI, and NSA databases to spot the movements of
terrorists. His two cousins are some the hired guns that track them
down. It's a combination thriller and coming-of-age story for these
three young men. Reviews for "Teeth of the Tiger" have ranged from
tepid at best, "an acceptable thriller" (San Antonio Express-News), to
a "bloated, boring, silly novel" (Washington Post).
Excerpt and reviews are at:
http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/teeth_of_the_tiger

That's the new additions in the last week, two literary efforts
receiving many glowing reviews, and new efforts from Grisham and
Clancy that their fans will probably enjoy.

Also, this week, I posted my review of "Bangkok 8" by John Burdett.
Sonchai Jitpleecheep and his partner are the only honest cops in their
police division in Bangkok, Thailand. While trying to save a murder
victim's life, Sonchai's partner is killed and he vows to avenge his
death. This is much more than just a murder mystery, though. Sonchai
is just a delightful character to narrate this story, and besides
trying to solve the crime, he educates us in Buddhism, Thailand, and
the different way of life in Asia. John Burdett does a remarkable job
creating such a believable character and a sense of place that once
you're finished, you'd think you've been there. This was great fun to
read! The full review can be read at
http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/bangkok_8/review


Happy reading!

Bill - administrator of http://www.reviewsofbooks.com