The BookReport

Jeremy is Reading: Encounter

It is always a civilizing experience to read Milan Kundera's non-fiction, and his new collection of essays, Encounter (Harper Collins), is no exception. Kundera is the author of many novels, most notably The Book of Laughter and Forgetting and The Unbearable Lightness of Being, both originally written in Czech. He also writes extensively on literary and cultural topics and is a perennial reminder of a largely vanished European high culture. He has, for example, an enormous interest in music, especially Beethoven and Stravinsky, and in Encounter there are two pieces on his great countryman Janáček.

The Publick Reader

BookHampton & The Southampton Publick House Are Pleased to Announce a New Book Group:

The Publick Reader

Join Us On A BookQuest!

Thursdays at 5:30pm
Beginning October 7
at Southampton Publick House

40 Bowden Square Southampton

The Publick Reader will begin by reading

Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes, the ultimate quest novel for dreamers of all ages.

Don Quixote, translated by Edith Grossman, is available at BookHampton.
You don’t have to have  begun (or finished) in order to join us at our first meeting. Join Amy Katz for three sessions as we read, discuss, and adventure with this beloved character.

We’ll continue the BookQuest with Portrait of a Lady by Henry James (the quest for womanhood), An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser (the quest for the American Dream), and finally, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald & American Pastoral by Philip Roth (the trappings of the quest for success).

15% discount for Publick Reader members on above titles!

Register at BookHampton, 93 Main Street
by email at jane@bookhampton.com, or call Amy Katz at 283-0270
We’ll reserve a book and a seat at the table!

Many thanks to The Southampton Publick House for providing a great meeting place!

— Jane Cochran

From Avena's List: By Nightfall

Michael Cunningham, the award-winning author of The Hours, brings us another lovely novel, By Nightfall (Farrar, Straus & Giroux). This is a beautifully written story of a New York Couple, both involved with the arts, whose lives are upended by the arrival of the wife's wayward brother.

Questions of art, beauty, faithfulness, and love arise as the husband finds himself enraptured by the brother's presence. Cunningham's language is always stunning, and this new novel is a revelatory depiction of the blurry lines between love and sexuality.

– Chris Avena

By Nightfall is available at bookhampton.com.

Jeremy is Reading: The Elephant's Journey

The publication of a new book by José Saramago is always a significant event, this time a rather sad one, since The Elephant's Journey (Houghton Mifflin) is the last book he completed before his death earlier this year. Based on an actual occurrence in the year 1551, the book tells the story of an elephant named Solomon. Along with its mahout or keeper Subhro, it was to be given by the King of Portugal as an belated wedding present to Archduke Maximillian of Austria, who happened to be living in Spain.

From Avena's List: The Thousand

Kevin Guilfoile's debut novel, Cast of Shadows, received great acclaim for its page-turning thrills. His new book, The Thousand (Knopf), is even better. Its brilliant protagonist finds herself ensnared in the nefarious doings of a secret society – The Thousand, a group descended from the original disciples of Pythagoras – as she desperately tries to find her father's killer. Like Dan Brown at his best, Guilfoile cleverly combines history, mathematics, philosophy, art, music, and science into one of this season's most riveting rides.

– Chris Avena

The Thousand and Cast of Shadows are available at bookhampton.com.

Jeremy is Reading: The Return

Roberto Bolaño died in 2003 — just as one of his books was appearing in English translation for the first time — but he must have been insanely prolific because new books written by him continue to appear with startling frequency. Just published is The Return (New Directions), a collection of stories that continue to demonstrate — as if any demonstration were required — his remarkable versatility and range.

Perhaps most striking are the  last four stories in the book: "Joanna Silvestri" and "Prefiguration of Lalo Cura", both of which are set in the world of pornographic films; "Murdering Whores", about a woman's revenge on a very mach athlete; and the title story, about the ghost of a man who died suddenly in a Paris disco and is able to follow and observe what happens to his body as the ambulance attendants take it to a famous man's apartment (I refuse to tell you why, or what happens!). This is a delicious collection, worthy of Bolaño's oeuvre.

— Jeremy Nussbaum

Order The Return (23.00, with free shipping on internet orders)

Jeremy is Reading: I Curse the River of Time

The Norwegian writer Per Petterson attracted a great deal of attention a few years ago with the publication of Out Stealing Horses, followed by To Siberia (which was actually written earlier). As a result the publication in English translation of his new novel I Curse the River of Time (Graywolf Press) — the title is a quotation from Mao Zedong — was eagerly anticipated.

The new book is something of a sequel to To Siberia, but it takes place several decades later. The main character, Arvid, is trying to repair his damaged relationship with his Mother, who is terminally ill; there are many flashbacks to his early life, including notably his departure from college in order to become an ordinary worker, consistent with the ardor he then felt for communism. Now it is 1989, and in addition to his mother's mortal illness Arvid's wife has left him and, with the fall of the Berlin Wall, all the bases of his world seem to be collapsing.

It is fascinating to me that Petterson exemplifies every stereotypical view of the frozen north and the hardbitten people who occupy it, yet manages at the same time to transcend the stereotypes and show us their distilled essence and something of our own lives as well.

— Jeremy Nussbaum

Order I Curse the River of Time (23.00), Out Stealing Horses, or Siberia (14.00 each)

From Avena's List: The Geometry of Pasta

The Geometry of Pasta by Jacob Kennedy, with illustrations by Caz Hildebrand (Quirk Books)

This whimsical new cookbook is a must for pasta fans. It brazenly eschews the usual glossy cookbook photos to feature wonderful graphic presentations. Each of the pastas is illustrated with bold black and while graphics. And each is complemented by mouth-watering recipes that show off the pasta to grand effect.

An art lover's cookbook! A cook's art book!

— Chris Avena

The Geometry of Pasta is available at bookhampton.com.

Jeremy is Reading: Death of the Adversary & Comedy in a Minor Key

Readers of The New York Times Book Review were no doubt startled — as I was — to see a review by Francine Prose on the cover of the August 5 edition which said that for those who had "the time and energy only to skim the opening paragraph of a review, I'll say this as quickly and clearly as possible: The Death of the Adversary and Comedy in a Minor Key (Farrar, Straus & Giroux) are masterpieces and Hans Keilson is a genius."

Needless to say, we were totally unprepared for the demand for these books that ensued on the publication of this review, so I, too, had to wait several days to find out for myself what she was talking about.

The Jake Files: Redwall

Redwall, the Legend Begins is the first book in the series by Brian Jacques. The story is set in an abbey on the edge of Mossflower Wood and tells the story of a group of mice who have been there as long as anyone can remember. The mice give aid and help to creatures in need from surrounding areas. Mathias a young mouse is the main character of this book.

In Redwall Abbey much is peaceful until the evil rat Cluny the Scourge comes to conquer Redwall with army of rats, weasels, and stoats. Martin the warrior the ancient warrior mouse of Redwall was said to have a powerful sword. To save Redwall Abbey Mathias must embark on a quest to find the sword. On his journey he meets many friends and slays his enemies.

These mice all possess qualities very similar to humans. They are loyal to each other, respect their elders, and have abbeys and churches. Some of the mice resemble valiant heroes willing to fight for honor and glory. A few of the mice are very adventurous and  the book follows the story of a heroic mouse on his quest.

I loved this book and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good adventure story. There wasn’t a part in the book that I think the author should have changed. I guarantee that any book lover would enjoy this book.

Order Redwall by Brian Jacques — or any of the books in the series — right here!

From Avena's List: Freedom

Jonathan Franzen, the renowned author of The Corrections, finally returns with his much-anticipated new book, Freedom (Farrar, Straus & Giroux). The desire, delusion, and concept of freedom hangs over the heads of the flawed and passionate members of a midwestern family. The Berglunds live, love, laugh, and languish. Patty, the determined ex-jock wife and mother, frustrated and lost. Walter, the well-meaning husband and father, helplessly and hopelessly in love with his wife. And their children — Joey, doted upon and mother-smothered; and Jessica, surviving despite her mother's seeming indifference. These lives — and the lives of friends, family and loves that orbit them — pulse with life on the page, and make for a truly unforgettable novel.

— Chris Avena

Order your copies of Freedom  and The Corrections at bookhampton.com.

Congressman Tim Bishop at BookHampton

On Saturday, August 28 BookHampton was delighted to welcome Congressman Tim Bishop to our East Hampton store for a town meeting. He spoke briefly and then took questions from the audience on a range of topics, including health care reform, immigration, taxation, and the war in Afghanistan.

On health care Mr. Bishop said he voted in favor of the bill which was eventually passed into law because it represented the best alternative, although he acknowledged that it is afar fro perfect. He pointed out that adding 35 to 40 million people to the pool of those being insured — which the bill will do — is in fact the surest way to bring down premium rates.

In response to a question about rising property tax rates, he said that at least in our area 70% of the property taxes go to support public schools, and the only way to bring them down would be to increase Federal support for schools, or for school districts to reduce expenses. He did not express an opinion on the latter, as it is of course outside Congress's jurisdiction.

In response to another question Mr. Bishop said that he was opposed to term limits for members of Congress because he believes that he knows more now, and is much more effective, than he was when he was elected (he is now in his fourth term).

Given how much of what passes for  political discourse these days is shouting and invective, it was encouraging for those present to see how articulate, well-informed, and well-spoken our representative in Congress is.

— Jeremy Nussbaum