The Language of Secrets
by Ausma Zehanat Khan
Uncanny timing for this story about a terrorist cell (11/24/2015)
I started and finished reading this advanced readers copy just days after the November Paris attacks, and I cannot stop thinking about this book. The story follows a Muslim detective, Esa, and his partner, Rachel, as they investigate the murder of an undercover agent. They must work without interfering with a concurrent investigation into the Muslim terrorist cell that the agent had infiltrated. I had to read the book very closely in order to understand the multiple plot lines and poetry references, but it was worth it. The story's insights into the Muslim faith and community were fascinating.
Also...this novel may appeal to fans of Louise Penny's work. Readers meet another honorable, handsome Canadian policeman who is fighting internal politics and organized crime.
Maud's Line
by Margaret Verble
Just OK (7/15/2015)
Maud is a young Cherokee woman living in 1928 Oklahoma with her alcoholic father and sensitive brother. (Her mother died of a snake bite years ago.) I think the title refers to the lines Maud walks in the book, including the literal lines between land allotments, the lines between childhood and adulthood, between the life she has now and the life she wants (complete with electricity, indoor plumbing, education), and primarily the line between the two lovers in her life, one white and one Indian. I was surprised that the author did not describe more of the tensions between the whites and the Indians, as surely a relationship between an 18 year old Cherokee woman and a 30ish white man would cause a stir in 1928?
I would describe the author's writing style as wordy and unpolished. The quote on the book's cover comparing her to Louise Erdrich is a huge leap. I also agree with other reviewers that the extensive pages devoted to Maud's sex life in the last half of the book seemed completely out of place and unnecessary.
The Wild Girl
by Kate Forsyth
An entirely new perspective (4/4/2015)
The beautiful book cover and the promise of an "untold love story" made me start reading this book immediately. I should know by now not to judge a book by its cover; this was a much more serious novel than I expected. Dortchen Wild's family lives in the same German village as the Grimm family in the early 1800s. Life is hard for everyone in the area during the Napoleonic Wars, but especially difficult for Dortchen and her sisters, who have a cruel, abusive father. Wilhelm Grimm is determined to document the folk tales of his people, to preserve the German culture despite invading military forces. These folk tales are dark, disturbing stories, not the "happy ending" tales that I remembered from my childhood. Many of the tales are told to Wilhelm by Dortchen. Some of the most interesting scenes in the book take place when Dortchen tries to communicate her feelings for Wilhelm and her painful situation at home through these stories. The book is well-researched (the author is studying for her PhD in "Fairy Tale Retellings") and gave me an entirely different perspective on Grimm's fairy tales.
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