The following books have been added to the collection of the Deering Public Library.
You can see many of our holdings in our on-line catalogue at https://www.librarycat.org/lib/DeeringPublicLibrary
I will be happy to deliver any book in our collection to your home, following COVID protocols of course.
If you do not see a book or an author in our catalogue, contact me and I will see whether we have it. You can contact me, here, through Blogger, from the Library tab of Deering town's web site, or directly from the Tiny Cat catalogue.
The new additions include one History/Biography and four works of fiction.
ABE. Abraham Lincoln in his Times by David S. Reynolds, 1066 pages, 2020
This is, indeed, a biography of Abraham Lincoln. On top of that, the book is a biography of terrible times in our country in the lead-up to, and through the Civil War. A cultural history that is even more interesting read in light of current events.
From a Good Reads Reviewer:
'A Look at Abraham Lincoln’s Life and His Cultural Setting
The 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln has more biographies than almost any other individual (other than Jesus Christ) according to author David S. Reynolds. Why write one more? Reynolds examines the life of Lincoln in light of his cultural setting and proposes reasons why Lincoln became his person and personality. His actions were rooted in the culture. I’ve been listening to the audiobook and found this perspective enlightening and fascinating.
For example, Lincoln’s parents came from two different areas of the country—the north and the south. Reynolds labels these distinctions Puritan and Cavalier and explains each one. It gave me a new perspective on the formation and actions of Lincoln.'
FICTION
SNOW by John Banville, 299 pages, 2020.
Booker Prize winning John Banville has published a mystery series as Benjamin Black. Detective John Strafford was formally adopted by John Banville for the start of this new series. The slim book has a lot in it: class warfare, religious conflict, sex, creepy clerics. I liked it lot!
From Good Reads publisher's blog:
Detective Inspector St. John Strafford has been summoned to County Wexford to investigate a murder. A parish priest has been found dead in Ballyglass House, the family seat of the aristocratic, secretive Osborne family.
The year is 1957 and the Catholic Church rules Ireland with an iron fist. Strafford—flinty, visibly Protestant, and determined to identify the murderer—faces obstruction at every turn, from the heavily accumulating snow to the culture of silence in this tight-knit community. As he delves further, he learns the Osbornes are not at all what they seem. And when his own deputy goes missing, Strafford must work to unravel the ever-expanding mystery before the community’s secrets, like the snowfall itself, threatens to obliterate everything.
Here is what one reviewer said about Snow:
"A priest is found stabbed and mutilated in the home of a country squire. This book is the start of a new mystery series by this author, who previously published his mysteries under the name Benjamin Black. The name Banville was reserved for his more literary fiction. This book definitely didn’t feel like literary fiction. It’s an old school murder mystery with a body in the library and a closed circle of suspects with secrets. It features Irish Detective Inspector St John Strafford, who kisses one suspect, is flashed by another and sleeps with the maid in his hotel - so it’s not quite Agatha Christie. The direction the book is going to take is signaled by the nature of the crime. You might want to avoid this book (view spoiler)
Strattford manages to lose his deputy during the course of his investigation and he seems to run around in circles for a lot of the book. He also seems to have no idea how to dress for Irish weather since he is constantly borrowing clothing. The suspects are mostly pitiable and the victim is repugnant. The police don’t actually solve the crime, rather it conveniently solves itself. The book did hold my interest, so if there are more books in the series I might read them."
PIRANESI by Susanna Clarke, 245 pages, 2020.
Susanna Clarke wrote a fantastic novel, Dr. Strange and Mr Morrell several years ago. In this book two magicians attempt to establish magic in England during Napoleonic times. It was really two novels, the second found in footnotes in which a dream existence is descried.
I have been waiting for Ms Clarke to write something else. A second book, The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories, was very similar to her first. In Piranesi we have another fabulus -- that is to say, a fable -- book. A fable, a mystery, a crossing from a dream world to a hard-edged world. Cads and scurrilous characters alongside good but confused folk. The setting of the book is surreal and even a bit threatening. Put yourself in a painting by Georgio de Chirico with the ability to pass into a photo by Ansel Adams and back again.
This book is certainly different from Susanna Clarke's first two, and it took a while to adjust to the place and even detect a plot, but sure enough .... all was revealed. I liked it!
THE LYING LIFE OF ADULTS by Elena Ferrante, 322 pages, 2019
The Lying Life of Adults is the fifth of Elena Ferrante's novels to be set in Naples, but while this one is not part of the Quartette, it might as well have been written by somebody from the old Naples neighborhood. They are all the same people.
Here is the review of a Good Reads reviewer:
"This is the story of Giovanna, an adolescent middle-class girl living in Naples. Her father had worked to climb the social ladder and has been successful at it, her mother has maintained her social position and it is expected that Giovanna will make her life decisions cautious not to "go down". Giovanna becomes acquainted with her Aunt Vittoria who lives in the poorer neighbourhoods of Naples and who forces her to really look at the prim and proper structure filled with custom and propriety, and sure enough she begins to see the cracks.
While disillusionment is occurring, Giovanna becoming aware of the falsehoods, infidelities and betrayals of adults, she also experiences that grand physical and mental shift that is puberty. Ferrante writes of how confusing and disorienting that phase of life can be, exploring budding sexuality, friendship and love."
THE SEARCHER by Tana French, 451 pages, 2020
Nothing is simple or easy in this murder mystery!
From the publisher:
Retired detective Cal Hooper moves to a remote village in rural Ireland. His plans are to fix up the dilapidated cottage he's bought, to walk the mountains, to put his old police instincts to bed forever.
Then a local boy appeals to him for help. His brother is missing, and no one in the village, least of all the police, seems to care. And once again, Cal feels that restless itch.
Something is wrong in this community, and he must find out what, even if it brings trouble to his door.
