These are the selections we are reading for the One City, One Story selections. Gee, I hope this was not a secret... ;-) Mary Ann
Anaya, Rudolfo A. – Bless Me, Ultima; a novel (1972) -
When a curandera comes to stay with a young boy, he tests the bonds that tie him to his culture and finds himself in the secrets of the past.
Brooks, Geraldine – People of the Book (2008; paperback due 12/30/08) Hanna Heath, a rare book expert, must analyze and conserve the famed Sarajevo Haggadah. Her investigation plunges her into the intrigues of fine-art forgers and ultra-nationalist fanatics. From the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning March.
Card, Orson Scott – Ender’s Game (1985 ) - 'Cards has taken the venerable sf concepts of a superman and an interstellar war against aliens, and, with superb characterization, pacing and language, combined them into a seamless story of compelling power.
Chabon, Michael – Yiddish policeman’s Union: a novel (2007) –
For sixty years, Jewish refugees and their descendants have prospered in the Federal District of Sitka, a "temporary" safe haven created in the wake of revelations of the Holocaust and the shocking 1948 collapse of the fledgling state of Israel. Proud, grateful, and longing to be American, the Jews of the Sitka District have created their own little world in the Alaskan panhandle, a vibrant, gritty, soulful, and complex frontier city that moves to the music of Yiddish. For sixty years they have been left alone, neglected and half-forgotten in a backwater of history. Now the District is set to revert to Alaskan control, and their dream is coming to an end: once again the tides of history threaten to sweep them up and carry them off into the unknown." "But homicide detective Meyer Landsman of the District Police has enough problems without worrying about the upcoming Reversion. His life is a shambles, his marriage a wreck, his career a disaster. He and his half-Tlingit partner, Berko Shemets, can't catch a break in any of their outstanding cases. Landsman's new supervisor is the love of his life - and also his worst nightmare. And in the cheap hotel where he has washed up, someone has just committed a murder - right under Landsman's nose. Out of habit, obligation, and a mysterious sense that it somehow offers him a shot at redeeming himself, Landsman begins to investigate the killing of his neighbor, a former chess prodigy. But when word comes down from on high that the case is to be dropped immediately, Landsman soon finds himself contending with all the powerful forces of faith, obsession, hopefulness, evil, and salvation that are his heritage - and with the unfinished business of his marriage to Bina Gelbfish, the one person who understands his darkest fears."--BOOK JACKET.
Cullin, Mitch – A Slight Trick of the Mind (2005) - imagines Sherlock Holmes at age ninety-three, living in Sussex, on the Downs, tending his bees, and putting the final touches on the third volume of The Art of Detection. His eye is clear: his mind is sharp. His memory is something else again. An old case haunts him. There is also a trip to post-Hiroshima Japan, and Holmes’ desire to set the record straight about the stories Watson wrote about their adventures. This is a Nan Talese book
Gruen, Sara – Water for Elephants: a novel (2006) - A novel of star-crossed lovers, set in the circus world circa 1932. When Jacob Jankowski, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, grifters, and misfits, a second-rate circus struggling to survive during the Great Depression, making one-night stands in town after endless town. A veterinary student who almost earned his degree, Jacob is put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It is there that he meets Marlena, the beautiful young star of the equestrian act, who is married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. He also meets Rosie, an elephant who seems untrainable until he discovers a way to reach her"--From publisher description.
Hamilton, Denise – The Jasmine Trade (2004) – Detective novel largely set in the San Gabriel Valley about Chinese gangs, “parachute children,” and international trafficking for prostitution, known as the “jasmine trade.”
Hillerman, Tony – A Thief of Time(1988) – Edgar Award winner by the master writer of Navaho detective thrillers. Hillerman’s body of work places him in the pantheon of great detective writers.
When two corpses appear amid stolen goods and bones at an ancient burial site, Navajo Tribal Policemen Lt. Joe Leaphorn and Officer Jim Chee must plunge into the past to unearth the astonishing truth behind a mystifying series of horrific murders.
O’Brien, Tim - The Things They Carried (1990) - Each of the 22 tales relates the exploits and personalities of a fictional platoon of American soldiers in Vietnam. The classic Vietnam War novel, often suggested over the years by patrons as an OCOS choice.
Patchett, Ann - Bel Canto (2002) – Transcendent love, forgiveness of enemies, and understanding “the Other” are themes that weave in and out of Patchett’s prize winning short novel about terrorism and hostage taking, sprinkled with musical allusions and a heroine based on Renee Fleming.
Robinson, Marilynne – Gilead (2006) – Pulitzer prize winning epistolary novel about a Kansas minister’s reflections on his life and family history, as well as that of America in the 19th century. Deep themes of love, understanding and tolerance abound as the story develops in letters to the minister’s son as the man he will grow to be. Past, present, and future are interwoven in an unforgettable tale.
See, Lisa - Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (2005) - is a brilliantly realistic journey back to an era of Chinese history that is as deeply moving as it is sorrowful. With the period detail and deep resonance of Memoirs of a Geisha, this lyrical and emotionally charged novel delves into one of the most mysterious of human relationships: female Poignant story of the friendship of two women in 19th century China. SoCal author – excellent speaker.
Urrea, Louis Alberto – The Hummingbird’s Daughter (2005) - is the story of Teresita, a distant relative of Urrea, coming to terms with her destiny, with the miraculous, and with the power of faith. It is the tale of a father discovering what true love is and a daughter recognizing that sometimes true love requires true sacrifice. Full of cowboys and outlaws, Indian warriors and cantina beauties, silly men who drink too much and desert women who in their dreams travel to the seashore. Urrea completed two decades of research for this fictional history of La Santa de Cabora’s life. A 2008 Pasadena One City, One Book Nominee.
Zusak, Markus – The Book Thief (2006) - Set during World War II in Germany, Zusaks groundbreaking novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing, encounters something she can’t resist: books.
