Cherry

Cherry (2000) by Mary Karr. Karr, author of "The Liars' Club," has followed up that incandescent memoir with this, the story of her coming of age in the aptly named Leechfield, Texas. Karr's prose is spectacular; she is, after all, a poet as well as a writer of memoirs. The book really comes alive when young Mary Karr enters her "hippie" phase, goes to the beach and hangs out with the surfers, and gets high on every substance available (except heroin, which she tries once and doesn't like). Her acid-fueled hallucinations of the last few chapters of the book are enough to put me off of drug use for the rest of my life. My god, this woman lived dangerously! I didn't love this book quite as much as "The Liars' Club," but I also found it hard to put down. Grade: A-

Orange is the New Black

Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison (2010) by Piper Kerman. The author provides a fascinating look at how she became caught up in the criminal justice system, and how her year in prison was not the horrific experience some readers might expect. During her incarceration (in a minimum security prison) she found that she felt connected to her fellow inmates, and formed many meaningful relationships that she had not foreseen. She also became a fierce critic of the American system of "justice," and writes knowingly about how the drug laws and zero-tolerance statutes have made the prison population zoom. I felt as if I had been introduced to a world that I did not know existed, and reading the book was an enriching experience. Grade: B

Life of Pi

Life of Pi (2001) by Yann Martel. Fanciful tale of a young Indian boy who finds himself on a lifeboat with a large Bengal tiger after the ship they are traveling on sinks. First the boy, named Pi Patel, must learn how to survive on the wide Pacific Ocean with only the provisions that come with the lifeboat; and second, he must tame the tiger so that they can co-exist on the lifeboat. It's a striking story of survival under extreme conditions, but also somewhat tedious in the piling up of detail that is necessary to describe how he survives. Overall, worth reading. Grade: B

The Man from Beijing

The Man from Beijing (2008) by Henning Mankell. In a Swedish village, 19 people are slaughtered surreptitiously in one night. In China, a wealthy businessman plots against his sister. These two events are related, and it takes Mankell an entire book to explain how. The book ranges over the entire world, from Sweden to China to America to Africa. There are long digressions which, while germane, are not always useful in maintaining the momentum of the story. I liked this book, but I'm not sure I would seek out more books by the same author. Grade: B+

The Dogs of Rome

The Dogs of Rome (2010) by Conor Fitzgerald. Commissario Alec Blume was born in Seattle, but he is a detective in the Roman police force. He speaks impeccable Italian -- with a Roman accent -- and also still speaks English. When a prominent Roman is murdered, the case falls to Blume, who shows a genius at analyzing criminals' motives and deciphering crime scenes. And what the author, Fitzgerald, shows a talent for is showing us the different facets of his characters, and the ins and outs of politics within the police department. It's an involving, well-told story, with a satisfying conclusion. Grade: A-