SMSA (Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts)
New Book Highlights
ANIMAL STORIES
| Barry, Dave | Lessons from Lucy |
Lessons from Lucy / Dave Barry
Pulitzer Prize winner Barry, well known for his countless humorous columns and books, tackles a topic that most of us don’t find funny: aging. Once the author hit 70, the same age in dog years as Lucy, he started thinking more about the brevity of life. Despite her age, Lucy was almost always happy. So Barry set out to learn from her, compiling seven basic “lessons” from his observations. The lessons are filled with the author’s signature brand of quirky, sometimes-sarcastic humor as he wanders from topic to topic: a hurricane bearing down on the Florida coast; having his DNA analyzed; waiting interminably in line at an ice cream shop; hitting puberty and suddenly finding girls attractive; and accumulating stuff, particularly camera equipment. His integration of informative tidbits about his life helps readers see him as an average guy confronting his own mortality. Few topics are off-limits, and each mini story relates back to the lesson at hand, whether it’s to have more fun, make new friends, or pay attention right now to the people you love (put down the cellphone). Even for those who are not as enamored by dogs as the author, his gentle wisdom seeps through the humor. He successfully pokes fun at the aging process without wallowing in overly long discussions of declining health and the wear and tear of body parts. Astute advice about growing older rolled into a blanket of classic Barry humor. (Kirkus Reviews, 1 August 2018)
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BIOGRAPHY
| Al Muderis, Munjed | Going back |
| Carmon, Irin | Notorious RBG |
| Kent, Jacqueline | Beyond words |
| Laveau-Harvie, Vicki | The erratics |
| Purnell, Sonia | A woman of no importance |
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GENERAL FICTION
| Adjei-Brenyah, Nana Kwame | Friday Black |
| Allan, Nina | The dollmaker |
| Baldacci, David | Redemption |
| Berry, Steve | The Malta exchange |
| Blunt, Ashley Kalagian | My name is revenge |
| de Kerangal, Maylis | The cook |
| Downing, Samantha | My lovely wife |
| Evanovich, Stephanie | Under the table |
| Fitzpatrick, Lydia | Lights all night long |
| George, Nina | The book of dreams |
| Harris, Joanne | The strawberry thief |
| Kelly, Martha Hall | Lost roses |
| Lester, Natasha | The French photographer |
| Lonie, John | The woman from Saint-Germain |
| Marchetta, Melina | The place on dalhousie |
| McEwan, Ian | Machines like me |
| McLean, Felicity | The Van Apfel girls are gone |
| Moon, Josephine | The gift of life |
| Moyes, Jojo | The peacock emporium |
| Patterson, James | Miracle at St. Andrews |
| Porter, Max | Lanny |
| Rowley, Steven | The editor |
| Schweblin, Samanta | Fever dream |
| Scottoline, Lisa | Someone knows |
| See, Lisa | The island of sea women |
| Smith, Ali | Spring |
| Swanson, Peter | Before she knew him |
The cook / Maylis de Kerangal
Fitfully delectable is the best way to describe this brief French portrait of the artist as a young self-made chef from de Kerangal (The Heart). At age 10, impressionable Mauro becomes fascinated by the family’s Paris kitchen and begins baking cakes. By 13, he is feeding his friends so they won’t have to eat McDonald’s and frozen pizza. While attending university, he gets his first part-time job in a restaurant kitchen and eventually decides to forgo a master’s in economics in favor of a career in cooking. After apprenticing in several Paris restaurants, Mauro, at age 24, is inspired to open up his own restaurant, in partnership with his jack-of-all-trades father, Jacques. La Belle Saison becomes a success, but after four years, Mauro feels burned out. He sells the restaurant and goes to Asia in search of new gastronomic worlds to conquer and “tastes that give him back his capacity for surprise.” Ranging from Paris dining temples to Berlin kebab houses to a 10-diner-only, 10-course restaurant in Bangkok, the author takes readers on a brilliantly realized culinary tour of the world. Though its emotionally distant narrative style and tendency to tell rather than show may turn off some readers, this is a rich novel, particularly for armchair travelers. (Publishers Weekly, 17 January 2019)
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HISTORICAL FICTION
| Brooks, Karen | The chocolate maker’s wife |
| Keneally, Meg | Fled |
| Macneal, Elizabeth | The doll factory |
The doll factory by Elizabeth MacNeal
London, 1850. Iris feels trapped by her apprenticeship as a doll painter at Mrs Salter’s Doll Emporium, by her twin sister Rose’s misery at smallpox scars that have ruined her chance of making a good match, and by her religious, disapproving parents. When a chance arises to model for pre-Raphaelite artist Louis Frost in exchange for being taught how to paint, Iris seizes it, no matter the consequences for her moral status in society. Art and love open up the world to her and she has never felt so happy and free. Street urchin Albie delivers dolls’ clothes to Iris and dead animals to Silas Reed, who stuffs and displays them in his Shop of Curiosities Antique and New. One day, while watching the spectacle of the Great Exhibition being built in Hyde Park, Albie introduces Silas to Iris. It is a fleeting encounter for Iris but lonely Silas is captivated and his darkening obsession threatens Iris’s new world. This is a stunning novel. The Victorian world is alive on every page, from the treasures displayed at the Great Exhibition to the squalor and misery on dark streets. The writing is as beautiful and evocative as the art it describes. Despite The Doll Factory’s historical setting, its themes of love, obsession and the power balance between men and women remain relevant in the modern world. The characters are sympathetically drawn, even when they display the worst of human nature, and Iris is a captivating heroine. Although this is her debut, Macneal writes like a seasoned novelist and readers will await to see what she produces next. (Good Reading Magazine, April 2019)
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MYSTERY
| Arlidge, M. J. | A gift for dying |
| Bjork, Samuel | The boy in the headlights |
| Burke, Alafair | The better sister |
| Casey, Jane | Cruel acts |
| Chien, Vivien | Murder lo mein |
| Childs, Laura | Plum tea crazy |
| Connolly, John | A book of bones |
| Cummins, Fiona | The neighbour |
| Davis, Lindsey | A capitol death |
| Dearman, Lara | Dark sky island |
| Gray, Alex | The stalker |
| Henaff, Sophie | Stick together |
| Harris, C. S. | Who slays the wicked |
| Henry, Julia | Pruning the dead |
| Herron, Mick | Down Cemetery Road |
| Hillerman, Anne | The tale teller |
| Jackson, Lisa | Willing to die |
| Jance, J. A. | The A list |
| Kelly, Diane | Dead as a door knocker |
| Kerr, Philip | Metropolis |
| Kidd, Jess | Things in jars |
| Lelchuk, Saul | Save me from dangerous men |
| Marsons, Angela | Dead memories |
| McKinlay, Jenn | Assault and beret |
| Montanari, Richard | The buried girl |
| Neel, Janet | Death of a partner |
| Neel, Janet | Death among the dons |
| Parks, Alan | February’s son |
| Parsons, Tony | Taken |
| Perry, Anne | Murder on the Serpentine |
| Perry, Anne | The Angel Court affair |
| Perry, Anne | Triple jeopardy |
| Rosenfelt, David | Black and blue |
| Trotter, Alan | Muscle |
| Waller, Anita | Murder unexpected |
| Warner, Dave, | River of salt |
| White, D. E. | Remember me |
| Wilkins, Susan | The informant |
| Winspear, Jacqueline | The American agent |
| Wyer, Carol E. | Secrets of the dead |
| Wyer, Carol | The missing girls |
Save me from dangerous men / S. E. Lelchuk
At the start of Lelchuk’s terrific debut, 33-year-old Nikki Griffin picks up a man in an Oakland, Calif., bar, then beats him to a pulp. Why? “Because you had it coming,” she tells him. He was abusing his girlfriend, and Nikki, a Berkeley bookstore owner by day and a PI by night, helps victims by ensuring their abusers won’t do it again. Meanwhile, the CEO of Care4, a high-profile Silicon Valley startup, hires Nikki to investigate Karen Li, an employee who might be stealing intellectual property. The resourceful Nikki follows Karen to shadowy meetings in San Francisco and, eventually, to Mendocino as she begins unraveling a complex tapestry of corporate intrigue. Lelchuk does a fine job weaving the intense foreground story with Nikki’s painful personal life, which includes a junkie brother living in squalor in Oakland. This intelligent, action-packed thriller will resonate with readers as it touches on such themes as domestic violence, the widening gap between rich and poor, and the intrusive potential of advanced technologies like artificial intelligence. A credible plot and solid prose are pluses, but the book’s real appeal stems from its powerful, distinctive protagonist. (Publishers Weekly, 22 January 2019)
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NON FICTION
| Brinkley, Douglas | American moonshot | 629.409 BRIN |
| Brooks, David | The second mountain | 302 BROO |
| Carreyrou, John | Bad blood | 338.768 CARR |
| Chee, Alexander | How to write an autobiographical novel | 814 CHEE |
| Elkin, Lauren | Flaneuse | 305.42 ELKI |
| Gilchrist, Catie | Murder, misadventure & miserable ends | 306.909 GILC |
| Grant, Stan | Australia Day | 305.89915 GRAN |
| Stott Despoja, Natasha | On violence | 362.8292 STOT |
| Thomas, Helen | Murder on Easey Street | 364.152 THOM |
| Waugh, Max | An ungodly generation | 370.994 WAUG |
Flaneuse / Lauren Elkin
Flaneuse is not a word you will find in most French dictionaries. When the word flaneur was coined in the 19th century, idly roaming the streets to observe city life was not something respectable women were free to do. But as Lauren Elkin points out, women have long had their own ways of interacting with the city and defying the limitations imposed upon them. In the streets of Paris, London, Tokyo and New York, Elkin treads the footsteps of fellow flaneuse – Jean Rhys, Virginia Woolf, George Sand, Martha Gelhorn – in a personal quest for belonging and love. For all her privilege and freedom as an American expat now living in Paris, Elkin’s compulsive need to wander the city in order to feel at home continues the tradition of the original flaneuse striving to reclaim forbidden territory and asserting her right to be lost in the crowd. (Sydney Morning Herald, 15 September 2016)
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ROMANCE
| Preston, Janice | Men about town |
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TRAVEL
| Norris, Mary | Greek to me | 306.442 NORR |
Greek to me / Mary Norris
New Yorker copy editor Norris, known for her Comma Queen videos on grammar and style, once again takes readers on an entertaining, erudite, and altogether delightful journey fueled by the love of language. Here, she chronicles her passion for all things Greek, both classical and modern. Denied a chance to study Latin in fifth grade, Norris took that latent enthusiasm for the ancients and applied it to Greek as an adult, even convincing her New Yorker supervisors to subsidize her classical Greek classes as an aid to her copyediting duties. In addition to recounting her scholastic adventures, the book recounts her successive travels through Greece, which she explored with ever-increasing linguistic skill. Norris’s lively travel log skillfully meshes autobiographical anecdotes, self-reflection, and explorations of mythology—on her first trip, she gets up early during an overnight ferry ride, hoping “to catch Homer’s famed rhododáctylos, the rosy fingers of dawn.” At the center of it all is her passion for Greek, a language often “held to be impenetrable,” yet which gives her “an erotic thrill, as if every verb and noun had some visceral connection to what it stands for.” For those who have long followed the Comma Queen, her latest outing will not disappoint. (Publishers Weekly, 3 December 2018)
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New additions to eBooks at SMSA
EBOOKS
| General | Colombani, Laetitia | The sister |
| General | Moon, Josephine | Three cold coins |
| General | Purman, Victoria | The land girls |
| General | SanGiovanni, Mary | The asylum |
| General | Swan, Karen | The Spanish promise |
| Mystery | Cummins, Fiona | The neighbour |
| Mystery | Nesser, Hakan | Intrigo |
| Mystery | Romer, Anna | Under the midnight sky |
| Non fiction | Benny-Morrison, Ava | The lost girls |
| Science fiction and fantasy | Oyeyemi, Helen | Gingerbread |
Gingerbread / Helen Oyeyemi
In Oyeyemi ’s idiosyncratically brilliant latest, she spins a tale about three generations of women and the gingerbread recipe that is their curse and their legacy. In an effort to understand her heritage, precocious British schoolgirl Perdita Lee recreates her family’s famed gingerbread recipe—but with additional ingredients that have near-fatal consequences. When she slips into a coma, her mother, Harriet, is forced to tell her the truth of their family. To do so, she must recount her upbringing in the mysterious country Druhástrana and the arduous journey that finally brought her and her mother, Margot, out of it. Harriet’s account is an astonishing tale of rigged lotteries, girls in wells, and the mystifying and meddling Gretel Kercheval, a childhood friend of Harriet’s who seems to have an awful lot to do with Harriet’s fate. Though Harriet and Margot do eventually manage to leave Druhástrana, they realize that it’s not quite as easy to master the outside world, especially not when there are more Kerchevals around to complicate things. Oyeyemi excels at making the truly astounding believable and turning even the most familiar tales into something strange and new. This fantastic and fantastical romp is a wonderful addition to her formidable canon. (Publishers Weekly, 21 January 2019)
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AUDIOBOOKS
| General | Barelli, Natalie | The accident |
| General | Starnone, Domenico | Trick |
| Mystery | Amphlett, Rachel | One to watch |
| Mystery | Goldenbaum, Sally | How to knit a murder |
| Mystery | Grainger, Peter | But for the grace |
| Mystery | Lin, Harper | Americanos, apple pies, and art thieves |
| Mystery | McCoy, Shirlee | Night stalker |
| Non fiction | Davidson, Osha Gray | The best of enemies |
| Romance | Galen, Shana | Earls just want to have fun |
| Science fiction and fantasy | Beagle, Peter S. | In Calabria
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Trick / Domenico Starnone
Starnone’s astute and emotionally precise novel follows famed illustrator Daniele Mallarico as he returns to his childhood home in Naples at the request of his daughter, Betta. Daniele is reluctantly tasked with watching his four-year-old grandson, Mario, while Betta and her husband, Saverio, head to Milan for an academic conference and a chance to discuss their failing marriage. Daniele’s three-day visit to the apartment where he was raised prompts him to reflect on the course of his life, and he begins to see apparitions from his past. Struggling to complete a project for a book publisher while sparring with the thoughtful and rebellious Mario, Daniele confronts his mortality and the ephemeral nature of art. Lahiri’s translation preserves the poignancy and humor of the first-person narration, which balances compassion and repressed irritation. The book is packed with endearing moments and clever observations about familial relationships (both Betta and Saverio confide in Daniele right off the bat, forcing him into the thick of their tension). This remarkably layered work encourages rereading to unearth subtle and new interpretations. (Publishers Weekly, 5 February 2019)
The best of enemies / Osha Gray Davidson
The audiobook edition of Davidson’s 1996 book still resonates in the context of today’s unsettling race relations. Narrator Keith Sellon-Wright reflects the writer’s engagement with reaching back to post-Civil War Durham, North Carolina, to explain its distinctive economic and social development. Davidson’s account is studded with anecdotes, and all receive a lively delivery by Sellon-Wright. Woven into the city’s history are stories of C.P. Ellis, a staunch KKK leader, and Ann Atwater, a powerful African-American activist. Sellon-Wright vivifies their pasts of poverty and instability. When the two serve on a committee to improve the chaotic Durham public schools, which their children attend, Sellon-Wright captures their emotional opposition and, finally, their mutual understanding and respect. (Audiofile, 2018)
Earls just want to have fun / Shana Galen
Galen launches her latest Regency series with a pleasant but predictable story spiced with a touch of social conscience. Marlowe is the best pickpocket of the Covent Garden Cubs, a gang of young thieves under the thumb of the ruthless Satin. Cold, hunger, and the threat of prison are the only life Marlowe’s ever known, but when she learns that she might be the missing Lady Elizabeth Grafton, she dares to believe she could escape the slums. Maxwell Derring, Earl of Dane, is unhappy about being the keeper for his brother’s latest find, no matter how intriguing she is under all that grime. Still, within a few days their spark is undeniable, and Maxwell finds he’s willing to risk his own life to free Marlowe from Satin’s grip even if she isn’t a marquess’s daughter. Good chemistry, solid writing, and an interesting plot are all present. (Publishers Weekly, 15 December 2014)
In Calabria / Peter S. Beagle
Narrator Bronson Pinchot brings this fable to life with ease. Set in the beautiful hills of Southern Italy, Beagle’s story follows Claudio, who lives alone on a hillside, enjoying the peace he finds there. But one morning he’s visited by a beautiful unicorn. It becomes his mission to protect the creature from prying eyes and preying hands. Pinchot’s smooth, deep voice with just the hint of an accent helps to flesh out Claudio and the magical experience he has with the unicorn and her colt. Poetic and lyrical, Beagle’s prose has a beauty that Pinchot expertly brings out. Those who love fantasy will be quickly drawn into this magical story. (Audiofile, 2017)
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New Books — May 2019
The new books for April are now available to borrow, along with new ebooks and audiobooks.
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