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Alexie, Sherman. The
Toughest Indian in the World. Atlantic Monthly Press, 2000.
Alexie, a Spokane
Coeur d'Alene Indian, is one of our most interesting and challenging young writers.
These stories deal with contemporary American Indian life, and Alexie is fearless in
exploring stereotypes that have prevailed in our culture. This is his first short story
collection since The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven.
Atwood, Margaret. The
Blind Assassin. N. A. Talese, 2000.
Three separate though interrelated stories
make up the plot of this book Essentially, however, it is the story of two
sisters, Iris and Laura. Iris begins the narrative by telling of her sister
Laura's death fifty years prior. Alternating with Iris' reflections is a novel
within a novel also called "The Blind Assassin." Winner of this year's
Booker Prize for Fiction.
Baldacci, David. Wish
You Well. Warner Books, 2000.
After a tragic accident, twelve-year-old Lou and
her younger brother Oz are sent together with their near comatose mother to live with
their great-grandmother Louisa in her mountain home in Virginia A richly textured
story beautifully executed and based on Baldacci's own family history and experiences.
Bolger, Dermot. Ladies'
Night at Finbar's Hotel. Harcourt, 2000.
A charming sequel to Finbar's
Hotel. In this version all the episodes are written by prominent Irish women
authors, among them the ever popular Maeve Binchy. Bolger again challenges the
reader to identify the author of each of these short pieces.
Brennan, Maeve. The
Rose Garden. Counterpoint, 2000.
A posthumous reprint of the popular stories
that originally appeared in The New Yorker.
Chevalier, Tracy. Girl
with a Pearl Earring.
Dutton, 2000. Set in 17th century Delft, this novel is a
wonderful blend of history and fiction as the author imagines how a young girl working as
a maid in Vermeer's household came to pose for one of his finest paintings. This is the
author's first novel.
Earley, Tony. Jim
the Boy. Little, Brown and Company, 2000.
A nicely written story of a young
boy's experiences living with his mother and three spirited uncles on a farm in North
Carolina in the 1930s.
Emerson, Gloria. Loving
Graham Greene. Random House,
2000. Molly Benson, the quixotic heroine, is
passionate about Greene and the causes he supported. To honor his memory, she
decides to help Algerian journalists, oblivious to the risks involved. A provocative
and appealing first novel.
Lightman, Alan. The
Diagnosis. Pantheon Books, 2000.
In the subway on his way to work in Boston, an
information specialist suddenly forgets where he is going or who he is. The only thing he
can remember is his company's motto. A nightmarish search for a diagnosis
follows. A chilling and haunting commentary on contemporary society.
McCann, Colum. Everything
in This Country Must. Henry Holt, 2000.
The novella and two stories in this
powerful and lyrical collection all deal with the political turmoil in Northern Ireland
and how it impacts people's lives, especially children.
Roth, Philip. The
Human Stain. Houghton Mifflin, 2000.
Roth explores such issues as racism,
identity, family, and the Vietnam War in this novel that begins in 1998 with the familiar
narrative voice of Nathan Zuckerman. This novel completes Roth's perspective on
American culture that he began with American Pastoral.
Salzman, Mark. Lying
Awake. Knopf, 2000.
A cloistered Carmelite nun in Los Angeles suffers a crisis
of faith when she is told that the intense visions she has experienced may be the result
of a medical problem. Salzman once again displays his prose artistry in this
meditative novel.
Shand, Rosa. The
Gravity of Sunlight. Soho, 2000.
Set in Uganda in 1970 this impressive first
novel is the story of an unhappy marriage leading to infidelity and betrayal.
Sherwood, Ben. The
Man Who Ate the 747. Delacorte Press, 2000.
A delight from
start to finish . J. J. Smith whose job is to verify world records goes to Superior,
Nebraska where a farmer is eating a 747, not for a world record, but for love. What
follows is romantic, quirky and wholly enjoyable. A first novel.
Todd, Charles. Legacy
of the Dead. Bantam, 2000.
The fourth in the series of novels featuring Ian
Rutledge, the psychologically fragile Scotland Yard detective who is still haunted by his
memories of World War I. In this story, Rutledge becomes involved in a murder
case that challenges his emotional stability. A superb mystery.
Toibin, Colm. The
Blackwater Lightship. Scribners, 2000.
An insightful novel of
an unhappy Irish family, focusing in particular on three generations of women who have
been estranged and now come together to care for a family member dying of AIDS,
Tremain, Rose. Music
and Silence. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2000.
A compelling literary historical
novel set in seventeenth century Denmark. A young English lutenist arrives to join the
royal orchestra and soon finds himself involved in the intrigue of the court.
Trevor, William. The
Hill Bachelors. Viking, 2000.
With precision and ease, Trevor brilliantly
portrays a variety of people and places in this twelve story collection. The stories deal
with the missed opportunities and misplaced hopes of ordinary men and women.
Trice, Dawn Turner. An
Eighth of August. Crown, 2000.
A beautifully written story of the people
of a small Illinois town who come together to commemorate the Emancipation
Proclamation, and the memories, secrets, and revelations that unfold and transform their
lives.
Updike, John. Gertrude
and Claudius. Knopf, 2000.
Updike offers the reader a new perspective on the
Danish royal household. In this innovative novel, Updike speculates on what events
preceded Shakespeare's Hamlet.
Acebe, Chinua. Home
and Exile. Oxford University Press, 2000.
The renowned Nigerian poet and
novelist speaks frankly about the responsibility of the writer to his homeland as well as
pointing out the great misrepresentation of African culture by such writers as Joyce Cary
and Elspeth Huxley. A thought provoking memoir.
Ambrose, Stephen. Nothing
Like It in the World. Simon and Schuster, 2000.
Utilizing diaries, newspaper
accounts, and other sources, Ambrose has created an exciting and vivid account of the
building of the transcontinental railroad. He pays particular tribute to the heroic
workers, mainly Irish and Chinese immigrants.
Feigen, Richard. Tales
from the Art Crypt. Knopf, 2000
An art dealer and collector for over half
a century, Feigen tells us all about what really is going on in the art world--H providing
numerous revealing anecdotes.
Frazier, Ian. On
the Rez. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2000.
A follow-up to The Great Plains,
Frazier recounts what it is like for the Oglala Sioux Indians living on the Pine Ridge
Indian reservation.
Green, Hannah. Little
Saint. Random House, 2000.
Green and her husband visited Conques, France, in the
early 1970s and became fascinated with its traditions and lore, especially the life of
Sainte Foy, a young girl who was martyred in the fourth century. This lovely book--part
history, biography, and meditation--grew out of return visits to France over a period of
twenty years.
Harper, Kenn. Give
Me My Father's Body. Steerforth Press, 2000.
The incredibly sad story of Minik, an Eskimo boy brought to New York in 1897 by Robert Peary, the Arctic
explorer. Minik's anguish begins when he accidentally sees his father's remains. on
exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History.
Hazzard, Shirley. Greene
on Capri. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2000.
A wonderful tribute to her friendship
with Graham Greene that began with a chance encounter in a cafe on Capri when she knew the
last line of a Browning poem that the English writer could not remember.
Heaney, Seamus. Beowulf.
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2000.
A magnificent modern translation of the epic poem
by the Irish Nobel Prize laureate.
Klemperer, Victor. I
Will Bear Witness: A Diary of the Nazi Years. Random House, 2000.
This is the second
volume of Klemperer's extraordinary account of what daily living was like for a Jew living
in Nazi Germany. This concluding volume covers the years from 1941 to 1945 when he and his
wife fled Dresden after the Allied fire bombing.
Littel, John S. French
Impressions. New American Library, 2000.
What life was like for an American
family living in Montpelier, France in 1950, including serving a swan for their
Thanksgiving feast instead of a turkey.
Loyd, Anthony. My
War Gone By, I Miss It So. Atlantic Monthly Press, 2000.
An informative,
engrossing, and harrowing account of the ethnic strife in the Balkans.
Martin, Lee. From
Our House. Dutton, 2000.
The author's father lost both hands in an accident on
their farm in Southern Illinois, and this well written memoir details how their
family life was impacted by this tragedy.
O'Brien, Edna. James
Joyce. Viking, 2000.
A very readable analysis of the literary and personal life
of Joyce, Ireland's most famous exile.
Philbrick, Nathaniel Philbrick. In
the Heart of the Sea. Viking, 2000.
The story of the sinking of the whaleship
Essex by a sperm whale in the mid 1800s that inspired Melville to write Moby Dick. For
this superb work Philbrick has received the National Book Award for Nonfiction.
TD 12/00
Copyright 2001, (written, graphic and pictorial material) Highland Park Public Library, Highland Park, Illinois. Permission for reproduction of any material included on this website must be obtained from the Library.
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