The Boy Who Stole the Leopard's Spots, by Tamar Myers

The Boy Who Stole the Leopard’s Spots, by Tamar Myers, is the story of twin sons of a native chief whose lives take divergent paths but are eventually reunited in the Belgian Congo.  The children’s births are documented, along with their participation in a cannibalism ritual and their separation when one of them is abducted, in short chapters from events in 1935.  These shorter chapters are interspersed with longer chapters from 1958, which is the year in which the main story of the book is told. 

In the Belgian Congo in 1958, lives of the native tribes, the Belgian citizens, and other white immigrants are separate although dependent on each other.  Conflict arises between tribes and between religions—Protestants and Catholics—and between natives and their government, the white Belgians or other immigrants.  Mayers, who spent the first 16 years of her life in the Belgian Congo, draws on her experiences there to weave into the story expressions, language, beliefs, and perceptions which gives The Boy authenticity. 

Myers’ characters are memorable although often damaged, impacted by their position in society.  Amanda is a Protestant missionary who serves as the host for the missionary house there.  A drunk driving incident drew her to service and a reformed life, although she struggles under the influence of Madame Cabochon, who is herself impacted by drunkenness—that of her often errant husband.  In addition to the Chief’s twins, Lazarus Chigger Mite and Joseph Pimple, Cripple is a native Baluba and is also a key character in the book.  Named "Cripple" because of her shape and stature, she is respected as a wise woman by all, and her counsel helps maintain the tenuous balance between populations. 

The Boy Who Stole the Leopard’s Spots is a multilayered novel about oppression and acceptance.  The oppression comes from many directions—whether it is government, religion, or place in society.  In some cases, the oppression is a painful memory which cannot be erased.  The successful ones are those who are able to accept, adapt, and learn.  The Boy Who Stole the Leopard’s Spots was published by William Morrow in 2012.  

Sacre Bleu, by Christopher Moore

Sacre Bleu:  A Comedy D'Art is a bawdy romp through Impressionist art history that begins with the murder of Vincent Van Gogh.  In case you’re wondering, history will tell you that Van Gogh committed suicide by shooting himself in the chest, and in the afterword Moore titled “So, Now You’ve Ruined Art," the author asks, “What kind of painter does that?  Who tries to kill himself by shooting himself in the chest, then walks a mile to seek medical treatment?”  The author concludes with, “What kind of muse inspires that?” and the novel Sacre Bleu is born. 

The primary characters are a crooked little man called The Colorman, the muse Sacre Bleu (or simply Bleu), and a baker’s son and would-be artist, Lucien Lessard.  Lessard’s father was fascinated by the community of artists and often supported them with his bread.  Their frequent visits to the bakery  fueled Lucien’s passion for becoming a painter.  Moore is a name-dropper, including artists from the art community like Camille Pissarro, Paul Gauguin, Edouard Manet, Georges Seurat, Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, and Claude Monet among others, making them characters in his story.  Famous works of art are also reproduced throughout the book. 

But Sacre Bleu is not an intellectual study of art history but a dark comedy.  Bleu and The Colorman are coarse and merciless, using their ultramarine blue paint with its odd magical properties as a way to seduce painters and steal their paintings.  Bleu inspires masterpieces as she inhabits the bodies of models.  More than one of the painters in the book die, some from syphilis, although not all deaths are as successful as others.  Bleu and The Colorman appear to have eternal qualities, not to mention Bleu’s ability to produce the ultramarine blue color that is like no other. 

Sacre Bleu is a unique story.  Moore gives the muse embodiment and motive.  After all, would a “good” muse inspire Van Gogh’s suicide?  At the very least, Sacre Bleu will encourage readers to bone up on their art history and enjoy the works of art reproduced in the book.  

Sacre Bleu was published in 2012 by William Morrow.  

Drop Dead Healthy, by A. J. Jacobs

Drop Dead Healthy:  One Man's Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection, by A. J. Jacobs, is his most recent foray into his favorite stunt non-fiction genre. In past books, Jacobs has read the encyclopedia and lived the Bible, writing with intelligence and honesty about his experiences.  This time, Jacobs undertakes "to become as healthy as humanly possible" by focusing on different body parts and exploring the claims, fads, and the industry that has grown up to support human beings' efforts at achieving ultimate healthiness.  Or as he says, " . . . to turn my current self--a mushy, easily winded, moderately sickly blob--into the embodiment of health and fitness."  He starts with a list 53 pages long of advice he had been collecting, including the obvious like "eat leafy green vegetables" to the not-so-obvious "hum (prevents sinus infections)" to the unlikely "win an Academy Award" (because Oscar winners tended to live three years longer on average than non-winners).

Readers should be warned that this is not an advice book.  Jacobs does synthesize his own learnings from the experience at the end of the book, but he doesn't proclaim any particular path to healthiness.  What's more, some of the methods he explored may be counter to the reader's quest for ultimate good health--running barefoot and the "caveman" workout come to mind.  Not to say that these approaches may work for some people under some circumstances but just as Jacobs' writes, they're not for everyone.

What makes Jacobs' books endearing is his transparency.  Whether it is his low testosterone level (which he does manage to improve) or his relationships with his eccentric Aunt Marti (who battles cancer despite her almost obsessively healthy lifestyle) and his aging grandfather, Jacobs is honest.  His self-effacing humor and candor make his struggle for healthiness seem attainable for anyone, albeit using the methods that work best for them.  Not everyone may find working at their computer while walking on a treadmill to be practical.  But, Jacobs reported that this and other lifestyle changes made him " . . . like climbing a flight of stairs without my heart thumping like a cartoon animal in love."

Drop Dead Healthy is entertaining, and if it inspires a reader to make healthier lifestyle choices, then the book accomplishes more than it sets out to do.  Jacobs isn't a health guru and he doesn't seek to change his readers, but it would be difficult not to absorb some nugget of health wisdom.  And if that helps any reader's heart not thump "like a cartoon animal in love" then the book is a success on multiple levels.

Drop Dead Healthy was published in 2012 by Simon and Schuster.

A Land More Kind Than Home, by Wiley Cash

A Land More Kind Than Home, by Wiley Cash, is a powerful and gripping novel about culture, religion, and family.  Set in rural Madison County in western North Carolina, the story centers around a local preacher at the River Road Church of Christ in Signs Following. 

The story is told from three perspectives.  Adelaide Lyle narrates part of the story.  She is eighty-one years old and has spent many of her years in Madison County.  After witnessing the death of one of the church members from a snake bite, she takes the children of the church outdoors for Sunday School, while their parents are behind the building’s newspaper-covered windows.  Jess Hall is nine, and lives with his mute brother “Stump” and his parents.  His mother is an ardent church member who falls under the spell of its charismatic leader.   Finally, Clem Barefield is the local sheriff, who has a history with Jess’s ne’er-do-well grandfather.  Sheriff Barefield  unravels a secret about the church’s pastor that puts him in danger of his life.  When a tragedy occurs during a church service, conflicts turn violent and Jess Hall’s world changes forever. 

Jess and Stump stay with Miss Lyle until one fateful Sunday morning. Stump is selected to attend the grown- up services, and Jess spies on the proceedings.  When he sees what's happening, he calls out "Mama!" which the churchgoers assume is Stump, and word of Stump's healing is called a miracle.  Jess later says it was a mirage, "It was like Mama was lost in the desert and had gotten so thirsty that she was willing to see anything that might make her feel better about being lost.  I knew that she needed to think she heard Stump holler out for her, even if I knew he didn't, and I wondered if it was a sin to think any less of a miracle just because you know it ain't real."  

Cash’s first novel has it all:  gripping scenes of suspense, emotional reactions that threaten to overcome reason, love and family loyalty, and evil and control disguised as religion.  This is a book you’ll find hard to put down, and waiting not-so-patiently for Cash’s next novel. 

A Land More Kind Than Home was published by William Morrow in 2012.  

The Beginner's Goodbye, by Anne Tyler

The Beginner’s Goodbye, by Anne Tyler, doesn’t disappoint Tyler’s fans who have waited patiently for her nineteenth novel.   When Dr. Dorothy Rosales is killed by a falling tree, her husband Aaron is convinced that she visits him from beyond the grave.  He believes that Dorothy “faced the fact that we simply missed each other too much.  She had given in and returned.”  Her irregular visits give him comfort at times.  At other times, he feels confused, as if she is giving him a message he doesn’t quite understand, or causes him to relive moments of their lives together.   These brief “conversations” prove invaluable to Aaron’s grieving process.   

Tyler has a gift for describing the ordinary and the everyday while telling a believable story.  Not that seeing an apparition is ordinary, but the characters she creates and the situations she places them in build a common bond between the reader and the characters. Many people have lost loved ones; Aaron finds it irritating to be reminded by expressions of sympathy and the avoidance others suddenly have for using the word “wife.”  His refrigerator is full of casseroles to the point that he “bypasses” his plate by simply sampling a dish and dumping the rest in the trash. And, he is weary of people attempting to arrange dates with the newly widowed as if a deceased spouse is a “shared pastime.” 

The book isn’t maudlin or depressing.  While Aaron works through feelings about his late wife and marriage, he provides a wry editorial on life as a new widower.  His occupation also gives moments of  comic relief.  Aaron edits “The Beginner’s Series” at Woolcott Publishing (which inspires the title of this novel with titles like, “The Beginner’s Book of Birdwatching” or “Beginner’s Jet Lag”) and since it is a vanity press, whose customers pay for the privilege of seeing their writing in print form, submitted content is sometimes the subject of office conversation, too. 

The Beginner’s Goodbye is the latest in a string of memorable books by Tyler, including Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, the Pulitzer Prize winning Breathing Lessons, and most recently Noah’s Compass.  The Beginner’s Goodbye was published in 2012 by Alfred A. Knopf. 

Death Comes to Pemberley, by P. D. James

Death Comes to Pemberley, by P. D. James, is a sequel to Jane Austen's classic, Pride and Prejudice.  Although it is a risky endeavor for the very successful mystery writer, James succeeds in capturing the tone of its predecessor and the nature of Austen's characters.  James builds a natural extension of the story that is as engaging and timeless as the original.

Set on the eve of the Darcy's annual ball, the mystery unfolds when Elizabeth's youngest sister Lydia arrives at Pemberley alone and hysterical.  Lydia reveals that she had just left a pub with her husband, Wickham and his friend Denny, when the two left their carriage in a state of disagreement and ran into the woods as they were en route to Pemberley.  She is convinced one or the other is hurt or that harm would come to them.  What Darcy and his compatriots find after searching for the pair is Wickham with bloodied hands, weeping over the dead body of Denny, and uttering what seems to be a confession.

The novel unfolds as the investigation takes place, Wickham is arrested, and further evidence is given. The story, of course, is not so simple.  More mysteries are unraveled that relate to the deadly event, and since readers of Pride and Prejudice already know a bit about Wickham and Lydia, they will agree that James does a remarkable job recreating these characters for Death Comes to Pemberley.

This sequel will not disappoint, and is a perfect poolside read.  Death Comes to Pemberley was published in 2011 by Alfred A. Knopf.

The Starlite Drive-in, by Marjorie Reynolds

The Starlite Drive-in, by Marjorie Reynolds, is a murder-mystery love story, set in the heyday of drive-in movie theaters.  When a decomposed body is found during the excavation of the old movie theater, Reynolds allows the story to unfold through the eyes of 12-year-old Callie Anne Benton, the daughter of the drive-in theater manager.  The plot centers around a drifter named Charlie Memphis, who is hired to help with the theater's maintenance. Callie's agoraphobic mother falls in love with Memphis, and the tension between Callie's parents and the handsome stranger draws Callie into the drama.

Callie Anne's narrative is funny but also touching.  Her life revolves around her changing feelings about boys, popular music, and confusion about her parents' relationship.  When she discovers that Memphis likes her mother, she is crushed and embarrassed since she imagined that Memphis might be a perfect match for her.  Callie's abusive father is burdened by his ambition to build a theater business of his own and his wife's mental illness, while his wife is paralyzed by panic attacks and is unable to leave their small home.

Reynolds is a master storyteller.  Her characters are realistic. There's no lack of clarity about who is the hero and who isn't, although Reynolds gives the readers an opportunity to make their own judgments in the gray areas, and draws out the mystery until the end.  A quick and engaging read, The Starlite Drive-in has all the makings of an excellent summer read.

The Starlite Drive-in was published in paperback by Harper Collins in 2011.

Book Club Discussion Questions for The Snow Child

Go to the Cats and a Book Book Club Guide site for guidance, discussion questions, and recipes!

The Snow Child, by Eowyn Ivey

The Snow Child, by Eowyn Ivey, is the mysterious tale of a childless middle-aged couple homesteading in Alaska.  Mabel and Jack lost their baby years previously and were unable to have another child.  Moving to the Alaskan wilderness to farm gave them the solitude to grieve.  Ivey poetically described Mabel’s feeling about the wilderness as beauty that “ripped you open and scoured you clean so that you were left helpless and exposed, if you lived at all.” 

Life in the Alaskan wilderness is harder than Jack and Mabel expect.  When Mabel’s homemade pies are no longer needed for sale at the nearest town’s store in Alpine, Jack seriously considers working in the mines, at least temporarily, to Mabel’s distress.  Neighbors foist their company and assistance on Jack and Mabel, sharing their supplies and hospitality.  Although Mabel is resistant at first, she begins to rely on their neighborliness. 

But readers question Mabel and Jack’s grounding in reality when the couple begins to see a figure flitting through the woods that seems to be a little girl.  When she appears to them in person after they build a “snow girl” from the first snowfall, the similarities between her appearance and a childhood fairy tale make Jack and Mabel question their own sanity and each other’s.  Over time, the parallels between the fairy tale and the girl’s existence weave in and out of Ivey’s story, so that the book’s conclusion leaves readers wondering about the mysterious girl and what was and wasn’t real. 

The Snow Child is an entertaining story to read.  Although it is often a sad tale, the fairy tale quality of the story makes it a bit more palatable.  Mabel and Jack’s life together is enriched by the book’s other characters, and readers are left with the sense that although there is sadness, there is also joy. 

The Snow Child was published by Little, Brown and Company in 2012.  

The Invention of Hugo Cabret, by Brian Selznick

The Invention of Hugo Cabret, by Brian Selznick, is a winner of the Caldecott Medal and the book on which the recent movie Hugo is based.  The book is a piece of art as much as it is a novel, with elaborate illustrations by the author that often cover full pages or two-page spreads which move the story forward and vividly feed the reader's imagination. For that reason, the paper book might be a more rewarding to own than a digital copy.

The book's central character is Hugo Cabret, a twice-orphaned boy who is rebuilding an automaton, a robotic human he found in the clock tower where he lives.  Hugo's father, a clock maker, is lost in a tragic fire, and his uncle, who becomes his guardian on his father's death, disappears and  is presumed dead.  Hugo takes over the clock maker's duties in order to hide his uncle's disappearance from the stationmaster and keep from being sent to a orphans' home.

Hugo's project leads him to pilfer small pieces from a mechanical toy maker's shop in order to rebuild the automaton.  When the toy maker catches Hugo and confiscates his precious notebook with its automaton designs and drawings, Hugo makes a deal that leads him to solve the mystery of the automaton and its creator.

A beautiful book with an engaging protagonist in Hugo, The Invention of Hugo Cabret is a book for all ages.  It was published in 2007 by Scholastic Press.