South of Broad [ROUGH-CUT EDGE]

South of Broad Charleston, S.C., gossip columnist Leopold Bloom King narrates a paean to his hometown and friends in Conroy’s first novel in 14 years. In the late ’60s and after his brother commits suicide, then 18-year-old Leo befriends a cross-section of the city’s inhabitants: scions of Charleston aristocracy; Appalachian orphans; a black football coach’s son; and an astonishingly beautiful pair of twins, Sheba and Trevor Poe, who are evading their psychotic father.

The story alternates between 1969, the glorious year Leo’s coterie stormed Charleston’s social, sexual and racial barricades, and 1989, when Sheba, now a movie star, enlists them to find her missing gay brother in AIDS-ravaged San Francisco. Too often the not-so-witty repartee and the narrator’s awed voice (he is very fond of superlatives) overwhelm the stories surrounding the group’s love affairs and their struggles to protect one another from dangerous pasts. Some characters are tragically lost to the riptides of love and obsession, while others emerge from the frothy waters of sentimentality and nostalgia as exhausted as most readers are likely to be. Fans of Conroy’s florid prose and earnest melodramas are in for a treat. (Aug.)

South of Broad [ROUGH-CUT EDGE] Review

I was very excited to get an advance copy of “South of Broad” through a friend of the authors. Conroy has been one of my favorite authors since I read the excellent “The Prince of Tides: A Novel” Years ago. The author is one of the best at developing living breathing characters that you actually care about and can believe in. This is the story of a diverse group of teenagers, from Charlston, SC, who form a friendship in the late 1960s having to grow up under the changes of that time period. They are a diverse group but all come from a particular place and a particular time. Over the following twenty years Conroy portrays the life and times of each of the characters in dramatic fashion. And the characters do live pretty dramatic lives from the legal profession to the music industry and Hollywood. But they all come from the same place yet with different backgrounds (the privileged to the struggling, from black and white). Within the story racism, religion, love, and lust are all explored . In the end they are all brought back together to face test none of the ever expected that will test the bonds of the friendships. Great, engaging fiction; fans of Conroy will be very pleased!

For more great character development I have to recommend Misfits Country Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable brought to life!

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The Time Traveler’s Wife

The Time Traveler’s Wife This clever and inventive tale works on three levels: as an intriguing science fiction concept, a realistic character study and a touching love story. Henry De Tamble is a Chicago librarian with “Chrono Displacement” disorder; at random times, he suddenly disappears without warning and finds himself in the past or future, usually at a time or place of importance in his life.

This leads to some wonderful paradoxes. From his point of view, he first met his wife, Clare, when he was 28 and she was 20. She ran up to him exclaiming that she’d known him all her life. He, however, had never seen her before. But when he reaches his 40s, already married to Clare, he suddenly finds himself time travelling to Clare’s childhood and meeting her as a 6-year-old. The book alternates between Henry and Clare’s points of view, and so does the narration.

Reed ably expresses the longing of the one always left behind, the frustrations of their unusual lifestyle, and above all, her overriding love for Henry. Likewise, Burns evokes the fear of a man who never knows where or when he’ll turn up, and his gratitude at having Clare, whose love is his anchor. The expressive, evocative performances of both actors convey the protagonists’ intense relationship, their personal quirks and their reminiscences, making this a fascinating audio.

The Time Traveler’s Wife Review

I stumbled across this book by mistake and hesitated to read it simply because it was 518 pages. To my surprise, I devoured this book in a few days and felt a pang of sadness when it was finished. The author crafts a story of something that is quite unbelievable and yet deftly makes it so very believable. I was hooked after the first chapter. Niffenegger managed to suck me in to this story so that I felt emotionally bound to the characters and their plight. It’s a tragic story that weaves so much love/pain/joy/disappointment that it fairly bursts with emotion. Read it!

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The Lost Symbol

Dan Brown’s new novel, the eagerly awaited follow-up to his #1 international phenomenon, The Da Vinci Code, which was the bestselling hardcover adult novel of all time with 81 million copies in print worldwide, will be published in the U.S. and Canada by Doubleday on September 15, 2009.

The Lost Symbol will once again feature Dan Brown’s unforgettable protagonist, Robert Langdon.

“The Lost Symbol is a brilliant and compelling thriller. Dan Brown’s prodigious talent for storytelling, infused with history, codes and intrigue, is on full display in this new book. This is one of the most anticipated publications in recent history, and it was well worth the wait,” said Sonny Mehta, Chairman and Editor in Chief of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.

Brown’s longtime editor, Jason Kaufman, Vice President and Executive Editor at Doubleday said, “Nothing ever is as it first appears in a Dan Brown novel. This book’s narrative takes place in a twelve-hour period, and from the first page, Dan’s readers will feel the thrill of discovery as they follow Robert Langdon through a masterful and unexpected new landscape. The Lost Symbol is full of surprises.”

“This novel has been a strange and wonderful journey,” said Brown. “Weaving five years of research into the story’s twelve-hour timeframe was an exhilarating challenge. Robert Langdon’s life clearly moves a lot faster than mine.”

“The Lost Symbol” will have a first printing of 5 million copies, and it will once again feature Dan Brown’s unforgettable protagonist, Robert Langdon. Brown’s longtime editor, Jason Kaufman, Vice President and Executive Editor at Doubleday said, “Nothing ever is as it first appears in a Dan Brown novel. This book’s narrative takes place in a twelve-hour period, and from the first page, Dan’s readers will feel the thrill of discovery as they follow Robert Langdon through a masterful and unexpected new landscape. The Lost Symbol is full of surprises.”

Dan Brown’s popularity continues to grow. The film of The Da Vinci Code was a #1 box office smash when it was released by Columbia Pictures in May 2006 with Ron Howard directing and Tom Hanks starring as Robert Langdon. Box office receipts were $758 million. The same team will release Angels and Demons theatrically worldwide on May 15, 2009.

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The Best of Times: A Novel

Bestselling author Penny Vincenzi delivers another brilliantly crafted page-turner with intense characters, centered on one devastating moment that changes their lives forever.

On an ordinary Friday afternoon, on a highway outside London, a truck suddenly swerves across fives lanes of traffic, careening cars into each other like dominoes and leaving a trail of chaos and confusion. Within minutes, an astounding miles-long pileup has amassed, and as survivors await help, their stories begin to unfold. There’s the panic-stricken husband trapped in the jam with his mistress, a widow on her way to reunite with her first love, the bridegroom trying frantically to get to the church on time, the young woman going into premature labor, the junior doctor waiting to receive the crash victims in the ER…. And at the center of it all is the only person who knows what really happened, the mysterious hitchhiker who has fled the scene.

With masterful storytelling skill, Penny Vincenzi weaves together the lives of an elaborate cast of characters, exploring their secrets, disappointments, and desires. As the effects of the crash ripple through their lives, as tragedies unfold and secrets are uncovered, as some relationships are ended while others are begun, she demonstrates how the consequences of one small action can change the fates of many, many people in the blink of an eye.

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Sacred Hearts: A Novel

Sacred Hearts, a novel from Sarah Dunant.

“A cast of complex characters breathe new life into the classic star-crossed lovers trope while affording readers a look at a facet of Renaissance life beyond the far more common viscounts and courtesans. Dunant’s an accomplished storyteller, and this is a rich and rewarding novel.”–Publishers Weekly, starred review

Sacred Hearts: A Novel Review

Fans of Sarah Dunant will not be disappointed! Like Dunant’s Birth of Venus and In the Company of the Courtesan, earlier works in what now is her trilogy of historical novels, Sacred Hearts has authentic roots in the Italian Renaissance. And it’s a page-turner, a meticulously crafted story of love and devotion. Via a convent full of compelling female characters, Dunant cuts right to the soul of human relationships as we continue to interrogate them today. Dunant’s young heroine, Serafina, is determined to escape the convent where she has been placed against her will. Through Serafina’s struggles Dunant reveals the transformative powers not only of prayer but also of art, music, and medicine. She invites us to distinguish true spirituality from the threat of a rigid and dehumanizing fanaticism; to appreciate the vibrant life of women who refuse simply to obey; and to know both the ecstatic joy of song and the wondrous gifts of science. Rich with details that enable us to see, hear, and taste the city of Ferrara in the 16th century, Sacred Hearts is a big story with multiple marvelous crescendos.

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