Whew, what a long month. Started out fast. I was gone the first two weeks, first at a book confab, then visiting family in California, but man, I tell you, coming back from a vacation is tough. It seems you work twice as hard as you did before you left just trying to catch back up. Not that I'm complaining, I'd take another two weeks off tomorrow if I could, just making a lazy man observation. The book confab was great. 500 booksellers, various publishers, and sixty authors of various genres talking books and the business of books for three days. Bumped into old friends, made some new ones, and came away reinvigorated and very happy with my career choice. Best thing about the whole thing, though, were the books. Here's a preview of a couple of titles that really stood out for me.

The first is by Brady Udall. Some of you out there might remember him for his first novel The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint which I really enjoyed. Nine years later he's back with The Lonely Polygamist and I can tell you that the wait has been worth it. Golden Richards has four wives, twenty-eight children, and one heck of a mid-life crisis. The trouble maker of the family is Rusty who only wants his fathers attention. Trish is the youngest wife and all she wants is her husbands love. All three feel so alone even while surrounded by so much family and it is with great skill and empathy that Mr. Udall explores this sense of alienation that threatens the Richards family. At first I didn't know what to expect from this big sprawling novel but soon the characters took me by the hand and led me into the Richards clan where I slowly got to know everyone and saw the complicated family dynamics and could understand how easy it is to feel alone while surrounded by so many. This is a generous, full-hearted, novel that will be coming out in April.

Next is a novel, also coming out in April, that took thirty years to write. After reading it I can understand why. Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes is a powerful novel set in Vietnam. It is the story of a callow marine Lieutenant named Waino Mellas who figures a tour of duty and a couple of medals will look good on the resume when he gets home and starts his political career. Over three months he goes from naive newbie to angry radical to cynical resignation as the pointlessness of war grinds him down. Nothing new there. But combine that short outline with the scenes in the jungle and back on base that had me sweating and drunk and dirty and you have the most realistic war novel I have ever read. Everything felt so real I was taken back to my childhood watching the news before crying myself to sleep because I was afraid my father was going to have to go to Vietnam and die. Powerful, powerful, powerful, is the best way to describe this book.

Until next time,
Pete