Wolf Hall

Hilary Mantel's newest novel blends fact and fiction to tell the story of Henry the VIII's challenge to the church's power, when he was determined to make Anne Boleyn his queen. It is told from the eyes of Thomas Cromwell who rose from the gutter to become Henry's right hand man, taking the place of Cardinal Wolsey from whom he learned the tricks of his trade.
Cromwell changed the course of history by backing Henry's quest for Anne Boleyn and Henry's desire for absolute authority (which all kings and queens since, including Queen Elizabeth II subscribe to. He was a covert Protestant who protected other militant Protestants from Thomas More. His main goal was to help the common people which he thought could be achieved by destroying the Catholic clergy whom he despised and he wanted more limits on the power of the aristocracy, who despised him. He was also an administrative genius who transformed England from a fiefdom to a nation-state.
Mantel is able to bring all of these themes together by making us privy to Cromwell's every thought and calculation. Wolf Hall is the seat of the Seymour family clan where the goings-on symbolizes what Cromwell despised about the Catholic church.

The Sixties in the South

The Help takes readers back to the burgeoning civil rights era in Mississippi. It's hard to believe that this is the author's debut novel. It's a wonderful story full of women characters who are drawn so believably that you just cannot accept that they are fictional. Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss to find that her family's maid, Constantine, has disappeared. No one will tell her what happened. Like many well-to-do families in the South, the black maid spent more time raising the children than the parents did, and Skeeter feels a terrible loss in Constantine's absence. She starts to pay more attention to the black maids of her friends and begins seeing the world through their eyes as she tries to find out what happened to Constantine. Gradually she comes to see that the world she inhabits holds some terrible secrets and many injustices. She decides to interview black maids and write a book about their lives. It is a dangerous undertaking in 1962 Mississippi, especially for the black women she talks to, but they bravely decide that their stories need to be told. This is a poignant, fascinating book about this period in history. It does exactly what a great book should do: make you think, see, and feel like someone else entirely outside your own skin.

Debra Dean's debut novel, The Madonnas of Leningrad, takes readers back to a dark part of the world's history, World War II. Although many novels have focused on this pivotal moment in history, not so many have been written from the Russian citizens' point of view. Set during the siege of Leningrad, in which the residents were completely cut off from food and medical supplies and military assistance, The Madonnas of Leningrad focuses on the plight of the workers at the Hermitage Museum and their families. The main character, Marina, was a tour guide in the museum, and her memories of the Madonnas and other beautiful works of art that used to hang in the Hermitage and have been sent away for safekeeping help to keep her sane during the months of deprivation, fear, and sorrow. The families have been invited to stay in the basement of the museum for safety from bombing and looting, and Marina spends much of her time trying to look out for bombers, bailing out flooded areas, and other assigned tasks. With the rest of her time, she walks through the many rooms of the museum, remembering what was there and describing it in detail to herself. Her memory saves her. Ironically, in the present time, her memory is deserting her as she succumbs to the symptoms of Alzheimers. The novel moves from past to present effortlessly, as we see the world through Marina's eyes and learn about the power of memory and of a rich inner life, even during times of physical and mental decline.

Same kind of different!

Same Kind of Different as Me, by Ron Hall and Denver Moore, is a true story told by two guys who didn't know they were being set up by God.

I can't say enough good about this book. It is the best! Why? Because it touches you in a deep place and wakes you up to seeing what you probably missed.

This is a story about a homeless drifter who grew up in virtual slavery in the 50's. His name is Denver and you will fall in love with him and he will bless you with the wisdom from within a man who never went to school. It is also about a profitable art dealer accustomed to the good life. This is Ron. We grow along with Ron. And then it is about a gutsy lady...I like gutsy.....who is moved and inspired by God to see something unlikely happen with these two men.

A story of friendship, faith, homelessness and pain! Don't pass this one over because we are the same kind of different.

Laura Moriarty has once again built a great book. While I'm Falling is an appealing story about a young college student whose life is falling apart. Sound like a real downer? Well, it is, and yet it isn't. So many things begin to go wrong in Veronica's life that you may find yourself cringing or holding your breath to see what comes next. She's trying very hard but makes so many mistakes--the kind you as a reader can see coming a mile away. It's almost like watching a horror movie and wanting to yell at the female victim, "No, DON'T open that door! Or run, run as fast you can, RIGHT NOW!" There are no boogey men or monsters in Veronica's story, just a lot of normal people trying to make it through life. And in Veronica's defense, some of her problems are not her fault at all. Her parents are divorcing, she's struggling in her pre-med classes, she's not well suited to her RA job--any one of these situations would be enough to create a great deal of stress. And in the end, Veronica does OK. She finds out a lot about herself, and about her mother, who due to bad circumstances ends up spending a lot more time with her. I felt almost proud of Veronica after all was said and done. And I admired her mother greatly. Take a chance and read While I'm Falling.