The Family Saga Novel

Enjoy some of the best new novels, available from the Ferguson Library.

Brennert, Alan
Palisades Park
FIC BRENNERT

Review
A love letter to Palisades and to a bygone age, this novel opens in 1922 when young Eddie Stopka visits the park, and closes in 1974, with Eddie's daughter witness to its demolition.  The author incorporates into the narrative authentic figures and anecdotes about the park, and creates a real emotional pull in his evocative descriptions.  Source: Publishers Weekly, Feb 25, 2013

Aslam, Nadeem
The Blind Man’s Garden
FIC ASLAM

Review
The garden stands behind a house belonging to a school called the Ardent Spirit that Rohan, both a humanist and a believer, once ran. But his wife has died, his sight is failing, the school has passed to a more militant headmaster, and now Rohan's son, Jeo, and foster son, Mikal, have left their Pakistani town for Afghanistan. Source: Library Journal, May 01, 2013

Ginder, Grant
Driver’s Education
FIC GINDER

Review
Fathers and sons seek clarity, closure, and fresh starts in Ginder's raw, insightfully detailed examination of the men in one family.  When family members take an unexpected crosscountry trip, they realize there is a fine line between storytelling and truth telling and that living a meaningful life requires a balancing act. Lively, funny, gritty, and achingly real. Source: Booklist, Nov 01, 2012

Divakaruni, Chitra Banerjee
Oleander Girl
FIC DIVAKARU

Review
Orphaned at birth, Korobi (Bengali for oleander ) always wondered why her mother named her after a beautiful but poisonous plant.  An entrancing storyteller with an unerring moral compass, Divakaruni has created a superbly well-plotted, charming, yet hard-hitting novel of family, marriage, and class, an Indian Jane Austen novel spiked with racial prejudice.  Source: Booklist, Feb 01, 2013

McGrath, Patrick
Constance: A Novel
FIC MCGRATH

Review
Sidney, an Englishman and academic, views the wanton demolition of old Pennsylvania Station as a particularly egregious travesty,one that is echoed in the ensuing destruction of a family. At a book party, Sidney pounces on fragile and aloof Constance, a young editor, and they quickly marry. But predator-prey relationships are not what they seem in this stealthy melodrama.  Source: Booklist, March 15, 2013

Kincaid, Jamaica
See Now Then
FIC KINCAID

Review
A lyrical reverie on the doomed marriage between Mr. and Mrs. Sweet, a Caribbean-born writer and a New York City composer who are raising their children in a quaint Vermont town.  But there is nothing redeeming about the bloodless, intellectual Mr. Sweet, who harbors murderous rage and boundless contempt toward his devoted wife and sporty, distractible son.  Source: Library Journal, Feb 01, 2013

Sankaran, Lavanya
The Hope Factory: A Novel
FIC SANKARAN

Review
Anand Murthy is a driven young man who,despite his birth into the scholarly Brahmin caste, makes a name for himself as an entrepreneur in the field of automotive engineering. When his small factory begins to expand,he needs to acquire land. One of his servants, Kamala, is also in need of space, namely, a place where her son can grow into manhood without bad influences.  Source: Booklist, April 01, 2013

Sachs, Dana
The Secret of the Nightingale Palace
FIC SACHS

Review
This cross-generational road trip spans both the continent and the years as an estranged grandmother and granddaughter reconnect while driving to San Francisco on a mysterious mission to return a collection of Japanese art to its owner. As with most well-crafted literary journeys, it's not really about the destination, but this one does feature a cinematic twist at the end.  Source: Booklist, Feb 15, 2013