In my last blog, I wrote about how a copy of The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet had fallen into my hands and I’d decided to stop everything I was doing and read it.  And I had really high hopes because the reviews were good (especially the New York Times review by Dave Eggers) and I’d read the first chapter and IT was good, and anyway: it’s a fantastic book. I finished it. I loved it!

Honestly, I’m just not sure I have it in me to properly criticize a book by an author in possession of such a vast imagination/brain.  I don’t think that with his latest book, Mitchell has created something perfect, but it sure is a beautiful (!!!), original, great story. I have tried my best to spread the word to customers in the store and now? now I have committed myself to reading all of David Mitchell’s other books: Cloud Atlas, Number9Dream, Black Swan Green, and Ghostwritten.  In a moment of weakness I just bought them all.

First of all, about The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet: it has not gotten glowing reviews across the board.  In fact, the first review I read of it was in The Guardian (I love the Guardian online edition, and their culture/books section is great, not to mention I am always interested to see what is being reviewed [and how] in the UK vs what is getting attention in the US).  The Guardian review said that, despite the fact that Mitchell has written five books now, it was still “hard to get a sense of his artistic personality.”  And that’s really the theme of the review: Mitchell HAS no theme, and perhaps it’s time for him to establish one, but in the meantime it’s mostly ok that he keeps writing these wildly varying novels because at the end of the day they’re still very, very good.

Anyway, I read that review and still wanted to go and read Mitchell, in part because: he is described as a “postmodern visionary,” a “master of styles and genres,” “a genius”, capable of writing books described as “brilliantly original fiction.” His books are consistently nominated for significant literary awards.  He has been compared to Joyce, Nabokov, Pynchon, Melville, Salinger, Umberto Eco, Philip K. Dick.

But? I just haven’t noticed him that much before. I was working at a bookstore when Black Swan Green came out. I mean I guess I could have been truly oblivious, there’s a chance, but don’t recall there being much of a fuss about it, even though it got glowing reviews in the US and was named one of the 10 Best Books of the Year by Time. Of all his titles, Cloud Atlas is the one that has sold the most copies here at Lemuria, but we haven’t sold LOADS. I’m not sure it was even released in hardcover in this country.

I don’t think Mitchell’s writing is too “British” for readers here.  Why he seems capable only of garnering a cult following in the US while achieving literary superstar status in the UK eludes me, but I think that might change with The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet – I hope so, anyway.  And to go back to that Guardian review, and the New York Times one too- perhaps the difference between the two is significant of the fact the in the UK, readers might be a bit more used to Mitchell, whereas here for some reason many of us (me) are only just now catching on.

Well. Who knows. But what remains an  indisputable fact is that Mitchell is an author whose works have been consistently impressive on a scale not many other current authors seem to be on.

And after all that: here is a lovely article from the NewYork Times that’s more about Mitchell himself. A snippet:

“When writing is great, Mitchell told me of the books he loved as a reader, ‘your mind is nowhere else but in this world that started off in the mind of another human being. There are two miracles at work here. One, that someone thought of that world and people in the first place. And the second, that there’s this means of transmitting it. Just little ink marks on squashed wood fiber. Bloody amazing.'”

Susie

With her second edition of Questions and Answers for Deep South Gardeners, Nellie Neal has compiled another winner filled with new questions and answers concerning all sorts of gardening topics from whether to prune crepe myrtles or not, to why the leaves of hollies turn yellow, to name just a couple. For the well versed gardener or for the novice, this invaluable book also gives a month by month pruning guide and the author’s own original potting soil mix. Because the questions are arranged by the four seasons, the reader can easily find timely advice on seasonal topics.

Following on the success of Organic Gardening Down South (2008), plus her first edition of Questions and Answers for Deep South Gardeners (2002), this new book of timely suggestions and advice is sure to be another best seller. Many of the questions are taken from “the GardenMama’s” radio show which is  broadcast every Saturday morning.

-Nan

When John Brandon started his first novel, Arkansas, he was boxing up perfume samples for fashion magazines by day since he had found that teaching high school was not conducive to writing. The page lay empty after a day of kids, books and computers. Factory work, often from early morning to early afternoon, left time for a nap and a long evening of writing. All through the writing of Arkansas, and his latest novel, Citrus County, the Florida Gulf Coast native worked cross-country on perfume samples to plastic bowls to diploma frames to potato chips–just to name a few.

In an interview with his publisher, McSweeney’s, John reflects on the moment he got the word that his writing was to be published:

“I remember being at work, at the windshield warehouse, and getting a call from the managing editor of McSweeney’s and having to step outside to talk. You were asking me about the grand themes of Arkansas, and my boss was yelling at me to talk on the phone on my own time. It was a great moment.”

Even though Shelby and Toby, two of the main characters in Citrus County, are at that tender time of junior high school, they both seem to be set on a path for self-destruction. Mr. Hibma, their geography teacher reads this quality very well in his students probably because he also seems to be resigned to his own fate. In a conversation with Shelby, Mr. Hibma tries to comfort her by telling her that you never know what will screw a person up–it may even be something good that leaves a person in ruins. His ponderous thinking leads him to wonder “if anything that happened was really good”.

Kelly writes on the Lemuria Blog about the inertia of Citrus County:

“. . . they continue to stay, aware that their inertia is conscious; their parents or grandparents moved to Florida from somewhere, some years ago, yet no matter how long they live there they will always consider it to be outside themselves, a place that should be mocked and degraded but that they are loath to leave.  What John Brandon has done in Citrus County is to create a culture around this quiet dissatisfaction, where sometimes something really bad has to happen in order to relieve the everyday, mundane misery. Toby thinks he knows just what that is — it’s the only thing he’s ever been meant to do.”

After reading John Brandon’s debut novel, Arkansas, the late Barry Hannah called to tell him how much he loved his book and offered him the John and Renée Grisham Writer in Residence at the University of Mississippi for 2009-10. Praise for Brandon’s writing includes not only Barry Hannah but also other well-known writers chosen for the First Editions Club.

“Pursues relentlessly what each of us might find daily in a Florida town . . .  The purity of thought and of unadorned line are remarkable.” -Barry Hannah

“John Brandon is my favorite new writer. His debut, Arkansas, was hilarious and at the same time disturbing in its detached violence. It set a high bar, and Citrus County nudges the bar even higher. This is a writer to watch, to reread and to envy.” -Tom Franklin

“Citrus County is a real charmer . . .  The book makes you laugh even as it breaks your heart. It may be, among other things, one of the best books about junior high ever written.” -Dan Chaon

John Brandon’s book tour consisted of visits to Square Books in Oxford and Lemuria (July 13, 2010). Citrus County will be on the front page of The New York Times Book Review this coming Sunday. The novel is already in its second printing at McSweeney’s with the initial print run for Citrus County at 6,000 books. The initial print run for Arkansas was 5,000. We also have signed first editions of Arkansas available.

While continuing his teaching at the University of Mississippi, John Brandon is at work on his third novel set in New Mexico.

It’s not every day that Maggie and John like the same book. They were both sending me their postings on Troy Matthew Carnes’ first novel, Rasputin’s Legacy, at the same time so I decided I would post them together.

Maggie’s take:

I take Rasputin’s Legacy home one night. I do my normal routine…read the synopsis, read the reviews and read the author bio and acknowledgments, turn to page one and get started.  The next thing I know it is two hours later and I am about 100 pages in!  What does this mean?  I think…could I actually like a book that John suggested?  Well I finished it yesterday and let me tell you something…I really liked this book.

Giorgi, unbeknownst to him, is a direct descendant of Rasputin and has the power to see into the future.  He is now being sought out by two very powerful men, Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin, both of whom want to use his power to help them win the bloodiest battles in WWII.  They both send their most able spies and assassins after the boy either to capture him and claim his power or kill him so he cannot be used against them.  Along the way, Giorgi captures the hearts of a highly decorated German war hero, a witch working for the Nazis and a Ukrainian woman who will not rest until she knows that Giorgi is in safe hands.  The question is though, with whom is he safe or does Giorgi know all along?

Well not only did I really like this book, but I was able to go to John and talk to him about a book that he suggested I read and I actually liked it.  I’m not even sure that Giorgi would have been able to predict this one!!

John’s take:

. . . Within this historical perspective Troy Carnes wrote his very fine first thriller. With compassion in the mist of horror, with virtue amongst the dishonorable, this well crafted stage of intrigue is cast underneath the development of the German invasion of Russia.

Carnes’ Rasputin is well paced and a pleasure to read. His first novel skills express character depth, plot complexity without confusing traps, with the steady pace of a well experienced author.

Over the years I’ve burned out on reading this enjoyable type of novel. However, I’m very pleased to read this new author and enjoyed the tale he spun–it’s a good one.

If you are a fan of Greg Iles’ first two novels and are looking for a historical thriller, you’ve found it. Be one of the first to get on Carnes’ bandwagon. Once on board, I believe you will enjoy the ride.

I started reading Citrus County this weekend,  John Brandon’s new book and our First Editions Club pick for August. The novel is set in Florida in, you guessed it, Citrus County (visitcitrus.com). The county is on the Gulf coast in central Florida, north of Tampa but south of the panhandle, and it’s home to such natural wonders as the Homosassa Springs, the lazy Crystal River full of gentle manatees, and, in Brandon’s rather dark, quietly violent tale, dangerously disillusioned children and apathetic adults.

Toby is a junior high delinquent with a Holden Caulfield complex who spends more time in detention than at home. Shelby is a bright-eyed and -minded good girl who one day decides to pursue Toby. Mr. Hibma is their geography teacher who, when not thinking of ways to avoid actually teaching, fantasizes about killing his colleague but is unable to come up with the right method — no cutting of throats or gun violence, no poison (too easy to track) — before he finally settles on smothering.

I’m not too far in, but the event that has put Citrus County on the news in the big cities has just occurred — Shelby’s little sister has been kidnapped — and Toby is more than involved. His intent, or one of many, is to take the swagger out of Shelby’s step, so to speak, to steal her confidence, incongruous as it is with his own worldview.  But more than that, Toby hopes that “when the manatees give up the ghost or a hurricane finally gets a bead on Citrus County, trucks of guys would come down from Tallahassee and dynamite the place and slide it off into the Gulf of Mexico to sink.”

Being from Florida, I enjoy reading books set there. Florida has a big personality; it can’t help but butt its way to the front of the stage in parts of the narrative. There’s kitsch in every corner and, while that may be true for most states, Florida’s different, because the kitsch is so often juxtaposed against tremendous natural beauty. That eyesore tourist shop on a white sand beach, the easter egg-colored condos that mar your view of the ocean, the sheds with signs that boast 20-Foot Gator! off the interstate, surrounded by thousands of them in their swampy natural habitat. In Weeki Wachee, not too far from Citrus County, there’s a spring where an underwater theatre was constructed back in 1947, and to this day tourists can get a glimpse of life under the sea as “mermaids” perform shows with the aid of air hoses.

“Natives” of Florida have a tendency not to claim it, though they continue to stay, aware that their inertia is conscious; their parents or grandparents moved to Florida from somewhere, some years ago, yet no matter how long they live there they will always consider it to be outside themselves, a place that should be mocked and degraded but that they are loath to leave.  What John Brandon has done in Citrus County is to create a culture around this quiet dissatisfaction, where sometimes something really bad has to happen in order to relieve the everyday, mundane misery. Toby thinks he knows just what that is — it’s the only thing he’s ever been meant to do.

John Brandon will sign and read at Lemuria starting at 5pm on Tuesday, July 13th.