Fiction Pick of the Week: Stay

Stay by Allie Larkin 2010

Reviewers call Allie Larkin "an irresistible new voice" and I agree. This first novel makes great light reading, and it will make a dog-lover out of you, even if you aren't that way inclined. Savannah Leone is maid-of-honour at her best friend's wedding. The only problem is that she is in love with Peter, the groom, whom she dated in college. For consolation, she orders "Joe" from an international website. Her puppy arrives fully grown with instructions, since he is trained only in Slovakian commands.
Set in Rochester, and narrated in the first person with emotional honesty and wit, this novel sorts out love and friendship. The huge black dog is the source of the healing; he starts out as the object of Van's misplaced affection for Peter and then he introduces her to Alex, the local vet.

Fiction Pick of the Week: Loving Frank

Loving Frank by Nancy Horan 2007

Loving Frank by Nancy Horan is beautifully-written account of a period of time in the life of renowned American architect, Frank Lloyd Wright. Taking place at the turn of the 20th century, the story introduces us to Mamah Borthwick, a client of Frank’s who falls in love with him after she and her husband commission his firm to design their new home. Both of them married to others, Mamah and Frank embark on a love affair spanning several years, shocking friends, family, and strangers alike. As their affair makes front page news, the two are forced to make choices about their marriages, parenthood, and their careers. Mamah has an especially hard time since, as a wife and mother, she is expected to live for her husband and children, despite her professional and personal aspirations. Horan’s debut novel blends fact with fiction as she incorporates real events and people into her fictitious account of how the lives of everyone close to Mamah and Frank were changed forever by their refusal to conform to societal conventions. Fans of Frank Lloyd Wright will also appreciate the many descriptions of, and references to, his architectural philosophy and designs. A story of love, art, and the desires that drive us all, Loving Frank will stay with you long after you’ve read the last page!

My Pick of the Week!

Ian McEwan's On Chesil Beach is a gripping rumination on what the pact of marriage really means--proof that even in this electronic age, few things are as captivating as a good story that's told well. Laid across five slight chapters, On Chesil Beach begins in the honeymoon suite of Florence and Edward as they hover at the edge of the first-time intimacy that will corroborate, legally and spiritually, the vows they have already exchanged. But simple sex is not so simple--unknown to Edward, who is delirious with lust, his bride harbors an absolute revulsion for the act. Naturally, this is not news to Florence, who nevertheless pledged, before family and community, "With my body I thee worship! That's what you promised today". Yet that idea--Florence's preconceived response to the inevitable mess she finds herself in on her wedding night--forms the tale's central question: when we wed, how much of ourselves are we obliged to reveal to our prospective mates? Ironically, part of what makes the book so powerful is McEwan's delicate touch. As he tiptoes through Florence and Edward's respective back stories, we forget he's there, instead focusing on the almost palpable scenes he lays before us. This is storytelling at its most dynamic--vivid, persuasive and completely fluid. Though rendered in figurative watercolors, On Chesil Beach is a tiny, perfect masterpiece as lasting as a canvas infused with oils