Looking for a book by a local Illinois author? Try one of
these:
NIGHT OF MIRACLES by Elizabeth Berg is a LibraryReads selection for November and a sequel
to The Story of Arthur Truluv. Typical
of Berg’s writing, this is another gentle read with appealing characters. This story focuses on Lucille (Arthur’s
elderly neighbor and baker extraordinaire) and Iris (a new arrival in town,
dealing with her own losses), plus a budding romance between the diner’s
waitress and the taxi driver, and also a young family coping with a terrible
diagnosis. The small town inhabitants
band together and Berg exudes optimism: “Never think winter will last when
spring is equally inevitable.” I particularly like the Library Journal
review: “Warm and satisfying as Lucille's cookies.”
A CLOUD IN THE SHAPE OF A GIRL by Jean Thompson is a recently published
novel set in the Midwest that deals with three generations of women and
their regrets. As such, it is a less
happy novel, with Evelyn, Laura and Grace often hiding secrets as they cope
with life experiences and obligations. Grace is the youngest, a college student
striving for independence. Her mother, Laura deals with addiction – due to a
hard-drinking husband and drug-infused musician son. Evelyn is dying, discontent and bitter over
unrealized career aspirations. Together
they offer a complex rendition of what Library Journal calls “thwarted
dreams and dashed hopes.” A National
Book Award finalist for The Year We Left Home, Thompson’s writing is
masterful: “A parent’s death was a milestone.
It put you in a strange territory of fear, dread, ache,
bewilderment. It made you greedy to get
back to your own life, and then you felt guilty because of your selfishness.”
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