The Reluctant Fundamentalist
by Mohsin Hamid

This is the story of a young Pakistani, Changez.  It is told in a single monologue which is in turns angry, condescending or sad.  He speaks to an unnamed American in a Lahore café throughout the story.  Changez was educated at Princeton and was working for a high profile American firm when America was attacked on September 11.  The change in attitude toward him following the attack was palpable; looks of interest turned to looks of fear.  When he returns home for a visit he is appalled with how he had forgotten his Pakistani values.  He ultimately returns to Pakistan, no longer able to live the American dream.  He provides an interesting insight in a fictionalized version of how Pakistanis might view us.  His narrative kept me riveted throughout the entire book.  I would consider this one of the most interesting novels I read this year.  (Peg)

Out Stealing Horses
by Per Petterson

There is something about the self-chosen exile of the main character, Tron Sander, the completely captivated me.  He chose to live his remaining years in quiet contemplation.  Trond is nearing his seventies, and has moved to a primitive cabin in eastern Norway, reminiscent of where, as a fifteen-year-old boy, he spent his last summer with his father.  The story travels back and forth between his current life and that as a boy in the summer of 1948.  While presenting quiet and solitude to the reader, there is a subtle mystery growing during that summer in 1948.  This is a memorable story--one that I will read again; something I never do.  (Peg)

Away
by Amy Bloom

As a fan of Amy Bloom's short stories, I wanted to see how she would write a novel.  The premise of this story is shattering.  A young Jewish mother's family in Russia is attacked and murdered.  She subsequently escapes to America, believing there were no survivors in her family.  A visiting cousin tells her that her three-year-old daughter had been rescued by neighbors.  She begins a journey that takes her across America in a quest to reach Siberia looking for her daughter.  This is a woman for whom nothing will stand in her way to achieve this goal.  This was a unique plot, and I enjoyed the protagonist's utter dedication to the goal, even though, at times, it seemed somewhat unrealistic.  A fascinating story of single-minded determination.  (Peg)

Pontoon
by Garrison Keillor

To enjoy this book, you must love Keillor's laconic telling of another shaggy dog story.  I do, and I can almost hear him as I read the pages.  The story takes place in the beloved Lake Wobegon area.  The lively 82-year-old Evelyn Peterson has died in her sleep.  Her daughter, Barbara, is committed to carrying out her mother's wishes of cremation and of placing the ashes in a bowling ball and dropping it into the lake.  Keillor offers all sorts of amusing anecdotes to keep the plot moving along.  I treasure his sardonic wit and ability to entertain with the most unlikely characters.  Oh, to be Lutheran and in a small town in Minnesota.  Been there, done that.  (Peg)

Loving Frank
by Nancy Horan

This is a fictionalized story of the life of Mamah Cheney and Frank Lloyd Wright's life together.  She is an intellectual and a feminist who fell in love with Wright while they were both married to others.  It was the scandal of the day.  The story is told through the eyes of Mamah and how she sacrificed mightily for this love.  They settled in Wisconsin at Taliesin, while the press remained determined to continue the scandal.  She died a most tragic and violent death.  What really stands out in this fictionalized account is her intelligence and willingness to take an unpopular stand in her love for Wright.  (Peg)

Fire in the Blood
by Irene Nemirovsky

While Irene was writing Suite Francaise in 1940, she was also reworking this novel.  She died in Auschwitz in 1942.  Biographers recently discovered the missing pages of this story.  I reviewed Suite Francaise for you last year and declared it my favorite novel of the year, I should like to add that I completely enjoyed this story as well.  It is a smaller story, but again encompasses her insightful studies of human nature, most particularly the farming community of Burgundy.  Silvio is the middle-aged narrator of this story that takes place in Issy-l'Eveque, where Nemirovsky spent her last months.  He longingly remembers the intense passions that overtake men and women when they are young, hence the title, and adds the interesting twist of hindsight as an older man.  Her appreciation for the countryside and how the small community lives within their own code makes for very entertaining reading.  (Peg)

Run
by Ann Patchett

Patchett also wrote Bel Canto and The Magician's Assistant.  Bel Canto was a wonderful drama, one of our best selling books.  As with Bel Canto, the author has the wonderful ability to capture our attention in the beginning and keep us reading straight through.  The story is set in Boston within a 24-hour time frame.  A widower and former mayor, Bernard Doyle, is raising his biological son and two adopted sons of African American descent.  In a seemingly unusual twist, the biological mother of the adopted children saves the life of one of the boys.  The story is about family relationships, obligations, and love and patience.  The story may sound implausible, but it is woven together with great finesse.  Patchett's prose is always a delectable treat.  (Peg)

A Thousand Splendid Suns
by Khaled Hosseini

He did it again!  This time the story is told through the eyes of two women trapped in a loveless marriage to the same man.  Unlike The Kite Runner, which focused on the friendships of men, this story focuses on the plight of women in Afghanistan.  The story begins with Miriam who is harami, a bastard child, living in a hut with her mother.  She is married off to a shoemaker in Kabul, a man who most generously could be called a lout.  In time, he takes on another wife and both live in fear of his explosive violence.  Khaled's characters will win your hearts.  (Peg)