Not Quite as Light Fiction

Pearl Abraham

The Romance Reader � Girl comes of age in a Hasidic family. Conflict ensues. Fascinating look inside Hasidic culture.

Margaret Atwood

Robber Bride � Witty and bitter tale of a villainess named Zenia wreaking havoc with the lives of three friends. One of the few Atwood books that didn't plunge me into a deep, dark depression.

Alan Bennett

The Clothes They Stood Up In - This story of a couple whose belongings are stolen while they are at the opera is told in incredibly clean, concise prose. Deadpan and amusing, but also quite thought-provoking.

Truman Capote

Breakfast at Tiffany�s � Bit harsher than the movie, but assuredly good reading.

In Cold Blood � Fiction? Non? Possibly written by Harper Lee? Wonderfully written in any case.

Laura Esquivel

Like Water For Chocolate � Food and romance-filled tale of a young cook in turn of the century Mexico.

Kaye Gibbon

Charms for the Easy Life � Great quote: �That sort of hurling oneself at a desire is a family trait, and has made convicts, scholars, lovers and dope fiends out of us from way back.�

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Allegra Goodman

Kaaterskill Falls � Dreamy tale of people in a Jewish community in their upstate New York summer homes.

Family Markowitz � Funny and thoughtful short stories, all featuring American Jews as their subject.

Alice Hoffman

Practical Magic � Magical and romantic story of two sisters raised by witches.

Seventh Heaven � Divorcee moves into 50�s suburban neighborhood and shakes everyone up.

Second Nature � Woman takes home man raised by wolves. Really.

Turtle Moon � Involves turtles in some way.

Josephine Humphreys

Rich in Love � A family experiences all variants on love, as narrated by the precocious (but endearing) teenage daughter.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Love in the Time of Cholera - Great quote: �just seeing the girl was enough for him. Little by little he idealized her, endowing her with improbable virtues and imaginary sentiments, and after two weeks he thought of nothing but her.�

~New!~ Tomas Eloy Martinez

Santa Evita - Strange and fascinating blend of fact and fiction about the journeys of Eva Peron's corpse.

Gloria Naylor

Mama Day � Magical story set on an magical island in the South. Magical stuff ensues.

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Michael Ondaatje

English Patient � Deeply romantic tale of love lost. Far better than the movie.

Ann Patchett

Bel Canto � Lovely tale of opera and culture shock and hostages and love.

Magician's Assistant � About a magician's assistant. Poetically written.

Dai Sijie

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress - With a fairy tale feel, this story of two young men sent to rural China from the city and their "bourgeois" parents during Mao's Re-education is a wonderful book for lovers of literature.

Donna Tartt

Secret History � Kooky and literary shenanigans at a college among Classics majors.

Anne Tyler

Tyler writes wonderful novels set in Baltimore with incredibly vivid (and usually eccentric) characters. Some of my favorites are: Accidental Tourist, Ladder of Years, Patchwork Planet, Saint Maybe, Earthly Possessions.

The Amateur Marriage - Pauline and Michael met and married in the rush and excitement of World War II, despite the fact that their personalities and temperaments are nearly opposite. Unfolding over chapters that peek in on Pauline and Michael at different times in their marriage, this novel is quiet and compelling, and provides real insight not only into the life and marriage of this couple, but into the universal issues that people face as they age.

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Updated 2/26/06

Comments? Questions? Suggestions? Email me at schka46[at]hotmail.com.

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