Chapter 16 - Part 424

Regaining Altitude

Bobbie Ann Mason returns with a remarkable World War II novel about a downed aviator in Nazi-occupied France

By Ed Tarkington | July 18, 2013

July 18, 2013 Bobbie Ann Mason’s most recent novel is simultaneously a tale of adapting to old age, a charming romance, a food-and-wine tour of Paris and Provence, and a spellbinding World War II suspense thriller. The Girl in the Blue Beret is a richly satisfying page turner and an artful literary novel worthy of a wide audience and a prominent place in its acclaimed author’s award-winning body of work. Mason will appear at the twenty-fifth annual Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 11-13. All festival events are free and open to the public.

Small Batch, Big Taste

Kevin West talks with Chapter 16 about the pleasures of home preserving

By Susannah Felts | July 17, 2013

July 17, 2013 Kevin West’s Saving the Season is an extraordinary achievement, a gorgeous and thorough compendium on the subject of canning, pickling, and preserving all manner of fruits and vegetables. And if you’re less an aspiring chef than someone who likes to devour good writing about food, there are bountiful literary treats tucked into these pages, too. West will appear at Parnassus Books in Nashville on July 24, 2013, at 6:30 p.m.

Talking with the Dead

Like James Merrill’s Sandover trilogy, Rick Hilles’s new collection is a conversation with spirits

By Pablo Tanguay | July 16, 2013

July 16, 2013 Like James Merrill’s Sandover trilogy, which critic Helen Vendler described as “a conversation with dead friends and spirits in another world,” Rick Hilles’s new book of poems invokes the dead, most dramatically by assuming their very personae. This poetic strategy may be the result of hubris or humility or both, but whatever it is, it works. The great strength of A Map of the Lost World, beyond its thematic gravity and masterful architecture, is its extraordinary writing. Rick Hilles will appear at the twenty-fifth annual Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 11-13. All festival events are free and open to the public.

Tough Truths, Hard Laughs, and Hot Chicken

By Stephen Usery | July 15, 2013

July 15, 2013 Books by comedians in the 1980s and 1990s were often little more than retooled versions of their stand-up routines, but in recent years, memoirs and essay collections from the likes of Sarah Silverman and Patton Oswalt have shown that comedians have more than the next laugh on their minds.

A Nashville Cross of the Knight

YA novelist Ruta Sepetys has received a medal from the Lithuanian government for contributions to literature and education

By Margaret Renkl | July 12, 2013

July 12, 2013 Even before Between Shades of Gray hit shelves, it was obvious that Ruta Sepetys’s debut novel was about to take the literary world by storm. Earning four starred reviews—one from every pre-publication review site in the country—is practically unheard of, even for veteran novelists. Between Shades of Gray, pronounced Kirkus, “deserves the widest possible readership.”

Buried Secrets, Shallow Graves

Matthew Guinn’s debut novel offers a sweeping tale of slavery, skeletons, and moral dilemmas

By Sarah Norris | July 11, 2013

July 11, 2013 Matthew Guinn based his novel, The Resurrectionist, in part on the true story of Grandison Harris, a slave ordered to dig up dead bodies for use in anatomy classes. By structuring his story within two timeframes, set more than a century apart, Guinn brings both periods to life, and the result is an engrossing morality tale. He will read from and sign copies of The Resurrectionist on July 17 at 6 p.m. at The Booksellers at Laurelwood in Memphis. He will be back in Tennessee again for the twenty-fifth annual Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 11-13.

Tias and Primas: On Knowing and Loving the Women Who Raise Us

By Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez, illustrated by Josie Del Castillo
Seal Press
304 pages
$30

“Within these pages, I found my abuela, my tías and my primas — laughing, crying, and nodding alongside me. This book is a gift of understanding, and loving one’s family, even when our families are complicated and painful. It’s a beautiful reminder of the power of storytelling and the profound connection of kinship.”

~ Paola Mendoza, author, organizer and filmmaker