Thursday, April 12, 2012

Three on Thursday: Fiction off the beaten path

I try to keep my readers here ahead of the curve on all the mainstream new fiction coming in, which is no mean feat in and of itself.  But sometimes, there are some great titles that tend to get lost in the shuffle, whether they're put out by smaller publishers or they're debut novels.  I hate to let them disappear into the library stacks unnoticed, so I thought I'd share a few of these "amazing and different" titles.


The House on Salt Hay Road, by Carol Clevidence.  On a quiet summer's day in 1938, a Long Island fireworks factory explodes.  Clay Poole is fascinated by the chaos that has replaced everyday life as a result.  His sister, however, is more intrigued by the stranger who appears, dusted in ashes, in the aftermath.  The Poole children, orphaned and now being raised by their mother's family, have no idea that this is just the beginning of upheaval to come, including a hurricane and the impending war.  Vivid and amazing.

The Sisters brothers, by Patrick deWitt.  Eli and Charlie Sisters, hired gunslingers working for a frontier baron, are on the hunt for a prospector.  On the road between Oregon City and the prospector's claim just outside of Sacramento, they meet a witch, a bear, and murderous trappers...just to start.  Charlie remains bloodthirsty as ever, but Sisters brother Eli begins to wonder about their line of work, and who they're working for.  Odd, funny, and sad, this is one you should make a point to go back and read.

The Good Father, by Noah Hawley.  Dr. Paul Allen's specialty is treating patients that other doctors have given up on.  His personal life is content, with his second wife and their twin sons.  And then one afternoon, the breaking news is that the Democratic candidate for president has been shot at a rally, and Dr. Allen's son Daniel, from his first marriage, is the shooter.  The harrowing narrative alternates between Dr. Allen's guilt-ridden attempts to understand and save his son, and Daniel's own meandering thought processes.  A deeply emotional page-turner.


Happy reading!

2 comments:

Sandra said...

Thanks Megan
sorry I couldn't make it today - I'm down with the flu.

Megan Norrell said...

No problem--hope you feel better!