Next to my bed I have a small stack of books that arrived courtesy of publishers. Occasionally a book will come that I wasn't expecting and other times I'm contacted by publishers about a particular book and the possibility of reading it and writing about it here. Lately I've not been accepting many new books as I'd like to try and read what I have on hand though sometimes a book will tempt me too much to say no. I'll be writing about one of those books tomorrow. As I'm trying to work my way through the pile this year, I'm ready to choose a new book, which is always difficult. I've narrowed them down to four and thought I'd share a teaser here and perhaps get an opinion or two.
The Art of Losing by Rebecca Connell (Europa Editions) -- "Until I was ten, my father told me a bedtime story every night. I suppose that in the early days the stories covered the usual ground, but after my mother died they changed. His new stories were all about her. Sometimes he would attempt to disguise them a little, holding up a book as if he were reading from it, but I wasn't fooled. Other times je would simply sit at my bedside and pour out memories--his own, and those she has passed on to him. Often they made him cry, and I would comfort him."
Glasshopper by Isabel Ashdown (Myriad Editions) -- "I love November. I love the frosty grass that poles up between the paving slabs, and the smoke that puffs out of your nostrils like dragon's breath. I love the ready-made ice rink that freezes underneath the broken guttering in the school playground. And I love the salt 'n' vinegar heat inside a noisy pub, when everyone outside is walking about under hats and gloves with dripping red noses."
The Vera Wright Trilogy by Elizabeth Jolley (Persea Books) -- "Why can't the father, the father of your--what I mean is why can't he do something?"
"I've told you, he's dead."
"How can you say that, he was on the phone last night. I could tell by your voice, that's who it was."
"At last the day has come when I must leave for Fairfields. It is all arranged. I have been there once already and know it to be a place of grated raw vegetables and children with restless eyes. It is also a place of poetry and music and people with interesting lives and ideas."
Mr. Rosenblum Dreams in English by Natasha Solomons (Little Brown) -- "Jack Rosenblum switched off the wireless and nestled back into his leather armchair. A beatific smile spread across his face and he closed his eyes. 'So there is to be more rain,' he remarked to the empty room, stretching out his short legs and giving a yawn. He was unconcerned by the dismal prognosis; it was the act of listening to the bulletin that he savoured. Each evening during the weather forecast he could imagine he was an Englishman."
Of course the problem is that they all sound good and how to choose only one?