Cutting for Stone, by Abraham Verghese

From the flyleaf description I did not think I was going to enjoy this book but I really did. It is a family story centering on twin boys, Marion and Shiva, growing up in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in the 1950′s and 60′s at a mission hospital where their adoptive parents are doctors. Lots of well developed characters, interesting material on medicine, 20th century Ethiopean history and unexpected plot developments also enrich this debut novel.

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RATING: * * * * * One of the best
Reviewed by: kh

Uncle Tom’s Cabin or, Life Among the Lowly, by Harriet Beecher Stowe

I hadn’t read this novel until now and found it surprisingly moving and full of righteous indignation over the institution of slavery in the United States before the Civil War. Very much a product of its times, with flowery language, improbable plot coincidences and Christian sermonizing, it is nevertheless full of cogent arguments about the evils of slavery and its corruption of slaves and slave owners alike. I found some of Stowe’s comments still valid today in situations such as those described by Kristof and WuDunn in their work, Half the Sky.  If you choose to listen to the book on CD, the narrator, Mirron Willis, does a fabulous reading.

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RATING: * * * * Very, very good
Reviewed by: kh

Sahara Unveiled : A Journey across the Desert, by William Langewiesche

The author traveled from Algiers on the Mediterranean Sea to Timbuktu and Dakar, in buses, trucks, hired cars and finally a river boat at the end of his journey. He passed through the Sahara in Algeria, Mali, Niger and ended in Mauritania staying in towns build around oases and gaining a deeper understanding of the impact of French colonialism and of the ethic groups such as the Tuareg that have lived in the desert for hundreds of years. This fascinating place is brutal and unforgiving to people, animals and vegetation; better to visit via these pages than actually to go there.

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RATING: * * * A good read
Reviewed by: kh

Baker Towers, by Jennifer Haigh

Set in a mid 20th century western Pennsylvania coal town, the author has created a realistic family and community. She follows the five Novak children as they grow up and go their separate ways influenced by the times, World War II, the 1950′s and 1960′s, and the economy of a company coal town. Haigh strikes a hopeful note at the story’s end which I appreciated.

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RATING: * * * A good read
Reviewed by: kh

The Gardner Heist: A True Story of the World’s Largest Unsolved Art Theft, by Ulrich Boser

An interesting recap of the attempts over the last twenty years to recover the paintings stolen from Boston’s Gardner museum. The author devoted several years to hunting down leads and interviewing people who claimed to have knowledge of the crime. There are also chapters about Isabella Stewart Gardner, the specific artists and the paintings that were taken as well as several chapters about the late Harold Smith who also investigated the theft. The saddest part–since March 1990, when they were taken, not one of the pieces has been seen.

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RATING: * * * A good read
Reviewed by: kh

A Mind to Murder, by P. D. James

Written in 1963, this is the second Adam Dalgleish mystery. The detective is sent from a party he is attending at his publisher’s to the Steen Psychiatric Clinic, also in London, where the office administrator has been brutally murdered. The Clinic director locked the doors after the crime was discovered so the killer is presumed to be still in the building and the staff members are high on the list of suspects. It turns out that the victim was disliked by several of the staff but who has the motive for a murder? James is a skilled author and I enjoyed listening to the book on cd and thought that Penelope Dellaporta, the narrator, did a fine job.

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* * * * Very, very good
Reviewed by: kh

The Company We Keep: A Husband and Wife True-Life Spy Story, by Robert Baer and Dayna Baer

Told in alternating voices, this memoir opens a window on life as a CIA spy. Bob worked in such locales as Croatia, Tajikistan and Lebanon and met Dayna in Sarajevo while on a mission. He and Dayna both found that a CIA career was fatal to personal relationships with the required secrecy and long absences. Bob realized if he wanted to pay more attention to the personal side of his life he would have to retire from the CIA. He is also the author of “See No Evil” which was the basis for the film “Syriana.”

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RATING: * * * * Very, very good
Reviewed by: kh

The Domino Men, by Jonathan Barnes

Henry Lamb thinks he is just an ordinary file clerk in an ordinary office where mounds of paper are sorted and filed for various government departments in London. But one day he is suddenly transferred to the “Directorate” and finds himself fighting supernatural beings in human disguise as well as members of the Royal Family who are part of the plot to bring London to irreversible ruin. I listened to the book on cd and the narrator, Gerard Doyle was excellent.

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RATING: * * * A good read
Reviewed by: kh

The Last Sherlock Holmes Story, by Michael Dibdin

Before Dibdin’s “Aurelio Zen” thrillers, he wrote this 1978 debut novel using Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson characters. The author captures the tone of and uses details from the original stories. However, he also incorporates an actual series of 19th century crimes and 20th century psychology to move the plot forward. I listened to the book on CD and enjoyed narrator Robert Glenister’s interpretation of the individual characters.

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RATING: * * * A good read
Reviewed by: kh

Killer Stuff and Tons of Money: Seeking History and Hidden Gems in Flea-Market America, by Maureen Stanton

This is an interesting look at a local (Massachusetts) antiques dealer and the buying and selling of objects from America’s past. Lots of history on the way people lived their lives over the past 400 years is explained as well as how antiques dealers make a living today. If you are an “Antiques Roadshow” fan, try this book.

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RATING: * * * A good read
Reviewed by: kh