FALL FICTION FROM FOREIGN LANDS

Don't worry, summer isn't over yet. But when the leaves begin to change and your patrons put down their fluffy beach reads, they may be looking for something a bit darker, like these atmospheric novels from the fall lists of four independent publishers.

In The Good Doctor Guillotin (Unbridled Books, 978-1-932961-85-0), Marc Estrin tells a fictionalized version of the story of the five men involved in the first death by Guillotine in Paris in 1792. Guillotin is the pacifist doctor who opposed the death penalty but campaigned for a more humane style of execution. Sanson is the proud executioner who refuses to take shame in his work. Pierre-Rene Grenier was the young priest present on the scaffold. Tobias Schmidt is the gentle musician and tinkerer who has created the gruesome device. And Nicholas Jacques Pelletier is its first victim.

In the midst of the French Revolution, each man travels a separate paths to the same destination. Poor Sanson tells of several executions he botched in the early days of his career, clumsy Nicholas marries his young pregnant friend before turning to a life of drunkenness and thievery to get by.

The story of these five men is accompanied by facts about French society during the Age of Enlightenment, including a discussion of the rampant taphophie--or fear of graves and being buried alive--and an account of the first hot air balloon flights. Readers with an interest in history and politics will find the story especially fascinating.

David's Revenge (Bitter Lemon Press, 978-1-904738-39-8) is German novelist Hans Werner Kettenbach's story, first published in 1994, about Christian Kestner, whose life is turned upside-down when an acquaintance from Georgia arrives at their home in Germany. Christian, a social studies teacher, knows that the KGB and the Stasi haven't gone away even several years after the German reunification and the fall of the Soviet Union. He indulges in daydreams about what would happen if Ninoshvili were a member of the KGB or if he knew about the crush Christian had on his wife.

Christian begins to suspect Ninoshvili's motives for visiting when he discovers that the man has lied about where he's been going during the day and begins spending time with his wife Julia. When a friend tells Christian some suspicious facts about his own wife, Christian's delusions and fears take control and he begins to play his own spy games. This suspenseful novel provides an interesting look at post-soviet life in Germany and a unique view inside German politics and schools. The real thrill of the novel comes from watching Christian's destructive spiral and trying to separate his delusions from reality.

Readers get another glimpse at post-soviet life in Dark Dreams (Soho Crime, 978-1-56947-557-7), the second book in Michael Genelin's Jana Matinova series. Jana and Sofia, friends since they grew up together in Czechoslovakia together, become involved in a web of political intrigue. Jana is a police commander in Slovakia, while Sofia has become a member of parliament who is involved in an affair with a high-ranking government official. When the affair hits the newspapers, Sofia asks for Jana's help. Meanwhile, a mysterious diamond appears in Jana's home, she is being investigated for corruption, she begins a love affair of her own, and several people connected with her are murdered

Gradually, the varied pieces of this puzzle fall into place thanks to Jana's witty interviewing and skillful perception. Luckily, the story is not all about business, and details from Jana's interesting personal life are revealed as well. Readers meet her granddaughter, Daniela, who lives in America with her other grandparents after her parents were killed in a car accident. This is a mystery lover's mystery with plenty of suspects and plenty of clues to put together.

by Whitney Hallberg, Managing Editor

This week at Publishing Insider, Sara Dobie answers questions from readers in her fourth and final blog post at Publishing Insider.

At Publishing Matters, Eugene Schwartz explores what will determine the price of future eBook editions.

At Shelf Space, Carlie Webber pens a column titled "They're evil! They're brilliant! They're reviewers!"

At Editor’s Notes, Editor-in-Chief Heather Shaw presents the speech given at BookExpo America, announcing the ForeWord's Independent Publisher of the Year.

Visit www.forewordmagazine.com for publishing news, book reviews, and the ForeWord Book Club.

BOOK REVIEW

Giuliano Hazan's Thirty Minute Pasta
by Giuliano Hazan
(Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 978-1-58479-807-1)

Unassuming title, common-enough topic, and yet this remarkable project delivers so thoroughly we might momentarily forget Batali, Bastianich, Curti, and other legendary Italian authors. In Thirty Minute Pasta, Guiliano Hazan opens with one of cookbook-dom's finest noodle primers, offering historical context, regional variances, a calm debate on the merits of dried and fresh pasta, and why certain sauces deserve specific pasta shapes. His list of recommended pantry items encourages such zen-like simplicity; although one can't help but develop a bit of resentment toward the chef culprits who bring complexity to the task ahead. In the end, his overall pasta sensibility lends a deserved reverence to this stately, historic, incomparably delicious food.

Not to forget the "thirty minute" element--long, involved sauces and elaborate baked pasta dishes have their place, albeit limited. Pasta is foremost a comfort food and there's nothing comfortable about spending valuable time in a kitchen when you'd rather be napping, sipping, or concentrating on the leg of lamb. Hazan organizes his seventy-five or so recipes into chapters of "Pasta Soups," "Vegetarian Pastas," "Seafood Pastas," and "Meat Pastas." Fifteen-plus pasta shapes garner his attention. If you haven't yet discovered Hazan through his other fine books, make your way to this well-deserved bandwagon. (September)

Reviewed by Matt Sutherland

Read more reviews at www.forewordmagazine.com.

AUTHOR PAGES: ROBERT KULL

The Author Pages feature nearly 100 interviews with authors whose work has been reviewed in ForeWord magazine. Robert Kull, author of Solitude: Seeking Wisdom in Extemes: A Year Spent Alone in the Patagonia Wilderness (New World Library, 978-1-57731-632-9) writes:

Find two separate people to show your work to (or one person who can function as two separate readers.) Also develop these two faculties in yourself: One is ferociously critical and will not let even one bullshit sentence slip by; the other is totally supportive and appreciative of whatever you write. Find a balance between the two.

In building a house, once the foundation is in, the walls and roof up, and the windows and doors in place, the house looks nearly finished. This is an illusion; it's only about half complete. All the detail work still needs to be done. It's the same in writing. When you think you have a pretty good draft completed, you are likely only about half way there.

You still need to edit and edit and edit after that.

Visit ForeWord’s Author Pages to read more about the authors reviewed in the pages of ForeWord.

FOREWORD FOOTNOTES

Biography & Autobiography. THE PECAN ORCHARD: JOURNEY OF A SHARECROPPER'S DAUGHTER by Peggy Vonsherie Allen (University of Alabama Press, 368 pages, hardcover, $29.95, 978-0-8173-1672-3): told by the daughter of a black sharecropper from Greenville, Alabama, in the heart of the South's "Black Belt." From Great-grandmother Moa's recollections of slave days to Mama's Strawberry Wine recipe, from hoeing vegetables to the civil rights demonstrations of the 1960s, Allen's evocation of place, time, and characters is complete and absorbing.

Biography & Autobiography/Music. THE SONGS OF JIMMIE RODGERS: A LEGACY IN COUNTRY MUSIC by Jocelyn R. Neal (Indiana University Press, 344 pages, 36 musical examples, hardcover, $55.00, 978-0-253-35315-3, softcover, $21.95, 978-0-253-22082-0): traces the musical legacy of Jimmie Rodgers (1897-1933), who wrote and recorded in the 1920s and 1930s, through generations of country musicians. His work tends to resurface "at critical moments when country music has been forced to confront issues of style, gender, race, and tradition."

Comics & Graphic Novels. THE BEST OF PUNCH CARTOONS: 2,000 HUMOR CLASSICS edited by Helen Walasek (Overlook Press, 608 pages, hardcover, $50.00, 978-1-85375-679-5): edited by the former curator of the Punch Collection, this volume is the largest published selection of the cartoons that entertained readers of the British magazine Punch for over 160 years. "Special features showcase major artists and an array of favorite themes.from Psychiatry to Lemmings."

Health & Fitness. ASK DR. MARIE: STRAIGHT TALK & REASSURING ANSWERS TO YOUR MOST PRIVATE QUESTIONS by Marie Savard and Sondra Forsyth (Globe Pequot Press, 338 pages, hardcover, $24.95, 978-0-7627-4944-7): an accessible guide to women's health questions by the medical contributor to ABC News. "The book offers clear, comprehensive, and compassionate answers to questions about sex, libido, hormones, and everything else that goes on 'down there.'"

History/Political Science. A COMMUNITY ORGANIZER'S TALE: PEOPLE AND POWER IN SAN FRANCISCO by Mike Miller (Heyday Books, 320 pages, softcover, $21.95, 978-1-59714-118-5): an account of the development and growth of San Francisco's Mission District, written by a respected community organizer. Detailed descriptions of strategies and results, with an analysis in light of current community organizing practice and theory, this is a complete account.

History /Political Science/ Social Science. THE BEAST by Ben Barr Lindsey with Harvey J. O'Higgins and foreword by Stephen J. Leonard (University Press of Colorado, 354 pages, softcover, $19.95, 978-0-87081-953-7): written by Colorado judge and pioneer of the U.S. juvenile court system, and originally published in serial and then book form in 1910. The Beast is an exposé of Colorado and Denver political corruption, and in particular focuses on the plight of children caught up in the court system. This book was considered "every bit the equal of Upton Sinclair's The Jungle," and inspired widespread U.S. social change.

Juvenile Fiction. THE ROAD FROM HOME: A NOVEL OF HOPE AND THE COURAGE TO FIND YOUR DESTINY by Nigel Hinton (Sourcebooks Jaberwocky, 236 pages, hardcover, $13.99. 978-1-4022-2461-4): Leo is a young boy, living in 1870s partitioned Poland, who is forced to flee home when he incurs an aristocrat's wrath. Written by award-winning British author Nigel Hinton, this novel follows Leo's journey through "adventure, treachery, joy, and tragedy," as he journeys through Poland toward that "distant beacon of hope: America."

Poetry. THE WHOLE ISLAND: SIX DECADES OF CUBAN POETRY edited by Mark Weiss (University of California Press, 624 pages, hardcover, $70.00, 978-0-520-25034-5, softcover, $29.95, 978-0-520-25894-5): bilingual anthology of poetry written over past sixty years. Includes well-known Cuban poets including Nicolás Guillén and Nancy Morejón; also includes poets not well-known in the English-speaking world, such as Fina García Marruz and Alessandra Molina.

Religion. THE COMPLETE IDIOT'S GUIDE TO BUDDHISM by Gary Gach (Alpha Books, 385 pages, softcover, $18.95, 978-1-5925-7911-2): updated third edition by author, translator, speaker, and winner of an American Book Award. The Complete Idiot's Guide covers both "understanding the teachings and schools of Buddhism and incorporating their tenets into everyday life." Includes exercises, meditations, and an in-depth reading list.

Religion. GOD VS. DARWIN: THE WAR BETWEEN EVOLUTION AND CREATIONISM IN THE CLASSROOM by Mano Singham (Rowman & Littlefield, 160 pages, hardcover, $34.95, 978-1607091714): from the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial to a 2005 intelligent design trial, Singham covers the evolution-religion debate from its beginnings to its current forum in courts and local school districts.

by Teresa Scollon, Book Review Editor

RECENTLY RELEASED IN AUDIO

Fiction/Humor. FOOL by Christopher Moore. Unabridged. Recorded Books, 978-1-4361-7519-7.

Fiction/Literary. GOLDENGROVE by Francine Prose. Unabridged. Recorded Books, 978-1-4361-5845-9.

Fiction/Literary. LARK AND TERMITE by Jayne Anne Phillips. Unabridged. Recorded Books, 978-1-4361-9792-2.

Fiction/Literary. MIDNIGHT'S CHILDREN by Salman Rushdie. Unabridged. Recorded Books, 978-1-4361-7011-6.

Fiction/Novellas. THE WOMAN LIT BY FIREFLIES by Jim Harrison. Unabridged. Blackstone Audio, 978-1-4332-8895-1.

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