Ah, The Promise of September Leaves of Gold Between the Covers

(column by Cathy Langer, originally posted on gabbygourmet.com)

Jonathan Franzen's highly anticipated novel Freedom hits the shelves on the last day of August and launches what will be another fantastic fall season of new books. His first novel since the critically acclaimed and bestselling The Corrections, published in September of 2001, Franzen has done what we most love in this crazy business of bookselling: he delivers. Big time. Freedom is the story of Walter and Patty Berglund, two people who on the surface appear happy together and committed to their children, their neighborhood in Minneapolis and to liberal causes. Of course all is not as it appears, and their lives take unexpected and messy turns, though as they do the reader is brought deeply into their pasts, their minds and their utterly believable humanity. The brilliance of this novel, beyond the writing itself, is how deeply and sympathetically all the very flawed characters are drawn and how well you get to know and understand them. To borrow from my friend and former colleague Joe Eichman, these characters are not just written on the page, they are alive in this world, in our world. It was very hard to say goodbye. I'll just have to read it again.

Just out and the Tattered Cover's VIB (Very Impressive Book) for September, Joyce
Maynard's The Good Daughters is a novel that unfolds over about 50 years, beginning with a hurricane hitting a small New Hampshire town in 1949 and following the two families that become strangely bonded following the births of their daughters on the same day 9 months later. The novel is told in the alternating voices of Ruth and Dana, the daughters of the title. Though very different from each other they are both oddities to their respective families and struggling to make sense of their worlds. The Good Daughters brought out the compulsive reader in me. I read most of it on a long flight and quite honestly did not want the plane to land because I wanted to finish the book uninterrupted.

Last September's VIB, the inaugural pick, was also by Joyce Maynard: Labor Day. This
wonderful book is just out in paperback, and will be one of my favorite handsells to all kinds of readers and book clubs. As you might expect, the story unfolds over the course of a steamy Labor Day weekend when the long divorced and slightly unbalanced Adele and her 13 year old son Henry give refuge to Frank, an escaped convict. Frank is sweet and attentive to both Adele and Henry and though his presence in their home brings danger and an almost certain unhappy ending, what he gives them outweighs all consideration of the reality of their future. Adele is a dancer, and this novel is a beautifully choreographed dance of relationships, love, trust, adolescent angst, and yes, redemption.

Also just out in paperback is another long awaited novel by a superb writer. Lorrie Moore spent 11 years writing A Gate at the Stairs, which the New York Times deemed one ofthe top 10 books of 2009. Taking place in a small midwestern university town, A Gate at the Stairs captures the fear, suspicion and anxiety of Post 9/11 America in this very funny and very tragic novel revolving around the coming of age of Tassie Keltjin. Tassie, a first year college student and very innocent daughter of an heirloom vegetable farmer takes a position as a nanny to the adopted child child of a sophisticated though mysterious couple and over the course of a year loses her innocence as she experiences deep seated racism, deceit and the tragedies of war. Moore is the kind of writer whose sentences make you want to weep with wonder and appreciation. After you're done chuckling aloud.

For more inspiring suggestions from Independent Booksellers from around the country take
a look at the Indie Next list on our website, www.tatteredcover.com.