2007 Selection
González & Daughter Trucking Co.
by María Amparo Escandón .
Libertad González is an only child. Her mother has vanished, disappeared. Her father, a former literature professor and a fugitive from justice, is raising his daughter alone — in the cab of his 18-wheeler truck — sharing books, truck-
stop food, and a growing awareness of a young girl becoming a woman. Libertad relates the incredible story of her life to a group of female prisoners, her fellow-
inmates, in the Mexican prison that they share.
This is the entertaining and compelling premise of González & Daughter Trucking Co. by María Amparo Escandón Part coming of age, part father-daughter struggle, part adventure, part romance, part betrayal and passionate search for absolution, it is a spell-binding story woven with sensitivity and humor by one of our foremost contemporary Latina writers.
2006 Selection
March, by Geraldine Brooks
The 2006 Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction, March is the fictional account of the largely absent Mr. March in Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. March, a preacher, is the father of Alcott's four young girls. Having left his wife and daughters to minister to the Union troops in the Civil War, March's journals and letters to his family provide a compelling account of one man's public and private battles during the conflict.
As an idealist and firm believer in the commandment, "Thou Shalt Not Kill," March's ideals and beliefs are summarily challenged by the stark reality of war. Almost every belief he holds sacred is tested, as the need to preserve his own life — and that of his fellows — hangs in the balance. Love, friendship, fidelity, doubt — all are eloquently rendered against the backdrop of slavery and the War Between the States.
2005 Selection
The Soloist, by Mark Salzman
As an adolescent, Renne Sundheimer was hailed as potentially the greatest cellest who ever lived, touring the world's concert halls and basking in the adoration of his fans and the admiration of critics. But at the age of eighteen, his gift deserted him, and he now makes his living as a cello teacher at a large university in Southern Californa, hoping that his gift will return.
Renne's life changes dramatically when he becomes involved in a murder trial for the brutal killing of a Buddhist monk, and takes on a new pupil — an unpreposses-
sing nine-year-old Korean boy whose talent, potential and brilliant musician-
ship remind Renne of his own past. At once enchanting and deeply moving, this wise and gently humorous book is captivating.
2004 Selection
Travels With Charley, by John Steinbeck
Published in 1962, Travels with Charley in Search of America was Steinbeck’s last important full-length work before his death six years later. While Steinbeck was best known as a writer of fiction, this memoir, chronicling his trek across the United States with Charley, his pet poodle, became a national best-seller. His journey took him from his home in Sag Harbor, New York through Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, Michigan, Illinois, Montana, Washington, California, Texas, and Louisiana. Filled with Steinbeck’s cogent and thoughtful observations on the American people, much of what he says seem prophetic for his time, and extremely relevant for ours.
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