Archive for February, 2010
Union Atlantic
Is it too soon for a “Best of 2010″ list? Too bad, I already have a nominee: Union Atlantic by Adam Haslett. What did I love about this debut novel? Here’s my shelftalker:
Union Atlantic is the story of greed and generosity, young love and cynical sex, old families and ambitious upstarts, a
nd it had me completely mesmerized. Haslett must have access to a crystal ball, because he started writing this well before the financial meltdown of the last few years. An old-school New England Yankee is appalled when a young Wall Street financier builds a McMansion on her former property; Nate, student of Charlotte and lover of Doug, is torn between these two neighbors.
Aside from telling you about a book I feel so strongly about, I also wanted to ask you about the entire book review process. Union Atlantic has received lots of great pre-publication enthusiasm from other independent booksellers (yes, many of us are friends and share our thoughts on books – we’re a very opinionated bunch of folks). This Tuesday, the New York Times reviewed the book, and gave it a less-than-glowing and kind of weird review. More specifically, Michiko Kakutani, the notoriously (how do I say this politely) moody reviewer, called the book “lumpy.” (I’m not sure what a “lumpy” book is – when I was little we had a leak in our living room ceiling and a bunch of books got soaked; those became very lumpy after a while, but I don’t think that’s what she meant.)
Today, the Washington Post’s Ron Charles gave the book a wonderful thumbs up – invoking F. Scott Fitzgerald, Hawthorne, Howard Zinn, and Jon Hamm (click here for the full review). So my question is this: how do you decide what books to read? What reviewers, if any, do you trust and follow? How much attention do you pay to the daily New York Times versus the Sunday Book Review? Do friends or your local booksellers, or even certain publishers, carry more weight? Or do you just say the heck with everyone and go your own merry way? All comments are welcome!
3 comments February 10, 2010
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
It probably isn’t hyperbole to say that all of our lives have been affected by Henrietta Lacks. A poor southern tobacco farmer descended from slaves, Henrietta was diagnosed with cervical cancer in February of 1951 and died eight months later. Her cells were harvested (without her permission, or even her knowledge) and are still alive today. Polio, cancer, deadly viruses, cloning and gene mapping: the HeLa cells were used in countless scientific experiments, and many people grew wealthy as a result of the discoveries made using Henrietta’s cells. Yet her family never saw a dime. Nancy recently finished reading The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and shares the following review.
Every time I read a book about DNA/cells/memory, the HeLa cell is mentioned. And now here is what it’s all about. Do I understand neuroscience any better? No. But I have met a woman and her family and am confronted with the dilemma of the benefit to science vs. the pain and dismay of her descendants. This is not easy to read – not because of the difficulty of the 
science but the philosophical questions of “common good.” We should all be aware of the consequences of the advancement of science, the benefits to us all weighed against the financial gain to a few, and the hardship and confusion that falls to those left behind. A wonderful book, well written – there is no finger pointing here, just a huge quantity of food for thought.
Rebecca Skloot spent more than ten years researching the book (her first) and talking to the Lacks family, who still struggle with the knowledge that billions and billions of Henrietta’s cells are still alive. Check out this glowing New York Times review, and stop by the store to check out the book.
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