TEN THOUSAND SAINTS; THE OTHER WES MOORE; YOU DESERVE NOTHING; WHAT WE TALK ABOUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT ANNE FRANK

Time to make the doughnuts. At least four books I haven’t yet posted here. Maybe more, but I’ve forgotten what they are.

TEN THOUSAND SAINTS by Eleanor Henderson

You got me at the setting, time period and subject matter: The offspring of the hippie generation struggle to come of age in NY and Vermont, in the late 80s. But you lost me in the telling of it. Great reviews… but a snooze of a read.

THE OTHER WES MOORE by Wes Moore (duh).

Ditto. Interesting concept, but I fell off in the telling. Author Wes Moore is a Rhodes scholar and type-A success; his namesake is in prison for murder. Author reaches out to convict. They have many things in common. There but for the grace, etc. The author is going to be the graduation speaker for my 8^th grade students this year… I want to sell this one to them, but I can’t.

YOU DESERVE NOTHING by Alexander Maksik

You got me at the setting and subject matter: English teacher in an international school in Paris. You held me in the telling. Not up there with Tobias Wolfe’s OLD SCHOOL, but a keen and sometimes lyrical look at teachers and their students. Nicely done. Worth the read.

WHAT WE TALK ABOUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT ANNE FRANK by Nathan Englander

Englander rocks. This new collection of stories may be uneven, but the guy is totally brilliant. One of our best contemporary writers, IMHO. Does he translate for non-Jews? I’m not sure. Go read him and let me know.