Buyer’s Choice
The Hottest Books of the Summer
The agents at the IRS Regional Examination Center in Peoria, Illinois, appear ordinary enough to newly arrived trainee David Foster Wallace. But as he immerses himself in a routine so tedious and repetitive that new employees receive boredomsurvival training, he discovers the extraordinary variety of personalities drawn to this strange calling. The Pale King remained unfinished at the time of David Foster Wallace's death, but it is a deeply compelling and satisfying novel, hilarious and fearless and as original as anything Wallace ever undertook. It grapples directly with ultimate questions--questions of life's meaning and of the value of work and society--through characters imagined with the interior force and generosity that were Wallace's unique gifts. Along the way it suggests a new idea of heroism and commands infinite respect for one of the most daring writers of our time.
Remembering is sometimes like "juggling a hundred thousand crystal balls all at once," writes Francisco Goldman. This beautifully written book is, at the same time, an elegant, elegiac novel; a brutal, honest memoir; and the longest and most tender love letter in the world. Say Her Name is a gift of love for the author's beautiful young wife, Aura Estrada, who died after an accident in the waves at Mezunte Beach in Mexico. She was only thirty, a talented writer, and a scholar. Aura's absence is deeply felt throughout the whole book, and Francisco's grief, his longing and his survivor's guilt, are visible in his apartment, where Aura's belongings are left untouched. I don't believe in the spirit world, yet when Francisco stops to hug and kiss Aura's favorite tree, a hale silver maple at the end of his block, I, too, felt Aura's presence. And if that's not enough, the last pages will take your breath away. – Aggie Z, Literature Buyer
The highly anticipated sixth book of Jean Auel's Earth's Children series, The Land of Painted Caves is the culmination fans have been waiting for. Continuing the story of Ayla and Jondalar, Auel combines her brilliant narrative skills and appealing characters with a remarkable re-creation of the way life was lived more than 25,000 years ago. The Land of Painted Caves is an exquisite achievement by one of the world's most beloved authors.