Book of the Day Roundup: October 21-25, 2024
Saving Kenny
Corinne Gaile
Charlesbridge Moves
Hardcover $17.99 (224pp)
978-1-62354-574-1
Buy: Local Bookstore (Bookshop), Amazon
A middle schooler seeks the courage to pursue his dreams amid mockery and an abusive home situation in Corinne Gaile’s novel Saving Kenny.
Twelve-year-old Kenny accompanies his older sister to the opera, expecting to be bored. However, it is an eye-opening experience that ignites his passion to become a costume designer. Already somewhat ostracized for being a private school scholarship kid, he now navigates the stigma surrounding boys who are interested in fields believed to be feminine. Further worsening his dilemma is the disapproval of his adored older brother, who signs him up for a “masculine” class when Kenny shares his dream.
Kenny is an impressionable, eager-to-please hero who struggles to find his voice and protect his dream. The constant abuse from his mother, who requires him to run in the rain to buy her milk after she bangs his lip on the kitchen sink, weakens his already low self-esteem. And Kenny’s fears and longing for normalcy meld with the frustrations of his siblings, with whom he has heavy conversations, wondering about their mother’s harshness and planning for their futures away from her and their survival in the present. Kenny’s interactions with his friends who were raised in loving homes exist in clear contrast to his own experiences, too: their behaviors are unburdened, and they place innocent expectations on him to participate in the same activities that they do.
Heartwarming moments with non-family members, as with the children’s ever-present downstairs neighbor who expresses pride in them, and Kenny’s wittiness lessen the otherwise dismal atmosphere. And the frequent use of slang localizes the story to Kenny’s small Roxbury community well.
In the poignant novel Saving Kenny, a boy learns that his loved ones can be wrong sometimes while pursuing his own unique path.
GABRIELLA HARRISON (August 14, 2024)
The Absinthe Forger
A True Story of Deception, Betrayal, and the World’s Most Dangerous Spirit
Evan Rail
Melville House
Hardcover $32.00 (368pp)
978-1-68589-154-1
Buy: Local Bookstore (Bookshop), Amazon
Evan Rail follows the trail of a clever and creative fraudster in The Absinthe Forger, an engrossing true crime story.
The word “absinthe” alone is enough to conjure images of tortured artists, fin de siècle decadence, and vacant-eyed addicts driven to despicable crimes. Since the drink was banned in France in 1915, absinthe lovers have been enthusiastic about tracking down unopened bottles from the pre-ban glory days. This presented a unique opportunity for one enterprising man to defraud and upend the small yet spirited absinthe underground.
In the exciting first chapter, Rail puts himself in the shoes of the forger: Christian, a mysterious figure who skitters along the edges of the rest of the book, visible only through the recollections of the many absinthe enthusiasts he cheated—and who ultimately came to suspect and unmask him as a confidence man. Rail also explores the cultural and legal history of absinthe, the rumors and myths that still surround it, and how contemporary connoisseurs rediscovered and revived the intricate rituals surrounding its consumption, creating a passionate, close-knit community of “absintheurs.” But, as Rail discovered, the betrayal of someone who was both a high-profile expert and a friend has had a tragic cooling effect on that community. Now wary and much less willing to take chances on rare purchases, they are nonetheless generous about sharing their memories and museum-worthy collections with Rail. Guided by their stories and his own investigations, Rail comes ever closer to the elusive Christian, uncovering the hows and whys of his devastating operation.
In the end, as it has ever been, absinthe is not about how it is made but what the drinker makes of it. The Absinthe Forger is the bracing true story of a much-maligned spirit and the counterfeiter who turned its mythic status to his own ends.
EILEEN GONZALEZ (August 14, 2024)
The Forbidden Book
Sacha Lamb
Levine Querido
Hardcover $19.99 (256pp)
978-1-64614-456-3
Buy: Local Bookstore (Bookshop), Amazon
A girl resists the limits imposed by her class and gender, daring to seek a new kind of life (with some supernatural help), in Sacha Lamb’s wonder-filled historical novel The Forbidden Book.
In a shtetl whose rabbi possesses a text written by an angel, Sorel is a rich man’s daughter who is promised to a boy she does not love. But on the night before her wedding, compelled by impulses somewhat beyond herself, she escapes through her window instead, venturing into town in disguised as a boy. She tells those she meets that her name is Isser, not knowing that her assumed identity is a beleaguered one: the true Isser is known for printing and selling illegal pamphlets about Jewish emancipation. Soon, Sorel is swept into a mystery involving stolen magic and a probable murder.
As she travels, Sorel encounters a cemetery keeper who speaks in near riddles, a peddler who’s fast to offer assistance, and Adela, the tough, enchanting friend of the dybbuk who sometimes rises to guide her. They face off against smugglers, Sorel’s scheming father, and Agrat, an angel who resents a contract forged long ago with the Jewish citizens of their town. Still, though they contend with formidable historical and supernatural forces, they prove unflappable: “all three of them were used to wishing the world looked different,” and vicious black dogs and lookalike corpses cannot deter them.
Set against the backdrop of a changing world, The Forbidden Book is captivating. In a matter of days, Sorel goes from feeling trapped by her status and father’s promises to being free of outside expectations and even perhaps able to pursue a different kind of love. Her growing affection for Adela is an electric undercurrent to her story of defiance, bravery, and unexpected friendships.
MICHELLE ANNE SCHINGLER (August 14, 2024)
Jamaica Ginger and Other Concoctions
Nalo Hopkinson
Tachyon Publications
Softcover $16.95 (224pp)
978-1-61696-426-9
Buy: Local Bookstore (Bookshop), Amazon
A commanding short story collection, Caribbean Canadian Nalo Hopkinson’s Jamaica Ginger and Other Concoctions blends ecological awareness, cultural heritage, and fantastical happenings.
In the mordant story “Clap Back,” Wenda, an art student, collects racist Black American objects for an exhibit. She brushes each with a mixture of lethal bacteria, “plasticizers, amino acids, and dissolved glucose.” The items come to life with liberated vengeance: “cooning rictus” grins relax into natural smiles, while stereotypical watermelon slices are “drop-kicked into the air.”
In “Pocket Universe,” elderly Sadika works with an “artist caseworker” to design her final resting place. As her brain is scanned for sensations to create a relevant “burial house,” Sadika remembers the salty delight of her grandmother’s red peas soup. She also recalls her time as a sex worker with pride; while on “the stroll,” she supported herself and her children with her skills and the pleasure she offered. And “Jamaica Ginger” (coauthored by Nisi Shawl) is set in quasi-historical New Orleans, where Nikola Tesla–inspired receivers, wireless transmitters, and automatons challenge the antiquity of kerosene lamps and train porters. Here, a woman uses her fascination with machinery to push past the limitations that society places on her gender.
Climate change is a recurring theme: there are diseased, parched landscapes and ravaging floods. Many of the characters are resourceful women of color who are determined to improve their troubled environments; they summon remarkable scientific, technological, and mechanical abilities to heal others and solve problems.
Enriched with a marrow of emotion, the short stories of Jamaica Ginger and Other Concoctions move beyond bleak dystopian landscapes into a curious universe marked by damage and possibility.
MEG NOLA (August 14, 2024)
Æbleskiver
A New Take on Traditional Danish Pancakes
Pim Pauline Overgaard
The Collective Book Studio
Hardcover $29.95 (192pp)
978-1-68555-792-8
Buy: Local Bookstore (Bookshop), Amazon
Even if you have never eaten æbleskiver, these little round Danish pancakes may be your new favorite food, thanks to Pim Pauline Overgaard’s tempting, gorgeous cookbook.
These globular bites are usually served with butter and jam or powdered sugar, but Overgaard explores a range of sweet and savory options that can be served as desserts, snacks, or full meals with accompaniments. The base recipes include alternatives for various dietary needs, including gluten-free, nut-free, vegan, vegetarian, paleo, and keto diets. The basic tools and techniques for making æbleskiver are explained, though it is possible to forgo the dimpled æbleskiver pan if one is dexterous enough with a frying pan.
An adventurous cook in her off hours, Overgaard is a textile designer by trade, and her talent for composition and color is evident in the abundant food photographs. The book is a visual delight from the cool green palette of sweet pea æbleskiver to the riot of eye-popping colors in a beet-cooked octopus and charcoal æbleskiver paired with a saffron aioli.
The sweet section displays culinary creativity with a range of roasted, candied, and pureed fruits, æbleskiver draped in glazes and chocolate, and a rich midsummer wreath of sticky butterscotch æbleskiver adorned with berries and edible flowers. Savory combinations expand on this inventiveness, as with æbleskiver stuffed with homemade sausage and purple sweet potato balls accompanied with Parmesan ice cream and garlic chips.
Many recipes reflect Scandinavian influences, with salmon, beets, mustard, and lots of fresh herbs adorning the plates, but spicier cuisines are featured here too. Recipes for salads, sauces, and even homemade gravlax conclude the book.
Æbelskiver is a creative, playful, and lively cookbook that expands the possibilities of working with the cute pancake-esque pastries.
RACHEL JAGARESKI (August 14, 2024)
Kathy Young
