The Historical Fiction Shelf

Boys
Roger Newman

Synopsis: Brotherhood born of battle is more than skin-deep.

After Alex’s family is killed by the Ku Klux Klan during the Great Depression, he takes refuge in the barn of a nearby dairy farm. The family that owns the dairy, including their young son Pete, take in Alex and raise the boys together. Pete and Alex consider themselves brothers and together they navigate the Jim Crow racial intolerance of the rural South, a challenge experienced differently because Pete is White and Alex is Black.

Anticipating European war, Pete and Alex join a segregated US Army. The brothers discover their own identities amid the crucible of battle, leading them to separate for many years as they continue their careers in the Army. They finally reunite at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, in 1969. Confronting escalating racial and civilian hostility in response to the Civil Rights and antiwar movements, Alex must find those responsible for the brutal off-base beating of Pete. He must also re-engage with his childhood and what it means to be a Black man with a White brother.

Critique: In his new novel, “Boys”, author Roger Newman raises his story about two men, one white, one black, who come together to deal with the racial intolerance so endemic in the rural southern communities of the American South, the U.S. Army in World War II, the impact of the Civil Rights and Anti-Vietnam movements on American race relations to an impressive level of literary excellence. Inherently fascinating, deftly crafted, emotionally engaging, ultimately inspiring, “Boys” is especially and unreservedly recommended for community and college/university library Literary Fiction, Southern Fiction, and Military Fiction collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that this hardcover edition of “Boys” from Koehler Books is also readily available in paperback (9798888245699, $20.95) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $7.99).

Editorial Note: Roger Newman is the author of a series of medical thrillers, Occam’s Razor, Two Drifters, and What Becomes, and the historical fiction novel Will O’ the Wisp: Madness, War, and Recompense. Dr. Newman is also a professor of obstetrics and gynecology, specializing in the care of women with multiple gestations. He has authored almost two hundred scientific papers, a dozen book chapters, and the award-winning and bestselling When You’re Expecting Twins, Triplets, or Quads; Fourth Edition.

The Historical Fiction Shelf

The Rabbi’s Suitcase
Robert Kehlmann

Synopsis: Although a work of fiction, “The Rabbi’s Suitcase” is inspired by author Robert Kehlmann’s family history and a trove of love letters from his mother.

“The Rabbi’s Suitcase” recounts how, in the early 1880s, a battered steamship, overcrowded with Orthodox Jewish travelers, makes a treacherous journey from Lithuania to Jerusalem, the home of their patriarchs. On board, Yosef Siev, a twelve-year-old mystic, is entranced with wild-haired Chana. Their story is told against a backdrop of Ottoman rule, the privations of WWI, and British Mandatory uprisings.

In 1926 Yosef and Chana’s seventeen-year-old granddaughter, Zipora, enters into a forbidden relationship with Reuven, a young Lithuanian immigrant destined, as a close ally of David Ben Gurion, to become a founder of the State of Israel. The liaison extracts a heavy toll. With dreams of self-discovery and a better future for herself and her family, Zipora travels to America determined to contribute to Reuven’s studies at the Sorbonne.

Conflicts arise over issues of politics, gender inequality, and fidelity, forcing heart-wrenching decisions.

Critique: Emotionally compelling, skillfully narrated, impressively original, “The Rabbi’s Suitcase” by Robert Kehlmann is an inherently fascinating read from start to finish. One of those novels that will linger in the mind and memory of the reader long after the book has been finished and set back upon the shelf, “The Rabbi’s Suitcase” is especially and unreservedly recommended for community and college/university library Historical Fiction collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that this hardcover edition of “The Rabbi’s Suitcase” from Koehler Books is also readily available in paperback (9798888246979, $21.95).

Editorial Note: Robert Kehlmann is an internationally acclaimed glass artist and art critic whose glasswork has been acquired by major museums and showcased in prestigious exhibitions and publications. An honorary lifetime member of the Glass Art Society, he has authored two books of art criticism and been awarded NEA grants for both his artwork and critical writing. The Rakow Library at the Corning Museum of Glass houses Kehlmann’s artist and art critic archives. Research materials and early drafts of “The Rabbi’s Suitcase”, his debut novel, are preserved at New York’s YIVO Institute for Jewish Research.

The General Fiction Shelf

Kelsey’s Crossing
David Randal

Synopsis: The homeless men of the Kelsey Rescue Mission think of Greg Smith as the nice fellow serving meals on Tuesdays and Thursdays. They don’t know that Greg was once one of Washington’s most powerful political operatives. Recently released from prison for committing election fraud, tax evasion, and money laundering, he only wants to live a quiet life away from the limelight.

But when political corruption in the city of Kelsey threatens the good work of the Mission, Greg reluctantly agrees to direct the Mission’s voter referendum campaign to oppose the city’s self-serving leaders. The campaign soon results in unrest, including a tragic shooting. compelling Greg and his army of homeless men to work in order to restore calm and prevent further chaos.

Their success leads them to second-chance opportunities none of them imagined.

Critique: A deftly crafted, emotionally engaging, novel that is all the more impressive when considering that “Kelsey’s Crossing” is author David Randal debut as a novelist, its them is that of the past not irrevocably repeating in the future, it about the value and necessity of second chances. Original and inherently fascinating, “Kelsey’s Crossing” is a compelling story of corruption, struggle and redemption. Of special note is how David Randal’s distinctive and narrative driven storytelling skills have raised his novel to an impressive level of literary excellence — making it especially and unreservedly recommended for personal reading lists, as well as both community and college/university library Contemporary American Literary Fiction collections.

Editorial Note: David Randal is a veteran content writer and producer of educational and advocacy films. His innovative presentations on complex concepts have won him several prestigious awards. His stories focus on such topics as childhood cancer, the food crisis in sub-Saharan Africa, biotechnology, neuroscience, climate change, the Camp Fire in California, life jacket safety for commercial fishermen, artificial intelligence, and more.

The General Fiction Shelf

Boy With Wings
Mark Mustian

Johnny Cruel is no ordinary boy. Born with appendages on his back that can only be described as wings, he faces danger when his community of the 1930s South deems him a devil and tries to capture and kill him. Forced to flee, Johnny and his mother hit the road in search of a safe haven.

This effort sends him into associations with other social outcasts, from the freaks in a circus to relationships in which he questions why and how others can love him: “You say that she loves me?”

“Well, not like I love you.” I touched his neck and face.

“You love the fact of my oddness.”

Author Mark Mustian raises many questions as he follows Johnny’s journey through life in search of acceptance, a safe place, and love. These issues also emerge from Johnny’s influence on those around him who are not extraordinary — but might long to be: Only Johnny was truly aloof, the look on his face one of concern or maybe revulsion. Or was it envy? I thought I recognized this and knew of it. As a nonfreak, I felt it too. Why was I so common, so depressingly middling and bland? Placed among people who were truly remarkable and unique.

A strong device utilized to explore the extent of Johnny’s world is that of shifting perspectives, easily identified in chapter headings. Dwarf Esmeralda (“Tot”)’s daughter Winifred, tattooed lady Sheila, and others add their own observations and experiences to the freak show focus on of finding a place in life. This immerses the characters in a strange miracle that embraces them all. Mustian’s story is a study in acceptance, diversity, kindness, and the possibility of marvels in life. Through Johnny’s eyes and others, the intricacies of relationship-building develop in a way that imparts intriguing lessons on differences and shared perceptions.

Magical encounters, transcendence and the human drive for connection and life meaning reveal a compelling contrast between individuals who all reside, one way or another, in realms that force them to grow beyond their physical incarnations. Libraries interested in novels that explore such potentially life-altering realizations will not only find Boy With Wings a thoroughly compelling story accessible to a wide audience, but highly recommendable to book clubs seeking novels that will spark discussions about family, diversity, fate, and the origins of understanding and acceptance.

Vibrant with discovery, Boy With Wings is a winner.