Boston Globe -- Book reviews

Two new reasons to be thankful

Liz Rosenberg, Globe Correspondent — 2009-11-29T05:02:15Z

Florence Parry Heide’s “Princess Hyacinth’’ might have been a pale imitation of George MacDonald’s 19th-century classic tale, “The Light Princess.’’ In both, the young royal heroine floats - she literally cannot be bound to earthly things.

A mosaic of Chinese immigrant life

Anna Mundow, Globe Correspondent — 2009-11-29T05:00:17Z

After novels such as “Waiting,’’ set in modern China, and “War Trash,’’ which depicted Chinese POWs during the Korean War, Ha Jin returns to short fiction with a volume of 12 stories that gracefully convey the often disorienting reality of Chinese immigrant life in the United States. “[T]he American type of success was not for everyone,’’ one character reflects. “You ...

A celebrated case of ‘word rage’

Katherine A. Powers, Globe Correspondent — 2009-11-29T04:57:15Z

I do not like the word “pants.’’ As for its diminutive form, a word that I have never uttered or written, I simply cannot bear it. Is this loony? I’d say not; it’s just that words, far from being simple signs for some preexistent reality, embody all sorts of associations and traditions that tint or warp or infect the things ...

Bookings

Judith Maas, Globe Correspondent — 2009-11-29T04:56:00Z

TODAY: Aaron Santos discusses “How Many Licks?,” at 6:30 p.m., Harvard Square Coop, Cambridge. MONDAY : Wade Rathke discusses “Citizen Wealth,” at 7 p.m., Harvard Square Coop.

First in peace

Erez Manela, Globe Correspondent — 2009-11-29T04:55:28Z

Woodrow Wilson, president of the United States from 1913 to 1921, has long been counted among the most fascinating, transformative, and tragic presidents in American history. Though he successfully pushed through significant domestic reforms, it is his legacy in foreign policy that is best remembered. He led the nation into World War I, and he articulated a radical vision for ...

Mazur’s passion

Jan Gardner, Globe Correspondent — 2009-11-29T04:54:01Z

Michael Mazur was a painter and printmaker whose life was entwined with the literary world.

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2009-11-29T04:54:01Z

Secret Santa: The science behind the myth

2009-11-29T04:52:10Z

Forget what you know about Santa Claus. He is not fat or jolly and he lives in Brooklyn, not the Arctic. In “T he Truth About Santa: Wormholes, Robots, and What Really Happens on Christmas Eve’’ (Bloomsbury), Gregory Mone explains the science behind the bearded guy’s worldwide distribution system. The secret isn’t reindeers but wormhole-based time machines. And he knows ...

Transcending the familiar saga of addiction, recovery

Madison Smartt Bell, Globe Correspondent — 2009-11-29T04:51:23Z

Michelle Huneven’s third novel, “Blame,’’ is a story of addiction and recovery. In fact, Huneven’s previous two books also involve wrenching battles with alcohol. “Round Rock’’ is set at a drying-out farm, and one of the principals in her second book, “Jamesland,’’ is also recovering, out in the world. Such situations are full of stories almost ready-made, since AA and ...

My so-called life

Daniel Akst, Globe Correspondent — 2009-11-29T04:50:00Z

Once upon a time, before the Age of Oprah, writers who had lived through something terrible would turn their experiences into fiction.

Short Takes

Amanda Heller, Globe Correspondent — 2009-11-29T04:47:41Z

EVENING'S EMPIRE: The Story of My Father's Murder By Zachary Lazar Little, Brown, 240 pp., $24.99

Why we do the things we do

George Scialabba, Globe Correspondent — 2009-11-29T04:43:53Z

All of us have asked ourselves: “Why do other people often make such odd decisions?’’ The more honest among us go on to inquire: “Why do I often make such odd decisions?’’ Freud was once thought to have some answers, but his theories are now in deep eclipse. Currently, three of the foremost contenders for successfully explaining our species’ folly ...

Darkness at noon

Richard Eder, Globe Correspondent — 2009-11-29T04:42:13Z

In her mastery of the short story Alice Munro fashions a 24-hour day. There are nighttimes in her work, but the daylight lasts longer and, though struggling, it struggles harder.

Scantastic

Lylah M. Alphonse — 2009-11-28T19:31:14Z

Arlington artist and filmmaker Rufus Butler Seder, 56, brings magic to the masses with his Lifetiles murals and Waddle!, his newest (and already best-selling) Scanimation book.

Memoir shares lessons of life with Asperger’s

James Sullivan, Globe Correspondent — 2009-11-27T17:40:18Z

As a child, Tim Page was an odd duck. He could recite at will every school-bus route in his Connecticut town. Tormented at recess, he stayed inside and blithely memorized huge chunks of the 1961 edition of the World Book Encyclopedia. He knew more about the history of silent film by age 12 than anyone this side of Fairbanks and ...

A shortsighted memoir from Palin

Claude R. Marx — 2009-11-27T01:27:53Z

Sarah the victim. After she experienced a meteoric rise to the heights of American politics, one might have expected Sarah Palin to produce an optimistic memoir that was enjoyable to read and somewhat forward looking.

Looking inward

2009-11-27T01:05:51Z

The novelist Michael Chabon’s newest book is a lyrical collection of essays, “Manhood for Amateurs: The Pleasures and Regrets of a Husband, Father, and Son.’’ He has poignant and sometimes hilarious riffs on everything from growing up in the 1970s, to the evolution of Legos, to the virtues of the “pitifully low’’ historic standards to which fathers are held, to ...

Top music book

2009-11-25T22:29:59Z

‘They both knew that they would be best friends for a long, long time. Not that they talked about it; it was just there.’’ This is one of many things that Clarence Clemons writes about Bruce Springsteen in his highly entertaining new memoir, “Big Man: Real Life & Tall Tales.’’

Books

2009-11-25T22:26:59Z

“Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Story Behind the Song,’’ Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen & Jo-Ann Geffen Funny, poignant, and insightful essays written by the songwriters of some of pop music’s biggest hits. The best - like the adulterous backstory to “Stop! In the Name of Love,’’ involving a disgruntled girlfriend and a baseball bat - deepen, entertain, and ...

A feast of facts in Baker’s ‘Thankgiving’

Michael Kenney, Globe Correspondent — 2009-11-25T17:28:16Z

Thanksgiving came late in 1939 when the traditional fourth Thursday fell on Nov. 30 - a date of much concern to retailers facing barely three weeks until Christmas.

Past runs through present in 'Water Ghosts'

Robert Braile, Globe Correspondent — 2009-05-12T16:10:44Z

On a languid June morning in 1928, the mouth of the Sacramento River shrouded in mist, three desolate Chinese women suddenly appear on a small boat off the shore of Locke, Calif., a farming village.

Mommy diva

James Reed, Globe Staff — 2009-05-11T14:44:06Z

Mexican superstar Thalia has been the pinup girl for many things in her chameleonic career. Diva-in-waiting in the tween pop band Timbiriche. A wildly popular telenovela actress. Queen of the dance floor one year, mariachi singer the next. Fashion designer. Radio host. You name it.

Family's dysfunction is a medical mystery

Clea Simon, Globe Correspondent — 2009-05-11T01:22:47Z

Something is very wrong at Hundreds Hall. Dr. Faraday notices that as soon as he answers the call to the grand country estate. For starters, the maid he's been asked to see is clearly not ill, and although he diagnoses young Betty's stomach upset as acute homesickness, she insists that she has good reason to want to leave. "It isn't ...

Solving mystery of finding readers

Joanna Weiss, Globe Staff — 2009-05-08T16:07:57Z

Once, Seth Harwood intended to get his novel published the old-fashioned way: Get the pedigree, write the manuscript, nab the agent, win the big contract.

A Fenway fairy tale

Joseph P. Kahn, Globe Staff — 2009-05-08T16:06:35Z

'The Prince of Fenway Park," Julianna Baggott's latest novel for younger readers, centers on a 12-year-old boy who helps break the curse that once bedeviled the Boston Red Sox. Baggott's story incorporates time travel, racial prejudice, and a cast of fantasy creatures who inhabit Fenway Park's nooks and crannies. Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, Bill Buckner, and Tom Yawkey figure in ...