New Leaf Vote for June 2018 • I'll be There for You: Best Friends

[issybird]

Let's select the book we'll read and discuss in June 2018!

All are welcome to vote, but please don't vote unless you plan to participate in the discussion, whatever the selection.

This is a poll. Vote for as many books as you'd like. Questions? FAQs | Guidelines Or just ask!

Choices:

Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian
AmazonUS: $9.99 | AmazonAU: $12.99 | AmazonUK: £3.99 | Overdrive | Audible

Spoiler:

Originally Posted by AmazonUK

Set sail for the read of your life …

Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey-Maturin tales are widely acknowledged to be the greatest series of historical novels ever written. Now, for the first time, they are available in electronic book format, so a whole new generation of readers can be swept away on the adventure of a lifetime.

Master and Commander is the first of Patrick O’Brian’s now famous Aubrey/Maturin novels, regarded by many as the greatest series of historical novels ever written. It establishes the friendship between Captain Jack Aubrey RN and Stephen Maturin, who becomes his secretive ship’s surgeon and an intelligence agent. It contains all the action and excitement which could possibly be hoped for in a historical novel, but it also displays the qualities which have put O’Brian far ahead of any of his competitors: his depiction of the detail of life aboard a Nelsonic man-of-war, of weapons, food, conversation and ambience, of the landscape and of the sea. O’Brian’s portrayal of each of these is faultless and the sense of period throughout is acute. His power of characterisation is above all masterly.

This brilliant historical novel marked the début of a writer who grew into one of our greatest novelists ever, the author of what Alan Judd, writing in the Sunday Times, has described as ‘the most significant extended story since Anthony Powell’s A Dance to the Music of Time’.

A Catskill Eagle by Robert B. Parker
Amazon US $7.99 | Amazon UK £4.99 | Amazon AUS $11.99

Spoiler:

It's not the first in his Spenser series, but it is one of the best (you can read this series in any order, though the developing relationships are fun to follow chronologically). The friendship I am nominating this for is that between Spenser and Hawk, an African-American solider of fortune and unquestionably the greatest badass ever created in crime novels (IMHO).

In this story a letter tells Spenser that Susan (his long time partner) is in trouble and Hawk is in jail, and from there it’s a foregone conclusion on all hell breaking loose. The bonds between the three are never stronger, the story has never been more intense and the action has never been so defined. It’s a masterfully written book that could easily stand alone, not as minimalist as later Spensers or as hard-boiled as earlier ones, transitional both in terms of his style and the way the characters develop.

My Brilliant Friend by Elana Ferrante
Amazon US $6.00 | Kobo US $8.69

Spoiler:

Beginning in the 1950s in a poor but vibrant neighborhood on the outskirts of Naples, Ferrante’s four-volume story spans almost sixty years, as its protagonists, the fiery and unforgettable Lila, and the bookish narrator, Elena, become women, wives, mothers, and leaders, all the while maintaining a complex and at times conflictual friendship. Book one in the series follows Lila and Elena from their first fateful meeting as ten-year-olds through their school years and adolescence.

Through the lives of these two women, Ferrante tells the story of a neighborhood, a city, and a country as it is transformed in ways that, in turn, also transform the relationship between her protagonists.

Absolute Friends by John Le Carré
Amazon US $7.99 | Amazon UK £5.99

Spoiler:

From Amazon:

Absolute Friends is a superbly paced novel spanning fifty-six years, a theatrical masterstroke of tragi-comic writing, and a savage fable of our times, almost of our hours.
The friends of the title are Ted Mundy, British soldier’s son born in 1947 in a shining new independent Pakistan, and Sasha, a refugee son of an East German Lutheran pastor and his wife who have sought sanctuary in the West.
The two men meet first as students in riot-torn West Berlin of the late Sixties, again in the grimy looking-glass of Cold War espionage and, most terribly, in today’s unipolar world of terror, counter-terror and the war of lies.
Absolute Friends presents us with magical writing, characters to delight, and a spellbinding story that enchants even as it challenges.

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
Public domain | Feedbooks epub/Kindle FREE | Amazon US/Pevear translation $9.99 | Amazon UK/Pevear £2.99

Spoiler:

This swashbuckling epic of chivalry, honor, and derring-do, set in France during the 1620s, is richly populated with romantic heroes, unattainable heroines, kings, queens, cavaliers, and criminals in a whirl of adventure, espionage, conspiracy, murder, vengeance, love, scandal, and suspense. Dumas transforms minor historical figures into larger- than-life characters: the Comte d’Artagnan, an impetuous young man in pursuit of glory; the beguilingly evil seductress “Milady”; the powerful and devious Cardinal Richelieu; the weak King Louis XIII and his unhappy queen—and, of course, the three musketeers themselves, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, whose motto “all for one, one for all” has come to epitomize devoted friendship. With a plot that delivers stolen diamonds, masked balls, purloined letters, and, of course, great bouts of swordplay, The Three Musketeers is eternally entertaining.

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry AKA My Grandmother Sends Her Regards and Apologises by Fredrik Backman
Overdrive | Amazon US | Kobo UK | Kobo US | Kobo CA | Kobo AU | Amazon CA | Amazon AU

Spoiler:

Elsa is seven years old and different. Her grandmother is seventy-seven years old and crazy—as in standing-on-the-balcony-firing-paintball-guns-at-strangers crazy. She is also Elsa’s best, and only, friend. At night Elsa takes refuge in her grandmother’s stories, in the Land-of-Almost-Awake and the Kingdom of Miamas, where everybody is different and nobody needs to be normal.

When Elsa’s grandmother dies and leaves behind a series of letters apologizing to people she has wronged, Elsa’s greatest adventure begins. Her grandmother’s instructions lead her to an apartment building full of drunks, monsters, attack dogs, and old crones but also to the truth about fairy tales and kingdoms and a grandmother like no other.

Everyone remembers the smell of their grandmother's house.

Everyone remembers the stories their grandmother told them.

But does everyone remember their grandmother flirting with policemen? Driving illegally?
Breaking into a zoo in the middle of the night? Firing a paintball gun from a balcony in her dressing gown?

Seven-year-old Elsa does.

Some might call Elsa's granny 'eccentric', or even 'crazy'. Elsa calls her a superhero. And granny's stories, of knights and princesses and dragons and castles, are her superpower. Because, as Elsa is starting to learn, heroes and villains don't always exist in imaginary kingdoms; they could live just down the hallway.

As Christmas draws near, even the best superhero grandmothers may have one or two things they'd like to apologise for. And, in the process, Elsa can have some breath-taking adventures of her own . . .

Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
MR Library | Public domain

Spoiler:

Everyone's favorite redhead, the spunky Anne Shirley, begins her adventures at Green Gables, a farm outside Avonlea, Prince Edward Island. When the freckled girl realizes that the elderly Cuthberts wanted to adopt a boy instead, she begins to try to win them and, consequently, the reader, over.

The Little White Bird by J.M. Barrie
MobileRead PCM Library EPub Free | MobileRead PCM Library Kindle/azw3 | public domain

Spoiler:

The best description I've found is from GrannyGrump's post in the MobileRead thread linked above:

“The Little White Bird” is a novel for adult readers, ranging in tone from fantasy and whimsy to social comedy with dark, aggressive undertones.

This book is a series of short episodes, including accounts of the narrator's day-to-day activities in contemporary London, as well as fanciful tales set in Kensington Gardens and elsewhere; with the two main characters being the first-person narrator Captain W—— (“Barrie thinly disguised”), and the boy David (based on George Llewelyn Davies, one of several children of the Davies family who provided inspiration for many characters in Barrie's writings). The main theme of the book is an exploration of the emotional relationship of the narrator, a childless Victorian-era retired soldier and London bachelor, with a young boy born to a working-class married couple in his neighbourhood.

Many places emphasise that the middle chapters of this book were extracted to be published as Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, but for me those chapters are less of a draw than the developing relationship between the narrator and the young couple. The early chapters and the final, in particular, I found quite touching.

The Orphan's Tale by Pam Jenoff
Amazon US $9.99 | Kobo US $9.99 | Amazon CA $9.99 | Kobo CA $9.99 | Amazon AU $11.99 | Kobo AU $11.99 | Amazon UK £2.99 | Kobo UK £2.99

Spoiler:

From Goodreads:

A powerful novel of friendship set in a traveling circus during World War II, The Orphan's Tale introduces two extraordinary women and their harrowing stories of sacrifice and survival

Sixteen-year-old Noa has been cast out in disgrace after becoming pregnant by a Nazi soldier and being forced to give up her baby. She lives above a small rail station, which she cleans in order to earn her keep… When Noa discovers a boxcar containing dozens of Jewish infants bound for a concentration camp, she is reminded of the child that was taken from her. And in a moment that will change the course of her life, she snatches one of the babies and flees into the snowy night.

Noa finds refuge with a German circus, but she must learn the flying trapeze act so she can blend in undetected, spurning the resentment of the lead aerialist, Astrid. At first rivals, Noa and Astrid soon forge a powerful bond. But as the facade that protects them proves increasingly tenuous, Noa and Astrid must decide whether their friendship is enough to save one another—or if the secrets that burn between them will destroy everything.

Truth and Beauty: A Friendship by Ann Patchett
Overdrive, Scribd | Amazon US

Spoiler:

From Amazon:

What happens when the person who is your family is someone you aren't bound to by blood? What happens when the person you promise to love and to honor for the rest of your life is not your lover, but your best friend? In Truth & Beauty, her frank and startlingly intimate first work of nonfiction, Ann Patchett shines a fresh, revealing light on the world of women's friendships and shows us what it means to stand together.

Ann Patchett and Lucy Grealy met in college in 1981, and, after enrolling in the Iowa Writers' Workshop, began a friendship that would be as defining to both of their lives as their work was. In her critically acclaimed and hugely successful memoir, Autobiography of a Face, Lucy Grealy wrote about losing part of her jaw to childhood cancer, the years of chemotherapy and radiation, and then the endless reconstructive surgeries. In Truth & Beauty, the story isn't Lucy's life or Ann's life, but the parts of their lives they shared. This is a portrait of unwavering commitment that spans twenty years, from the long, cold winters of the Midwest, to surgical wards, to book parties in New York. Through love, fame, drugs, and despair, this book shows us what it means to be part of two lives that are intertwined.

Greyfriars Bobby by Eleanor Atkinson
Public domain | Project Gutenberg

Spoiler:

From Amazon:

The classic true story of a lovable Scottish dog whose loyalty knew no bounds

Each day, the cannon of Edinburgh Castle blasts a shot across town. It never fails to surprise Bobby, the silver-haired Skye terrier of Greyfriars Kirkyard, who fires back with a flurry of indignant yips. He always quiets down, though, because he knows it means it’s one o’clock—and one o’clock is when it’s time to eat. Bobby’s master, the shepherd Auld Jock, feeds the dog well, and Bobby repays him with limitless devotion. Everyone in Edinburgh knows that Bobby is a fine dog, but they have no idea just how loyal he really is.

When Jock dies, Bobby refuses to abandon his master, standing guard over his grave through wind and sleet and snow. No matter what obstacles stand in his way, Bobby remains steadfast—inspiring a city, a country, and the world.

A timeless tale of the special relationship between a man and his dog, Greyfriars Bobby has inspired generations of readers and was adapted into the Disney film of the same name.

[issybird]

Looks as if everyone's playing chicken!

As a general rule, I don't like to vote for more than half the choices, so I pared it down. There's only one or two that I'd really rather not read and of course I would if chosen, although price combined with long OD waiting lists would make one rather painful. Three titles would be rereads and I voted for one, although another is also a long-time favorite.

That obscure enough?

[Bookpossum]

Well, I voted for the three I supported plus the Dumas for auld lang syne. A couple of the others certainly look interesting to me, but there are problems with availability except at a high price.

[gmw]

I think I'll abstain. I haven't started reading this month's book yet and things look like getting worse before they get better as far as my work goes.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by gmw

I think I'll abstain. I haven't started reading this month's book yet and things look like getting worse before they get better as far as my work goes.

Ah, yes, we all have months like that! I'm in the middle of this month's book, but having trouble finishing -- it's just not something I can read at bedtime. However, I'll get some dedicated time this weekend and try to finish it off.

[astrangerhere]

Alas, another book I've already read is neck and neck for the lead. One day I will nominate a winner!

[CRussel]

Well, the voting is hardly over -- we frequently get some last minute flurries, after all. But as for winners? I'd argue that the nomination process leading to the discovery of a book, or the enabling of others to discover a book, is my definition of a winner. (That's an awkward sentence, but I can't seem to do better today.) IAC, by that definition, your nomination of The Price of Salt was definitely a winner for me. I'd never run across it, and quite devoured it.

The two leading books are both ones I've read. Master and Commander is a book that I've read recently and repeatedly but I nominated it in the hope that doing so will enable others here to discover a superb author and series. Meanwhile, The Three Musketeers is a book that I read a LONG time ago, and my memory of it is quite thoroughly tainted by the various onscreen versions, so I won't mind re-reading it. (Though it is long.)

[JSWolf]

I've seen the movie Master and Commander and I think it would not make for a good enough discussion.

[JSWolf]

If you've ever had a grandmother you've loved, then please vote for My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I've seen the movie Master and Commander and I think it would not make for a good enough discussion.

Oddly enough, the film Master and Commander is mostly based on the tenth book in the series, The Far Side of the World.

You should always read the book first!

[issybird]

And The Three Musketeers it is.

I'll note that this title was the very first Classic Comic of them all, published in 1941. Not that I'm suggesting anyone go that route.

[Bookpossum]

Goodness, what a find!

I must say that illustration shows the swordsman facing us leaving himself wide open to being run through. I think he needs to work on his technique a bit.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by issybird

And The Three Musketeers it is.

I'll note that this title was the very first Classic Comic of them all, published in 1941. Not that I'm suggesting anyone go that route.

Was Classic Comics an earlier incarnation of Classics Illustrated? I read a lot of the latter when I was a kid.

FYI, Hoopla has a bunch of Classics Illustrated comics, including The Three Musketeers.

[BenG]

There is a new translation available by Lawrence Ellsworth who did the translation of The Red Sphinx a couple of years ago. (The Red Sphinx is a direct sequel to The Three Musketeers, but follows Cardinal Richelieu, Queen Anne, King Louis and the Comte de Moret.)


https://www.amazon.com/Three-Muskete...6046297&sr=1-1

[Catlady]

Does anyone know what translations the various audiobook versions use? The only one I can find info on is the Bill Homewood-narrated Naxos version, translated by William Barrow. I've checked World Cat, but I'm not seeing translators listed.