Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme hosted my Marcia at the Printed Page. Here’s a quick look at what was added to my TBR pile this past week. TBR pile? Yes, I mean it literally! It’s time to spring clean the bookcases, get my books off the floor and give them the respect they deserve 
Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead is a novel to be published April 28, 2009: The year is 1985. Benji Cooper is one of the only black students at an elite prep school in Manhattan. He spends his falls and winters going to roller-disco bar mitzvahs, playing too much Dungeons and Dragons, and trying to catch glimpses of nudity on late-night cable TV. After a tragic mishap on his first day of high school—when Benji reveals his deep enthusiasm for the horror movie magazine Fangoria—his social doom is sealed for the next four years.
But every summer, Benji escapes to the Hamptons, to Sag Harbor, where a small community of African American professionals have built a world of their own. Because their parents come out only on weekends, he and his friends are left to their own devices for three glorious months. And although he’s just as confused about this all-black refuge as he is about the white world he negotiates the rest of the year, he thinks that maybe this summer things will be different. If all goes according to plan, that is.
There will be trials and tribulations, of course. There will be complicated new handshakes to fumble through, and state-of-the-art profanity to master. He will be tested by contests big and small, by his misshapen haircut (which seems to have a will of its own), by the New Coke Tragedy of ’85, and by his secret Lite FM addiction. But maybe, with a little luck, things will turn out differently this summer.
In this deeply affectionate and fiercely funny coming-of-age novel, Whitehead—using the perpetual mortification of teenage existence and the desperate quest for reinvention—lithely probes the elusive nature of identity, both personal and communal.
The Blue Notebook is a novel to be published by James Levine in July 2009. It tells the story of Batuk, a precocious 15-year-old girl from rural India who was sold into sexual slavery by her father when she was nine. As she navigates the grim realities of the Common Street—a street of prostitution in Mumbai where children are kept in cages as they wait for customers to pay for sex—Batuk manages to put pen to paper, recording her private thoughts and stories in a diary. The novel is powerfully told in Batuk’s voice, through the words she writes in her journal, where she finds hope and beauty in the bleakest circumstances.
Beautifully crafted and deeply human, The Blue Notebook explores how people, in the most difficult of situations, can use storytelling to make sense of and give meaning to their lives. All of the U.S. proceeds from this novel will be donated to the International and National Centers for Missing and Exploited Children.
The Age of Shiva is a novel by Manil Suri. The publisher’s synopsis says that Meera, the narrator, is seventeen years old when she catches her first glimpse of Dev, performing a song so infused with passion that it arouses in her the first flush of erotic longing. She wonders if she can steal him away from Roopa, her older, more beautiful sister, who has brought her along to see him.
It is only when her son is born that Meera begins to imagine a life of fulfillment. She engulfs him with a love so deep, so overpowering, that she must fear its consequences.
Someone Knows My Name is a novel by Lawrence Hill. Its focus is a female main character: Kidnapped as a child from Africa, Aminata Diallo is enslaved in South Carolina but escapes during the chaos of the Revolutionary War. In Manhattan she becomes a scribe for the British, recording the names of blacks who have served the King and earned freedom in Nova Scotia. But the hardship and prejudice there prompt her to follow her heart back to Africa, then on to London, where she bears witness to the injustices of slavery and its toll on her life and a whole people.
Four novels for me this week. That is an unusual trend, as I usually read a mix of non-fiction and fiction. These books will take me to the Hamptons (a world within a world), around the globe with a former slave, and with two I’ll visit India. Which setting appeals most to you? Are any of these books on your bookcase (or floor!)?
Wow those are a lot of deep topics. They all sound like excellent reads though. Happy Reading!
Eh, nothing wrong with having a pile. My acquisitions stay in my “recent acquisitions” pile at least until the end of the month, when they get their picture taken and are released from quarrantine and sometimes find their way to a shelf… sometimes. February’s books are still on the floor.
Wow, very deep reading. I don’t think I could stand to read The Blue Notebook. I’m still shaken by The Kite Runner and I read it a couple of years ago. Maybe because my kids are around that age…
It looks like you got some thought provoking books this week. I’m really interested to see what you have to say about The Blue Notebook.
I’ve never heard of The Blue Notebook before, but it sounds really good!
Serena – and all very different from the life I lead!
fyrefly – you have your own little Ellis Island procedure
Sarah – Loved *The Kite Runner*, but, yes, it was intense! The movie was very true to the book; I was bawling in the theater.
Kathy – *The Blue Notebook* just arrived in my mailbox, no email asking if I was interested in it. I wonder what in my reading profile set off the match – I’ve read/reviewed several books set in India is all I can think of …
Melissa – It won’t be published until August, so I’ll post my thoughts closer to that date … stay tuned!
Don’t have any of these yet, but The Blue Notebook does sound good. I’m off to find out more about it now!
I don’t think I could read The Blue Notebook either. I can’t even fathom a man selling his daughter to be a sex slave at 9 years old or any age for that matter. Too heart wrenching for me. The rest of your books sound good, a lot of emotional intensity there. Enjoy!
My mailbox is Here
Oh, The Blue Notebook sounds interesting. I love the book cover too.
Got the Elizabeth Noble book in the mail today – thanks so much for sending it my way!
I’ve sent you an award
Check it out here ~ http://lorisreadingcorner.blogspot.com/2009/03/proximidade-award.html
My piles are ridiculous. I bought Someone Knows My Name a couple of months ago because I just could not bear not to
I have Sag Harbor on my TBR list!
Wow – I haven’t seen any of those, and the all sound very interesting.
Here’s my Mailbox! ~ Wendi
The Blue Notebook looks like a seriously intense read. I tend to like books that are rather instense though.
The Blue Notebook sounds good but I’m sure that’s going to be a depressing story. I got The Age of Shiva and am looking forward to it – doesn’t it have a great cover? Did you read his previous novel? I read it quite a while back and thought it was great so I am hoping this book won’t disappoint.
I’m reading Sag Harbor also. I’m not familiar with The Blue Notebook. I hope you like all your mail.
I like the looks of The Blue Notebook. Mostly I just like to read about India, although it does look a little grim. I’ll have to wait for your review!
I’d like to read The Blue Notebook. The cover on it really stands out too.
All of these sound really good … although, like others, I would probably have a hard time with The Blue Notebook too.
I am totally intrigued by ‘The blue Notebook’. Being an Indian and having been to Mumbai many times, I have always thought there is way too much to Mumbai under everything that meets the eye. Not only Mumbai but so many other cities the world over. Let us know how you find the book.
I haven’t heard of any of these books, yet that is
The Indian one sounds good, and horrific, poor girl. The next Indian book also speaks to me, i really think i must read a book about India
I love the cover for The Blue Notebook! Enjoy your books!
I just received The Blue Notebook, so it’ll show up in my next MM post. Sounds like a good book. I hear what you mean about taming the TBR pile. Mine is a tower. Er…several towers really. Happy reading!
I have The Age of Shiva on my shelves, but haven’t read it yet. I also really, really want to read The Blue Notebook. You have some great books ahead of you!
The Age of Shiva is on my shelf. It has received great reviews, and I’m especially interested because the author is a professor nearby. He teaches math, of all things, at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. An unusual mix of talents, don’t you think?
The Blue Notebooks appears to be the popular hit based on your comments. It looks fascinating along with Someone Knows My Name. If you’d like to pass them on when you are done, pick me, pick me. LOL
Thank you for stopping by the mailbox this week. Man oh man your’s was a dangerous post for me.
Three of titles went straight to my wish list – ‘The Blue Notebook’, ‘The Age of Shiva’ and ‘Someone Knows My Name’.
To all – wow! *The Blue Notebook* sure got a lot of feedback from you! I won’t post the review until close to the publication date, but I may give a tease between now and then
Marcia – “Danger” is my middle name.