All good things must come to an end. The Literary Duck Blog has been wondrous fun and the best of things to us (and hopefully to you, our dear readers), and it is now coming to an end. The final installment of the Literary Duck Blog will appear on Monday, August 31st.
But don’t fear! The blog will still be here for you to visit any time you want. Even though there won’t be fresh posts, feel free to chuckle over old confessionals from our writers, use our staff favorites to guide you, and look to our theme posts to give you ideas on your literary rambles.
For this, our penultimate blog, we have compiled bonus staff recommendations to see you through the autumn. Thank you all for your love of books and for coming with us on our literary journey. And please come by any of the brick and mortar Duck Stores if you are in need of in person book recommendations!
This Is Your Life, Harriet Chance
By: Jonathan Evison
For readers on the lookout for entertainment with a punch, and who like a fast, witty read with an inventive style and plenty of twists and turns, I recommend This Is Your Life, Harriet Chance.
You’ll take an Alaskan cruise with 79-year-old Harriet, a widow for two years who will be forced to look back on choices she has made in her life and confront some uncomfortable truths. At times heartbreaking, at times laugh-out-loud funny, this portrait of Harriet and her “ordinary” life will resonate with readers. I agree with the publisher’s description: “Part dysfunctional love story, part poignant exploration of the mother/daughter relationship, nothing is what it seems in this tale of acceptance, reexamination, forgiveness, and, ultimately, healing.” For those of us who remember the television show, this one lives up to its title. -Andy
Undermajordomo Minor
By: Patrick DeWitt
Portland author Patrick DeWitt is swiftly becoming my favorite fiction writer. Like The Sister Brothers, Major Domo is both an homage and satire of period and genre pieces—this time DeWitt takes aim at the Bronte sisters and the buttoned-down “manor house drama.” Majordomo is a romance, an adventure, blackly funny and wildly original. Highly recommended. -Will
Did You Ever Have a Family
By: Bill Clegg
The craft of this novel is completely stunning. And the story that it serves deserves nothing less. Ever since Rashomon, I have marveled at writers who have mastered the art of telling stories by
interweaving separate points of view, each with a distinct voice, and none has impressed me more than this one. In it, the reader learns how a terrible tragedy effects the lives of the people who must find a way to survive it. The challenge for the reader of putting the pieces of this complex tale together into a whole that is far more meaningful than its parts, is made fully worth the effort by the authenticity of the whole to be discovered. I have always believed that the true purpose of fiction is to develop in its readers a greater depth of compassion and empathy. If you agree with this concept, I think you’ll agree with those of us who consider this novel nothing short of a masterpiece. -Andy
The Song Machine: Inside the Hit Factory
By: John Seabrook
John Seabrook’s book is a fascinating peek into the post-Internet music business and the colorful movers-and-shakers that continue to succeed and produce earworms in an industry, now more than ever, without rules. Even if you think you “can’t stand new music,” this book will read like a thriller and by the end you just might change your mind about what you hear on Spotify. Highly Recommended. -Will
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda
By: Becky Albertalli
Welcome to the world of coming out in high school, 2015-style. What makes this ingeniously plotted and peopled story of 17-year-old Simon Spear’s being blackmailed by a classmate whose
reading of a personal email between Simon and fellow in-the-closet classmate (who writes under the pen-name, Blue) worthy of my highest recommendation, is the wonderfulness of the character that is Simon himself, as well as the loving family and circle of friends—all of whom are flawed and all of whom are wonderful. (In the end, even the black-mailer winds up being endearingly human, despite the despicable nature of his deeds). This is a real page-turner, full of suspense as the reader shares not only the touching emails exchanged by the two young men pondering the risks and rewards of coming out—and Simon’s guesses as to the identity of his friend—but the events in the lives of the charming characters who people Simon’s life. You will not be able to put it down, and you will enjoy every minute of it. -Andy
After the Parade: a Novel
By: Lori Ostlund
Award-winning short story writer, Lori Ostlund’s first novel is a gem that I fell madly in love with. Although I have never read any of her stories, Ostlund’s mastery of the form shines forth in this
stunning narrative that made this reader ask herself: “Well, what is a life if not a collection of stories remembered?” There is so much heart and insight to be found in the tale of Aaron Englund who comes to a major crossroads in his life when he decides to leave his older lover of twenty years, as well as his life in the Midwest, and travel to San Francisco to be on his own.
But Aaron “soon sees,” as the publisher’s blurb tells us, “that real freedom will not come until he has made peace with his memories,” especially those of his childhood. The people in this compelling novel will break your heart—but in a good way, fellow reader, and remind you that we are all outsiders in one way or another, until we reach out to one another. This is some of the most beautiful and moving story-telling you are likely to find this fine fall season. -Andy
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