Mark

This isn’t an unbiased account. There is a bias here that announces itself early and often: The first World War was an unnecessary one, and the leaders who led their nations to slaughter were at best, foolish and irresponsible and at worst, sadistic and unforgiveable. Also, the men and women who followed their consciences and said no to war were heroic in their convictions and often paid a heavy price for their stance. What makes this such a compelling book, though, is not generalities. Rather, it’s the specifics of the individual stories that make it so compulsively readable. People like Charlotte Despard, the Pankhursts-- suffragette Emmeline and her daughters, Sylvia and Christabel, the socialist MP Keir Hardie, and the philosopher/mathematician Bertrand Russell are just a few of the people who figure prominently and animate this extraordinary retelling of one of the formative and most destructive events of the 20th Century.

Snigdha Prakash, author of All the Justice Money Can Buy, is a friend and a regular patron of both the bookstore and the coffeehouse. When she told me she had written a book, I said, “Great! When I can read it?” When I saw it was an account of personal injury litigation between Big Pharma (in this case, Merck) and survivors’ families, my heart sank. Yet as soon as I began reading, I was caught up in the drama and conflict of this story of outsize personalities, big money and the fascinating but infuriating process of tort law. Irrespective of whether you are already interested in law or big business, All the Justice Money Can Buy is a great book for anyone who loves a great story well told. Reminiscent of A Civil Action, it is more than a mere legal drama, it is a compelling non-fiction narrative and a great story.

The Law of Dreams tells the story of Fergus, a young man roaming the Irish countryside in 1847, struggling to survive at the height of the Great Famine. The language is stark and lyrical, but the most remarkable thing about the novel is the narrative drive. The law of dreams, mentioned in the title is “never stop moving,” for if you stop moving you die. The author seems to have taken this to heart when he plotted the story because it unfolds at an unflinching pace and is really a great adventure story.

Border Songs is an engaging, satisfying and immensely entertaining story. The appeal stems largely from the novel’s main character, Brandon Vanderkool. Brandon is six foot eight, severely dyslexic and has an uncanny affinity for the natural world. Working as a border patrol agent along the U.S. Canada border in Washington state, he indulges his passion for bird-watching while keeping an alert eye to potential terrorists and pot smugglers. The forests and farms of northern Washington are beautifully described and play a key role in the story. It’s in this landscape that Brandon’s father Norm operates a dairy farm. His struggle to maintain his business and look after his animals is described with unerring detail. The plot’s satisfying twists and turns largely focus on industrial marijuana production in British Columbia and its importation into the lower 48, but the most lasting and compelling aspect of Border Songs is the characters–-their originality, vitality, and freshness make this a truly stand-out novel.