Louise Erdrich: LaRose

Louise Erdrichin romaani on erikoislaatuinen kuvaus kahdesta perheestä, joista toisen isä ampuu toisen pojan metsästysonnettomuudessa: LaRose (Corsair, 2016; ISBN 978-1-4721-5186-5).



Romaanin nimi viittaa LaRose-poikaan, joka annetaan kuolleen pojan perheen kasvatettavaksi, ikään kuin korvaamaan kuoleman seurauksia.

Erdrich luo kuvaamistaan ihmisistä moniulotteisia, mutta paikka paikoin aineksia tuntui olevan niin paljon että romaani oli hajota palasiksi. Kirjailijalla on kuitenkin taitoa melkoisesti, niin että lukeminen houkutti loppuun asti, ja sain kuin sainkin teoksen luettua ennen kuin se piti palauttaa kirjastoon, sillä varauksia oli odottamassa melkoinen jono.

Late summer in North Dakota, 1999: Landreaux Iron stalks a deer along the edge of the property bordering his own. He shoots with easy confidence but only when he staggers closer does he realise he has killed his neighbour's son. Dusty Ravich, the deceased boy, was best friends with Landreaux's five-year-old son, LaRose. The two families have been close for years and their children played together despite going to different schools. Landreaux is horrified at what he's done; fighting off his longstanding alcoholism, he ensconces himself in a sweat lodge and prays for guidance. And there he discovers an old way of delivering justice for the wrong he's done. The next day he and his wife Emmaline deliver LaRose to the bereaved Ravich parents. Standing on the threshold of the Ravich home, they say, 'Our son will be your son now'. LaRose is quickly absorbed into his new family. Gradually he's allowed visits with his birth family, whose grief for the son and brother they gave away mirrors that of the Raviches. The years pass and LaRose becomes the linchpin that links both families. As the Irons and the Raviches grow ever more entwined, their pain begins to subside. But when a man who nurses a grudge against Landreaux fixates on the idea that there was a cover-up the day Landreaux killed Dusty - and decides to expose this secret - he threatens the fragile peace between the two families...

George Saunders: Sotapuiston perikato

George Saundersin novellikokoelma tarraa kipeästi kiinni, eikä sille mitään voi, tässä on pistävää ydintä siinä määrin että lukijaa paikoin värisyttää ja ankealtakin tuntuu: Sotapuiston perikato (Siltala, 2016; suom. Markku Päkkilä; ISBN 978-952-234-374-1).



Donald Trumpin tulo USA:n presidentiksi tuntuu vähemmän ihmeelliseltä kun näiden novellien maailmoissa hetkenkin viipyy. Viallinen on tämä maailmamme, ei terve ollenkaan.

George Saundersin esikoisteos Sotapuiston perikato ilmestyi 1996 ja nosti hänet yhdellä iskulla amerikkalaiskertojien eturiviin. Teoksen novelleissa kuuluu vahva ja autenttinen ääni: erehtymättömän tyylitajuinen, roisin hauska, synkän satiirinen. Sen tyylirekisteri sieppaa kaiken: teknopuheen, businesskielen, psykologisen lässytyksen, absurdin slangin ja vilpittömän hölötyksen, joista sekoittuu väärentämätön Saunders-soundi.

Sotapuiston perikadossa George Saunders on luonut surrealistisen, omituisen vakuuttavan kuvan kaiken aikaa kehkeytyvästä painajaismaisesta tulevaisuudesta.

Julie Klassen: The girl in the gatehouse

Julie Klassenin historiallinen viihderomaani löytyi Helmetin e-kirjoista, eikä teos ollut yhtään hassummin kirjoitettu, vaikka erityisen omaperäiseksi sitä ei voikaan kehua: The girl in the gatehouse (Baker Publishing Group, 2011; ISBN 978-1-4412-1411-9).



Kirjasta tuli häivähdys teollisen tuotannon fiilistä, mutta toisaalta paikka paikoin teksti oli kohtalaisen omaperäistä. Voisihan sitä ajatella lukevansa toisenkin Klassenin romaanin, niitä kun näyttää löytyvän kaksi muutakin Helmetistä: The secret of Pembrooke Park ja The innkeeper of Ivy Hill.

Miss Mariah Aubrey, banished after a scandal, hides herself away in a long-abandoned gatehouse on the far edge of a distant relative's estate. There, she supports herself and her loyal servant the only way she knows how--by writing novels in secret.

Captain Matthew Bryant, returning to England successful and wealthy after the Napoleonic wars, leases an impressive estate from a cash-poor nobleman, determined to show the society beauty who once rejected him what a colossal mistake she made. When he discovers an old gatehouse on the property, he is immediately intrigued by its striking young inhabitant and sets out to uncover her identity, and her past. But the more he learns about her, the more he realizes he must distance himself. Falling in love with an outcast would ruin his well-laid plans.

The old gatehouse holds secrets of its own. Can Mariah and Captain Bryant uncover them before the cunning heir to the estate buries them forever?

Jane Feather: The bachelor list, The bride hunt ja The wedding game

Jane Featherin viihderomaanitrilogiassa kolme itsepäistä sisarusta etsii ja löytää itselleen puolison 1800-luvun lopun Englannissa. Sama kaava toistuu kaikissa romaaneissa, mutta teksti on kohtalaisen sujuvaa ja jonkin verran omaperäisyyttäkin tarinoissa on.

The bachelor list (Bantam Books, 2004; ISBN 978-0-553-58618-3)

Constance Duncan may be the eldest of three sisters, but she has more important things on her mind than finding a husband—for herself, at any rate. Through the Personals services of her popular newspaper, The Mayfair Lady, Constance connects lonely hearts. But her own heart lies in her work, and nothing will distract her from it—until she finds herself irresistibly drawn to a man of disastrously different views. Max Ensor is a politician whose outmoded attitudes outrage her—even as his powerful presence intrigues her. Clearly there is only one thing to do with such an exasperating man: convert him! Little does Constance know that Max has the same plan in mind for her.... What follows is a fiercely passionate duel in which two headstrong people discover that, differences or not, sometimes one gender cannot—will not—do without the other.

The bride hunt (Bantam Books, 2011; ISBN 978-0-553-58619-0)

Soon after the Duncan sisters’ personals service turns a profit, their controversial newspaper The Mayfair Lady offends a powerful earl—who is now determined to demolish them in court. In dire need of counsel, the women turn to England’s most sought after young barrister. Sir Gideon Malvern is notorious for his aggressive style—and his love of a challenge. Spirited Prudence, with her beauty unsuccessfully hidden behind spectacles and frumpy clothes, provides him with exactly that. But how in the world will the Duncan sisters be able to afford Gideon’s fee? Prudence proposes a barter: Gideon defends their case; they find him a bride. It’s an exchange of services even this most cynical single barrister cannot refuse.

The wedding game (Bantam Books, 2011; ISBN 978-0-553-89839-2)

Chastity listens to Dr. Douglas Farrell’s distressingly unromantic requirements for a wife: wealth and social status. Her instinct is to refuse service to the tall, muscular, dark-eyed physician, but she can’t turn away a paying client. Yet the doctor conceals a secret. He’s prepared to sacrifice his bachelorhood for his true passion: caring for the poorest of London’s poor. Of course, his dream requires capital. For that, he is convinced he needs a well-to-do, well-connected wife. Little does Chastity know that if she ever learned the selfless truth, the handsome doctor just might steal her heart. And if Douglas ever lifted the veil that covers this mysterious woman, he might discover his perfect match.

Maya Rodale: Lady Claire is all that

Maya Rodalen viihderomaanin päähenkilö on matemaatikko, joka etsii itselleen aviomiestä, ja jonkinlaista hupia tästä sukupuolirooleilla leikittelystä lukijalle kieltämättä on: Lady Claire is all that (Avon Books, 2017; ISBN 978-0-06238678-6).



Normaalista poikkeavasta alkuasetelmasta huolimatta romaani on melkoisen kaavamainen ja heppoinen viihdepläjäys, mutta kieltämättä päähenkilöiden välinen vuoropuhelu on paikoitellen virkistävää, tosin ei kylläkään sellaista joka vastaisi historiallista ajankuvaa.

Claire Cavendish is in search of a duke, but not for the usual reasons. The man she seeks is a mathematician; the man she unwittingly finds is Lord Fox: dynamic, athletic, and as bored by the equations Claire adores as she is by the social whirl upon which he thrives.