Chronogram's Choice: November 2008

The Year's Best-Reviewed Books by Hudson Valley Authors

by Nina Shengold, October 28, 2008

Like You’d Understand Anyway
Jim Shepard
Knopf, 2007, $23

“Though focusing on disaster, the stories themselves are triumphs: darkly funny, deeply intelligent, and unforgettable. Shepard’s characters are sharply and sympathetically developed, never mere pawns of historical forces. They debate with fate and with each other. They put up a mighty fight....A profound and disturbing book, full of dark delights.” (Hollis Seamon, 2/08)

Mudbound
Hillary Jordan
Algonquin Books, 2008, $21.95

“A moving and beautifully drawn portrait of a Southern tragedy in the 1940s, told in a series of first-person confessions. Tivoli resident Hillary Jordan sneaks us into the minds of black and white, male and female, as the storm clouds gather and the mud thickens....These people live and breathe; their angers, shocks and setbacks become our own. At the end of the tunnel of grief, there is light, and we are allowed to share that too.” (Anne Pyburn, 3/08)

Night Work
Steve Hamilton
St. Martin’s Press, 2007, $23.95

“Ulster County Noir is serious fun for any lover of the genre, and Hamilton pulls it off with enormous panache. The author of seven suspense novels set on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, he’s put us on a very special map. But Night Work’s gathering confusion and tension, its inexplicable events, would be riveting even if they were set in East Oshkosh....Please, Mr. Hamilton. Make this a series.” (Anne Pyburn, 1/08)

Salvation Boulevard
Larry Beinhart
Nation Books, 2008, $24.95

“A Christian, a Muslim, a Jew, and an atheist are involved in a murder. Waiting for the punchline? It’s called Salvation Boulevard, Woodstock resident and Chronogram columnist Larry Beinhart’s latest novel. And yes, it packs a punch....Beinhart embeds the religious and political issues in a brisk narrative that tackles the big questions with acerbic humor and good storytelling, building towards a climax that will pull readers to the edges of their seats.” (Kim Wozencraft, 9/08)