Welcome to Dust Jackets, our monthly feature where we highlight brilliant backlist books the Mr B’s booksellers have been reading.
This time, Liv discovers the work of Daphne du Maurier, Nic delves into Percival Everett’s back catalogue, and Becky freaks herself out with a slice of teen horror. Read on for reviews of all these and more…
Nic has just spent a week in the US, attending the American Bookseller’s Association Conference. He also managed a visit to Word Bookstore in Jersey City, where he picked up a copy of Percival Everett‘s 1985 novel, Walk Me to the Distance. We all know Percival from his brilliant recent books, including The Trees, Erasure and, of course, the multi-award-winning James. But he also has a very rich and varies back catalogue.
Nic says: “David Larson comes back from fighting in Vietnam to make what he thinks will be a temporary home in the town of Slut’s Hole, Wyoming. But he discovers an unexpected cast of characters at the beating heart of this new town. A typically funny and dysfunctional novel from a brilliant writer!”
Buy Walk Me to the Distance now!
Peadar O’Guilin‘s chilling teen novel The Call has long been a big seller at Mr B’s but our Children’s Lead Becky had never picked it up… until now. Based on Irish folklore and stalked by death and torture, it is not one for the faint at heart, as Becky found out!
She says: “This book is seriously scary and seriously gory – like genuinely horrendous, peeling flesh scary! I was obsessed the world O’Guilin created.”
Another modern classic of children’s writing is the amazing world of Percy Jackson. Somehow Rosa managed to get to adulthood without ever reading Rick Riordan‘s brilliant series, but she’s rectified that now.
Rosa says: “This is a story that immediately throws you into fun, chaos and action. When we meet Percy, who is ultimately one of the funniest heroes ever to follow, danger begins to hunt him, along with creatures that no one else believes existed in the first place. But Percy swears he’s not seeing things…”
Buy Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief now!
Katrina has spent her final week as a Mr B’s bookseller (sob!) reading Chinese writer Chi Zijan‘s prize winning The Last Quarter of the Moon. The 2008 novel tells the story of a member of the Evenki tribe, whose peaceful 1930s existence in nature is shattered when the Japanese army invades.
Katrina says: “This book depicts what feels like an ancient way of life and community, which is shaken by war and modernisation. There are hints throughout that a key decision will change the course of our protaganist’s life. It is so beautifully translated by Bruce Humes and very poetic.”
Buy The Last Quarter of the Moon now!
One of Mr B’s most loyal customers, Susanne Laws, a keen supporter of our shop for two decades, popped in this week to offer her thoughts on In the Skin of a Lion, the 1987 novel by Canadian-Sri Lankan author Michael Ondaatje. Published before he won the Booker Prize in 1992 for The English Patient, In the Skin of a Lion follows a group of immigrant workers who played a key role in the building of Toronto in the early 1900s.
Susanne says: “This very good novel deals with the labor movement and with workers building a key bridge in Toronto. It would be a great read for fans of John Steinbeck’s work.”