Delpha Wade has paid her debt to society and is on a shaky path back to normalcy in Lisa Sandlin's The Do-right. She gets a job as a secretary to Tom Phelan, a newly minted private investigator. While the two get involved in several mysteries in this intricately-plotted novel, the story is mostly Delpha's. Her adjustment to a world of privacy and physical freedom will have you rooting for her. Another quality of the book is its atmosphere, which is bleak yet nostalgic. The year is 1973, and Nixon's cronies are in the hot seat while the social movements of the day have passed by the small Texas bayou town where Delpha and Tom live. This is an engrossing, if sometimes violent book with great characterization, and hopefully the start of a series.
The Red Collar by Jean-Christophe Rufin, a founder of Doctors Without Borders, is a humane tale of a French soldier named Morlac who is being held prisoner in the aftermath of WWI. As the novel progresses, one learns the connections between Morlac, the dog that constantly barks outside the military prison, and the mother of Morlac's child, among others. Atmospheric and evocative, the question of Morlac's future hangs over everything. This brief tale is full of more spare prose, and driven by sympathetic characters.
Names on A Map by Benjamin Alire Saenz takes a look at 1960s through Mexican-American eyes. Set in Texas, the Espejo family is thrown into upheaval when their beloved matriarch dies. Gustavo is about to receive his despised draft notice, his twin sister Xochil is in love with one of his enemies, and little Charlie is at peace only when he knows exactly where all of his family members are. While the familiar tropes are here (patriotic father, the rebel, etc.), Saenz lets gives them new life by putting them in a Chicano context. The spare style is similar to Sandlin, though the story covers more ground geographically
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