Adventure comes in many guises; find one for yourself among our fall reading picks.
Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell (Riverhead Trade, $16.00)
At its best, travel involves not just the enjoyment of the physical beauty of a new locale; a trip can be deepened by reading about a place’s history. Vowell, known for her well-researched yet cheekily irreverent books on American history, puts her skill and wit to task on the rich, complex history of our 50th state. She narrates the improbable voyage of the Polynesians following the migration patterns of birds, Captain Cook’s demise on the Big Island in 1778, and the 19th century New England missionaries and their endeavors to spread Christianity — all events that dramatically changed Hawaii’s future. Vowell retells a history fraught with annexation and the ongoing challenges that Hawaiian culture faces with modernization and the tourism industry. Whether you are going to the islands for real or just within your imagination, you’ll have a better appreciation of their rich past and complex present.
A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute (Vintage International, $15.00)
This reprint of the 1950 original proves that sometimes adventure, and greatness, is thrust upon us rather than chosen. Jean Paget, who grew up in England and Malaya, is working as a secretary in Malay when World War II breaks out. Japanese soldiers take the men to camps and round up the women and children with little planning or organization, sending them on grueling marches throughout the countryside. Jean, the only unmarried woman in her group, cares for the most helpless, especially those children whose mothers die on the journey. Years after the war, Jean is astonished to learn how her sacrifices are remembered by those whose lives she touched during the war. Jean’s journey back to Malaya and her quest to find the heroic Australian man who risked his life for hers is filled with wonder, heartbreak, and the joys of reconnection. This love story is ultimately a testament to the human spirit and the capacity we each have to reach out to others and make the world better a better place in small, even quiet, ways.
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante (Europa Editions, $17.00)
Translated by Ann Goldstein, this first in an Italian quartet captures the coming-of-age of two girls in mid-20th century Naples with deft and compelling precision. Elena and Lila meet in first grade, and their ultimately complex, mercurial friendship begins with an act of cruelty in a frightening stairwell. Their rivalry continues, but while their lives diverge they remain connected and shaped by the narrow streets of their down-at-the-heels, working-class neighborhood. Naples, as a character itself, is anything but idyllic — Ferrante captures the violence and the confinement of small-town European life. Elena’s narration feels so intimate and real that many readers have wondered how much her story may speak to the reclusive author’s own experience. Ending with a shocking twist, My Brilliant Friend will propel readers toward its sequel, The Story of a New Name.
