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Chicago Tribune
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Biblioracle: In ‘Fonseca,' Jessica Francis Kane turns a real author's life into a work of imaginative fiction
Jessica Francis Kane's 'Fonseca' is a daring book. 'Fonseca' is the story of Penelope Fitzgerald, a real-life writer who published her first novel in 1977 ('The Golden Child') at age 61. She went on to be nominated for the Booker Prize for 1978's 'The Bookshop,' before winning the Booker in 1979 for 'Offshore.' Fitzgerald was considered one of the greatest British novelists of the 20th century, an heir to no less than Jane Austen. Kane, author of 2019's gentle and penetrating 'Rules for Visiting,' has taken a real-life incident from Fitzgerald's pre-novelist life and spun it into something very much like a Penelope Fitzgerald novel, while also clearly being its own distinct entity. It requires some mettle to take the life of a beloved author and render that life as a work of imaginative fiction. In the novel, it's 1952 and Fitzgerald is pregnant with her third child and married to Desmond, who returned from World War II an intractable alcoholic. Together, they are editing a magazine, 'World Review,' which most famously first published J.D. Salinger's 'For Esmé with Love and Squalor' in the UK. Their finances are dire. The magazine is not profitable, Desmond is not reliable, and they've overextended themselves by moving into a large house in need of repair. So when a letter arrives from one of the two widowed Delaney sisters inhabiting a large house in Fonseca that says it's possible that her son Valpy is an heir to a fortune achieved through silver mining, Penelope and Valpy cross the ocean and find their way to the house. Once there, they find all manner of competition for the fortune of unknown size, various hangers-on and supplicants who come before the 'Doñas' to make their case. The evenings consist of group salons over the cocktail hour, followed by dinner, conducted by the Doñas and fueled by Chela, the home's chief cook and overall major domo. The novel is constructed as a series of episodes, mostly featuring Penelope and Valpy, a precocious and winning child who steals the heart of Chela and that of the reader as well. At one moment, Penelope is chasing down what seems to be a ghost in the house. A chaste, but real romance blooms between Penelope and a grown male potential heir who may or may not be a Delaney. Valpy hooks up with the local troop of sea scouts, despite Fonseca being entirely landlocked. An ongoing thread involves Penelope intersecting with the painter Edward Hopper and his wife Jo. The novel is low on events — a chapter might be as simple as a visit to the market for Valpy to buy a piggie bank — but thanks to Kane's deft touch, every moment is infused with a deep, lived-in feeling, the same warmth and acuity she brought to 'Rules for Visiting.' The central question of whether Valpy will be judged a worthy heir, saving the Fitzgerald family finances, looms over the months the book covers. But the energy in the book comes from the close attention to the characters' lives. In an interesting, metafictional twist, several chapters into the book, we are greeted with a letter from a grown-up Valpy to the (unnamed) author correcting the record. There is no 'Fonseca,' the town was 'Saltillo.' The family was 'Purcell,' not 'Delaney.' Valpy shares his memories that we have previously read in the novel. These letters from Valpy and Tina, the daughter left behind with her mother-in-law, are sprinkled throughout and highlight the daring of Kane's invention. Penelope Fitzgerald lived and wrote; we can know her. Jessica Francis Kane has taken this knowing and made something fresh and beautiful. John Warner is the author of books including 'More Than Words: How to Think About Writing in the Age of AI.' You can find him at Book recommendations from the Biblioracle John Warner tells you what to read based on the last five books you've read. 1. 'The God of the Woods' by Liz Moore 2. 'Killing the Rising Sun' by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard 3. 'The Great Alone' by Kristin Hannah 4. 'James' by Percival Everett 5. 'A Walk in the Park: A True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure' by Kevin FedarkoFor Mike, I'm thinking of a classic of interpretive historical fiction, E.L. Doctorow's 'Ragtime.' 1. 'Not the End of the World' by Kate Atkinson 2. 'Triptych' by Karin Slaughter 3. '1Q84' by Haruki Murakami 4. 'The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store' by James McBride 5. 'Faithful Place' by Tana FrenchThe inclusion of '1Q84' on the list makes me think Paul will dig the strange mystery of Dexter Palmer's 'Version Control.' 1. 'A Civil Action' by Jonathan Harr 2. 'An Education' by Lynn Barber 3. '50 Funniest American Writers: An Anthology of Humor from Mark Twain to The Onion' by Andy Borowitz 4. 'The Stranger in the Woods' by Michael Finkel 5. 'Dark-Land' Kevin HartThis is a book I like to recommend in order to keep it in the public conversation when I find the right reader: 'The Cliff Walk' by Don J. Snyder. Get a reading from the Biblioracle Send a list of the last five books you've read and your hometown to biblioracle@
Hindustan Times
08-08-2025
- General
- Hindustan Times
Review: The Tiger's Share byKeshava Guha
When characters in a novel are excessively reticent, checking for signs of boredom in their lives can provide valuable insights. This exercise presents the root causes of their inaction, which are usually feelings of insufficiency and a traumatic past. Keshava Guha's The Tiger's Share does exactly this as it helps readers determine the motives behind the inaction, delayed action, and ultimate action of Brahm Saxena, a patriarch of one of the two rich Delhi families, the Chawlas and the Saxenas, featured in this novel. This could be a room in Brahm Saxena's home (Corbis via Getty Images) The book begins with Brahm calling a 'summit'. It's a strange choice of word but what's even stranger is his wife, Malini exclaiming, 'Brahm, what's this bakwas?' on hearing his declaration about inheritance. It confuses their children too — Tara, a lawyer, who is the novel's narrator, and Rohit, a dud who goes to the US hoping to secure an H-1B visa but returns to claim 'his right', which he believes he deserves solely because of his unremarkable gender. 256pp, ₹699; Hachette Sibling rivalries, which this novel centralises, are nothing new, but Guha makes them interesting. He cleverly makes Lila — the Chawlas' biological daughter — reconnect with Tara at her own father's chautha ceremony. She does this not only owing to the latter's profession but also because of the 'symmetry' of their families. After the senior Chawla's death, the adopted son, Kunal, who was 'chosen' from a group of 177 male children at a Chandigarh orphanage because he was the 'heaviest' and 'fairest,' is positioning himself as the head of the family, displeasing Lila. 'Unhappy families we all know', writes Guha, '[b]ut most families are neither happy nor unhappy; they find their equilibrium, and as long as they hold it life is essentially endurable.' Presenting the falling apart over inheritance of two south Delhi families soaked in privilege accrued as a result of caste, class, and capital — a typical Delhi story — isn't exceptional or novel. What is interesting, though, is Guha's prose as he pokes fun at his characters and their milieu. Tara's rants and monologues reflect the characteristic behaviour of the city's moneyed snobs. The multiple mentions of The Bookshop, Jor Bagh, clearly establish that even if someone like Tara may be aware of the existence of a Leftist bookstore like May Day, she can never be seen there. Then, in seeking validation from Lila, she represents a classic forgetfulness shared by most people in a heteronormative society: that homosocial bonds often take precedence when it comes to understanding one another and that the more rich and powerful your counterpart, the more their opinions seem to matter. However, Tara's verbose ruminations don't allow readers to understand why she takes such liberties while theorising about Delhi: 'Delhi had a logic, an underlying principle. If other cities in India were, in a sense, non-cities, just patternless agglomerations of millions of people, then Delhi was the anti-city. Delhi took the logic of the modern city and inverted it.' It is a legitimate observation but one that doesn't make sense when it comes from Tara. Here she is on her ex-boyfriend, the Polish Wojciech: 'He was proud of his body in the way that people in the past might have been proud of their knowledge of Sanskrit or needlework.' This makes the cut only if it is a window into the ways in which the brain of a product of polite society tends to make connections. Similarly, Lila's use of 'Brahmastra' is irksome. The foundations of an ambitious novel are shaken when minor inconsistencies arise in its characters, casting doubts on the believability of their thoughts and actions. Sample this: 'Defence Colony market has Manhattan rents and Ghaziabad architecture.' Now, Tara most certainly possesses knowledge about Manhattan, but not Ghaziabad. Her thoughts can't possibly go beyond a couple of neighbourhoods or the power corridors she frequents. Metaphors and comparisons arise out of lived or convincingly imaginable experiences. Keshava Guha (Courtesy Hachette) One of the novel's major themes is climate change, which holds both a liminal and concrete position in the way the story progresses. While the former is alluded to when Brahm digresses during the 'summit', readers are convinced of the latter too late when Guha manoeuvres the story to make space for engagement in various forms -- such as Kunal having smoothies made of his father's ashes, Tara's intern Jahnavi spying on Kunal's right-wing-appeasing office, and Lila making Tara meet Ashwin, a publishing circuit douchebag — 'the first fish in a world of plankton' – who is a lackey of the filthy rich Vikramaditya Rai (Vicky). All of which is interesting. However, no matter how wonderfully the entry of select characters is chalked out, their departures or long absences tend to bother the engaged reader. Rohit, who has a pivotal role, appears to be a character devised to be forgotten after his job is done and Malini's presence is shadow-like and quite ignorable. Despite having a crucial monologue towards the end, she remains ill-conceived. Still, the multifarious ways in which inheritance is presented makes The Tiger's Share a refreshing read. Take Brahm reflecting on the kind of world future generations will inherit. Who will ensure that they inhabit a planet where the air is breathable? Can an act of courage bring about monumental change? What does it take to challenge an individual's conscience and make them act? If the novel succeeds it's because it compels readers to engage with these moral dilemmas and questions surrounding the many crises facing the world today. Saurabh Sharma is a Delhi-based writer and freelance journalist. They can be found on Instagram/X: @writerly_life.
Hamilton Spectator
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Hamilton Spectator
I'm a bookworm and I turned over an old leaf on a bookish trip to Scotland
We asked Star readers to tell us about trips they have taken and to share their experience and advice: Where: Wigtown, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland When: April and May 2024 Trip rating: 4/5 What inspired you to take this trip? I fell in love with all things Wigtown after reading 'The Diary of a Bookseller' (2017), the first in a collection of memoirs by Shaun Bythell, the curmudgeonly owner of The Bookshop, Scotland's largest second-hand bookshop. His wry sense of humour has garnered him over 50,000 online fans worldwide. A lifelong bookworm, I have worked in publishing, and in bookstores in Toronto, England and Scotland. This was a bucket-list trip, and my first one overseas since COVID. I lived in Edinburgh in 1988 and worked at Waterstones Booksellers, and my family has strong Scottish roots. What was the best sight? The most beautiful was finally seeing The Bookshop itself, and meeting Shaun Bythell, along with some of the other local people I had met through the pages of his books. I timed my visit for Wigtown Spring Weekend, which is full of talks, tours and music. Wigtown's largest annual event is the Wigtown Book Festival, when thousands of book lovers descend upon the tiny town over a 10-day period in the fall. What was your favourite activity? Shaun allowed me to price books for a few hours as a volunteer, and I felt like a bookshop employee once again. I would almost have paid him to let me do it. I was also given a partial tour of his grand old house on the main street. The Bookshop's many warren-like rooms are located on the ground floor of Shaun's house. The whole place is full of antiques and oddities, including a smashed Kindle hanging on a wall. What was the most delicious thing you ate? This is a tough question, because as a nervous and jet-lagged traveller, I unfortunately had a queasy stomach the whole week I was in Scotland. I did relish a slice of carrot and pistachio cake, just one of the varied cakes and baked goods at the bookshop/café ReadingLasses, which stocks books by and about women, and has a charming patio area covered in wisteria when in season. What was the most memorable thing you learned? Wigtown was designated 'Scotland's National Book Town' in 1998. Even with a population of about 1,000, it has about 15 bookshops. Fancy running your own bookshop? Check out The Open Book, a charity-run Airbnb. People from all over the world reserve years in advance to do so. Another Wigtown memoir is Jessica A. Fox's 'Three Things You Need to Know About Rockets: A Real-Life Scottish Fairy Tale' (2012). Jessica travels from her native U.S. to do a stint as a volunteer at The Bookshop — and stays. Kathleen Hart's 'Devorgilla Days: Finding hope and healing in Scotland's book town' (2021) is inspiring and redolent of the town's warm and quirky inhabitants. What is one piece of advice you 'd give? Wigtown is only two hours or so by car from Glasgow and three hours from Edinburgh, and it would take trains and buses to get to without one. Restaurants are limited in Wigtown, but cafés are quite plentiful — and delicious. A car would also be helpful to visit local sights and nearby towns with additional restaurants. Being such a small town, there is not a lot of accommodation available. I recommend the gorgeous Craigmount B&B, conveniently located on the edge of town. Susan Paterson, Toronto READERS ' CANADIAN TRIPS We've launched a series that invites Star readers to share places they've visited recently and would recommend, whether it's a weekend getaway in Elora, a Banff canoe trip, or a jaunt to Quebec City. If you've been, loved it and want to tell us about it, we'd like to hear from you. Email us with 'TRAVEL TIPS' in the subject line at travel@ . Please include brief responses to these questions. If your holiday experience is chosen, we'll be in touch. 1. Where did you go and when was it? 2. Where did you stay? 3. What was a highlight of your trip? Why? 4. Any travel tips?
The Hindu
21-05-2025
- The Hindu
Vidya Krishnan's book White Lilies deals with Delhi's road rage
In her new book White Lilies published by Westland, author Vidya Krishnan chronicles her grief of losing her husband in a road accident in Delhi and urges people to fact-check myths about the cities they live in. . The book, born from the pain of losing her spouse in a tragic accident, is less of a memoir and more meditative in quality. The author tries to make sense of a life turned upside down. During a chat with filmmaker Shaunak Sen at The Bookshop in Delhi recently, Vidya highlighted how road rage in Delhi is intrinsically connected to every individual's repressed feelings and emotions. The duo discussed death and trauma, and how we as a society fail to implement solutions that could minimise road accidents. 'We are constantly feeding lies to ourselves,' she says, adding that the book took shape as she began writing as a way to cope with grief. 'Writing did not reduce my grief per se but helped me make sense of the emotion. I was actually rage-typing, pouring out my feelings on an empty paper.' Shaunak Sen describes Vidya's book as a 'trans-historical rant of the city' that weaves itself around Mirza Ghalib's misery, something that the author totally identifies with. Vidya seeks refuge in Ghalib's poems; it works as an antidote to her own pain. Her book interweaves the city and the poet as Vidya visualises Ghalib as someone who is a 'broken' man. 'The halo around Ghalib doesn't mask his flaws. Delhi as a city hurt Ghalib and he took to poetry,' she says. Talking of Delhi normalising accidents, Vidya said the problem is in the citizens' refusal to acknowledge it. 'Dilli dilwalon ki is a myth. In every city, peoplelive in their own bubble; be it Mumbai's delusional story of resilience, Bengaluru's traffic, or Delhi's toxic positivity and pride. None of it makes sense as they do not address the core issues of our shared reality; how people try to escape the trauma of crimes. 'You truly belong to a place if you have buried someone there,' says Vidya, underlining her grief. Her book mentions the unsafe roads and how run-of-the-mill it is to die on the city's roads and how pedestrians are always at the receiving end. Vidya grapples not just with sorrow, but anger too, which is not explosive but slow-burning, reflective and deeply human. 'Without rage there cannot be change,' she says. 'I hope the book will make people talk about their feelings, rather than being repressed,' she adds. White Lilies is not a book about healing in the conventional sense. It is about carrying grief with grace, about learning to speak in a world that often tells us to be quiet. Rounak Khare and Seelva Mohanty
