The Thorn and the Blossom:A Two-Sided Love Story by Theodora Goss is a highly individual novella,both in terms of the presentation of the story and in the construction of the book itself.  It is in essence a short and simple fantasy love story between American poet Evelyn Morgan and Cornish academic Brendan Thorne.  Both studying at Oxford (Evelyn abroad for a semester),they don’t actually meet until the last week of Evelyn’s stay,when she takes a trip to Brendan’s sleepy hometown and encounters him in his father’s bookshop. They bond over a shared love of medieval literature,in particular,the poem,“The Tale of the Green Knight”.  Elements of the doomed Green Knight love story between Elowen and Gawan are mirrored by our contemporary couple.

When first they meet,Evelyn has been struggling with “hallucinations” of faeries,trolls and other mythical creatures.  Trouble brews when the two finally kiss and Brendan appears to Evelyn to transform into a leafy sort of “tree-man”.  Terrified,she runs from him and returns to American without further communication.  Years later,both find themselves as professors at Bartlett College in Virginia.  Each is still in love with the other,but Evelyn continues to sees things that scare her and Brendan now has additional romantic complications.  Will Brendan and Evelyn’s epic love conquer all,or will they be cursed to remain apart as their medieval counterparts Elowen and Gawan?

The story is sweet and reads well,though the language and plot are nothing extraordinary.  The thing that makes this book unique is that it is told twice.  Read it from Evelyn’s perspective and then flip the book around and read it from Brendan’s,or vice versa.  It doesn’t really matter which one you read first.  Evelyn’s side tells more of the “Green Knight” tale,so read hers first if you want all the background up front.  If you prefer a more enigmatic tale that gets filled in by the end,read Brendan’s first.

To add unique on top of unique,the best part of this book is the incredible construction of the pages.  The two covers are not connected to each other,but rather to the ends of a long line of accordion-style pages with Evelyn’s story on one side and Brendan’s on the other.  The included sleeve keeps the book from falling off the table like a slinky when you’re not reading it.  The Thorn and the Blossom is a nice B-grade fairy tale in a fun,novel package.

About the Author: Theodora Goss was born in Hungary and spent her childhood in various European countries before her family moved to the United States. Her publications include the short story collection In the Forest of Forgetting (2006);Interfictions (2007),a short story anthology coedited with Delia Sherman;and Voices from Fairyland (2008),a poetry anthology with critical essays and a selection of her own poems.

This review was written by girlfriend Alex Hopwood.

In Restoration,a rich,dark historical novel,the stories of two women are told through a narration fragmented by war.  Alice Orsini is a British ex-pat living in Italy in the years leading up to World War II.  A family tragedy has led to the dissolution of her marriage just as the front line of the war approaches her home and surrounding farms.  As she reels from the loss of her former life,she attempts to manage and protect the remaining workers and children sheltered in her care.  A talented artist and art restorer,Kristín,who seems to appear randomly at the villa in need of medical care turns out to have a deep tie with Alice that puts all of their lives in jeopardy.  The pacing of the novel is both reflective and forward-moving as the dangers of war march steadily closer.

The story is told in various narrative voices and perspectives,which can at times be confusing,but it remains focused on an essential question:when something – a painting,an estate,or a person –is deeply damaged,is there any hope for true restoration?

About the Author: Olaf Olafsson was born in Reykjavik,Iceland in 1962. He studied physics as a Wien Scholar at Brandeis University. He is the author of three previous novels,The Journey Home,Absolution and Walking Into the Night,and a story collection,Valentines. His books have been published to critical acclaim in more than twenty languages. He is the recipient of the O. Henry Award and the Icelandic Literary Award,was shortlisted for the Frank O’Connor Prize,and has twice been nominated for the IMPAC Award. He is the Executive Vice President of Time Warner and he lives in New York City with his wife and three children.  For more information about the author and his work,visit http://olafolafsson.com .

This review was written by girlfriend Kristin Awsumb Liu.

In The Ninth Wife,Bess Gray is not quite your typical urban girl;a singleton living in the DC area,she-folklorist by day and budding karate master by night. She lives in an apartment building surrounded by oddball neighbors,the outlandish and outspoken Cricket and his dog Stella and Sonny,who just so happens to be Bess’s ex boyfriend. In true fashion,one night Bess’s friend Gabrielle persuades her to throw a singles party in her apartment. Bess worries about the outcome,but is pleasantly surprised about how well it’s going,especially when she lays eyes on Rory for the first time. We follow along as their love story develops. But a wrench is thrown in the works when Rory proposes to Bess.

Rory himself has a secret past that includes eight wives. His marriage proposal to Bess would make her his ninth. Bess decides to go on a cross-country road trip to seek out his past wives and lives and dig a little deeper into her own past. As the story unravels,we learn more and more about the hows and whys of each character and how they shape Bess today. There are things to be learned around every corner it would seem. Ultimately Bess discovers what she really wants,to be with Rory,no matter what the cost or mistakes made.

About the Author: Amy Stolls,a former environmental journalist who covered the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska,is currently a literature program officer for the National Endowment for the Arts. She lives in Washington,DC,with her husband and son.

This review was written by girlfriend Charlotte Jordan.

San Andreas is a small coastal town with a growing tourism and ‘city retreat’ sector populated by a colorful cast of characters.  In Tassy Morgan’s Bluff,the titular Tassy Morgan is an artist finding a new lease on life after her divorce,whose rustic residence is in danger of falling off the steadily crumbling bluff it sits on.  With the unsolicited,and often unwanted,help of her newly transplanted (and newly widowed) lawyer neighbor,Linc Ellis,Tassy is fighting the town council for permission to sure up the bluff and renovate her house.  Leading the opposition is Margaret Nam,whom Tassy once rubbed the wrong way.  Margaret will do anything to impede whatever tack Tassy takes.  Drawn in to the controversy on varying sides are (among others) Mayor Millhouse (who is often merely a puppet for Margaret’s schemes),café and gallery owner Orson Wellesley,jacks-of-all-trades Bill the Fixer and DayGlo Dave,the town lothario Norman,and the head of the local Native American tribe,Grandmother Halvorsen.

The underlying struggle for Tassy Morgan’s bluff creates a background situation for the characters to react to and relationships to expand within,which is the real meat and potatoes of Stinson’s captivatingly written tale.  Despite serious situations and sad events,the book is a mature romantic comedy at heart,as Tassy and Linc must resort to more and more drastic measures and legal manipulations,and find themselves drawn closer and closer together.  Full of original vocabulary choices,similes and descriptors,Stinson’s language will keep you intrigued.  His style is very matter-of-fact,boasting a greater than average percentage of less-than-5-word sentences.  People do and feel,things are or are not with very little muddled grey area.  The narrative point of view jumps easily between Tassy and Linc and various other characters in an irregular manner that somehow works.  Stinson’s economy of language and singular style and charm are a perfect match for the quaint slice of life he illustrates.

About the Author: Jim Stinson studied writing at Harvard and media at UCLA and has done both since.  Learn more about Jim at www.jimstinson.com.

This review was written by girlfriend Alex Hopwood.

While the title doesn’t give away much,Tessa Hadley in The London Train (P.S.) has managed to combine her characters in such a way that you are compelled to keep turning the page. In the first story we meet Paul,a family man of two daughters and a wife who live in the idyllic Monnow Valley in Wales. A writer by nature,Paul sees everything in clear definition until the day he receives a frantic phone call from his first wife that his eldest daughter is missing.

Unsettled,Paul sets out on a journey of discovery and finds not only his daughter but some home truths along the way. His blissfully domestic life is turned on its head when he finds his daughter pregnant and living in council housing. Paul’s wills and morals are tested as he rebuilds the connections and relationships he has with his daughter and wives.

In the second part of Hadley’s novel we meet Cora,a studious English teacher whose relationship with her senior civil servant husband is on the brink of divorce. Separated and living in her parent’s house in Cardiff,her life is seemingly smooth sailing with a day job as a library assistant and a string of social commitments.  In a chance meeting on the London train,Cora meets Paul and their relationship spirals into something more until one day he abruptly ends it.  Cora’s loneliness and desperation to find some sort of meaning to her life are evident in the listing prose. Things are quite gloomy for our character,until the sudden disappearance of her husband Robert. Things are not as they seem however and the story’s end fairly glows with the air of forgiveness and starting over. Hadley’s tale of reconciliation is a delightful read,and one which you will delight in reading over and over again.

About the Author: Tessa Hadley is the author of The Master Bedroom,Sunstroke and Other Stories,Everything Will Be All Right,and Accidents in the Home. Her short stories appear regularly in The New Yorker. She lives in Cardiff,Wales.

This review was written by girlfriend Charlotte Jordan.