books

Mitchell's Book Corner 54 Main Street, 228-1080

"The Writer's Brush: Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture by Writers" by Donald Friedman

In his autobiography, Vladimir Nabokov described his ability to "hear" colors. "The long a of the English alphabet has…the tint of weathered wood, but a French a evokes polished ebony." He may not have been alone. In "The Writer's Brush," you'll meet your favorite authors all over again, this time as artists. You'll be astounded at the variety, skill and insight with which many well-known writers (and some not-so-well known) express themselves visually. As much a reference book as an art book, more than 200 biographical entries focus on individual writers' encounters with art (or lack thereof), supplemented by alphabetical and chronological listing of its subjects, cross-referencing, an extensive bibliography and essays by William H. Grass and John Updike. The real treat, however, is the surprise you find from page to page. Who could have guessed at the artistic talent of George Sand or John Dos Passos? Who knew that Sylvia Plath could paint like Cezanne or that William Faulkner could draw like Beardsley?

- Sarah Bishop, Mitchell's Book Corner

Nantucket Bookworks 25 Broad Street, 228-4000

"The Savage Detectives" by Robert Bolaño

This novel gives us a picture of a small group of young poets and their friends living ragged lives in Mexico City in the 1970s, a number of whom are newly minted "visceral realists," bent on transforming Latin American literature. The opening section is the diary of an appealing, orphaned poet, 17-year-old Juan Garcia Madero, a brief, energetic coming-of age story covering two months in late 1975 when he joins the visceral realists and finds himself for the first time in a sea of women. It creates and immerses us in a strangely alluring, sometimes uncomfortable, world. We also become aware of the search for a mysterious woman poet, a search which we eventually learn is startlingly pivotal. The novel opens up in a long section with alternating narratives by about two dozen characters, speaking from the mid-'70s through the mid-'90s, from Mexico, France, Spain, England and Israel, some of whom we've met in the opening section, and these many voices explain some things, create new questions and draw us deeper into the mythic world Bolaño has created.

- Dick Burns, Nantucket Bookworks

Nantucket Atheneum 1 India Street, 228-1110

"The Magic Rabbit" by Annette LeBlanc Cate

"The Magic Rabbit" is a sweet and simple story of friendship between magician Ray and his Bunny assistant. Bunny is lost following an accident during their sidewalk magic show. He wanders through the city, lonely and bewildered as night approaches, while Ray searches for him in the periphery of the illustrations. Finally, familiar golden stars lead him back to his friend, and they enjoy a walk home together under a sparkling sky. Cate's black and white illustrations capture the diversity and motion of city life, while skillfully revealing the emotions of both Ray and Bunny. This story will ring true with any young listeners who have ever experienced "lost."

- Maggie Head, Nantucket Atheneum