CANDID, COMPELLING, TOUCHING, often witty memoir of writer Anchee Min’s early years as an immigrant to the US. B PLUS

THE COOKED SEED: A MEMOIR
Bloomsbury USA
2013

THE LIFE AND DEATH STRUGGLES of Wall Street, of the Spanish bullring, and of family life, compellingly drawn. B PLUS

THE COOKED SEED: A MEMOIR
Bloomsbury USA
2013

Wall Street and the bull rings of Spain have more in common than most people think. Both spotlight high-stakes struggles in a macho environment where bravery and originality can be greatly rewarded, or can end up in disaster — and both cultures are great settings for drama. Marc Newman’s The Last Matador draws its strength from the juxtaposition of these two worlds, and from the vivid details he captures of each.

The novel follows the fortunes of trader Henry Rothman on Wall Street, and his instant engagement with the bullfights he attends in Spain. Rothman sees the connection between the risks and challenges of his world and that of the corrida, but he recognizes a purer struggle between the toreros and the highly trained bulls they face. Cruelty is certainly a central theme in this novel; though Marc Newman’s portrayals of bulls in combat are neither gory nor salacious, the bullfighting scenes are wrenchingly accurate.

Human cruelty is on show as well, from the fierce egotism of the trading floor to the wounds only a long-married couple can inflict on each other. The novel doesn’t flinch from showing characters at their worst, but the complexity of the characterization saves us from suburban melodrama. The Last Matador is a fascinating read, bridging Hemingway and Cheever in its approach to laying bare a flawed man’s battles.

THE LIFE AND DEATH STRUGGLES of Wall Street, of the Spanish bullring, and of family life, compellingly drawn.

AN EXPERIMENT IN CELIBACY, recounted in a poetic, intriguing, disarmingly open memoir from a French writer. B PLUS

THE ART OF SLEEPING ALONE: WHY ONE FRENCH WOMAN SUDDENLY GAVE UP SEX
Scribner
2013

BRILLIANT INTERSTELLAR CAPER novel reimagines the “bank heist” plot in a vividly drawn far-future setting. B PLUS

NEPTUNE’S BROOD
Ace Hardcover
2013

GORGEOUS, POWERFUL NOVEL about language, translation, and the difficulties of love and loss. Lovely and rich. A MINUS

THE TRANSLATOR
Pegasus Books
2013

SAVAGE, BEAUTIFUL REIMAGINING of a 1612 English witch trial by the amazing Jeanette Winterson. Haunting! A MINUS

THE DAYLIGHT GATE
Grove Press
2013

FIERCE, FUNNY, IRREVERENT memoir by a disability rights activist, therapist, and painter with cerebral palsy. SOLID B

DON’T CALL ME INSPIRATIONAL
Temple University Press
2013

A RELUCTANT VAMPIRE COMES of age, and into her powers, in modern Budapest. Charming, quirky Hungarian fantasy. B PLUS

THE FINNO-UGRIAN VAMPIRE
Marion Boyars Publishers Ltd
2013