An Odyssey Spouse Makes Shelf Awareness news!

Review: Salomé

Odyssey Bookshop Spouse, Barry Moser, was featured in Friday's issue of Shelf Awareness, a daily emailing of news from the book industry.  In it, John McFarland reviews the brand-new translation into English (by UMass professort Joseph Donohue) of Oscar Wilde's play, Salome.  The University of Virginia Press has put into this book all of the beautiful design and production values that we expect from our university presses, and you can read all about Moser's illustrations below, but you can click here if you want to read the entire issue of Shelf Awareness.

Salome: A Tragedy in One Act by Oscar Wilde, trans. by Joseph Donohue, illus. by Barry Moser (University of Virginia Press, $24.95 hardcover, 9780813931913, November 2011)
During an 1891 sojourn in Paris, Oscar Wilde was inspired by discussions with Stéphane Mallarmé and other Symbolist poets to set himself a challenge: he would take a tale from the Bible and set it as drama, but he would write it in French, not English. Like the Symbolists, Wilde was drawn to tales of decadence and beauty and he couldn't do much better than the story featuring Salomé. A teenage princess of Judea, she became obsessed with John the Baptist, a prisoner of Herod, her stepfather, and ended up demanding John's head on a platter in exchange for performing the Dance of the Seven Veils. Wilde had a ball piling on out-of-control lust, family dysfunction, artsy striptease, beheading of a prophet and necrophilia for maximum theatrical effect. He did so, however, in highly stylized language that Joseph Donohue argues makes the drama in French one of "the greatest prose poems of them all."
While the play met with success at its French premiere in 1896 and captured the attention of Richard Strauss (who then composed his 1905 opera version), when a German translation from the French was produced in Berlin, Wilde was less well served by the Lord Alfred Douglas English translation that came out in 1894 and has since dominated all discussion of English versions, to the detriment of the actual worth of the piece. Before unveiling his new English translation, Joseph Donohue provides a fascinating essay on Wilde's serious errors of judgment on that score, and readers will take away lessons from Wilde's mistakes, including not hiring your boyfriend for a job when he has no experience and not commissioning Aubrey Beardsley to illustrate a tale that happens somewhere other than an opium den.
Donohue has set himself the task of rendering Wilde's French tragedy in "an up-to-date, colloquial yet spare English translation" that could be performed on stage today. His work reads smoothly, and he's breathed life back into the play (compare his version of Salomé's declaration before she kisses the lips of John the Baptist's severed head: "And that tongue, that red serpent spewing out poisons, it's not wagging any more, it says nothing now," with Douglas's 1894 "And thy tongue, that was like a red snake darting poison, it moves no more, it speaks no words"). The ominous Barry Moser engravings also establish the time and place mercifully free of a single Beardsley peacock feather. --John McFarland

On the Ninth Day of the Holidays My Bookseller Recommended to me!

Nine new releases...

the following are some of our favorite newly released titles from Fall/Winter catalogs! Some of these titles have been previously published in hardcover, but are definitely worthy of this post!

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ODIOUS OGRE by Norton Juster, illustrated by Jules Feiffer. The Odious Ogre has a terrible reputation and the townspeople live in constant fear of him. But one day he comes across a girl who has never heard of him. She is so sweet and generous and her kindness may just kill him. This is the first book Juster and Feiffer have worked on together since The Phantom Tollbooth. Ages 3-8 ~Marika

ASH by Malinda Lo. There have been many retellings of Cinderella, but Ash is an entirely new take on Perrault’s tale. Ash grows up reading fairy tales, which her father says are just stories. When her father dies and her stepmother sets her to work, Ash dreams of escaping into the land of faerie, a place she knows is real. Ash meets the faerie Sidhean and learns that her wish may finally be granted. Meanwhile, Ash’s walks in the woods bring her to forge a friendship with the King’s Huntress. As their friendship grows, Ash comes to the realization that perhaps love can exist in the human realm. But Ash has already promised Sidhean that she will return faerie, and she must choose between the possibility of love and the ethereal perfection of faerie. Ages 12 & up ~Marika

DUST CITY by Robert Paul Weston. Narrated by the son of the Big Bad Wolf, Dust City is a dark, gritty and violent story but stands out from many on the YA shelf with its fairy tale-inspired twist. Fairy tales were always scary, but Weston updates the issues and ideas, creating a gritty novel that will resonate with today’s teens. Think The Outsiders with a Fables twist. Ages 12 & up ~Marika

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ROOM by Emma Donoghue. Jack, our 5-year-old narrator, and his mother are being held captive in an 11’ by 11’ room. His mother struggles to give him as close to normal a childhood as possible under these desperate circumstances, with “Outside” being a made-up world he sees only on TV. But when Ma’s daily struggle against insanity becomes too much to
bear, Jack must bear the burden of a drastic escape plan. Donoghue’s ability to portray Jack’s understanding of his world and Ma’s determination to keep him safe is both tender and heart-wrenching. It has been a long time since I have read a book that has affected me as much as this one has—it’s absolutely haunting. ~Emily

COMPASS ROSE by John Casey. A sequel to Spartina, which won the National Book Award and was acclaimed by the New York Times Book Review as being, “possibly the best American novel . . . since The Old Man and the Sea,” This book also works beautifully as a stand-alone novel. In the salt marshes of southern Rhode Island, a small community wrestles with how to understand and negotiate the corporate gentrification of their coastline and how to welcome Rose. She is Elsie Buttrick’s out-of-wedlock daughter by local fisherman Dick Pierce, whose wife and sons live nearby. Casey is a master at creeping into the heads of his characters and opening their hearts to us; he also creates a magically rendered landscape, where the tidal movement of the estuaries echo the subtly changing relationships among the characters. I adored this book. ~Elli

ONE HUNDRED PORTRAITS engraved by Barry Moser. We are so fortunate to have one of the world’s most important wood engravers as a local resident and a great friend to the Odyssey. Barry’s new book is a masterpiece that all bibliophiles will want to add to their libraries. Writers, artists, composers & friends grace the pages of this book. Portraits of local artists and writers include: Leonard Baskin, Patricia MacLachlan, Richard Wilbur, and Eric Carle, and my favorites include Eudora Welty, Maxine Kumin, Wole Soyinka, and Emily Crowe. ~Joan

THE BELLS by Richard Harvell. Born to a deaf mother amidst the peals of the loudest bells in 18th-century Christendom, Moses Froben is a boy whose extraordinary sense of hearing is matched only by the altitudinous beauty of his soprano voice. Dark events lead him to seek sanctuary at the Abbey of St. Gall, where even darker events lead to the forced castration that will preserve his exquisite voice and rent him asunder from his love. Or will it? All musical roads eventually lead to Vienna, and there he finds solace with friends old and new in this fascinating retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth. An impressive debut that will delight historical fiction and classical music fans alike. ~Emily


AT HOME: A SHORT HISTORY OF PRIVATE LIFE by Bill Bryson. Bryson takes his home, a mid-19th century rectory in Norfolk, England, as the jumping off point for investigating every angle of domestic history. We get the expected lessons in architecture, furniture and horticulture, as well as the more unusual, such as the brilliant teamwork skills of rats, or the strategic importance of nutmeg in empire building. Bryson’s trademark humor and wry social commentary are certainly present, but what stands out most here is his ability to trace intriguing connections between seemingly unrelated facts. In short, I found it endlessly fascinating. ~Emily


WINE TRIALS 2011 by Robin Goldstein. Do you believe that wine has to be expensive to be good? Do you feel a bit overwhelmed looking at labels in wine shops? Do you want to bring a good bottle of wine to a friend’s house without applying for a new mortgage? If your answer to any of these is ‘yes,’ Wine Trials 2011 may be the perfect book for you. Of course it may also be the perfect gift for that friend of yours who also answers ‘yes.’ Limited to a review of good wines under $15.00, this wonderful little book has reports of blind taste testing as well as brief descriptions of 150 wines – their aroma, taste and presentation. Armed with this book you can hold your head high on your next trip to the wine store. ~Neil

*Note: The *starred* books are on our 25 for 25% off sale!
Buy now while supplies last!

Paz,

~Nieves

On the Seventh Day of the Holidays My Bookseller Recommended to me!

Seven Kid's books!

ON THE BLUE COMET by Rosemary Wells, illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline. When the stock market crashes and the Great Depression sets in, Oscar’s father is forced to sell his train sets and move to California, leaving Oscar with his Aunt. Oscar manages to find some happiness when he visits his old trains at the bank. But when he witnesses a robbery at the bank the shock catapults him onto real versions of the trains and travels through time. Ages 9-12 ~Marika

POTATO CHIP SCIENCE by Allen Kurzweil. This cleverly packaged book comes equipped with all of the accessories needed to perform over 30 experiments on potatoes and potato chips. This little set is perfect for the holiday and winter season, with plenty of activities to do on those long snowy days and nights. And with potatoes at around 99 cents a pound, they’re economical enough to keep curious minds busy all winter long. How can you go wrong? This is a sure fire hit with both reluctant readers and scientific minds alike! Ages 8-12 ~Nieves

CHILDREN MAKE TERRIBLE PETS written & illustrated by Peter Brown. Every child goes through a phase in which they simply must have a pet. Children Make Terrible Pets puts a new twist on this classic situation when Lucy the Bear brings home a human child. Her mother (like any sane mother) is not pleased—just think what a mess he’ll make! This is a delightfully silly picturebook with fun illustrations. Ages 3-7 ~Marika


A LONG WALK TO WATER by Linda Sue Park. Based on a true story, this novel by Newbery Medalist Park describes the daily life of two teens from Sudan: Salva, one of Sudans “lost boys” who must survive on instinct alone in order to evade marauders bent on kidnapping him for the enscripted militia; and Nya, a girl who must spend eight hours every day walking to and from a distant pond to gather water for her family’s survival. When their stories intersect, it's magical and heartwarming, as their endured hardships and loneliness are paid off, if not in full measure, then at least in a satisfying but realistic way.
Ages 10+ ~Emily

LLAMA LLAMA HOLIDAY DRAMA by Anna Dewdney. The rush and bustle of the holidays can be too exciting for Llama Llama and the waiting is difficult. But in all the hustle and bustle, Llama Mama does not forget the most import thing, family. Another sweet installment in the series. Ages 3-5 ~Marika

CHRISTMAS IN THE TIME OF BILLY LEE by Jerdine Nolen, illustrated by Barry Moser. Meet Ellie, a young girl who makes three wishes one Christmas season. When her friend Billy Lee, who may or may not be real, tells her “there is magic in believing something good with all your heart,” readers are sure to join in, crossing fingers and toes and believing solemnly in the wonder and mystery of the holiday season. Moser’s watercolor illustrations will engage young readers and invoke feelings of nostalgia with older generations. Bonus: the model for Ellie is Safiya, daughter of Odyssey customers and local residents, Lex & Marria Carrington!
Ages 4-7 ~Emily

LULU AND THE BRONTOSAURUS by Judith Viorst illustrated by Lane Smith. Lulu is a nasty sort of child who throws tantrums when she doesn’t get exactly what she wants—and her parents always give in. But when Lulu demands a Brontosaurus her parents refuse. Determined to get a Brontosaurus, Lulu packs a suitcase and sets off to find one and make it her new pet. But Lulu and the Brontosaurus have something in common: they’re both looking for a pet. And the Brontosaurus doesn’t give in to the demands of screaming children. Ages 3-8 ~Marika

We of course have tons of great children's books and gifts that will become instant hits and stay as classics in your family for years to come! Please stop by and check it out!

Paz,

~Nieves

More radio recommendations from our time on WAMC...

ANNEXED by Sharon Dogar. This novel for teens and young adults is a familiar story told from a different perspective. Peter van Pels is only sixteen when he and his parents go into hiding with Anne Frank and her family. In love with a girl who was taken by the Nazis, at the beginning of this novel, he would much rather brood and sulk than spend time with the insufferable Anne with the impish eyes. Soon, however, time is all he has, and he is surprised to discover a kindred spirit in Anne. Their burgeoning love is full of questions and fear, and even reading The Diary of Anne Frank cannot prepare you for the heartwrenching ending. This book is a very quick and compelling read, and the two 16-year-olds in my family will tell you the same thing—they both devoured it, too.

ONE HUNDRED PORTRAITS engraved by Barry Moser, published by David R. Godine. This is a collection of portraits of writers, musicians, composers, artists, poets, and friends, all beautifully reproduced. Some of these were commissioned portraits, some of them are published here for the first time. Moser is one of the world’s pre-eminent engravers and this is the first book that amasses 100 portraits from the books and broadsides of his vast collection, spanning several decades. The production qualities are everything I’ve come to expect from David R. Godine, and I would be remiss not to mention the incredibly thought-provoking foreword that Ann Patchett provided. And sure, it just so happens that I'm married to the man, but that doesn't take one whit away from his portraits and his ability to look unflinchingly at a face (including his own) and reveal something about the person in a most astonishing way, limned in shadow. (NB: Mr. Moser will be happy to inscribe copies of his new portrait book for Odyssey customers for holiday giftgiving. Just call us at 800.540.7307 or stop by to make those arrangements!)

~Emily

Full of Holiday Cheer!

To the brim in fact! If you find yourself in search of a unique or special gift for that unique and special someone we have some signed stock from our holiday author book signing.

It was a very fun and successful event this year! And it included some of our best local authors, artists and artisans!

This year varied in that it was the first time we had adult authors in addition to children book authors.

The list of authors who attended were as follows:

Author Corrine Demas
Author Lawrence Dorfman
Illustrator Jane Dyer
Author Tracy Kidder
Author Janet Lawler
Artist/Illustrator Barry Moser
Author and Knitter Extraordinaire Kristin Nicholas
Author Jane Yolen

If you are looking for a signed copy of any of these author's books we may have it! Click here for more information. Or if you are looking for a signed copy of any of the authors books we have had recently feel free to give us a call!

Peace on Earth!

~Nieves