Weekend picks for book lovers
What should you read this weekend? USA TODAY’s picks for book lovers include the new novel by the author of book-club fave Orphan Train.
A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline; William Morrow, 304 pp.; fiction
It’s one of the most recognizable images in American art: the young woman in a pink dress sitting — or collapsed — on a grassy field, tilted toward a forbidding gray farmhouse in the background.
Andrew Wyeth’s 1948 painting Christina’s World is the spur for the richly somber A Piece of the World, which imagines the story of the true-life woman portrayed, Christina Olson, painfully debilitated by a degenerative disease.
Fans of Kline’s phenomenal 2013 best seller Orphan Train will recognize the way the new novel moves back and forth between timelines and brings to vivid life a little-known corner of history. The hardships endured by rural women, and their triumphs, are a preoccupation of both books.
When Wyeth first visited the Olson farmhouse in coastal Maine, he was entranced by its history as well as its mournful grandeur and ocean view.
Granted permission by its owners to come every day to sketch the property, Wyeth comes to know the 46-year-old Christina and her brother, Alvaro Olson.
USA TODAY says *** out of four stars. “Avoiding sentimental uplift, A Piece of the World offers unsparing insight into the real woman behind the painting.”
Wyeth painting comes to life in Christina Baker Kline's new novel
The Chosen Few: A Company of Paratroopers and Its Heroic Struggle to Survive in the Mountains of Afghanistan by Gregg Zoroya; Da Capo Press, 370 pp.; non-fiction
Zoroya, a USA TODAY staffer, tells the true story of American soldiers from “Chosen Company” in Afghanistan and their trials and triumphs through three searing firefights in 2008.
USA TODAY says ***½ stars. “A remarkable story… delivers the adrenaline of combat right to the reader’s easy chair.”
'Chosen Few' is a searing account of war in Afghanistan
The Impossible Fortress by Jason Rekulak; Simon & Schuster, 304 pp.; fiction
In this debut novel, the spring of 1987 is all about one obsession for 14-year-old Billy Marvin and his nerdy buddies, Alf and Clark — getting their hands on the new Playboy issue featuring Vanna White.
USA TODAY says *** stars. “A retro escapist read…charming.”
Hunt for Vanna White 'Playboy' kicks off endearing debut novel
Traveling with Ghosts by Shannon Leone Fowler; Simon & Schuster, 294 pp.; non-fiction
A memoir by a young California marine biologist who finds solace in travel after her fiancé dies in front of her after he’s stung by a jellyfish in Thailand.
USA TODAY says ***½ stars. “Rich, unblinking and adroitly told…a thought-provoking journey.”
After fiance's sudden death, a writer travels with 'Ghosts'
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders; Random House, 343 pp.; fiction
Told by a chorus of voices in a canto-like style, this debut novel by acclaimed short story writer George Saunders takes place on the February night in 1862 when President Lincoln has buried his favorite son, 11-year-old Willie.
USA TODAY says **** stars. “Brilliantly imagined…my early bet for a showering of literary awards.”
Contributing reviewers: Emily Gray Tedrowe, David Holahan, Don Oldenburg, Sharon Peters, Jocelyn McClurg