A detective story that breaks boundaries.Byline: SECOND SUNDAY BOOK CLUB By Karen McCowan The Register-Guard A whodunnit who·dun·it or who·dun·nit n. Informal A story dealing with a crime and its solution; a detective story. [Alteration of who done it?. narrated by a detective with Tourette's Syndrome Tou·rette's syndrome or Tou·rette syndrome n. A severe neurological disorder characterized by multiple facial and other body tics, usually beginning in childhood or adolescence and often accompanied by grunts and compulsive utterances, as of is our July pick for The Register-Guard's Second Sunday Book Club. As always, our virtual book club will be reading over the shoulders of an actual, local book group. This time, Eugene's Food for Thought Book Club has invited our readers to join their discussion of ``Motherless Brooklyn'' by Jonathan Lethem (Vintage, 336 pages, $13.95). Food for Thought, an eight-year-old group composed of both men and women, invite interested Register-Guard readers to join their July 31 potluck meeting at 6:30 p.m. in the Rose Garden at Skinner Butte Skinner Butte (also called Skinner's Butte) is a prominent hill on the north edge of downtown Eugene, Oregon, United States, near the Willamette River. Skinner Butte is a local landmark and the location of Skinner Butte Park, a municipal park. Park. Those who'd prefer to weigh in electronically can respond to comments from that evening's discussion after they are posted on our Books Blog (www.registerguard.com/blogs/books). ``Motherless Brooklyn'' was a trans-genre success when it debuted in 1999. It chronicles the efforts of vocal tic-afflicted detective Lionel Essrog, also known as ``the Human Freakshow,'' to find the killer of his boss. The book won major prizes both as literary fiction and as a detective novel Noun 1. detective novel - novel in which the reader is challenged to solve a puzzle before the detective explains it at the end mystery novel novel - an extended fictional work in prose; usually in the form of a story , capturing the 1999 National Book Critics Circle Award and the 2000 Gold Dagger The Gold Dagger Award was an award given annually by the Crime Writers' Association for best crime novel of the year. For its first five years, it was known as the Crossed Red Herring Award. . The Denver Post raved: "With one unique and well-imagined character, Jonathan Lethem has turned a genre on its ear. He doesn't just push the envelope, he gives it a swift kick. ... A tour de force.'' The Wall Street Journal said Lethem "superbly balances beautiful writing and an engrossing engrossing, in English law, practice of acquiring a monopoly of goods in order to sell them at an inflated price. The offense was ordinarily limited to monopolies of foods. Related practices were forestalling, i.e. plot." And the Washington Post called the book, ``One of the greatest feats of first-person narration in recent American fiction.'' Also, it's not too late to add your comments on our June pick - "A Sudden Country" by Karen Fisher - at the Books Blog before the wrap-up is published here on July 9. SECOND SUNDAY BOOK CLUB HOW IT WORKS What is the Second Sunday Book Club? It's a vicarious vicarious /vi·car·i·ous/ (vi-kar´e-us) 1. acting in the place of another or of something else. 2. occurring at an abnormal site. vi·car·i·ous adj. 1. book group. Each month we select a real local book group and allow Register-Guard readers to piggyback piggyback 1. A broker trading in his or her personal account after trading in the same security for a customer. The broker may believe the customer has access to privileged information that will cause the transaction to be profitable. 2. on its book choice. Then, on the second Sunday of each month, we'll print a compendium of comments from Register-Guard readers and from the featured book group's members. What's the next book? ``Motherless Brooklyn'' by Jonathan Letham; it's the pick of the Food for Thought Book Club of Eugene. How do I participate? Read the book and then go to www .registerguard.com/blogs/books to comment. Or you can attend Food for Thought's meeting on the book at 6:30 p.m. July 31 in the Rose Garden at Skinner Butte Park. When will the wrap-up be published? Aug. 13 Current selection: The wrap-up for our current selection - Karen Fisher's novel ``A Sudden Country'' - will appear here July 9. |
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