Summer book round-up

Reviewer Yvonne Zipp tackles the best of the season's fiction.

from the May 4, 2007 edition

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The Good Husband of Zebra Drive, by Alexander McCall Smith (Pantheon)

Poor Precious Ramotswe. The proprietor of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency solves her cases so easily, now everyone wants to try. Her husband, J.L.B. Matekoni, thinks he'd like to trade his mechanic's wrench for a telephoto lens, and her assistant, the newly engaged Grace Makutsi, is no longer satisfied with a supporting role. (Grace goes so far as to quit the agency – for a whole morning.) Plus, Precious is dealing with one of the most disturbing cases of her career: Three people have died unexpectedly in the same hospital bed, all on a Friday. McCall Smith maintains his gentle, decorous tone (one chapter is titled "A Short Chapter About Tea"), and the sweetness of his vision and love of Botswana's traditions, for now, override concerns about the slightness of plot. Grade: B

The New Yorkers, by Cathleen Schine (Farrar, Straus, Giroux)

Attention, New York dog lovers (and canine companions countrywide): Here is a novel for you. On one little block in New York, neighbors meet and interact courtesy of their dogs. Jody, a lonely music teacher, adopts a pit-bull mix named Beatrice. Polly, a pushy yet endearing 20-something, rents a suicide's apartment and adopts the tiny puppy he left behind. Her brother, George, a waiter, moves in and helps her raise Howdy. Other denizens include Everett, a divorced chemist; Simon, an asocial social worker; Jamie, a restaurateur with two cairn terriers; and Doris, a guidance counselor who can't stand dogs. Schine ("Rameau's Niece") writes about her characters with affection and humor (well, except for Doris) and has created a love letter to the city that even a rural cat fancier could enjoy. Grade: B

Luncheon of the Boating Party, by Susan Vreeland (Viking)

It's 1880, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir is at a crossroads. The artist, who supports himself painting "overbred society women in their fussy parlors," longs to create a breakout work that will forever silence critics of Impressionism like Emile Zola. The daughter of an innkeeper suggests he do a painting of a group of diners on their terrace overlooking the Seine. Renoir, with difficulty, gathers 13 models, and they spend several Sundays eating, drinking, and flirting, while he wrestles with his canvas to create something that will combine "la vie moderne" with "la vie en rose." While Renoir's search for a new muse can become tiring, Vreeland ("Girl in Hyacinth Blue") jumps skillfully from character to character and paints a vivid portrait of the creation of a masterpiece. Grade: B+

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