West with the Night is the story of Beryl Markham--aviator, racehorse trainer, beauty--and her life in the Kenya of the 1920s and '30s.

When Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, Abdulrahman Zeitoun, a prosperous Syrian-American and father of four, chose to stay through the storm to protect his house and contracting business. In the days after the storm, he traveled the flooded streets in a secondhand canoe, passing on supplies and helping those he could. A week later, on September 6, 2005, Zeitoun abruptly disappeared. Eggers's riveting nonfiction book, three years in the making, explores Zeitoun's roots in Syria, his marriage to Kathy -- an American who converted to Islam -- and their children, and the surreal atmosphere (in New Orleans and the United States generally) in which what happened to Abdulrahman Zeitoun was possible. Like "What Is the What," "Zeitoun" was written in close collaboration with its subjects and involved vast research -- in this case, in the United States, Spain, and Syria.

Amy Bloom was nominated for a National Book Award for her first collection, Come to Me, and her fiction has appeared in The New Yorker, Story, Antaeus, and other magazines, and in The Best American Short Stories and Prize Stories: The O. Henry Awards. In her new collection, she enhances her reputation as a true artist of the form. Here are characters confronted with tragedy, perplexed by emotions, and challenged to endure whatever modern life may have in store. A loving mother accompanies her daughter in her journey to become a man, and discovers a new, hopeful love. A stepmother and stepson meet again after fifteen years and a devastating mistake, and rediscover their familial affection for each other. And in "The Story," a widow bent on seducing another woman's husband constructs and deconstructs her story until she has "made the best and happiest ending" possible "in this world."

*** June 2009 Newsletter Pick ***
This much anticipated second novel from Canadian poet and novelist Anne Michaels has finally reached her fans and, once again, her beautiful language, clearly influenced by her poetic abilities, does not disappoint. The plotting is slightly less cohesive than her previous masterpiece, Fugitive Pieces, however, she deftly paints her characters and at many points, her literary canvas is stunning. The story begins in Egypt, eventually working its way to Canada, and along the way questions themes of loss, displacement and resettlement, literally and figuratively. Hopefully, we will not have to wait more than a decade for another saga from this gifted and eloquent author.