The author hails from Lowell MA and by the time he was 30, he was a full blown heroin addict. This is a gritty, honest memoir about his personal descent into hell and his slow climb out to rebuild his shattered life. Although it sounds dark and sad, it is really a poignant tale of strength and overcoming life’s obstacles. A great debut that is both hopeful and illuminating.

Growing up in South Boston’s Old Colony Housing project is the start of a riveting and true account of life in the Irish enclave that is Southie. This plainly written memoir is a testament to the many challenges that face a working class family in one of Boston’s toughest and insular communities. McDonald paints a frightening portrait of a community under social and economic stress which becomes a poignant tale of survival and determination that highlights many of the issues that still plague Southie today.

This novel is the story of Jacob Jankowski’s life in a second rate circus in Depression-era America. Gruen spares no detail in chronicling the brutal, squalid and filthy circumstances Jacob finds himself in. After fleeing vet school, his skills are put to the test as the keeper of the mangy, underfed and abused menagerie. All of the characters are so well defined, they leap off the page. With Gruen’s spot on circus lore dialogue, this is truly one of the best books I ever read . . . and I read a lot of books. . . .

When Guterson’s new novel, The Other, was recently released, I remembered how much I enjoyed his debut novel and just finished reading it again. Set on an island in the straits north of Puget Sound in Washington in the 1950’s, it tells a richly textured tale of a murder trial of a Japanese American fisherman. The real beauty of this novel is Guterson’s rendering of the people and places and his ability to weave a multilayered story filled with pathos and insight. A really great read on so many levels.