I loved Trevanian's novel Crazyladiesof Pearl Street[Crown, June]. Trevanian has captured the essence of growing up in the aftermath of the Depression in the Irish slums of Albany, N.Y., and has gifted us with a story of not just survival, but thriving, in an environment that could have left the narrator damaged beyond repair. It's reminiscent of one of my favorite books, Out of the Night That Covers Me by Patricia Cunningham DeVoto. This is an absolutely perfect portrayal of an era and one young boy's experience as he grows up, perhaps not unscathed, but successful.
It's a challenging read—I hardly ever have to resort to the dictionary when reading a book, but I found dozens of wonderfully unusual words that defied contextual definition. After the second chapter of Crazyladies, I broke down and got the dictionary.
Booksellers interested in sharing views of forthcoming galleys in this column,e-mail KHowell@reedbusiness.com.
