Writing fiction requires talents akin to those of, say, a con artist: an ability to lie convincingly, a fervent belief in imagined worlds, and a cocky confidence that your audience wants to be seduced by deception. In My Heart Laid Bare, a mythic family saga spanning generations, these qualities are embraced by both Joyce Carol Oates and her tragic, mesmerizing characters.

Abraham Licht is patriarch of a household that includes six children and a gothic housekeeper of unexplained origins. The three women who bore the children are long-gone, unable to adjust to the drama of the con artist’s life one minute flush with money, the next running from the law. With fervor and unquestioned certainty, Abraham has dedicated his life to this Game, complete with commandments, prophecies, and ancestors of biblical proportions. Devoutly, he raises his motherless children within the constructed value system of this con world, teaching them from infancy that “God is theirs and the Game, ours.” Inside this morally charged context, Oates poetically describes the simplicity common to almost every family childhood games, sibling love and rivalry, adolescent awakenings and the unusual elements of the Licht family stemming from their religion of deception. Abraham deems four of his children suitable to join him at the Game, the other two he leaves behind at Muirkirk a renovated church at the edge of a swamp, and mystical sanctuary from the Enemy. In the exterior world, Abraham and his children develop elaborate cons that include new personalities, counterfeited history, and manipulation of their victim’s hidden secrets. Initially languid, the story becomes increasingly urgent as all the children reach adulthood, each with their unique adaptation to their father’s world. Oates shifts narrative voices, giving Abraham and each child an opportunity to explain the world from their point of view, emphasizing the details most important to each. In less masterful hands, this alternating narration might be confusing, but her technique is wonderfully successful, resulting in a rich layer of actions and emotions. Her style is impressionistic, with repeating phrases, sparse description, and metaphorical actions. It mimics the way we process both the banal and the exciting in everyday life. Vicariously, the reader experiences the heady mixture of thrill, intrigue, and superiority that accompany a successful con. Oates also conveys the brutal humiliation and violence of a scam gone wrong, and the tragic consequences of the Licht religion for Abraham’s children. Ultimately, the Game becomes a metaphor for life itself. While Abraham’s biography is full of adventure (of a sort), Oates reminds us that time, the eternal equalizer, dishes out the same events, no matter how dressed up they may be with deception or imagination. At the end, even the life of a con artist can be distilled into a few simple truths common to us all including the fact that Joyce Carol Oates has, yet again, written a richly textured and exciting book.

Reviewed by Kathleen McFall.

vers Row imprint makes its debut As the market for African-American books grows, mainstream publishers are seeking new ways to meet the demand. The readership is evolving quickly in its hunger for a more diverse, increasingly sophisticated array of books a challenge that has sent publishing houses scrambling to find fresh ways to keep that momentum going. One of their approaches has been to create specialized imprints geared to the African-American customer, producing books that are soulful and innovative but with a commercial touch.

At last count, seven such imprints, all backed by large mainstream publishing houses, are currently in competition to woo black readers. The imprints are Ballantine’s One World Books, Doubleday’s Harlem Moon, Kensington Publishing’s Dafina Books, HarperCollins’ Amistad Press, Hyperion’s Jump At The Sun and Warner Books’ Walk Worthy Press. The latest entry is Strivers Row, launched by the Villard division of Random House, which joined the publishing marketplace in January with its first offering of new books. Under the savvy leadership of associate editor Melody Guy, Strivers Row plans to be out front with a daring, ground-breaking series of new voices in its line of African-American literature published as trade paperbacks.

“We’re going to find those books which are quite important but were first self-published or published by small houses,” Guy explained to BookPage. “By publishing these books as trade paperbacks with a lower price, we can take a chance on new authors and build careers. There will be many new names introduced to readers who will both surprise and enchant them.” Strivers Row will publish nine titles a year, mainly works by first-time authors. The imprint’s debut list includes: Parry A. Brown’s novel, The Shirt Off His Back, a riveting look at a black single father’s dogged effort to create a loving home for his 11-year-old twin girls; Guy Johnson’s debut historic epic; Standing at the Scratch Line, the tale of anti-hero King Tremain who will stop at nothing to preserve his family; and Nichelle D. Tramble’s searing “hip-hop noir” novel, The Dying Ground, a dark thriller of drugs, deception and secret lives.

Coming later this year, Strivers Row will offer two previously self-published works: Travis Hunter’s revealing fictional male relationship saga, Hearts of Men; and Satin Doll, Gloria Mallette’s sexy suspense novel of an adulterous woman who finds the tables turned on her when the wife of a lover starts to stalk her. Also coming up is Solomon Jones’ hard-edged mystery, Pipe Dreams, a no-holds barred story of a Philadelphia politician found dead in a crack house and the ruthless hunt for his killers.

“We’re looking for new voices and new visions,” Guy concludes. “We want to expand the boundaries of African-American literature, and Strivers Row is just the vehicle to do that. There are readers out there seeking something different and challenging. We’re going to provide that for them.”

He’s made his mark in the Hollywood mainstream as a popular leading man and an Academy Award-winning director as well as in the maverick world of independent filmmaking, where he presides over Utah’s prestigious Sundance Film Festival. Throughout his enduring career, Robert Redford has also displayed uncanny acumen for spotting hot movie properties. The Horse Whisperer, which he co-produced, directed, and starred in opposite Kristin Scott Thomas is his latest coup. Originally slated as a 1997 release but pushed back because of weather woes (wrought by El Nino) during filming, the movie adaptation of Nicholas Evans’s bestseller opens this month. Evans was a struggling screenwriter when he got the idea for what became a publishing phenomenon. In fact, the first-time novelist was only halfway through writing the unabashedly sentimental tome about hope and redemption when his agent released the manuscript. Then came frenzy, Hollywood style. Following a voracious bidding war, Redford emerged victorious shelling out $3 million. Little wonder that when North American publishing rights were later offered, Dell Publishing spent a record $3,150,000. And the rest, as the story goes, is history . . .

So how will the movie compare with the book? Would-be critics can easily brush-up with the new movie tie-in version out this month. The Horse Whisperer moves briskly, with its story of a Montana loner who’s asked to heal a young girl and her horse following a tragic accident. Along the way, the country guy falls for the mother (a city gal), and love proves to be the strongest medicine of all. Should the movie become as much a favorite as the book, there could be a stampede for the handsomely produced, The Horse Whisperer: An Illustrated Companion to the Major Motion Picture. Reviewed by Pat H. Broeske.

vers Row imprint makes its debut As the market for African-American books grows, mainstream publishers are seeking new ways to meet the demand. The readership is evolving quickly in its hunger for a more diverse, increasingly sophisticated array of books a challenge that has sent publishing houses scrambling to find fresh ways to keep that momentum going. One of their approaches has been to create specialized imprints geared to the African-American customer, producing books that are soulful and innovative but with a commercial touch.

At last count, seven such imprints, all backed by large mainstream publishing houses, are currently in competition to woo black readers. The imprints are Ballantine’s One World Books, Doubleday’s Harlem Moon, Kensington Publishing’s Dafina Books, HarperCollins’ Amistad Press, Hyperion’s Jump At The Sun and Warner Books’ Walk Worthy Press. The latest entry is Strivers Row, launched by the Villard division of Random House, which joined the publishing marketplace in January with its first offering of new books. Under the savvy leadership of associate editor Melody Guy, Strivers Row plans to be out front with a daring, ground-breaking series of new voices in its line of African-American literature published as trade paperbacks.

“We’re going to find those books which are quite important but were first self-published or published by small houses,” Guy explained to BookPage. “By publishing these books as trade paperbacks with a lower price, we can take a chance on new authors and build careers. There will be many new names introduced to readers who will both surprise and enchant them.” Strivers Row will publish nine titles a year, mainly works by first-time authors. The imprint’s debut list includes: Parry A. Brown’s novel, The Shirt Off His Back, a riveting look at a black single father’s dogged effort to create a loving home for his 11-year-old twin girls; Guy Johnson’s debut historic epic; Standing at the Scratch Line, the tale of anti-hero King Tremain who will stop at nothing to preserve his family; and Nichelle D. Tramble’s searing “hip-hop noir” novel, The Dying Ground, a dark thriller of drugs, deception and secret lives.

Coming later this year, Strivers Row will offer two previously self-published works: Travis Hunter’s revealing fictional male relationship saga, Hearts of Men; and Satin Doll, Gloria Mallette’s sexy suspense novel of an adulterous woman who finds the tables turned on her when the wife of a lover starts to stalk her. Also coming up is Solomon Jones’ hard-edged mystery, Pipe Dreams, a no-holds barred story of a Philadelphia politician found dead in a crack house and the ruthless hunt for his killers.

“We’re looking for new voices and new visions,” Guy concludes. “We want to expand the boundaries of African-American literature, and Strivers Row is just the vehicle to do that. There are readers out there seeking something different and challenging. We’re going to provide that for them.”

Altar music, for those who hear it, must be a partial lament. Altar Music is the first novel by Weber, a former nun who writes with the spare cadence of prayer, and the story itself becomes a formal ritual heavy with incense and portent. The plot focuses on Elise, raised in a remote town as the third generation of religious women limited by their notions of faith. As a little girl, she observes and absorbs the emotional sacrifices her mother and grandmother made in their attempt to be good Christian women. The choices available to them in that constricted role are frustrating and painful to witness. The Church’s historical interpretation of godly behavior and its hypocrisy force these women to sublimate their passions and their marriages, shriveling spirit and hope. As Elise reaches her teens, her talent for music helps channel a sensitive, creative nature destined to be criticized and controlled. Elise’s mother and grandmother encourage her to take piano lessons at the local convent, where a townswoman has escaped to the cloth after the annulment of a brief, abusive marriage. Elise’s mother befriends this nun, visiting her regularly and making her godmother to her daughter. As she matures, Elise discovers that her passion for music and her godmother’s quiet influence has created a call to be a bride of Christ. The vows and rituals and romantic sacrifice of her very self might redeem and heal her legacy of anger and pain, but first Elise must solve the mystery of spiritual marriage alone. Weber’s voice speaks of experience and deep contemplation, and while her characters have no easy answers, she gives them the dignity of spiritually courageous lives.

Deanna Larson is a reviewer in Nashville.

vers Row imprint makes its debut As the market for African-American books grows, mainstream publishers are seeking new ways to meet the demand. The readership is evolving quickly in its hunger for a more diverse, increasingly sophisticated array of books a challenge that has sent publishing houses scrambling to find fresh ways to keep that momentum going. One of their approaches has been to create specialized imprints geared to the African-American customer, producing books that are soulful and innovative but with a commercial touch.

At last count, seven such imprints, all backed by large mainstream publishing houses, are currently in competition to woo black readers. The imprints are Ballantine’s One World Books, Doubleday’s Harlem Moon, Kensington Publishing’s Dafina Books, HarperCollins’ Amistad Press, Hyperion’s Jump At The Sun and Warner Books’ Walk Worthy Press. The latest entry is Strivers Row, launched by the Villard division of Random House, which joined the publishing marketplace in January with its first offering of new books. Under the savvy leadership of associate editor Melody Guy, Strivers Row plans to be out front with a daring, ground-breaking series of new voices in its line of African-American literature published as trade paperbacks.

“We’re going to find those books which are quite important but were first self-published or published by small houses,” Guy explained to BookPage. “By publishing these books as trade paperbacks with a lower price, we can take a chance on new authors and build careers. There will be many new names introduced to readers who will both surprise and enchant them.” Strivers Row will publish nine titles a year, mainly works by first-time authors. The imprint’s debut list includes: Parry A. Brown’s novel, The Shirt Off His Back, a riveting look at a black single father’s dogged effort to create a loving home for his 11-year-old twin girls; Guy Johnson’s debut historic epic; Standing at the Scratch Line, the tale of anti-hero King Tremain who will stop at nothing to preserve his family; and Nichelle D. Tramble’s searing “hip-hop noir” novel, The Dying Ground, a dark thriller of drugs, deception and secret lives.

Coming later this year, Strivers Row will offer two previously self-published works: Travis Hunter’s revealing fictional male relationship saga, Hearts of Men; and Satin Doll, Gloria Mallette’s sexy suspense novel of an adulterous woman who finds the tables turned on her when the wife of a lover starts to stalk her. Also coming up is Solomon Jones’ hard-edged mystery, Pipe Dreams, a no-holds barred story of a Philadelphia politician found dead in a crack house and the ruthless hunt for his killers.

“We’re looking for new voices and new visions,” Guy concludes. “We want to expand the boundaries of African-American literature, and Strivers Row is just the vehicle to do that. There are readers out there seeking something different and challenging. We’re going to provide that for them.”

Love is a kind of warfare, Ovid wrote around 3 B.

C., and Good Peoples, the new novel by Marcus Major, is another in a two-millennia-long history of literary evidence. Rollicking, explicit at times, but deeply conservative at its core, the book is set in Lawndale, a tidy, mostly African-American and Hispanic neighborhood outside Philadelphia. Myles, a romantic and good-natured schoolteacher meets Marisa, a whip- smart and ambitious lawyer/media personality of Afro-Cuban descent at a party thrown by their mutual friend Jackie. Myles, celibate for the better part of a year, falls instantly in love, but Marisa is cautious, even a bit jaded, and the book follows the sometimes rackety course of their romance. On the sidelines cheering the couple on are Myles’s smart-cracking brother Amir, Myles’s friend Carlos, husband of the match-making Jackie, and Winston, Myles’s adorably clueless bulldog. Winston is the perfect alter ego for Myles both are a bit fat, a bit rumpled, and so pantingly eager that the reader wants good things to happen for them both. Whether they’ll happen for Myles with Marisa is the book’s big question. Marisa is a more complex and contradictory character than Myles, capable of high hilarity and leaden seriousness, warmth and soul-withering coldness, sweetness and cruelty. ( Some-times, too often, you’re not a man to me, she tells Myles during a particularly nasty argument). Orphaned early in life, she’s both a driven career woman and a scared little girl who wanders into Myles’s apartment in her pajamas looking for comfort. The consensus of her friends is that she’s a lady who needs to be worked on subtly. When she inevitably splits in a huff, Myles is warned not to follow her. Give her a chance to miss you, advises Carlos, even as pregnant Jackie arrives at Marisa’s house to warn her not to pass on the cuddlesome Myles. So persuasive and happily gravid is Jackie that you can almost hear someone whispering in the background, Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated. One of the pleasures of the book is its snappy dialogue; the characters are articulate without seeming unnatural, and the sex scenes are erotic without being over the top. But as mentioned, the real message of Good Peoples is sometimes alarmingly retro. Sure, Marisa can have her career, but doesn’t she really want to be a good little self-effacing wife and mother? Major is rather blunt on this point. Whoever heard of a woman who didn’t want to get married? Myles yells at Marisa at one point. Whoever heard of a woman who didn’t want to have children? Marisa’s comeback is appropriately devastating. Still, the reader does wonder if this fiery and enigmatic Latina can be completely domesticated. We wonder if she’ll weather marriage and motherhood with her identity and ambitions intact or disappear into what Sylvia Plath called the totalitarian state of airless wifedom. For that, the reader probably will have to wait for a sequel. Arlene McKanic is a reviewer in Jamaica, New York.