Archived Editorial for 12/07/03

RebeccasReads Best Fiction 2003
by The Editor, Rebecca Brown

My beloved Webmaster & Slave insists that I award just one of the books I have reviewed over the past year as The Winner of Rebeccasreads Best of Fiction 2003. You, Dear Readers, know that this dithering, doting dowager cannot choose one above all others, one child more than another. Like the Oscars^® I have long since discarded the idea of: “& the Winner is...” There are just too many good books by earnest authors out there!

I recently received an email from a longtime subscriber who was unsubscribing because “...I would like to read reviews of books that have been judged by their literary quality. I want to buy and read books that are well written. I do not want to waste my time on a book that is not or does not have potential to become a classic. So...I realize that others may have other needs/goals, but you asked for my unique opinion, so there it is. I have a friend whose opinion I trust -- she tells me when a book is good, worth the time -- and I usually agree. Figure out how you can be that friend, and you've got a reader!”

While I was force-fed the Classics at school in England, I rarely found they had much to do with my everyday life. Now I have classics of my own. Wayne Turmel's book A Philistine's Journal, ably explains what makes a book a “classic” & while I agree with him, I disagree with who is doing the judging & by what criteria. Most commonly: What universal truths are uncovered & will the story stand the test of time. Most Classics are excruciatingly out of date, politically incorrect by our lights & irredeemably sexist, even though their language has become the foundations of today's arguable truths.

Most books so designated are by men about manly lives. The separation of gender writing became pronounced within the Victorian Era when women wrote about relationships & social mores while men wrote about morality & war.

Nowadays, we are making our own lists of classics. Those books which changed our way of thinking, opened up new vistas, stirred not only our emotions, they cast light into our souls.

I started Rebeccasreads with the intention of reviewing mainstream titles -- the ones you can pick up on any shelf in the front of a store or a library, or from some arbiter's best seller list. Until I searched them out on Amazon's pages, & found hundreds of others writing their opinions. Not only would my voice be lost in the throng, so would a plenitude of other good books. As is my wont, I wandered off from the herd along lesser travelled rows, finding gemstones among the pebbles so many readers overlook or would never know existed, if I didn't review them. I began to garner a reputation among authors & publicists as a reviewer with an eclectic palate, unbiased as to an author's provenance, willing to give a good, if unheralded, read a chance.

For five years you all have also given these unknown voices a hearing, & as our Comments Pages attest, the authors greatly appreciate it. Just in this year we will have posted 360 +/- reviews & 15 interviews, so you can see what a tough choice I had. I went with my heart. Only four of the authors are published by mainstream imprints.

Winner of RebeccasReads Best Literature 2003 is:
Let Their Spirits Dance by Stella Pope Duarte
A well written, passionate, tragic, absorbing, ironic & redemptive saga of family, of war, of love, of racism & lifelong sorrow. I learnt of the Chicano vision of life; of the wounds a warrior's death deals to his family, & how doing something bigger than one's self cleanses the scars, allowing for spiritual healing.

Winner of RebeccasReads Best Children's Fiction 2003 is:
The Mistletoe Girl & Other Christmas Stories by Ethel Pochocki.
In her magical world, animals talk, & lessons are learnt about compassion & greed, wiliness & gratitude.

Closely followed by:
Sunshine on My Shoulders illustrated by Christopher Canyon
Bright xanthic images bring to life John Denver's beloved lyrics.
The Tree That Could Fly by Alma Halbert Bond
A thoughtful, charming old-fashioned story about a curious fairy & the old apple tree she befriends.

Winner of RebeccasReads Best International Fiction 2003 is:
The Bookseller of Kabul by Åsne Seierstad
Life in Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban, under the burka, when a Muslim family disintegrates, & sexist traditions cripple everyone's spirit.

Closely followed by:
Broken Gourds by Beresford McLean
In this debut novel, past & present clash in a sacred place in Jamaica, where passion & reverence are violated by bureaucracy & material gain.
Slim by Ruth Linnea Whitney
A radiantly written novel about the lives of those the AIDS plague strikes in a landlocked African country where American medical workers struggle to understand cultural differences & philosophies.

Winner of RebeccasReads Best Mystery 2003 is:
Skye Dancer by Lila L. Pinord
A raw debut hair-raising Pacific Northwest tale of tragedy & courage where a forest community is stalked by an invisible killer, & an Indian maiden must go where all others fear to tread.

Closely followed by:
Psychopath by Keith Russell Ablow
A scary, well written deadly dance between a charismatic child psychiatrist serial killer & a maverick forensic psychiatrist.

Winner of RebeccasReads Best Fantasy 2003 is:
His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
A riveting, fantastic & gladdening trilogy about a girl & a boy, from parallel worlds, who meet by accident in a time of peril. As ancient forces of good & evil fight for supremacy they race to save the universe, even as they must grow up.

Winner of RebeccasReads Best Women's Fiction 2003 is:
The Shade of My Own Tree by Sheila J. Williams
After 20 years in an abusive marriage Opal Sullivan finally saves her life by escaping to a place where her artistic soul can flourish, & where she can extend her hand to others in need.

Runners-Up in all fiction, in no particular order, published by small & large imprints, are:
Searching for the Evergreen Man by Dean Barton
- Richly textured tales from the timberlands of Oregon.
The Inheritance by Carolyn Stearns
- A fascinating dialogue between two women connected by sadness & memories.
The Last Book in the Universe by Rodman Philbrick
- Say it ain't so! What a horrible choice for a boy.
Dice Angel by Brian Rouff
- A rollicking Las Vegas mystery featuring a likable new hero & a New Age good luck charm.
Saviors of The Bugle by Barbara Elmore
- A lively girls' story about getting involved in a failing local newspaper.
Nothing to Declare by Josef Kraus
- An old-fashioned, elegant, European thriller about old scores to be settled, deception & smuggling.
Monterey Shorts by Byron Merritt, et al
- A memorable eclectic collection of short stories centered around the Californian coastland.
A.D. 62: Pompeii by Rebecca East
- A revealing historical romance set in motion by time travel.
Gods and Legions by Michael Curtis Ford
- A robust historical retelling of the great legendary warriors.
The Fisherman's Son by Marilyn Peake
- A fascinating boys' fable of loss, courage & adventure.

These are my tastes, so forgive me for those I haven't mentioned.

Rebecca