'Tis the season for festive sweaters, twinkling lights, hot drinks and the inevitable and sometimes painful Christmas carols. It's the season for mistletoe and stocking stuffers, latkes and sleigh rides, and if you're on the brink of a secret Santa exchange or have time for shopping between finals and roasting chestnuts, here are a few holiday suggestions.
"Shantaram" by Gregory David Roberts is an ideal book for the adventurer and the traveler. Lin, a New Zealander imprisoned in Australia for armed robbery, escapes to Bombay and begins again. Lin is absorbed into the society of the slums, opening a free clinic and befriending the Indians who reside there. Soon he is invited into the underworld of the black market, making important friendships and repeatedly putting his life in jeopardy. Lin's love for the mysterious Karla drives a good portion of the narrative, but she feels like the least compelling part of the story. At times, I disagreed with Lin, but ultimately the book is a fast-paced tour of life in Mumbai. The colors of India and the struggles are arresting and intricately observed. "Shantaram" is based on the author's own experiences, a fact that compels the reader to fly through Lin's unlikely life story.
Another option for the free spirit is the work of Annie Proulx. Her short stories are usually startling. Something of a New Yorker darling, Proulx's pieces appear frequently in the magazine's fiction section. The few seen there this year prove to be the best of her most recently published work, "Fine Just the Way It Is," which features familiar characters from Proulx's two earlier Wyoming collections. Despite the rough edges on the cowboys Proulx describes, there is an underlying gentleness in many of the characters that speaks to the reader with some charm. Proulx's delivery is cut and dried. She lays the meat of the story on the table and the beauty that lies in her prose appears as it might in the bareness of the vast Wyoming terrain. Your heart will break for her characters and, like them, you will breathe in and ride on.
For the soon-to-be college graduate or the aspiring New Yorker, Min Jin Lee's "Free Food for Millionaires" is a treat. Casey, a recent graduate of Princeton, is kicked out of her parents' house by her traditional Korean father. Her intrusion upon her boyfriend's raunchy encounter with two coeds leaves her at loose ends. Casey attempts to find her way through the rat race of young professionals in New York City, but her career aspirations are often hampered by her love for fashion and her romantic catastrophes. Her picture-perfect friend Ella, who does all the correct things but does not wind up happily ever after, counters Casey's irresponsibility. Lee maneuvers the terrain of wealth, education, youth, tradition and foreignness with a fresh, keen eye. Her tale is not particularly unusual, but it is certainly not rudimentary.
Finally, "Llama, Llama Red Pajama," by Anna Dewdney, is a must-have, even for those who don't know anyone between the prescribed ages of four and eight. The book was a huge hit during the story hour I held in Philadelphia over the summer. Baby Llama waits in his bed for his Mama to perform the familiar bedtime ritual. As the length of her absence increases, Baby Llama goes through a wide range of emotions. These are endearing because they unfold in two dimensions across the colorful pages, and because it's a llama, not a screaming baby. I sent my one-and-a-half-year-old cousin Clyde the book earlier this year and his father assures me I am way ahead in the running for best cousin ever. Buy this treasure to win the same affection from a friend, or from a partner beneath the mistletoe.