Audrey Niffennegger and Elizabeth Kostova

Two of my favorite authors will be in Portland within two days of each other! Very exciting. Powells Books is presenting Audrey Niffenegger on Monday, January 25th at their Cedar Hills Crossing location and Elizabeth Kostova on Wednesday, January 27th at their downtown location. They both released books this fall, but they are in my favor for their books The Time Traveler's Wife (Niffenegger) and The Historian (Kostova). If you are in the Portland area then I recommend you check out powells.com and click on the tab "Stores and Events" and then "Events Calendar".

Gentlemen of the Road

Excellent short novel by Michael Chabon. In his afterword he wrote that he wanted the title to be Jews With Swords-his own joke. You'll have to read it in his own words to understand. Gentlemen of the Road shares with the reader a relatively short adventure in the lives of two best friends, Amran, the large African, and Zelikman, the skinny northerner in the Caucasus Mountains in 950 a.d. There is a map at the beginning of the book, thank goodness, for non-historians like me who need to orient themselves. Amran and Zelikman meet a young man who claims to be a prince of the Khazar Empire. This foul-mouthed and moody prince leads the friends into an adventure that risks both of their lives. Chabon explores the personalities of both main characters while keeping the action flowing. There is mystery, politics, and a tiny bit of romance that make this book very enjoyable.