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CNN Sunday Morning
Hot Book Buys for the Summer
Aired June 10, 2001 - 09:47 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, it's summertime; for a lot of folks, that means getting a good book -- one of those page-turners, if you will. For some advice on what to buy, what not to buy, perhaps,. Let's turn now to James Marcus, who is the books homepage editor for Amazon.com. He's in the home base of Seattle very early this Sunday morning. We do appreciate his early wake up call.
Good to see you, James.
JAMES MARCUS, AMAZON.COM: Good to see you, Miles.
O'BRIEN: All right, let's get right to it. Anne Tyler is out with a book -- "Back When We Were Grownups" is the title. What's the plot?
MARCUS: This is Anne Tyler's 15th book. She started...
O'BRIEN: Whoa! Wow, 15 books? That's such an incredible accomplishment right there, isn't it?
MARCUS: You know, it's been a long and very productive career for her...
O'BRIEN: Yeah.
MARCUS: ... but she starts with some familiar ingredients, which is to say a run down Baltimore neighborhood, some very eccentric characters.
O'BRIEN: Been there, done that, haven't we?
MARCUS: No, she hasn't done that before but she comes up with her usual magic and comes up with an incredibly involving and deft and buoyant story. It's basically bout a mid-life crisis. Practically in the opening pages a woman is saying, "How did I end up with this life?" and the way that Tyler answers that is incredibly moving and keeps you reading until the very last page.
O'BRIEN: Is it plot driven or character driven or a little bit of both?
MARCUS: I'd say, given Tyler, it's more character driven but there is a plot albeit a fairly simple one.
O'BRIEN: She does create great characters, doesn't she?
MARCUS: And memorable ones as well.
O'BRIEN: All right, speaking of memorable novels -- John Irving. Anytime John Irving pens anything -- his laundry list is apt to be a best seller. And here his latest one is called "The Fourth Hand." It's an interesting premise which starts off in a rather odd way as well. Why don't you tell us about it?
MARCUS: Well, Miles, this may have particular meaning for you. The book is set in motion because a TV journalist has his hand eaten off a lion in the opening pages.
O'BRIEN: Wow.
MARCUS: That might be a little close to the bone for you. But that sets in motion far set goals -- sort of nearly chaotic plot involving a transplant surgeon and a donor for the hand that want visitation rights with the hand after it's been reattached elsewhere. Again, the book -- it doesn't come out until July 3, but it's already selling very well for us. And I think it's going to be on every beach blanket in America for the rest of the summer.
O'BRIEN: With a guy like John Irving it must be hard to fell like you're keeping pace with your own good work when you're talking about "Garp" and "Hotel New Hampshire" and "Cider House Rules." Is he as consistent, as good as ever?
MARCUS: I think so. The usual ingredients of the crazy plot and a lot of sexual shenanigans and a freaky accident are there and on the runway ready to go. So I think this will be a big success.
O'BRIEN: Stir it in a pot, mix it up and send it out to the best seller list.
MARCUS: Exactly.
O'BRIEN: All right, now, I'm a history guy. This one sounds interesting to me. It's a biography of John Adams by the man who took a look at Truman. And I imagine source material was a little harder to come by for Mr. McCullough on this one?
MARCUS: Well, I think that actually John Adams documented his life to quite a shocking extent. And the real question was whether the erasable fuss-budget of the revolution would make a great book but it turns out...
O'BRIEN: The erasable fussbudget -- that's a...
MARCUS: Yeah, he's really just known as an annoying little guy in a wig. But I think he turns out to have more colonial mojo than the rest of founding fathers put together.
O'BRIEN: Colonial mojo -- I might acknowledge them. That's good. MARCUS: He's got it, you know. And it's a great also double portrait of Adams and Abigail Adams, who was a founding mother. If anyone ever qualified for it, it was Abigail.
O'BRIEN: And I -- is he going to look at John Q. Adams ultimately? Have we asked the author and thus set the stage for, perhaps, biographies of the pair of Bushes?
MARCUS: I think only David McCullough knows for sure on that question but we'll have to wait and see.
O'BRIEN: Does it read well? Is it hard lifting history or is it a compelling narrative read?
MARCUS: No, it turns out to be extremely compelling and Adams, again, against many expectations turns out to be really the heroic, larger than life figure of the revolution so it's a very engrossing read and a great story.
O'BRIEN: So the kind of history book you might even take to the beach then, I guess?
MARCUS: You might even bring it to the beach along with a boom box and the number 18 so I think so.
O'BRIEN: With plenty of sun mojo. All right, and briefly, with little time left, we have "Ghost Soldiers" recommend and "Positively Fourth Street." Give us a thumbnail of both of those real quickly?
MARCUS: "Ghost Soldiers," again, it's riding on the crest of interest in World War II. It's an amazing rescue story that took place after the Baton Death March in the Philippines. And "Positively Fourth Street" by a sort of a great musical biographer is about the folk music explosion in Greenwich Village in the '60s. And great story and a very gossipy, interesting one as well.
O'BRIEN: All right, good mix of books, good food for thought -- a grist for the summer reading list. We appreciate your time, James Marcus...
MARCUS: My pleasure.
O'BRIEN: ... who is with Amazon.com out there in Seattle, Washington.
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