By Barb Buxton
Port Moody Public Library
Similar to judging a book by its cover (which we all do even though we say we shouldn’t), I find my curiosity piqued when I see an unusual title. Often they are longer than expected, or use an incongruous combination of words. These strange titles frequently have led me to some of my most enjoyable reads.
BC author Gail Anderson-Dargatz has written a number of excellent novels, but my two favourite titles are The Cure for Death by Lightning and A Recipe for Bees. The former takes place in a small impoverished farming community during World War II, where 15 year old Beth Weeks comes of age under great obstacles, with a half mad father and a haunted mother who has a scrapbook of recipes both practical and bizarre. As Beth navigates a sometimes cruel life with joy and compassion we see a land full of beauty and mystery and native lore. The story is as unusual as its title and just as compelling. In A Recipe for Bees, Augusta reflects back on the 48 years of her marriage, its death and resurrection. This story, rich with wonderful imagery, bee lore, and domestic detail, is both humourous and insightful as it explores aging, family and friendship.
Another title that caught my eye was Five Quarters of the Orange, by Joanne Harris. Though also based around a scrapbook of recipes, this story is completely different. When Framboise Simon returns to the French village of her childhood, to open a créperie using her mother’s recipes, no one recognizes her as the daughter of the woman they still hold responsible for a terrible tragedy during the German occupation decades before. While trying to keep her identity secret and build a successful business, she finds more than recipes in her mother’s scrapbook.
As curious titles go, I think A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian, by Marina Lewycka, is one of the most unlikely. In fact the story has very little to do with tractors. When an elderly widowed gentleman announces that he is planning to marry a young woman who seems only to be after his money, his two daughters put aside a long standing feud to stop him. Oblivious to their concerns, their father’s only interest, other than the beautiful gold-digging Valentina, is to write a grand history of the tractor in Ukrainian. As intrigue grows and family secrets unravel, all members of the family need to take a new look at their relationships.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, by Mark Haddon, is a title that gives no hint of the story within. Fifteen year old Christopher, an autistic boy, finds his carefully constructed world falling apart when he discovers the neighbour’s dog impaled on a garden fork, and he is blamed for the killing. Christopher sets out to emulate Sherlock Holmes and find out the truth, but this leads to a crisis in his own family.
When I first saw the title, Latitudes of Melt, by Joan Clark, I had no idea what to expect. But it turned out to be a magical story of a baby found on an ice floe off the coast of Newfoundland in 1912. As she grows up in a small outport, the villagers try to solve the mystery of who she really is. Spanning decades and continents, and filled with shipwrecks, icebergs and fairies, this is an enchanting story of loss and love.
A recent bestseller with a great title and story to match is The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. The time is 1946 when Juliet, a writer in London looking for a story, receives a letter from a stranger, asking for her help finding a book. So begins a remarkable correspondence which tells of the German occupation of Guernsey Island and the wonderful characters of the society who resisted in any way they could.
So remember that an interesting title can be a good indication of a great story, and look for these books at your local library.
