Book Recommendation: Paula Dowd

Paula Dowd, Program Director and Assistant Professor of Health Sciences, strongly--very strongly--recommends Garden of Last Days by Andre Dubus III. She says "it is the best book I have read in recent times. Difficult to put down. Impossible to forget."

In similar fashion to his previous bestseller,House of Sand and Fog, Dubus shows profound empathy as he gets inside the heads of a number of characters, with coincidence, chance and a clash of cultures building to a shattering climax. Through quick-cutting chapters (few longer than ten pages, many as short as one or two), he propels the action while providing the back stories that have brought these characters together for a night that will change their lives.

If Paula's recommendation is not enough, here's what Stephen King says about this book. "As soon as you close the book, you want to grab someone and tell them to read it — don't wait for the movie, read it now. Or you want to write about it, partly so people will know there's something really good in the pipeline, really alive, but also for a baser reason: You want to be able to say later on, ''I was there first. I knew.'' Paula was there first for us.

You, too, may tell us about a book or books that you are reading. Many readers of the blog are "book" people and love to hear about good reads.