Fräulein M. by Caroline Woods

Woods transports the reader to Weimar Berlin's cabaret scene. Berni, Anita, and Grete are characters that are hard to forget.

285 pages.

Someone a novel by Alice McDermott

A lovely story by an accomplished author, weaving together an ordinary/extraordinary life from vignettes that influence  the character and choices of a very average girl growing up in 1930's Brooklyn. The portrayal of Marie Commeford's family is intimate and richly detailed, as is that of her friends and neighbors on the street.  The chapters jump around in time, from Marie's as an awkward and stubborn child, through her first heartbreak, her marriage and establishment of her family, and eventual old age.  McDermott is a master at crafting the evocative dialogue of the street, the internal musings of Marie at different ages, and the rich variety of the Brooklyn neighborhood.  A very absorbing read.  232 pages