Kaaterskill Falls
Allegra Goodman
The sacred and the secular both intertwine and clash in Goodman's observant novel, a National Book Award finalist. The title refers to a small upstate New York town, which is the summer home for a congregation of strict Orthodox Jews, whose behavior often bemuses the year-round residents. Goodman chronicles two years in the mid-'70s, focusing on several families and their respective members as they try to reconcile their religious traditions with a desire for individual freedom.
The Rich Man's Table
Scott Spencer
Spencer crafts an intriguing story of a son in search of his father -- who just happens to be a gravel-voiced musical icon with more than a passing resemblance to Bob Dylan. Spencer calls him Luke Fairchild; his illegitimate offspring is Billy, whose mother is a former flower child. Although Spencer nicely evokes the '60s, his story of Billy and his famous father is overshadowed by the many parallels between the elder Fairchild and Dylan. Readers are left to wonder what's real, what isn't.
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