LIFE LESSONS — A Review of “Once in a Lifetime”

Cathy Kelly has done it again! Her beautifully wrought Once In a Lifetime portrays a group of characters associated in some way with Kenny’s Department Store in Ireland.

At the center are David Kenny and his wife Ingrid Fitzgerald, a TV personality. Their children, their friends, and their past connections all make up the fabric of this lovely tale of interconnected lives.

In the beginning, we meet Star Bluestone, who loved David Kenny long ago, when he was a poet. But he chose a different path. However, throughout the years, Star’s connections with him have continued, without them ever meeting again, through others she knows and through her artistic tapestries that are showcased in the store. On the periphery of all their lives, Star is like a mystical presence that offers comfort and occasional advice.

Something unexpected and tragic threatens to tear at the fabric of all their lives, but how each of the characters deals with this tragedy reveals their strengths and the force of their passions.

What will each of these characters learn from these events, and how will they move on, learning the life lessons presented to them? Again, we see how Star’s presence provides a comforting backdrop to all their lives.

I totally luxuriated in this cozy, comforting read, and long after I turn the last page, I will think about these characters, which is why it definitely earned five stars.

DESTINY TAKES A U-TURN — A Review of “Big Stone Gap”

It’s the seventies in a sleepy hamlet in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. A thirty-five year old single woman has decided that she is the spinster of Big Stone Gap. She is completely independent; she is the local pharmacist, the co-captain of the Rescue Squad, and the director of the town’s long-running Outdoor Drama.

So secure is Ave Maria Mulligan in her position in life and in this community that she will go into a tailspin when things seem to change. These changes begin with a long-buried secret of her mother’s, unearthed by her lawyer.

What will Ave Maria do when her world seems to tilt and everything she thought was true suddenly isn’t?

This is a charming, quirky tale that brings the characters to life in such a homey, cozy way that the reader almost doesn’t realize it until, suddenly, the characters seem like old friends and neighbors.

We watch and cheer as Ave Maria suddenly realizes that maybe the life she had planned for herself is not her destiny after all.

My first plunge into this author’s works had me rooting for more. I will simply have to go out and buy or borrow another of her creations.

Big Stone Gap: A Novel (Ballantine Reader’s Circle) earns five stars from me!

PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN GLASS HOUSES — A Review of “Skylight Confessions”

The story begins with an introduction to the character Arlyn Singer, who at age seventeen has just lost her father. And as she stands on the porch after the funeral, gazing outward, she vows that the next person walking by will be “the one.”

Then a stranger stops by, asking for directions, and they are drawn together. Even when circumstances appear to step in and interrupt what has begun, Arlyn persists. She follows John Moody, the architecture student, to his university and waits. Then she goes to his family home, The Glass Slipper, meets his parents, and makes their destiny happen.

Years later, they are living in The Glass Slipper with their unusual son Sam. And they are miserable. But they persist (or at least Arlyn does) in the belief that they are living out their destiny.

Each individual’s destiny unfolds, including that of Sam, the brilliant explosive artist. Then comes little sister Blanca, the bookish “good” girl. Her destiny is to keep Sam out of trouble.

When a tragic twist of fate takes them all off the course they had envisioned for themselves, their lives seem to spin off, flying into some other self-destructive pathway.

Watching the devastation as it shimmers and spins, like a legacy of broken pieces or a mysterious puzzle—it is like watching some kind of train wreck.

Much later, we see evidence of ghostlike visitors who leave behind broken glass, soot, and feathers.

Hoffman weaves this family tale in and out through the generations, until finally we reach a kind of resolution.

I was completely swept away by the plight of the characters—almost obsessed. And through it all, the imagery (glass house, broken glass, birds flapping) formed a haunting backdrop for lives gone awry.

If I could, I would give Skylight Confessions a 6 or 7 star review.

A MAGICAL JOURNEY — A Review of “Whale Song”

From the talented author Cheryl Kaye Tardif we are given a poignant and haunting tale—a coming-of-age story of a young girl transplanted to an island culture that combined Native mysticism with the beautiful animal world of the whales.

When Sarah Richardson’s family moved from Wyoming to Vancouver Island, she was not happy. Leaving behind a life of familiarity and comfort, including her best friend, she could not imagine ever experiencing joy again. Her parents, however, immerse themselves into their new lives—her mother resumes her art and her father, his marine biology.

But soon enough, she finds herself seamlessly drawn to the island, the ocean, and eventually to a new best friend—Goldie Dixon—and a wise old woman called Nana, who instilled Native Nootka mysticism into her new identity.

Unfortunately, as she begins a new school year, she becomes the victim of racism meted out by another young girl and learns what it’s like to be bullied. In the process, however, she discovers the other girl’s secret abuse by her father, and during a school field trip, when she saves the other girl’s life, they become fast friends.

As life begins to settle into some kind of normalcy, Sarah is happy— she even has experienced her first crush on Adam, a young boy in her class.

But then life takes a tragic turn, as she learns of her mother’s terminal illness. Then in a horrible and devastating moment that dramatically alters all of their lives, something happens in that hospital room; something that Sarah cannot remember—hysterical amnesia, the doctors report. Because her father is the suspect, he is sent to prison for murder…for allegedly turning off his wife’s life support.

Through the horrible aftermath, Sarah clings to Nana’s words: “When wolf walks by her, she will remember.”

What finally emerges, years later, will set them all free.

A powerful tale of mystery, drama, coming-of-age, and Native mysticism, Whale Song: A Novel was like a magical journey…I couldn’t put it down!

A CAPTIVATING SAGA — POWERFUL BONDS

“Show us your true colors, who you used to be.”

This is the challenge posed to the patriarch of the Grey family, by the oldest daughter Winona—at a pivotal moment in their lives— and when he responded by slamming the door to his study, making himself an island, separate and alone, she knew. He had chosen not to care about the things that mattered to his daughters.

Thus comes the beginning of the end to this family saga. The three sisters, joined by family connections and the wish of their dying mother that they never forget that they are sisters…Connected by their heritage and their history, these three—Winona, the oldest, a well-known attorney, who is always seeking (and seldom receiving) her father’s approval; Aurora, the family peacemaker; and Vivi Ann, the undisputed star of the family, the one to whom everything seemingly comes easily—until that time when a stranger comes to town.

When Vivi Ann falls for the handsome, dangerous-appearing man who has become their ranch hand, she is already engaged to Luke— the love of Winona’s life—and settled into an acceptable plan for her own future. Marriage, children—all of the things she supposedly wants—but instead, she walks the dangerous path of defiance and runs off with her lover.

Dallas Raintree, half-Indian with a juvenile history of assaults and thefts, strikes a discordant note in all of their lives. For Winona, especially—since her unrequited love for Luke is now a possibility, if only Vivi Ann leaves him for another. But when Winona manipulates things so that Luke discovers the betrayal, she is totally unprepared for the consequences that will ripple through all of their lives for years to come.

For the joining of Dallas and Vivi Ann is not the end of anything. It is the beginning of a lifetime for Vivi Ann of being on the outside of the approval her father cares so much about.

And when something happens that wrests away the happiness the two lovers had sought—something outside the law—the pair spends many years apart, wronged by the judgment of a town and the small-minded law enforcement investigation that rushes to judgment.

Will Winona finally come through for her sister and the “wronged” lover? Can she find a resolution that will turn aside a conviction?

True Colors is a magnificent portrayal of family dynamics that shift and turn as destiny unfolds. A memorable and thought-provoking voyage to a satisfying conclusion.

HAVE I MADE TERRIBLE MISTAKES? — A Review of “American Wife”

American Wife,  a fascinating and provocative tale of an ordinary woman’s journey to the White House caught me in its grip from the first moment.

Written in the first-person voice of Alice Lindgren, ordinary child of Midwestern parents, we follow her childhood and adolescent experiences. Her father is a banker, her mother a housewife. Living in the home is her paternal grandmother, a woman who reads a lot and has opinions. Someone who has an enormous impact on the young girl. She is also someone who harbors a secret, one that can potentially devastate the lives of those around her.

And then, startlingly, on one ordinary night, something happens that seemingly steers Alice off-course. An accident that changes her and how she views the world.

From this defining moment forward, we see Alice’s life change direction. She becomes a quiet librarian, almost austere in her life choices. She could continue on this path indefinitely.

But then, another unexpected event alters the course of her life. She meets Charlie Blackwell, a rich young man, son of a former governor, whose world of privilege clashes with Alice’s humble beginnings. She is captivated by his charisma. They fall in love.

Their married life reveals much about each of them. Through familiarity, they become adept at understanding each other’s flaws and limitations. At one point, Alice considers leaving Charlie, whose fondness for drinking and carousing troubles her greatly. But then she realizes that in life and in marriage, compromises must be made…

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your views), this decision sets the tone for the rest of their lives together and ultimately their roles when Charlie becomes President. Her quietly divergent views are left unexpressed, at least publicly, and she becomes almost an automaton—waving at crowds, hosting galas, and focusing on noncontroversial issues until something happens that seemingly changes the course of their lives.

A secret from Alice’s past threatens to be revealed by someone she considered an ally—a friend, even. But then when she dodges that bullet, she takes an opportunity to quietly voice her own opinions to a war protestor who has taken up camp on the White House lawn, requesting an audience with the President. Her actions thrust her into the eye of a media storm, but then the spin doctors take over with their damage control. So it seems as if she has dodged another bullet. Or has she?

Will her life be irrevocably altered still again? What will happen to the carefully constructed world she and her husband have created? And what, indeed, will be the outcome for the country? “Have I made terrible mistakes?” This is a question Alice asks herself on that fateful evening when she finally, at long last, speaks in her own voice…

This thoughtful book in an ordinary woman’s voice posed many philosophical questions—about the inner life of a marriage, but more importantly, what most probably could be an insider’s tale of a powerful union.

A MAGICAL TAPESTRY OF LIVES UNDONE — A Review of “Sing Them Home”

In 1978, in the small town of Emlyn Springs, Nebraska, a tornado has ravaged the community, swirling through its ranks and taking the wife of the small-town physician, Llewellyn Jones.

Before her final “ascent,”  Hope Jones had already begun to descend into physical deterioration through Multiple Sclerosis; being whisked away by a tornado might be seen as a kinder, gentler journey.

But the aftermath of the tornado leaves much more than the usual detritus. In the wake of its devastation, the three children of Dr. and Mrs. Jones each carry the emotional waste with them into adulthood. Larken, an art professor, comforts herself with food and protects herself from relationships with an extra layer of flesh; Gaelen, the esteemed TV weatherman in Lincoln, Nebraska, keeps himself physically fit through bodybuilding and protects himself from long term relationships by his womanizing behavior. And the youngest, Bonnie—described as Flying Girl by Emlyn Springs residents because she was found, with her bicycle, in a tree after the tornado—collects bits and pieces of people’s lives, like artifacts, hoping to make sense of it all and find meaningful connections between these treasures and the lives of those who have gone on before her.

Alvina Closs, who was Dr. Jones’s nurse and his mistress for many years, carries the pain of how her relationship with the doctor – even while his wife, her friend, was alive—might have damaged Hope in some way. She seeks meaning in her life that suddenly veers off track when Dr. Jones, now the mayor of Emlyn Springs, is struck by lightning and killed one day while playing golf. She attempts to pick up the pieces of a solitary life and makes Dr. Jones’s vision, the one that included joining forces with a “sister city” in Wales, her own.

The community—one that mirrors the Welsh one in many ways, in its traditions and heritage—bands together to enjoy a special event called Fancy Egg Days, which features a performance by several students and the crowning of Little Miss Emlyn Springs.

Throughout the book, we follow the lives and loves of the three adult children—interspersed with passages of Hope Jones’s diary from the 60s and 70s—and come to admire and cheer them on as they struggle with the foibles they have inherited (in part due to the devastation wrought by their mother’s passing), and also the unique heritage of their small community.

And then, as the drama of Fancy Egg Days draws to a close, another devastation is visited upon the town residents. Will they pick up the pieces of their lives again? Will they somehow turn devastation into triumph?

A compelling read, Sing Them Home: A Novel, introduces the reader to a treat—an exploration—into the lives of characters that become so real that they feel like our own neighbors in some small town community we know. In the end, we long for the story to continue.

WHO AM I WITHOUT YOU? — A Review of “I See You Everywhere”

In the novel I See You Everywhere , the two sisters, Louisa and Clem, speak to us in their alternate voices, to reveal their distinctive qualities; as unique as each one is, the bond they share is heightened by their distinct individuality.

Louisa is the oldest—the conscientious student and the one who longs for marriage, children and an art career— while Clement (Clem) is the daring one— the rebel, uncontainable, and irresistible to men.

Their story begins in the eighties and continues for more than a decade—and then veers off in a new direction when their bond is tragically severed.

In Clement’s voice, we learn how she feels about her life, her choices: “Sometimes I feel uncommitted to life, or to mine. I feel as if what I thought was going to be My Life (the Siamese twin) quietly snuck off on her own when I wasn’t looking, chose a different fork in the trail a ways back, and sometimes our two paths cross, so I bump into My Life by accident, and I say, `Here you are! Where have you been?’ “

An excerpt from Louisa’s story reveals and sums up how different she feels from Clem—how different she is… “About the only thing we had in common that summer was solitude. Or so I was led to believe. Mine was a solitude of retreat and longing, fraught with wishes and sighs—but Clem’s I imagined as sure and intrepid, a flight from everything soft about civilization. I was copy-editing ruminations on art. Clem was counting seals…We communicate best by mail. On the phone, we argue. In person, we tend to become sarcastic. Our letters, though, have a touch of romantic collusion.”

From an early age, the girls are rivals, even as they cling to each other to define them as individuals and as part of a unit known as sisters. They validate each others’ feelings, even though they disagree about so much. Through the years, the strength of the bond increases…They face difficulties and support each other despite the rivalries and differences between them. Their lives change in dramatic directions. The author beautifully chronicles the growth of the women and their relationship, even as she teases us by leaving clues that, at some point, everything will change dramatically and unexpectedly.

This story, beautifully wrought with great descriptions that bring the reader right into each moment, spotlights clearly the emotional life of each woman through the alternate use of the first person narrative. It is almost as if we can see inside each woman’s soul.

I enjoyed Julia Glass’s novels Three Junes and The Whole World Over, but this story topped them both, in my opinion.

HURRICANES, CUBAN SORCERY, AND SINISTER TYRANNY — A Review of “Bloodprint”

From Cuban Santeria rituals to Key West Florida, and then to the ancient city of Bath, the story sweeps across history and cultures to tell the tale of a family, its secrets, and the mysteries that lurk behind certain events.

Hurricane Angelina ravages an island – Key West – and destroys homes, lives, and rips apart one woman’s future. After losing her husband Forrest in the hurricane, Madeleine Frank returns to Bath, where she grew up and where her mother resides in an expensive nursing home. The old woman has always been a little “mad,” but when she began sacrificing animals and burning ritualistic shrines, her ex-husband, Neville Frank, a famous and wealthy artist, arranges for her commitment.

Meanwhile, Madeleine has turned from a life of art – painting and studying ant colonies – and taken up psychotherapy. One day, she meets a strange and compelling patient – one to whom she feels connected from the very beginning. Rachel Locklear has been attempting to break free of Anton, her dangerous lover and the father of her son Sasha, for many years. She has fled from their life together more than once, only to have him reappear and force her back into his web.

When Madeleine begins to suspect that the connection between her and Rachel is more than a “psychological” one, she starts retracing the paths her own life has taken and strives to unearth the many betrayals of her past.

As the reader pursues these paths with Madeleine, the quest will be to uncover the true connections between the women and to finally break the chains that have irrevocably bound Rachel to Anton and his sinister world.

Suspenseful, mysterious and compelling, Bloodprint: A Novel of Psychological Suspense kept me reading into the wee hours of the morning.

THE UNEXPECTED AFTERMATH OF GRIEF — A Review of “Come Sunday”

Still adjusting to life in Hawaii, after years living—and growing up—in South Africa, Abbe Deighton greets each day as if treading water. Her job on a magazine, her mothering tasks, and the biggest of all—wife to the local minister—challenge her and sometimes lead her down the path of “what-if?” Greg Deighton is a kind man, and she partially chose him because he is calm and a direct opposite of her father—an abusive tyrant. But sometimes his calm rational approach evokes a rebellious streak in her.

Then, on a Good Friday, with Easter—a big event for the church—just around the corner, Abbe and Greg decide to go out on the town. And they leave Cleo, their three-year-old daughter, with friends.

But with a wrong turn and the skidding of tires, Cleo is killed—triggering in Abbe a “seismic grief that will cut a swath through the landscape of her life and her identity.”

Recovery from such a tragedy affects each individual differently, and while Greg turns to his church, Abbe strikes out—once months have passed and she is able to get out of bed—and a search begins. Internal probing that leads inward and backward in time, sorting through the mysteries, secrets and puzzles of her childhood in South Africa and events between her parents that she never understood.

Will Abbe find her answers? When she goes back to South Africa, will she finally come face to face with the untold truths that have plagued her for many years?

A compelling saga, Come Sunday: A Novel forces the reader to sort through his or her own history and identity to own the past in order to move on in the present.

Five stars.