Book Review: Lights on the Sea by Miquel Reina

Have you ever enjoyed a book enough to read it again? Although I don't often revisit a novel, after first reading Lights on the Sea, I knew this was a book I would read again. A recent second reading allowed me to more fully appreciate the struggles of both main characters as they slowly dealt with their tragic past.

Review of Lights on the Sea by Miquel Reina

The house of Mr. and Mrs. Grapes, which overlooks a vast ocean, lays precariously close to the edge of Death’s Cliff. Due to extensive erosion of the cliff’s porous volcanic rock, Harold and Mary Rose Grapes are being forced to move from the home where they continue to mourn the loss of their son thirty-five years ago. The night before the move, a fierce storm sends the house and its two sleeping occupants down the cliff and sailing off into the ocean. 

To even begin the healing process of thirty-five years of stagnation and regret requires a violent uprooting. As Harold and Mary Rose drift at the mercy of the ocean tides, the many death-threatening struggles they encounter slowly bring awareness to the futility of blame and lack of forgiveness. 

Some suspension of disbelief was required to immerse myself in their physical journey. Their emotional journey, however, was immediately all too real. Allegorical in nature, the author’s tale explores the consequences of placing blame and refusing to move forward after tragedy strikes. 

Lights on the Sea is a translation of Miquel Reina’s Spanish edition Lucus en el Mar.

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DOMESTIC DISPUTES and ABUSE: Novel Research

Domestic Abuse Affects Everyone

A scene within FOR EVERY ACTION, my Pepper Bibeau mystery novel, involves an arraignment for an assault case. The judge decides the case is a civil matter between the two parties and, at the request of the defendant's lawyer, he dismisses the case. The situation does not represent a domestic dispute, but the judge interprets it as such, just another complaint to be handled in civil court.

An arraignment, in the law of the United States,

is the bringing of a person who has been formally

accused of a crime before the court to answer

the accusations against the person.

After the accused is identified and the indictment

is read, the defendant is called upon to answer

the charge by pleading not guilty, guilty,

or nolo contendere (no contest).

Before pleading, the defendant may file a

formal document, known as a motion,

asking the court to dismiss the case.

A judge can dismiss the charges if, for example,

he or she determines that the conduct charged

does not constitute a crime.

In 1968, domestic disputes were considered a family matter.

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By the 1980's, such charges were taken more seriously.

For further information on domestic abuse:
http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Domestic+dispute

If you want to help someone who suffers from domestic abuse or violence, access this site: 
http://www.thehotline.org/

HONOLULU and HAWAII'S STORY Reviews #FridayReads

HONOLULU by Alan Brennert 

This second novel of Mr. Brennert’s Hawai‘i stories begins in Korea, where a young girl, the story’s protagonist, is raised. Her rural village is Pojogae. As girls are not so important, the names they are saddled with are often less than flattering. This girl is named “Regret” which tells its own story. 

A staple of the family diet, served at all meals, is kimchi. This is a spicy side dish made from fermented cabbage, garlic, and red peppers. New brides kowtow to every whim of their mother-in-law. A chogak po is a patchwork cloth (quilt), which I found to be a metaphor for life within the story. These are a few of the interesting facts about Korean history and tradition that I learned from reading HONOLULU. I also enjoyed learning how these traditions translated to life in Hawai‘i. 

When Regret’s father discovers she has learned to read, he becomes furious and spouts a Korean saying: “A woman without ability is virtuous!” (You know a woman who can reach, and is challenged by such a statement, will not go quietly into the night! In this case, she sails to Hawai‘i.) 

Within the novel, the author seamlessly weaves fact with fiction for an entertaining read. As with his novel, Moloka‘i, he maintains a high level of tension which held me captive throughout. 

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HAWAII'S STORY Story by Hawaii’s Queen

written by Queen Liliuokalani

 

This book was first published in 1898, written in the first person narrative of Queen Liliuokalani: “In my school days . . .” “I especially recall a trip . . .” “my brother,” (King David Kalakaua). She, as the last reigning queen of the Hawaiian Islands, was looking for justice after the overthrow of the Hawaiian Monarchy. During her school days, she already experienced the differences between Polynesian and Western values. After her marriage in Honolulu to a prominent Caucasian male, she (a descendant of royalty) suffered the hostility of her Caucasian mother-in-law’s disapproval of interracial marriage. 

Still, Liliuokalani did have many good times in her life, music being a top enjoyment for her. She played many musical instruments, including the organ, zither, and ukulele. She composed Hawai‘i’s national anthem and the noted love song, “Aloha ‘Oe.” 

Of especial interest to me are the several genealogical charts included at the back of the book that begin generations before the birth of King Kamehameha I. 

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Mr. Brennert’s novel covers the hardships and losses of a Korean woman raised in the foreign land of Honolulu, Hawai‘i. This true story of Liliuokalani tells of a woman raised in the land of her ancestors, who suffered the greatest of losses, the ultimate loss by herself and her people of their land; and the loss of her freedom. Hawaii’s Story is also the story of Hawaii’s Queen Liliuokalani.

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Author Arti Jain's "and all the SEASONS in between" - Book Review

Every so often a book comes along that leaves you with a smile and a feeling of peace. One such book for me is "and all the SEASONS in between" by Arti Jain. She has written a remarkable fairy-like tale woven through with delightful childhood memories.

A novel for all ages, toddlers to the ageless young-of-heart, this is an uplifting narrative of sunny days in India spent under the tutelage of loving grandparents and an uninhibited imagination. Every sentence and phrase is exceptionally well-written prose, which at times feels almost poetic in style.

Artemis, a young girl living in a valley surrounded by hills and Himalayan mountains, divides her days between a fairy world of imagination and real life with a loving family. In an early scene, she spends time with her grandfather, Papaji: "I planted myself on the cool soil next to him; my face turned up towards the lush vines watching the sun dabble with its leaves -- a dapple of bright here, a dash of dark there." Each setting is made vivid with unique descriptions, whether referring to dragonflies or radishes or yoghurt baths.

What has me most enamored of the book, along with the pleasing book cover and writing style, is Arti's reading of the final chapter, "He carried dirt under his fingernails".

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Visit Arti at her web site: My Ordinary Moments (artismoments.blogspot.com)

Check out her book at Amazon.com in ebook and paperback formats.

Listen to Arti's reading from the book: He Carried Dirt Under His Fingernails | Arti Jain | English Spoken Word - Bing video

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What's in an Irish Name: Novel Research

Interviews and blog posts for “Novel Research” are focused on

interesting topics that participants have researched before or while

composing a written work - whether fact, fiction, or family history.

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My ancestors from Tipperary, Ireland have the name McKeough. The family, including my gggrandmother Margaret, emigrated from Ireland to Canada and later settled in eastern Wisconsin. Generations later, I heard my relatives pronounce the name as "McKey". While delving into the Irish branch of my family tree, I researched the purpose of beginning a name with the prefix Mac, Mc, or O, I learned the following:

 

In ancient Ireland the population was much smaller than it is today and the mass movement of people was uncommon. Therefore, for a person to be known only by one name was usual. This single name system began to break down during the eleventh century as the population grew and there was a need for a further means of identification. The solution was to adopt a prefix such as Mac (Mc is an abbreviation) or Ó.

 

Mac means "son of" whilst Ó means "grandson of".

Idyllic Irish Farmland

 

In the years before my ancestors left Ireland, many rural families in Ireland lived in single-room cabins made of mud and without windows or chimneys. People often lived together in communal clusters called clachans (a small settlement or hamlet) spread out among the beautiful countryside. Up to a dozen persons might occupy a cabin, sleeping in straw on the bare ground, sharing space with the family's pig and chickens.

In the 1840s, my ancestors moved from Ireland to Lower Canada, later known as Quebec. No records of movement for free emigrants to Canada were required until 1865. (The USA required these records since 1773.)

 

Engaging in genealogical research and then writing a novel based on the information garnered from the research - SHARDS OF MEMORY Oral History in a Heartbeat - is my idea of an exciting pastime. It's not climbing Mount Everest, or kiteboarding on O'ahu (no, that's not me on the water!) but the "high" is still there.

Kiteboarding (or kitesurfing) with Mōkapu Peninsula in background

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What names of relatives or locations have you researched in your family tree?

SHARDS OF MEMORY

Oral History In A Heartbeat

is available at Amazon.com in print and ebook

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