A bold debut filled with unforgettable moments and characters.
In this lyrical debut novel, the lives of two U.S. Navy men take dramatic turns after they’re cut from a submarine mission during the Gulf War.
Former submariner Dan has just been honorably discharged from the Navy after damaging his back. His friend and fellow enlistee Nathan wants Dan to stay at his home while he’s in the Mediterranean Sea—during the Gulf War—for six months. Dan agrees because he has nowhere else to go, and he wants to help Nathan’s wife, Heather, with their infant son. Meanwhile, Dan’s former naval bunkmate, Trevor, has been cut from this same mission due to violent, erratic behavior. Attempting to find solace in their lives, Dan takes up photography; Trevor dates the beautiful Tara. Weeks pass, however, and both men have trouble adjusting. Heather, who resents Nathan for volunteering to leave so soon after returning from another mission, is drawn to Dan. Trevor, a brooding man obsessed with physical perfection, struggles with the intimacy that Tara craves. As Heather counts the days of Nathan’s absence on a chalkboard, Dan sets up a darkroom in the basement; he must also decide whether the stability he and Heather need is worth his friendship with Nathan. Debut author Durkota writes a remarkable narrative centered on the afflicted mindsets of his Navy men. With stark poignancy we learn that Trevor “wished he could be as confident around [Tara] as he was on the ship.” Elsewhere, Durkota’s bracing prose conveys Dan’s panic aboard the submarine: “All you can hear is your heart. Blood running scared through your arms and legs. Your mind a grenade.” Thankfully, there are moments of levity, usually involving a sexually overconfident character named Jags. Through Jags, the story also poses some meditative koanlike questions, including, “If you try to fail, and succeed, which have you done?” And while Durkota’s work often feels like a thriller, it’s more of a psychological study in which the characters, like flashes of lightning, are wonderfully alive for a very short time.
A bold debut filled with unforgettable moments and characters.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Rogue13 Publications
Review Posted Online: March 27, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Coelho's placebo has racked up impressive sales in Brazil and Europe. Americans should flock to it like gulls.
Coelho is a Brazilian writer with four books to his credit. Following Diary of a Magus (1992—not reviewed) came this book, published in Brazil in 1988: it's an interdenominational, transcendental, inspirational fable—in other words, a bag of wind.
The story is about a youth empowered to follow his dream. Santiago is an Andalusian shepherd boy who learns through a dream of a treasure in the Egyptian pyramids. An old man, the king of Salem, the first of various spiritual guides, tells the boy that he has discovered his destiny: "to realize one's destiny is a person's only real obligation." So Santiago sells his sheep, sails to Tangier, is tricked out of his money, regains it through hard work, crosses the desert with a caravan, stops at an oasis long enough to fall in love, escapes from warring tribesmen by performing a miracle, reaches the pyramids, and eventually gets both the gold and the girl. Along the way he meets an Englishman who describes the Soul of the World; the desert woman Fatima, who teaches him the Language of the World; and an alchemist who says, "Listen to your heart" A message clings like ivy to every encounter; everyone, but everyone, has to put in their two cents' worth, from the crystal merchant to the camel driver ("concentrate always on the present, you'll be a happy man"). The absence of characterization and overall blandness suggest authorship by a committee of self-improvement pundits—a far cry from Saint- Exupery's The Little Prince: that flagship of the genre was a genuine charmer because it clearly derived from a quirky, individual sensibility.
Coelho's placebo has racked up impressive sales in Brazil and Europe. Americans should flock to it like gulls.Pub Date: July 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-06-250217-4
Page Count: 192
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1993
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
The emotions run high, the conversations run deep, and the relationships ebb and flow with grace.
When tragedy strikes, a mother and daughter forge a new life.
Morgan felt obligated to marry her high school sweetheart, Chris, when she got pregnant with their daughter, Clara. But she secretly got along much better with Chris’ thoughtful best friend, Jonah, who was dating her sister, Jenny. Now her life as a stay-at-home parent has left her feeling empty but not ungrateful for what she has. Jonah and Jenny eventually broke up, but years later they had a one-night stand and Jenny got pregnant with their son, Elijah. Now Jonah is back in town, engaged to Jenny, and working at the local high school as Clara’s teacher. Clara dreams of being an actress and has a crush on Miller, who plans to go to film school, but her father doesn't approve. It doesn’t help that Miller already has a jealous girlfriend who stalks him via text from college. But Clara and Morgan’s home life changes radically when Chris and Jenny are killed in an accident, revealing long-buried secrets and forcing Morgan to reevaluate the life she chose when early motherhood forced her hand. Feeling betrayed by the adults in her life, Clara marches forward, acting both responsible and rebellious as she navigates her teenage years without her father and her aunt, while Jonah and Morgan's relationship evolves in the wake of the accident. Front-loaded with drama, the story leaves plenty of room for the mother and daughter to unpack their feelings and decide what’s next.
The emotions run high, the conversations run deep, and the relationships ebb and flow with grace.Pub Date: Dec. 10, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5420-1642-1
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Review Posted Online: Oct. 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2019
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
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