A light, vibrant, feel-good tale that should interest anyone with a sense of adventure and curiosity about the wider world.
This sequel continues the story of a guitarist walking the pilgrim path across Spain.
Diego’s wandering spirit had been awakened in Marriott’s (Candyfloss Guitar, 2015) debut novel, in which the protagonist left his village and began to follow his dream of becoming a flamenco guitarist. Having completed his trek to Santiago, Diego decides to travel to Madrid, where he might make a living as a musician. Along the way, he meets characters from different backgrounds with their own dreams. There’s Mamadou, who left Senegal to start a drumming school; Mari, a flamenco dancer trying to move on from a terrible past relationship; and Daniel, a former aspiring guitarist who learned that he was better suited to the life of a carpenter. When Diego fails an audition for a local production in Madrid, he leaves the city and finds himself still on his pilgrimage, this time seeking the home of legendary flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucía. Diego always feels himself drifting away from the course he has set for himself, but closer to the spiritual path he is seeking, which is defined early in the book as “inori,” a faith in oneself. Each person he meets either helps keep him on this road or Diego assists that individual to get unstuck and start a pilgrimage. There aren’t a lot of definite conclusions in the tale, and Diego’s epiphanies often seem random. At one point, Diego is surprised to see a photograph of his father in a local tavern, and muses, “I should have known, Papá had always loved children,” a thought that doesn’t have much to do with the larger narrative. At times, the dialogue feels forced, as when Mamadou tells Diego a large chunk of his life story moments after they meet. But Marriott’s strengths make this an enjoyable journey. The places Diego visits are rendered vividly in the author’s prose, and the moving scenery and revolving cast of supporting characters keep the novel from getting stale.
A light, vibrant, feel-good tale that should interest anyone with a sense of adventure and curiosity about the wider world.Pub Date: Dec. 30, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-912615-92-6
Page Count: 260
Publisher: The Marsh Books
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Heartfelt, yes, but pretty routine.
Life lessons.
Angie Malone, the youngest of a big, warm Italian-American family, returns to her Pacific Northwest hometown to wrestle with various midlife disappointments: her divorce, Papa’s death, a downturn in business at the family restaurant, and, above all, her childlessness. After several miscarriages, she, a successful ad exec, and husband Conlan, a reporter, befriended a pregnant young girl and planned to adopt her baby—and then the birth mother changed her mind. Angie and Conlan drifted apart and soon found they just didn’t love each other anymore. Metaphorically speaking, “her need for a child had been a high tide, an overwhelming force that drowned them. A year ago, she could have kicked to the surface but not now.” Sadder but wiser, Angie goes to work in the struggling family restaurant, bickering with Mama over updating the menu and replacing the ancient waitress. Soon, Angie befriends another young girl, Lauren Ribido, who’s eager to learn and desperately needs a job. Lauren’s family lives on the wrong side of the tracks, and her mother is a promiscuous alcoholic, but Angie knows nothing of this sad story and welcomes Lauren into the DeSaria family circle. The girl listens in, wide-eyed, as the sisters argue and make wisecracks and—gee-whiz—are actually nice to each other. Nothing at all like her relationship with her sluttish mother, who throws Lauren out when boyfriend David, en route to Stanford, gets her pregnant. Will Lauren, who’s just been accepted to USC, let Angie adopt her baby? Well, a bit of a twist at the end keeps things from becoming too predictable.
Heartfelt, yes, but pretty routine.Pub Date: July 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-345-46750-7
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2004
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with...
Talk-show queen takes tumble as millions jeer.
Nora Bridges is a wildly popular radio spokesperson for family-first virtues, but her loyal listeners don't know that she walked out on her husband and teenaged daughters years ago and didn't look back. Now that a former lover has sold racy pix of naked Nora and horny himself to a national tabloid, her estranged daughter Ruby, an unsuccessful stand-up comic in Los Angeles, has been approached to pen a tell-all. Greedy for the fat fee she's been promised, Ruby agrees and heads for the San Juan Islands, eager to get reacquainted with the mom she plans to betray. Once in the family homestead, nasty Ruby alternately sulks and glares at her mother, who is temporarily wheelchair-bound as a result of a post-scandal car crash. Uncaring, Ruby begins writing her side of the story when she's not strolling on the beach with former sweetheart Dean Sloan, the son of wealthy socialites who basically ignored him and his gay brother Eric. Eric, now dying of cancer and also in a wheelchair, has returned to the island. This dismal threesome catch up on old times, recalling their childhood idylls on the island. After Ruby's perfect big sister Caroline shows up, there's another round of heartfelt talk. Nora gradually reveals the truth about her unloving husband and her late father's alcoholism, which led her to seek the approval of others at the cost of her own peace of mind. And so on. Ruby is aghast to discover that she doesn't know everything after all, but Dean offers her subdued comfort. Happy endings await almost everyone—except for readers of this nobly preachy snifflefest.
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with syrupy platitudes about life and love.Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-609-60737-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
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