A pretty good time-slip novel. It was slow going at first, and I wasn't sure it was going to hold my interest the whole way through, but after 100 or so pages, it finally started to get good.
The current day story is of Corlis McCullough, a native Californian and television reporter living in New Orleans. There she meets up with King Duvallon, who was a classmate of hers at UCLA, and who she loathes more than life itself. But, of course, feelings change. The current day story was focused not only on the relationship of Corris and King, but on a race to preserve old 19th century buildings which are threatened to be turned into dust.
In the midst of all this, Corlis finds herself having 'visions', if you were, of New Orleans in the late 1830s, early 1840s. There she sees her ancestor and namesake, but also the ancestors of practically all the people she's come across in New Orleans. The way that Corlis sees these events happening in the 19th century was a bit more believable than The Cottage by the Sea. I won't give it away, but it's interesting.
The story of the past I found very heartbreaking. I know virtually nothing about the history of New Orleans – being a 'Yankee' and all – so it was nice to learn about a new place and time period, and I felt that Ware captured it very well.
One of the reasons why I was so engrossed with both the current day story and the story of the past was that the two were so connected. The trials and tribulations of the current folk were solved with a little help from their ancestors.
I look forward to reading the sequel A Light on the Veranda.
1 comments:
What a beautiful cover! I like the colors. I know little about New Orleans as well so this sounds interesting.
Post a Comment