Review by alixcortez -- The Saltwater Ghost by Shiela Jane
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alixcortez
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- Latest Review: "The Saltwater Ghost" by Shiela Jane
Review by alixcortez -- The Saltwater Ghost by Shiela Jane
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Saltwater Ghost" by Shiela Jane.]
3 out of 4 stars
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The Saltwater Ghost by Shiela Jane is a novel about homecoming, the passing of time, and the healing of wounds.
The book opens as handsome, thoughtful, Professor Alden Jurrien receives an invitation to leave his teaching post in Mumbai, India and return to his home of Saltwater, Prince Edward Island to become an instructor at a university. Mumbai has been Alden’s haven for the past couple years, the place to which he ran when his marriage ended, his past haunted him, and he felt overwhelmed by a world of problems and injustices. Though time and space have provided him with perspective, he discovers that no place is without problems and the ones he is confronted with in India are just as important and potentially devastating as the ones he fled.
Armed with new resilience, but still nursing his bleeding heart, Alden returns home to confront his past. Luckily, he is intelligent, sensitive, and charismatic and easily makes new friends in the form of his charming, attractive student, Wynn Stowe, his precocious, young neighbor, Calen, and a determined, ninety-year-old woman named Louise. He slips back into life on the island as if he never left, picking up friendships with his high school friends right where they left off at the age of eighteen.
In spite of all that is stacked in his favor, however, his ex-wife is remarrying, he must repair relationships with his children whom he hasn’t seen or spoken with in two years, and he has a new career to navigate. But, most importantly, as Alden encounters old friends and his childhood home, he must also deal with wounds that resurface from years previously.
From the first chapters, the reader is launched into the heart of Alden’s story, which centers on the history of Saltwater and, more specifically, his history with Saltwater. Jane writes in a way that allows the reader to seamlessly travel across time and space, from Mumbai to Prince Edward Island and from 1900 to the present day. She takes the reader into whatever setting the characters are in and makes it come alive. Although she immediately introduces a plethora of characters and plot lines, spanning a century and the globe, she does so in a way that maintains clarity and interest, never leaving the reader feeling overwhelmed or confused.
In fact, time and it’s healing powers are a recurring theme and are represented even by the setting of the novel. References to the sea and erosion are frequent, indicating that, although the past influences the present, both Alden and his surroundings have drastically changed within his lifetime and across generations.
Ironically though, in the course of the novel, healing takes very little time. In a single conversation, Alden manages to mend bridges with his ex-wife, whom he left with the sole responsibility of raising their children. Upon his return to Canada, his son, Kevin, makes it clear that he wants nothing to do with Alden, but in the course of a few chapters, Alden manages to bond with Kevin and heal the relationship. After thirty years of built up guilt and anger, Alden and his high school friends forgive one another almost immediately when they reenter each other’s lives.
There are instances of effortless healing that take place in the lives of other characters as well. Wynn feels a twinge of internal conflict over whether to get back together with her ex-husband but, ultimately, the decision takes very little time. And, although Alden’s high school friend, Dana, confronts him about his decisions several times over the course of the book, it never seems to offend her that he ignores her advice or charms her into supporting him.
Perhaps the most important theme of the novel has to do with the supernatural. The ghost in the title refers both to a past being who may be attempting to contact Alden and to being haunted by guilt and regret. Though the haunting, particularly by his past, threatens to unhinge Alden, it is balanced by a persistent belief that miracles are common occurrences and that, at their core, all human beings are essentially good.
The book begins with a reference to the Hand of God and, throughout the story, Alden is rescued many times by a force that seems to be metaphysical. And everyone else is rescued by Alden. Jane uses the concept of deus ex machina as a plot device to wrap up lose ends over and over again.
The letter that puts the story in motion swoops in with perfect timing, allowing Alden to return to Canada and repair wounds with his family and save his son from a destructive relationship. He meets Wynn just in time to rescue her from a nightmare housing situation (and happens to have an extra apartment to offer) and to save her from the trauma and loneliness of a failed marriage. Later, he heroically saves her from sexual assault. He saves Louise from a violent protest crowd and is in the right place at the right time to help Wynn and Calen escape from certain death. And in an impossible situation, entrenched in cultural complications and the setbacks of poverty, Alden is the link that allows Kinton’s unrealistic dreams to flourish.
Miracles happen time and time again throughout the story, but are presented as circumstances that fall into place, rather than extraordinary events that transcend human abilities. While they always require that someone, usually Alden, is in the right place at the right time, miracles are the mechanism that Jane uses to weave together the past and the present. Events set in motion months or years or generations prior come to fruition at just the right moment to wrap up lose ends and allow for happy endings.
Though optimists may enjoy the light-hearted positivity of the story, anyone who has experienced true loss, especially in relationships, will feel the lack of emotional depth in Alden’s journey. In spite of the difficult circumstances with which they are faced (divorce and broken families, infidelity, death and loss, disappointment, etc.), every character in the book, but especially Alden, seems unfazed and unaffected at a deep psychological level. Though the circumstances are often complex, the characters are not.
Perhaps this is an intentional commentary about the resilience of humans when presented with difficult and sometimes devastating circumstances, but the novel is more enjoyable when taken at face value and read as an imaginative story about how goodness will always triumph and miracles are always around the corner.
When enjoyed for its good-natured simplicity and positivity, and The Saltwater Ghost deserves 3 out of 4 stars. It keeps the reader interested and is gratifying in its conclusion.
******
The Saltwater Ghost
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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3 out of 4 stars
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The Saltwater Ghost by Shiela Jane is a novel about homecoming, the passing of time, and the healing of wounds.
The book opens as handsome, thoughtful, Professor Alden Jurrien receives an invitation to leave his teaching post in Mumbai, India and return to his home of Saltwater, Prince Edward Island to become an instructor at a university. Mumbai has been Alden’s haven for the past couple years, the place to which he ran when his marriage ended, his past haunted him, and he felt overwhelmed by a world of problems and injustices. Though time and space have provided him with perspective, he discovers that no place is without problems and the ones he is confronted with in India are just as important and potentially devastating as the ones he fled.
Armed with new resilience, but still nursing his bleeding heart, Alden returns home to confront his past. Luckily, he is intelligent, sensitive, and charismatic and easily makes new friends in the form of his charming, attractive student, Wynn Stowe, his precocious, young neighbor, Calen, and a determined, ninety-year-old woman named Louise. He slips back into life on the island as if he never left, picking up friendships with his high school friends right where they left off at the age of eighteen.
In spite of all that is stacked in his favor, however, his ex-wife is remarrying, he must repair relationships with his children whom he hasn’t seen or spoken with in two years, and he has a new career to navigate. But, most importantly, as Alden encounters old friends and his childhood home, he must also deal with wounds that resurface from years previously.
From the first chapters, the reader is launched into the heart of Alden’s story, which centers on the history of Saltwater and, more specifically, his history with Saltwater. Jane writes in a way that allows the reader to seamlessly travel across time and space, from Mumbai to Prince Edward Island and from 1900 to the present day. She takes the reader into whatever setting the characters are in and makes it come alive. Although she immediately introduces a plethora of characters and plot lines, spanning a century and the globe, she does so in a way that maintains clarity and interest, never leaving the reader feeling overwhelmed or confused.
In fact, time and it’s healing powers are a recurring theme and are represented even by the setting of the novel. References to the sea and erosion are frequent, indicating that, although the past influences the present, both Alden and his surroundings have drastically changed within his lifetime and across generations.
Ironically though, in the course of the novel, healing takes very little time. In a single conversation, Alden manages to mend bridges with his ex-wife, whom he left with the sole responsibility of raising their children. Upon his return to Canada, his son, Kevin, makes it clear that he wants nothing to do with Alden, but in the course of a few chapters, Alden manages to bond with Kevin and heal the relationship. After thirty years of built up guilt and anger, Alden and his high school friends forgive one another almost immediately when they reenter each other’s lives.
There are instances of effortless healing that take place in the lives of other characters as well. Wynn feels a twinge of internal conflict over whether to get back together with her ex-husband but, ultimately, the decision takes very little time. And, although Alden’s high school friend, Dana, confronts him about his decisions several times over the course of the book, it never seems to offend her that he ignores her advice or charms her into supporting him.
Perhaps the most important theme of the novel has to do with the supernatural. The ghost in the title refers both to a past being who may be attempting to contact Alden and to being haunted by guilt and regret. Though the haunting, particularly by his past, threatens to unhinge Alden, it is balanced by a persistent belief that miracles are common occurrences and that, at their core, all human beings are essentially good.
The book begins with a reference to the Hand of God and, throughout the story, Alden is rescued many times by a force that seems to be metaphysical. And everyone else is rescued by Alden. Jane uses the concept of deus ex machina as a plot device to wrap up lose ends over and over again.
The letter that puts the story in motion swoops in with perfect timing, allowing Alden to return to Canada and repair wounds with his family and save his son from a destructive relationship. He meets Wynn just in time to rescue her from a nightmare housing situation (and happens to have an extra apartment to offer) and to save her from the trauma and loneliness of a failed marriage. Later, he heroically saves her from sexual assault. He saves Louise from a violent protest crowd and is in the right place at the right time to help Wynn and Calen escape from certain death. And in an impossible situation, entrenched in cultural complications and the setbacks of poverty, Alden is the link that allows Kinton’s unrealistic dreams to flourish.
Miracles happen time and time again throughout the story, but are presented as circumstances that fall into place, rather than extraordinary events that transcend human abilities. While they always require that someone, usually Alden, is in the right place at the right time, miracles are the mechanism that Jane uses to weave together the past and the present. Events set in motion months or years or generations prior come to fruition at just the right moment to wrap up lose ends and allow for happy endings.
Though optimists may enjoy the light-hearted positivity of the story, anyone who has experienced true loss, especially in relationships, will feel the lack of emotional depth in Alden’s journey. In spite of the difficult circumstances with which they are faced (divorce and broken families, infidelity, death and loss, disappointment, etc.), every character in the book, but especially Alden, seems unfazed and unaffected at a deep psychological level. Though the circumstances are often complex, the characters are not.
Perhaps this is an intentional commentary about the resilience of humans when presented with difficult and sometimes devastating circumstances, but the novel is more enjoyable when taken at face value and read as an imaginative story about how goodness will always triumph and miracles are always around the corner.
When enjoyed for its good-natured simplicity and positivity, and The Saltwater Ghost deserves 3 out of 4 stars. It keeps the reader interested and is gratifying in its conclusion.
******
The Saltwater Ghost
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like alixcortez's review? Post a comment saying so!
Latest Review: "The Saltwater Ghost" by Shiela Jane
