Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Wildfire by Carrie Mac


Wildfire. Carrie Mac. Random House. January 2020. pb, 272 pp.; ISBN: 9780399556296.

Pete and Annie have been best friends for years.  In that time their mothers have died and Annie’s beloved grandmother, Gigi, died of cancer.  While Gigi was dying, choosing to starve herself to death rather than be put in a hospice or nursing home, Annie stopped going to school and is determined not to return.  Pete wants her to go back as does her father but finally they accept Annie’s decision.  Instead Pete and Annie set off on a ten-day backpack hiking trip through the Washington mountains, their goal a Fire Camp.  The latter is very real as there are multiple wildfires spreading throughout Washington, some close enough to cast fear through these teens’ most optimistic plans.

During this trip, they both speak of past important events including the coming and going of Annie’s Mom as well as her mother’s death which might have been an accident.  Now on this trip Pete has an accident in which his leg is severely gashed.  They do the best they can to clean it and bind it up in a bandage but the outcome very quickly turns deadly as septicemia spreads beyond their ability to cope.  Annie begins to realize she has more than just friendly feelings toward Pete but she never gets to act on that attraction.

There’s not much depth of characterization in this story but the adventurous nature of Peter and Annie’s hiking, camping and discussions makes up for it.  They both begin to realize that dreams and plans are made not only to think and plan about but to actually act on.  Although the end of the story is tearfully poignant, Annie realizes she is responsible to carry out her dream based on her love of mountain climbing and nature.  Preet, who was really Pete’s girlfriend, is sort of a third wheel apparition who enters at the right moments to help Annie make sense out of the chaotic journey and help Annie cope with a funereal ceremony to honor Pete’s life.  Only then doe Annie realize she could love Preet. 

This story is timely given the dangerous wildfires raging in the Wester part of the United States.  Far beyond that obvious tragedy, however, lies the deeper theme of resilience, love and determination in the midst of and after loss.  Strength comes from deep within which is honored and celebrated in this coming of age story. 

Nicely crafted, Carrie Mac!

A Long Petal of the Sea: A Novel by Isabel Allende


A Long Petal of the Sea: A Novel by Isabel Allende. Random House Publishing Group. January 2020. pb, 336 pp.; ISBN #: 9781984820150.

Roser and Victor Dalmau agree to marry in Spain after General Franco wins control of the government over the Republicans in the late 1930’s.  Roser’s husband died during that conflict and his brother Victor, who learned to be a doctor during the Civil War, is determined to get them out of Spain as Franco’s government is tyrannical and devastating to millions.  This novel is their story.  What starts as a brother-sister relationship will develop into a phenomenal, glorious love.

Their journey will take them to France, Chile and Venezuela.  Governments in those countries were also in flux.  Before they get there, Victor has a brief fling with a spoiled, aristocratic Spanish woman.  She has a child who is given up for adoption, a fact Victor never learns until he is much older. Victor becomes a good friend of Pablo Neruda the poet, who writes a poem about Chile, written on the ship called “Winnipeg” that gives this novel its title.  Pablo is a Socialist and becomes persecuted and hunted because of his political beliefs; but it turns out he is mainly concerned with the love of people and freedom.  He is responsible for two thousand refuges being allowed to emigrate from Spain to Chile.  These refugees soon develop a fine reputation for being responsible families who improve conditions in Chile.

This is a family saga about those who face constant trials but do their best to work hard and avoid controversy.  Their debacle in each of these countries is heartbreaking.  Victor becomes a tough man as he experiences the horrors of war which he experienced as a medic and later as a doctor in Chile.  Allende’s earlier novels are more about the Pinochet government in Chile but here we also get a glimmer of the military horrors creating suffering and death for far too many. 

Victor earns a reputation as an intelligent, capable and kind cardiologist. Rosa is pragmatic, hard-working and loyally protective of Victor.  His vanity is shattered when his love Rosa becomes terminally ill.

What is unique about this family saga is how positive these characters are even in the face of the most daunting challenges.  It’s a beautiful tribute to the power of love and loyalty, faith and hope in mankind no matter what the prevailing political challenges and, like the title poem, a tribute to beautiful people and lands prevailing in victory even when caught in the prevailing tides and currents testing the mettle of those riding the formidable journey into a more hopeful existence.