Summary:
Eternal on the Water is the love story of Mary Fury and Jonathon Cobb. Mary is a teacher at New Hampshire University and specializes in corvid or—crow—research. Jonathon is a teacher at an upscale private school.
Their paths cross while preparing to kayak down the Allagash river in Maine. Jonathon is on sabbatical doing Thoreau research, and Mary is there to teach at the Chungamunga girls camping school. The two meet and instantly like each other, and they fall in love as they float down the river. Eventually, the two marry, and when Mary gets sick, they go back to the place where it all started.
This is a story about love, life, and living life to its fullest while we still can, but it is also about loving enough to let go.
My Review:
As Mary and Jonathon kayak down the river, their love story slowly unfolds like another mountain scene that appears around the bend. I adored Mary’s independent character and her favorite Mad Bomber hat.
Overall, I LOVED this story, but not immediately. At times, I caught myself wondering why Monninger spent so much time on certain scenes that didn’t seem to have a ton of relevance. I’m particularly thinking of when Mary and Jonathon go to visit Mary’s brother Freddie. I kept wondering, Where is this going? But eventually, all of the pieces slid into place—and in a most wonderful way. I cannot imagine leaving anything out.
This is a well-crafted book with a heart-wrenching, but unforgettable ending. I can easily see this being one of my top favorite books of 2010.
I recommend this book to everyone, but particularly to anyone who loves the outdoors, has an interest in rafting, camping, antiquing, or just enjoys a good love story.
Have you read this book? I’d love to hear what you think. What is your favorite love story?
I decided to read The Middle Place after reading another review I came across on the Internet. It sparked my interest because it is about a woman a few years older than me who found out she had breast cancer.
While I don’t have any close relatives that I know of with breast cancer, I do have a few friends who have had cancer, and some who are still dealing with it; however, I also relate to this book on another level. That level of having your world turned topsy-turvy by events that you cannot control.
For me, it was watching helplessly as my mother got sick as her liver failed and stopped filtering her blood. This meant that many days she stopped acting like herself. As the toxins affected her brain, she also failed to remember things old and new, and at times it felt as though someone had stolen my mother and left a shell of a person that tried to remember and tried to function, but often times, could not. I quickly found myself in a six-month nightmare of doctor’s visits, tests, and scans, while also trying to balance school and work.
Kelly Corrigan’s book The Middle Place explores this odd time in life when you are no longer just the child, but you are also the parent, either to your own children—or like me—to one of your parents. It is the time just before you grow up. And usually, this growing up is prompted by an event that changes everything, something that forces your hand, that makes it impossible to ever be the same again. For Kelly, this all came about when she found out she had breast cancer. And not long after her diagnosis, she finds out that her beloved father has cancer as well.
I loved how this book explored the relationship Kelly has with her family, how she relies on her father for emotional support, and how her mother was such a stabilizing force. I loved reading about how Kelly dealt with her father’s cancer and how she begins to realize there are some things you cannot control or manage no matter how hard you try. I loved reading her response to the friend who had no idea her hair was short because she had cancer. I loved reading about how she responded to her overly optimistic friends who knew she had cancer, but had no idea of how it had affected her.
This book is fresh, witty, and real. Read this book because it is a great story. Read this book because the writing is wonderful. But most importantly, read this book if you have ever found yourself in switched around roles, and you think you might know what it is like to be in the middle place. Trust me. You won’t regret it.
P.S. The audiobook is fantastic as well.
If you’ve had a chance to read this book, or if you have any thoughts about it or this subject, I’d love to read your comments.
Rating: As some of you know, I came down with a bad cold the day after Christmas. During that time, all I wanted was warm soup, cough drops, a box of really soft tissues, and a good book to read. I needed a light-hearted read to distract me from my misery and to keep me entertained. Truly Madly did just that.
After her father is caught having an affair, Lucy Valentine’s parents leave Lucy to run the family matchmaking business while they seclude themselves away from the media. But Lucy is nervous to run the business on her own because she does not have the same talent or gift that most of the other Valentines possess—the ability to see auras. It is because of this ability that the Valentines have been so successful matching couples with similar auras.
Lucy has a different ability. She can find items that people have lost just by touching their hand. When she tries to use her unique ability to match couples, it leads her through all sorts of scrapes and unintended consequences, including finding a match for herself.
Truly, Madly is full of likable characters, romance, and a touch of the supernatural. I highly recommend it to readers who like mysteries, romance, and to those who are looking for a light, fun read.
I can’t wait to read the next Lucy Valentine novel coming out in August 2010 titled Deeply, Desperately!
