”People who live beside moving water have been given the gift of living light, and even if they never come to recognize it as such, any other light, no matter how clear or billiant , is pale and static to them, leaving them with a sense of loss, of vulnerability, as if they have suddenly found themselves without clothes.”(page 83)

I’m greatly fond of Pat Conroy’s novels – his book ‘Beach Music’ is one of my all-time favourites. I’ve always been fascinated books about the lowcountry of South Carolina. When I noticed that this book took place outside of Charleston, I thought I might like it, even though I’d never heard of the author.

Now, I’m going to seek out some of her other books because I really enjoyed this one.

This isn’t great literature or anything, but it’s like a good gun-dog – it does the job it’s supposed to do with unfailing instinct and great

enthusiasm. The book tells the story of Emily Parmenter, the daughter of an plantation aristocrat mother and a father who is keen to improve his prospects and those of his children. He raises and trains Boykin Spaniels and Emily grows up with a love of the dogs and an extraordinary gift for communicating with them.

When a troubled Charleston debutante comes to spend the summer with her family, Emily’s father sees it as an opportunity to show his daughter another life. But the young woman is hiding a double life and Emily must come to terms with her past and her future.

I enjoyed the characters in this book and although the story was shaky in spots, the book was definitely a page turner. I was untroubled by the darker aspects of the story. Conroy uses similar plot devices in his stories. Her descriptions of the lowcountry were vibrant and engaging. For anyone who enjoys books abou the American South, this is a great read.

I really like Anne Rivers Siddons books. They aren’t the best literature out there, but they’ve always been enjoyable. Unfortunately this one takes a turn for the dark and bizarre near the end. Interestingly, so did her last book, Islands. Either she’s changing her tone to match what readers like these days or she’s got something dark on the brain. For her sake I hope it’s not the latter.

Anyway, the protagonist in this book is a twelve year old girl who lives with her family raising hunting dogs outside of Charleston, SC. The girl has experienced a lot of loss in her young life and is stuck with her emotionally withdrawn father and brothers. She’s a tomboy with a gift for training dogs. Part way into the book a Charleston debutante suffering from an unknown problem comes to stay with the family to rest and heal over the summer.

I think that the story of Emily, the main character, is a good one. The story of her debutant friend Lulu on the other hand is less convincing. Regardless, I think it was a good book. If Siddons had chosen a deeper and more convincing source for the debutante’s problems, the book could have been even better. I don’t want to spoil it, so I am being vague.