Last Light over Carolina [Hardcover]

Mary Alice Monroe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 14, 2009

Last Light Over Carolina

Every woman in the sultry South Carolina low country knows the unspoken fear that clutches the heart every time her man sets out to sea. Now, that fear has become a terrible reality for Carolina Morrison. Her husband, shrimp boat captain Bud Morrison, is lost and alone somewhere in the vast Atlantic fishing grounds, with a storm gathering and last light falling. Over the course of one terrifying, illuminating day, Carolina looks back across thirty years of love and loss, joy and sorrow: How she rejected a well-to-do upbringing to marry Bud and embrace his extraordinary lifestyle by the sea . . . how hard times and loneliness have driven them apart . . . and how, with one mistake, she may have shattered their once-unbreakable bond forever. While their the close-knit community rallies together to search for one of its own, Carolina knows their love must somehow call him home, across miles of rough water and unspeakable memories.

New York Times bestselling author Mary Alice Monroe explores a vanishing feature of the southern coastline, the mysterious yet time-honored shrimping culture, in a compelling tale of a strong woman struggling to prove that love is a light that never dies.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

From the bestselling author of Time Is a River and Swimming Lessons comes a serviceable novel set in present-day coastal South Carolina. The tale follows shrimp boat captain Bud Morrison, and his wife, Carolina, through one eventful day. Despite their ardent love for one another, and how wildly passionate their love affair began, after 33 years of marriage, imprudence, distrust, financial strain and poor communication have clouded their relationship. When Bud's deckhand is a no-show for work, Bud decides to take his boat out alone, despite a fast approaching storm. After he's injured in a boating accident, he begins to reflect on his life and love. Meanwhile, Carolina has had a premonition and spends her day reminiscing about her marriage and analyzing the missteps. Although the story is a frank and easy to relate to look at a long-term marriage, some maudlin passages and uninspired thematic work can make it feel borrowed from a Lifetime movie. (July)
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About the Author

Mary Alice Monroe is the New York Times bestselling author of thirteen novels, including The Butterfly’s Daughter, The Beach House, Time is a River, and Last Light over Carolina.  

She found her true calling in environmental fiction when she moved to coastal South Carolina.  Already a successful author, she was captivated by the beauty and fragility of her new home. Her experiences living in the midst of a habitat that was quickly changing gave her a strong and important focus for her books.  Her latest novel, The Butterfly’s Daughter (May 2011), is set against the phenomenal migration of the endangered monarch butterfly.  She has also explored the problems of endangered sea turtles (The Beach House, Swimming Lessons, and her first children’s book, Turtle Summer), raptors (Skyward), the indigenous grass and endangered coastal ecosystem of South Carolina (Sweetgrass), the rivers and mountains of North Carolina (Time is a River), and the disappearing world of the coastal shrimping industry (Last Light over Carolina).  

Mary Alice is an active conservationist who is a board member of the South Carolina Aquarium and is a member of the Isle of Palms/Sullivan’s Island Turtle Team.  For more information, visit her website www.maryalicemonroe.com.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Gallery Books; First Edition edition (July 14, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416549706
• ISBN-13: 978-1416549703
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #369,810 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mary Alice Monroe is known for her intimate portrayals of women's lives and for drawing parallels with nature and human nature. An active environmentalist, she draws on her own experiences to bring to life the seductive southern coastline and her home--the sea, marshes, and maritime forests of the South Carolina low country.

Mary Alice wrote non-fiction and was teaching English when she was sent to bed for months during a pregnancy. Recognizing it was a gift of time, she wrote and wrote. "I gave birth to a baby and a book." She is currently writing her thirteenth novel.

Mary Alice has served on the faculty of numerous writer's conferences and retreats and is a frequent speaker. Her books have achieved several best seller lists, including SIBA, USA Today, and the NY Times. Her first children's book received several awards, including the ASPCA Henry Bergh award. In 2008 Monroe was awarded the SC Center for the Book Award for Fiction.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Carolina Shrimping, June 24, 2009

By 

Deirdra A. Vanduzer "Scarpettajunkie" (Horseheads, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Last Light over Carolina (Hardcover)

Last Light Over Carolina by Mary Alice Monroe is a salty sea tale of Bud Morrison, a longtime captain of a shrimp boat, and his wife of over 30 years, Carolina Brailsford on the day he suffers a debilitating injury at sea. Over the course of the day, memories of Bud and Carolina reveal the heady first years of their marriage interspersed with the prime of the shrimping industry. As the day unwinds, so does their marriage as the shrimping business takes a hit for the worse with the influx of foreign shrimp.

Carolina is portrayed as intelligent, hardworking, and committed to her marriage. Bud seems to be drawn ever farther away with the Miss Carolina just to make ends meet. Bud and Carolina seem to be a team that thinks it is working together only to be drifting ever farther apart. But through it all the beauty of the ocean and their love for each other will eventually lead them to safe shores.

By the time divorce is considered, I alternately wanted to cheer for Carolina and conk some sense into Bud. The ending is all encompassing and painted on the broad South Carolina shores. I had a big lump in my throat and tears in my eyes with the most satisfying conclusion. There had to be a majestic ending for a story that just gets bigger as it goes along.

Last Light Over Carolina can proudly sit on your shelf with Treasure Island, Kidnapped, Mutiny On The Bounty, and Moby Dick. The story is involving, gritty, dramatic and altogether well written. It is highly readable and memorable and gets my big thumbs up.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful homage to lowcountry shirmpers, September 6, 2009

By 

Candy Beauchamp "CandyTX" (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Last Light over Carolina (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

I first found out about this author when I ordered the wrong book. I meant to order The Beach House by James Patterson and instead ordered The Beach House by Mary Alice Monroe. She pulled me into that beautiful book and I've been a fan ever since.

I also grew up near Charleston, so I'm familiar with the area and the traditions. She never ceases to make me remember something. This book was no different. From the talk of Hurricane Hugo (I was 14, it's been nearly 20 years, but I remember almost every detail of those 2 weeks of insanity after it hit) to her uncanny ability to make a specific place a character, she always brings me back.

I now live in Austin and when I start to feel homesick, I know I can pick up her books and be there again. Her description of McClellanville, of the boats, of the smells, of the shrimp, of the people... they all draw you right back to the docks of the coast. The town and the boats - they all became vivid characters for me. I remember driving down to the docks and buying shrimp off the piers as a kid, I remember seeing the men unloading the haul. I remember seeing the boats trawling off of the coast while we were at the beach. My point? This woman has talent!

The book itself is amazing. I found myself laughing, crying, wishing, being angry and then crying all over again. The storyline is a beautiful homage to the lives of the family of shrimpers. It's not an easy life and many don't end well. Bud and Carolina, Josh and Lizzy are proof of that. They are characters, but I bet there are people just like them that could attest to how difficult of a life it can be.

The flashbacks were so well done, following Bud and Caroline's journey - it was the perfect way to do it. The ending left me scared until I realized there was another chapter (oh, thank goodness, there's that bow that I like my stories all tied up with!).

Thank you, Ms. Monroe... for bringing me back to the lowcountry. My momma always taught me to be polite, so really - a heartfelt thank you for your writing. It never ceases to make me feel at home again.

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another winner from Monroe, July 1, 2009

By 

LDG "Book Woman" (Sullivan's Island, SC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Last Light over Carolina (Hardcover)

I have followed Monroe's work for some years and have seen it deepen and mature from book to book. Her sense of place and relationships has always been sure and her depiction of the emotional states of her characters both sensitive and deft. With Last Light Over Carolina, Monroe once again draws attention to issues of vanishing resources and ways of life, describing the life of Shrimpers through both the female and male voice to great effect. She explores the differences between new love and a mature love with penetrating insight and brings each of her characters to a truer understanding of how they are complicit in their own downfall. There is greater suspense in this book about whether Bud and Carolina or Lizzy and Josh with their new-found understanding of themselves and their relationships will have an opportunity to change their lives. I think readers will find the conclusion to Last Light Over Carolina as emotionally satisfying and richly rewarding as the entire read. Pick it up, give it to a friend, tell others--you'll all be happy you did.