Lava: A Novel [Paperback]

Pamela Ball (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1998

Hailed as one of the most exciting novels of 1997 by Publishers Weekly, this is a haunting tale of obsessive love and how an otherwise strong, young woman disentangles herself from it. A tragic twist of fate brings Kinau's ex-husband, Ivan, back to Hilo, the Big Island of Hawaii. Although she has done everything in her power to quell her passion for Ivan, who has since remarried, Kinau finds herself under his spell again. Against a mesmerizing backdrop of Hawaiian mythology, history, and awe-inspiring storms of nature, Kinau realizes that she must give herself fully to the relationship once again if she ever hopes to walk away from it.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Five years ago, Kinau's husband, Ivan, left her and the big island of Hawaii for the mainland and another woman, and Kinau is still obsessed with his absence. When he returns after the gruesome death of his stepson, Kinau must confront not only the man Ivan has become but the memory of her mother?a woman who tore through husbands like a shark at feeding time?and the gods and ghosts that inhabit the island. Finally, Kinau is able to let go of the past. Ball's excellent first novel is a sad and mystical tale, recalling a world like Alice Hoffman's where humans and magic coexist. Her narrative flows as smoothly as the ocean currents and the sharks that inhabit her story. Highly recommended.
-?Ellen Flexman, Indianapolis-Marion Cty. Public Lib., Ind.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Kirkus Reviews

Passion, once cooled, undergoes irreversible changes--so runs the theme of Hawaii-born, Florida-based Ball's insightful if somewhat overextended debut. Kinau keeps busy in her greenhouses on the slopes above Hilo, still trying after five years to forget her husband Ivan, who ran off to the mainland with a rich woman he'd rescued from a broken hotel elevator. When the woman's son appears on Kinau's doorstep, however, the past comes rushing back, and when the teenager manages to get himself killed by a shark a day later, the tragedy insures that the past and present will collide. Ivan flies in after hearing the news, and Kinau takes him back, even though it's clear that he has greatly changed. This new Ivan puts a bounty on sharks, so that their bodies pile up in Hilo's streets as fishermen from all over the island go into a killing frenzy; this Ivan refuses to take care of the boy's cremation when his body is eventually recovered, leaving that task to Kinau; this Ivan goes guiltily back and forth between his women, the boy's mother having joined him after he proves reluctant to return to the mainland. Only when he does the unthinkable, bringing the wrath of a nearby volcano down on the islanders, does Kinau finally accept that Ivan is an angry, unstable, unreliable figure. And like her mother before her, who made sure that her men (Kinau's father included) hit the road when she was done with them, she sends Ivan a message in no uncertain terms. A probing tale of a woman scorned, Hawaiian-style, with a rich texturing of emotions, but also with historical (Captain Cook) and quasi-mythical (shark men) elements tacked on that are more affected than effective. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 191 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt & Co (P) (April 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805057765
• ISBN-13: 978-0805057768
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 4.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,468,344 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In the heat of September, my Book of the Year!, September 6, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lava: A Novel (Paperback)

I found this novel recommended by Terri Windling in this year's BEST OF HORROR AND FANTASY anthology (Number 11). I tend to like genre-benders, fiction that has an element of fantasy or unreality and Windling has proven to be a reliable source for many.

At less than 200 pages, this brilliant, stunningly written, often hallucenogenic novel by Ball, a teacher of writing at Florida State, is a compelling afternoon's read.

Sharks, tropical flowers, Tsunanis, mythology, and a theme of loss make for a potent, sensuous blend in a lush tropical Hawaiian atmosphere.

I fully intend to get all my great reading friends to read this one. A remarkable first novel.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, sad, lovely tale, February 9, 2007

By 

O. Brown "Ms. O. Khannah-Brown" (Twopeas, WA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Lava: A Novel (Paperback)

****
This novel is a story of obsessive love, full of sad, moving moments, and so well-written. It was enjoyable beginning to end. What I enjoyed most about it was the real main character of the story, though---Hilo, Hawaii. The sounds, scents, and beauty of Hawaii was poignantly described in a way that drew me in from the very first page and made me love Hilo. Although I'd visited Hilo, I didn't truly appreciate it until I read "Lava". If you love Hawaii and want to get to know it better, if you want to read a different type of romance, you'll really enjoy this novel.
****

5.0 out of 5 stars IMAGINATIVE, June 29, 2000

By 

S. Hillberg (Long Island, New York) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Lava: A Novel (Paperback)

I love this book! - and like the first reviewer I tend to give it as a gift to all my literary friends. The setting - Hawaii - is wonderful, the characters memorable and the rhythm of the dialogue is great. I would definitely buy another book by Pam Ball.