Letters To A Rose [Paperback]

Kevin Cahill (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2001

The year is 1962. Children of the Greatest Generation precariously teeter on the edge of maturity in a world soon to go mad. Nuclear winter threatens from the shadows of a genocidal war in Southeast Asia as America courts disaster in the sticky jungles of Vietnam. In a year, gunfire will ring through a sunny plaza in Dallas, and innocence will die with the nation's young president. In the center of a trembling universe is a young boy - a single voice speaking for his emerging generation. He is sixteen years old, a wide-eyed aspiring writer and prodigy who, through daily entries in his journal, loyally chronicles his naive world of school proms and keg parties. In the bliss of innocent youth, he discovers a young girl, beautiful both in heart and soul, and destined to be his lifetime friend, mentor, and inspiration. "Rosie" is the true beginning of his life.

Letters to a Rose chronicles the lives of two children of the tumultuous sixties whose love and friendship survives an uncertain world seemingly bent upon self destruction. They journey together through the ravages of the Vietnam War and its tragic aftermath, and ultimately emerge from the darkness of drug abuse and self indulgence their devotion to each other unyielding. Although the harsh reality of human nature forces the star-crossed lovers to ultimately live their lives apart, their friendship and respect remains sturdily connected by letters they exchange.

We are voyeurs observing these two fragile hearts. They share an extraordinary friendship, bonded by a sad secret they must forever share. Through their heartfelt correspondences, they weather storms of pain and sorrow and ultimately the sunny days of joy and success.

And as their lives traverse from late autumn sunsets to the inexorable dawn of winter, one must ask if the ultimate sacrifices along the way were worthwhile.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...a unique time in American history ...of two human hearts ...in a dissonant generation that never quite found itself. -- Robert Henley, Los Angeles, September 21, 2002 --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Colorado native Kevin Cahill has written four novels. He received his Bachelor's Degree in Journalism and English from the University of Northern Colorado in 1977, and he continued graduate studies in English Literature at the University of Colorado. In addition to his four novels, Cahill has written scripts for a television project currently in development, and a major feature-film screenplay. His current projects are deeply rooted in Colorado; primarily, Cheyenne and Arapaho Indian history.

Cahill is a freelance writer and graphic artist in Denver. (He designed the covers for his ebooks offered here.)

"My interests can be described as eclectic, I guess," Cahill says of his books. "I love Hawthorne, Melville and Emily Dickinson. They lived for each word, and they didn't give a damn about pleasing anyone but their muse. Of the modern writers, there are many wonderful wordsmiths out there. If I had to name a favorite or two, I'd have to say James Dickey and, of course, Stephen King (who's responsible for more sleepless nights than I want to remember). But I grew up in the 60s - my all-time favorite is Kurt Vonnegut. I've never known any other writer who can paint images on a page with colors I've never seen before."

Product Details

• Paperback: 310 pages
• Publisher: New Age World Publishing (November 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1930916280
• ISBN-13: 978-1930916289
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,229,188 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A powerful read, September 21, 2002

By 

Robert Henley (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Letters To A Rose (Paperback)

From the author of THE LAST CAFÉ comes an unusual narrative that candidly reflects the turbulent, self-indulgent Sixties with biting style and brutal honesty.

Letters to a Rose is a contemporary narrative that offers a glimpse of the latter 20th Century through the eyes of a child of the Sixties. The story begins with a lighthearted, nostalgic trip to a young boy's childhood, but it quickly takes a sudden, dark turn to the tragic murder of John Kennedy, violent political unrest, and the jungles of Vietnam.

At the center of this teetering universe is the story's Everyman narrator, who paints vivid images of a troubled generation through entries into his personal journal and letters written to 'Rosie,' his childhood sweetheart and lifelong friend.

Cahill's unusual narrative style evokes the true horror of war, placing his readers in the saddle with the young helicopter door gunner as he struggles to survive over the Vietnam killing fields. We share his anguish of returning to an ungrateful nation that drives him to near self-destruction in a wake of alcohol and drug abuse; and we pull for him to shed his demons and emerge from the abyss to triumph over the inequities of an imperfect life.

In the center of this human trial is the unfaltering love between the Narrator and Rosie, who remains the only constant in his life. Together they journey through the ever changing decades, sometimes together but more often apart. Their love and respect forever give rise to hope for better times ahead.

Letters to a Rose is quickly paced, at one moment moving casually through serene waters of boyhood innocence, then shifting to sudden, head-swirling terror in the steamy jungles of Vietnam, and returning back to the dark, cynical age of self indulgence that ushered in the 21st Century. Deeply rooted throughout this glimpse of a unique time in American history is the fragile nature of two human hearts beating a perfect rhythm in a dissonant generation that never quite found itself.