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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"I do not lay a false, lovely world down on your bed anymore.",
By Luan Gaines "luansos" (Dana Point, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE) (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Oystercatchers: A Novel (Hardcover)
The scent of the Atlantic permeates Fletcher's gorgeous prose, the poignant bedside confession of an elder sister to her comatose sibling, Amy, injured in a fall near their home on the Welsh coast. Moira, for years an only child, frolicked in the turbulent waves, challenging nature's majesty and enjoying the complete attention of her parents. At first befuddled in primary school, a pair of spectacles solves Moira's learning challenges, the world suddenly made clear, the veins on leaves, infinite particles of sand, the lacy fingers of sea splash. Developing an early interest in science, Moira is barely aware of George and Miriam's painful reality: Miriam is unable to successfully carry another pregnancy to term, the past littered with lost infants. In Moira's eleventh year, she is precipitously sent to boarding school far from her beloved shore, inadvertently learning of her mother's latest pregnancy.Thrust into the bustling world of boarding school, Locke Hall Resident School for Girls, the experience is a shock to the pensive Moira, surrounded by chattering females of every temperament, quickly becoming the source of ridicule with her gangly body, pale skin and red-framed glasses. The thoughtless cruelty of such schools is legendary; Miriam withdraws further into her shell, isolation a familiar companion. Amy's birth only exacerbates Moira's pain, the knowledge of this usurper in the center of her parents' attentions while she languishes far from home. Moira makes peace with this changed existence, wandering the empty halls of the school on vacation. Excelling in her studies, the years pass, graduation approaching. While her roommates sneak out to rendezvous with boys, Moira pretends sleep; later, by chance she meets Ray, a boy with white-blonde hair who leaves the country to travel the globe, sending missives to the young woman who has captured his imagination. This one extraordinary event catapults Moira into another dimension, where hope and even love is possible. Moira tells all these things to Amy, forming late a bond she cruelly withheld from the younger girl. To Amy Moira reveals the adolescent agony of Locke Hall; unexpected opportunity for love with Ray, an aspiring artist who becomes her forgiving husband; the letters to Aunt Til, her mother's twin, an actress who resides in London and suffers many failed romances; and the aching memories of Stackpole Quay, the wild coastline that matched her untamed heart. A confession, an apology, Moira pours out years of hoarded emotions, rage and disappointment in language so evocative that the call of gulls fills the air and loneliness is tangible. Moira has much to confess, her greatest flaw that she leaves no room for forgiveness or a younger sister, a pervasive self-doubt that causes her to ignore the easy love proffered, believing herself insufficient to receive it. Through this great tragedy, Moira finds Amy and rediscovers Ray, in turn coming home to herself. Painfully dissecting the damaged heart that has so crippled her, Moira's world is richer for the hard-won lessons, the silent Amy a vessel to purge Moira's pain. Luan Gaines/2007.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A brilliant emotionally disconnected girl who finally begins to understand love,
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This review is from: Oystercatchers: A Novel (Paperback)
This is the story of Moira, told at her comatose sister's bedside. Moira was an only child until the age of 11, and was by all accounts, an unusual child, likely borderline autistic spectrum disorder. She is brilliant, but has trouble with relationships and her world is devastated by the birth of her sister. When the opportunity comes to leave the local village school and go to boarding school, she goes as far away as possible, feeling betrayed by her parents and unable at all to relate to her sister. Moira adapts to the new school, but has few friends with the exception of the biology teacher, and her aunt, who seems to understand some of her uniqueness. She again has trouble relating to the girls her own age and on her visits home, fails to connect with her sister Amy. As she gets older, she meets a young man by following the other girls as they sneak out at night. He becomes fascinated with her and writes to her of his travels around the world. Moira falls for him and marries young, throwing away her university career to be with Ray. She again struggles with relationships which lead her to some devastating mistakes, which she deeply regrets. I know some people have had a difficult time with an "unlikeable" protagonist, but I found her to be just different, fragile and somewhat flawed. The only time I really did not understand her behavior is when she gave up the things she loved to get married, but her need to connect when she has never really been close to anyone makes sense and is a bit heartbreaking. I enjoyed this and hope others will see past the initial look at Moira to see the human being that lies beneath.
3.0 out of 5 stars
beautiful but sooooo sllooooow,
By Mara Zonderman (NY) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Oystercatchers: A Novel (Paperback)
This is a beautifully written, lyrical book. Unfortunately, the writing is also so slow and deliberate that I almost couldn't stand it. What little drama or action there was in the book was almost completely overwhelmed by the ponderous writing.
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