Ellie Brinkley, a lonely writer, hooks up with Max Turkel, a less-than reliable chimney sweep, and the two lovers embark on a sailing adventure that is threatened by the emergence of Ellie's dark past, in a debut adult novel by an acclaimed children's author.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Sailing, grief and writer's block are among the weighty topics tackled by Conrad, author of the children's books Prairie Songs and Stonewords . Several years after her teenaged daughter's death, divorced writer Ellie Brinkley lives alone in her Long Island home, struggling to begin her second novel. Chimney sweep Max Turkel ("dressed in a black top hat and tails, and underneath, a Sting T-shirt") bursts in on Ellie's solitude, unblocks her chimney, takes her sailing in his boat (the Nemaste : "it's Sanskrit for 'the God within me beholds the God within you' ") and soon becomes her lover. Ellie's return to sailing and her steamy relationship with the tantalizing chimney sweep play equal parts in loosing a torrent of recollections about her father, her ex-husband and her daughter. Before Ellie can get on with her novel and her life, she must confront the fairly predictable truths that lie behind these memories. Though the writing is often astute and moving, Ellie's first-person musings never quite achieve the momentum needed to sweep the reader away.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
In Conrad's first novel for adults (after Stonewords and other excellent children's books), Ellie Brinkley, author of an unexpectedly well-received first novel, has a bad case of writer's block. She meets Max Turkel, a free-spirited chimney sweep, who sells her his sailboat and warns her that he's not good at long-term relationships. Their short-lived and passionate romance forces Ellie to remember the losses she's already suffered-the death of her hard-drinking, alternately abusive and charming father; the divorce from her alcoholic husband; and the separation from her daughter, Casey-and allows her to begin to write again. The best parts of this readable novel deal with Ellie's attempts to cope with Casey's increasingly hostile behavior (the scenes in Family Court ring painfully true). What is much less convincing is why Ellie is attracted to Max and why she continues to address her thoughts to her ex-husband. Although this isn't a necessary purchase, public libraries with large collections should consider.
Nancy Pearl, Washington Ctr. for the Book, Seattle
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Nancy Pearl, Washington Ctr. for the Book, Seattle
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
sailing can reveal our inner selves,
By A Customer
This review is from: Pumpkin Moon (Hardcover)
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. The insights into sailing, alcoholism, child rearing & powerlessness over other people, places & things struck a note to my very soul. I look forward to her next novel & would love an opportunity to talk with Pamela. Pass along to her my e-mail address if you would.
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