Customer Reviews

Remembering Blue: A Novel

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Connie May Fowler has put into words what love is all about. Husband and wife love, mother/child love, love of women for each other, love of family and friends, and love of the part of nature in which we best know ourselves.

The story of Nick and Mattie is actually a simple one and therein lies its wonder. The telling of this tale by Connie May Fowler is art. As a long term resident of the Florida panhandle, I can tell you Ms. Fowler has captured the essence of our very special part of the world. She's masterfully described the wonder and beauty of this very different Florida, and painted as real a picture of "folks from hereabouts" as I've ever read.

Ms. Fowler opens our eyes to sophistication and wisdom that transcends the conventional. She makes us laugh and be joy filled. She has created characters full of life and mystery and she lets us into their dreams and their hearts.

This story has a powerful message about the strength of women, and how important it is for women to love one another, and to love ourselves. And,Remembering Blue presents some terrific male characters - men who cherish their women and their children.

This is an uplifting, inspiring, and magical tale.

There's a point at which a talented writer moves beyond the ordinary to create literature that's more art than story, a tale with significance far beyond the confines of its plot. With "Remembering Blue" Connie May Fowler reaches this plateau, delivering an opus that, on its surface is a love story. But such a discription is deciving. "Remembering Blue" reads more like an obscure treasure map, a guide to weaving around life's bumps and craters and, in the process, discovering that the bumps and craters are, themselves the very treasure.

Connie May Fowler is one of the foremost story tellers of my generation - I have been so anxiously anticipating her 4th novel. Having had the pleasure of attending a reading by Ms. Fowler, it was easy for me to hear her gentle, lyrical voice creating and sharing a tale made of pure gold. Every word evoked images that created emotion in me and called forth memories of my own. I laughed, sighed and cried through the entire novel. It's a book of awakening and discovery for the heroine Mattie as she tells us about Nick Blue. Ms. Fowler allows the reader to become part of Mattie's journey of self discovery by closing the past and welcoming the future. She evokes strong images of courage and strength and leaves us all recognizing that part of ourselves that is Mattie. This is a book that everyone will love. The love story is woven around wonderful stories about tough shrimpers living on the coast of Florida - it will appeal to men and women alike. Everyone will close the book with a smile on their face. And if you have found this book without reading any of Ms. Fowler's other books I would highly recommend that you read all 3 of them. There is clearly a reason why Oprah made a book out of Before Women Had Wings - she recognizes top notch talent when she sees it.

This book is certainly filled with beautiful prose that rings out with a mythical quality. It is written as a memoir of Mattie Blue and her life on a small island off the coast of Florida. Her husband Nick and his family have always worked the sea and he brings his bride Mattie home to be a part of it. What follows is a beautiful tale of idyllic love that simply rolls like waves across the page.

There are many enjoyable characters and the book is a pleasant one to read. There is a theme of dolphins and how they intermingle with the humans that live amongst them. Many of the Blue family members have succumbed to the sea with tragic endings. I enjoyed this book. It got a bit slow in the middle but I hung in and was not disappointed with the heartfelt ending. Kelsana 4/27/01

This is a touching love story. A young widow, Mattie, recounts her husband, Nick's, life, their time together and the circumstances that stole him from her.

We are able to watch Mattie grow from a frightened, shy young woman into a passionate, loving wife who finds strength from the ocean and from the women in Nick's family. Along the way Mattie finally discovers herself.

Fowler's writing in this novel is beautiful and the images are incredible. I am looking forward to reading more books by this talented author.

From the very first page this love story touched my heart. Not only is this a story of finding that one true love but one of triumph of the spirit.

Mattie and Nick are the ultimate love story of struggle and sorrow, love and laughter. Mattie has never known a normal family life and her view of marriage is evident in the fear she has of letting love into her heart. Nick has his own fears to deal with as he comes to terms with his own personal battle, his love of his Island and the fear of death. With Mattie's trust and encouragement they make the decision that ultimately changed their lives, moving back to the Island of Lethe.

The strength of the women in Nick's family becomes the strength that Mattie finds within herself. She had lived most of her life trying to disappear into the background and remain unnoticed. What she discovers is self-confidence and a belief in herself.

Beautifully written this story flows, bringing the reader onto the shores surrounding the isolated community of Lethe. I could see and feel the crashing waves, the frolicking dolphins and the violence of a nature at it's worse. This is one of those books I savoured page by page and would recommend to everyone.

"Remembering Blue" is a well-written book with a good story, but the only problem is that it was difficult for me to get in to. I thought about stopping, but luckily I didn't. The book becomes much better towards the middle and all the way up until the end. For anyone who becomes bored, don't stop reading: the second half of the book makes the read very worthwhile.

I wish I could tell Connie May Fowler personally how deeply this story affected me. I read the book slowly, not wanting it to end because, of course, we all know what happens in the end. The love between Mattie and Nick transcends the beauty of the words used to tell the story. Mattie saw his faults and accepted them. He knew her weaknesses and supported her efforts to grow strong. If you don't read one other love story or southern novel in your life, read this one. And thank you, Connie May Fowler, for writing this. I even forgive you for making me to cry.

As a few reviewers have noted, the book gains momentum with each chapter. Did Fowler plan that? or was it more a matter of the flow of the story grabbing her at about page 100? One wonders.

Stay with this book. It is a gem of a story, and it will prompt you to remember that we are meant to live passionately; we are meant to surrender to ourselves and our yearnings; and that we are meant to care about and for others.

The book gives us an experience that teems with life -- of the sea, of the island, of the forgotten coast along the Big Bend (Carrabelle, Eastpoint, Appalachicola), where most still struggle to make ends meet by fishing for oysters and shrimp.

You will fall in love with all of the characters, and you will fall in love with the setting. This is fine writing and even finer storytelling. Fowler is a treat.

You can almost here the waves crashing and taste the oceans salty breeze in the love story set along Floridas Gulf Coast. In Connie May Fowlers forth novel, a young widow recounts her husbands life, their passionate affair and the tragedy that stole him from her after two short years. And though the outcome is revealed from the onset, the beauty of Fowler's prose is so compelling that you can't help read on. As much as it is a love story, REMEMBERING BLUE is also a tale of the battle between man and nature. Mostly it,s a book with heart and soul, that readers won't forget anytime soon.