Voices Airy [Paperback]

Catherine Karp (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2004

In 1918, a devastating war rages overseas and the Spanish influenza claims millions of lives around the globe. To ease the grief of those who seek her out, Rosaline Milne, a sensuous and captivating San Diego woman, miraculously conjures up spirits of departed loved ones in her darkened seance room.

Seen through the eyes of her new husband, a man haunted by the Great War and a tragic past, and her younger sister, Lucy, Rosaline mystifies the troubled world around her. Is she a fraud? A sufferer of delusions? Or can the dead indeed communicate through a mortal woman's body?

Editorial Reviews

Review

A ghostly historical drama...captivating and suspenseful... Karp is a gifted wordsmith. -- Dark Realms Magazine, July 1, 2004

An eerie and eminently readable historical novel. -- Juliet Waldron, Author of MOZART'S WIFE

This unique tale has memorable characters whose stories are told against an expertly researched background. -- Romantic Times BOOKclub, July 2004

About the Author

Catherine Karp is a Southern California native who resides in Irvine with her husband and daughter. Her critically acclaimed debut novel, GILDED, won the Hollywood Film Festival Book Discovery Award, and she has been a San Diego Book Award finalist. She is currently at work on her next historical tale.

Product Details

• Paperback: 302 pages
• Publisher: Coachlight Pr (June 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971679045
• ISBN-13: 978-0971679047
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,822,129 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Psychics and Star-Crossed Lovers, July 20, 2004

By 

Ara Burklund (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Voices Airy (Paperback)

I might be a sucker for tales of psychics and the supernatural, but it was the element of forbidden love that had me hooked on Voices Airy, by Catherine Karp. Even though Lucy, the main character, is jailbait, even by 1918 standards, the tension between her and Joseph, who is considerably older, had me pulling for their union all the way through the novel. Rosaline, a prostitute-turned-spirit-medium who sweeps Joseph off his feet and marries him, manages to be both a formidable adversary and a mother figure to her baby sister Lucy. Following their story was a gut-wrenching treat that had me cheering and crying for both of them, while enjoying the details of WWI San Diego at the same time.

4.0 out of 5 stars A must read for lovers of rich, eerie, well-told tales, January 20, 2010

By 

Nicole Hadaway "NicoleHadaway" (Texas, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Voices Airy (Paperback)

I hope Catherine doesn't mind it if I tell you that, if I were going to write about mediums and 1918, I might have written Voices Airy. The novel takes us to very unexpected places, which is refreshing (to me) in this day and age when many plots and characters are predictable. Characters are well-rounded, they have good points and flaws, and you do find yourself wanting to desperately know where they are going (and in some cases, where they've been). The novel is full of subtle surprises that reveal both character and plot: a gift from a neighbor appears to be altruistic, though we later learn that it really is meant to ease guilt; those who have true gifts and those who don't are contrasted in an ironic fashion; jealousy from an unexpected sources even leads to a murder.

Catherine also shows the desperation of the times; people were losing loved ones left and right due to the Spanish Flu and World War I, hence the need to comfort themselves by calling upon the spirits of their beloved. Post-tramatic stress and its treatment (or lack thereof) by the medical community is explored through Joseph's character, who is likable but severely damaged.

I liked this novel very much for its non-stock characters and the fact that I had no idea where they would take me next. The writing is very good and brings the details to life: you really get a sense of the characters and their living conditions. Something else about the tale Catherine weaves -- its richer and lifelike, not just words on the page. I could really see the scenes and the characters moving through them. The seances are especially well-done; Catherine did alot of research into how such seances were performed and it shows.

The ending is realistic; happy for some characters, bringing relief to others, not quite the way one character wanted things to turn out, but their resilience makes them immune to its lasting effects. Catherine is planning on doing a Young Adult novel featuring the same setting, though different characters, and although I don't read many YA novels, I'm very much looking forward to the redo.

5.0 out of 5 stars Is she truly a conduit to the world beyond?, October 30, 2004

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Voices Airy (Paperback)

In Voices Airy, novelist Cahterine Karp takes her readers back to the troubled year of 1918 when America and the world were afflicted by two of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse -- War and Pestilence. The devastating toll of World War I and a global outbreak Spanish influenza leave countless individuals stricken with grief from the loss of loved ones. A San Diego woman offers solace by calling up the spirits of the departed in a darkened seance room. Seen through the eyes of her new husband and younger sister, the question arises... is she a fraud, or delusional? Or is she truly a conduit to the world beyond? A captivating and thought-provoking story of the transitions between life and death.