The Pacific Between (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Betrayal makes us do strange things..." (more)
Key Phrases: pirate cave, Old Chow, Cheung Chau, Hong Kong (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

After the death of his parents in a car accident, 32-year-old Californian Greg Lockland, narrator of this melodramatic debut, finds some disturbing love letters in his despised father's safe-deposit box. The letters are from Lian, a nurse with whom a teenaged Greg had a brief but intense affair when his family lived in Hong Kong. A confused and angry Greg crosses the Pacific to find Lian and the truth about her relationship with his father. Now an opera singer, Lian is as beautiful as ever, and though Greg's suspicions are heightened by Lian's reticence to speak about the past, he finds himself falling for her again despite his new romance back in California with old friend Kate. And-surprise-Lian may not be so available herself. As he stalks Lian around Hong Kong, Greg indulges in tiresome nostalgia and grating self-pity. Forced metaphors, movie-of-the-week dialogue, and purple passages weaken things further, making Greg's journey interminable.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"A notable new romance novel." -- ForeWord Magazine

"A roller coaster ride of drama…real and memorable with dynamic plot and complex characters." -- Amy Brozio-Andrews, January Magazine

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 234 pages
• Publisher: Behler Publications (January 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933016329
• ISBN-13: 978-1933016320
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #494,397 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must-Read book, January 13, 2006

By	Esther Avila "september skies" (Visalia, CA USA) - See all my reviews

With the first line from the first chapter of The Pacific Between, Raymond K.Wong captured my curiosity: "Betrayal makes us do strange things." At first it was simple curiosity but it was not long before I was so enthralled by what may happen next that I found myself turning page after page, unable to put the book down.
Wong tells the story of an unmarried young man, Greg Lockland, who returns to California to bury his parents. But the sudden death of his parents leaves unanswered questions, especially after he discovers some disturbing letters and pictures in his father's safe deposit box - opening old wounds and filling him with suspicion, anger and jealousy.
Did his father have an affair with his ex-lover?
Greg embarks on a trip to find his ex and thus begins his journey across the Pacific. But Greg's investigation not only brings people from his past back into his life - but also brings more questions, more heartache and more deception.
Every time I thought I figured out what was happening, Wong added a twist or a turn of events, making it impossible for me to put the book down. The story is full of surprises.
If you've never been to Hong Kong - Wong will take you there. His writing brings the city, villages, shores and characters to life - enabling the reader to not only see what he is talking about but hear, smell and feel it as well.
Wittingly written in the first few chapters as parallel stories - his past and his present - it is not long before Wong combines the two, bringing the reader into the present as the main character, Greg, struggles with the puzzle that has been set before him. The Pacific Between is a beautiful and touching debut novel by Raymond K. Wong, which I highly recommend. It is the kind of story that I can imagine being made into a movie some day.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Engaging and thoughtful, September 25, 2007

By	Jay L. Young (San Antonio, TX) - See all my reviews

I usually don't read this type of novel and having read the Publisher's Weekly review, I was prepared for a drawn-out melodrama, but I found myself utterly sucked in to The Pacific Between. I could not put this book down!

Raymond Wong's debut novel is not only filled with insight about the nature of love, maturity, and forgiveness, it's told in a thoroughly engaging and honest manner. All the characters were well-developed, believable and interesting. Greg's whiplash journey to uncover his past and ultimately understand his future was touching and vivid. I can't wait to read Raymond's next novel!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully written debut novel , January 26, 2006

By	Dawno (California) - See all my reviews

In The Pacific Between we are introduced to Greg Lockland who has recently lost both of his parents. He is in his thirties, unmarried and coping with this loss without the support of an extended family. He has come back to California for the funeral and re-connected with Kate, the daughter of his parents' close friends, after ten years of growing steadily apart.

Greg's longtime friendship with Kate seems to be on the verge of becoming something more, but before Greg can truly understand that for himself, he discovers letters and pictures that bring up more questions than answers about his past, his father's relationships, and ultimately, whether the woman Greg really loves is Kate or Lian. Without explaining why he must go, or what he is feeling, to Kate, Greg leaves for Hong Kong to confront Lian with what he thinks he's learned.

The Pacific Between artfully moves between scenes from Greg's past and the present. Greg's search for Lian is also his search for understanding about himself and his relationship with his father. Woven throughout the book are scenes with other friends and acquaintances of Greg's that expose for us the boy he was, the man he has been and the man he is becoming.

The secondary characters are full of life and personality; each scene with them is just as important to the book as the scenes with Kate and Lian. Equally compelling are Raymond Wong's descriptions of Hong Kong that fully envelop one in the sights, sounds, and smells of the island. He truly has a fantastic way with words. I was transported to Hong Kong - it was colored by my memory of Tien Mou, Taiwan, and my more recent trip to Singapore, I'm sure, but I really felt like I was seeing it thru Greg's eyes. I want even more to go to Hong Kong after reading this book.

The Pacific Between is so tightly woven I'm hard pressed to uncover one extraneous bit of dialogue or description. The shift from chapter to chapter is effortless; the ending lives up to the rest of the novel in that it is the honest outcome of the journey Greg has made.