Last Light over Carolina
By: Mary Alice Monroe
Published: July 14, 2009
Format: Hardcover, 384 pages
ISBN-10: 1-4165-4970-6
ISBN-13: 978-1-4165-4970-3
Publisher: Pocket Books
In lyrical prose, as warm as the breeze off the South Carolina coast, best selling author Mary Alice Monroe tells a tale of rocky marriage, and the tragic day when the pain of the past didn't matter any more. The wonderful novel Last Light over Carolina is filled with beautifully drawn characters, filled with every human emotion, bringing them to life. The story revolves around a troubled marriage, that hides the deep but seldom expressed love, between shrimp boat Captain Bud Morrison and his wife Carolina. Their love of each other, of their family, and of the sea, are the anchor of this beautiful novel.
Mary Alice Monroe weaves together a lifetime, within the confines of a single day. When Bud is trapped alone on the sea, on his shrimp boat named the Miss Carolina, in honor of his wife, he realizes the true depth of his love. On shore, Carolina finds her mind remembering things past and how powerful her love is for her husband. Through memories of both good times and bad, Bud and Carolina find redemption and forgiveness for past transgressions that no longer matter. They also learn the value of family and how a tragedy can make a group of broken people whole again.
Mary Alice Monroe (photo left) creates a world where the town, the ocean, and the people who depend on the sea's bounty, are all characters in the story. Captain Bud Morrison is torn between his wife Carolina, and her alter ego boat that bears her name. Bud loves the freedom of the sea and his shrimp boat, but that separation of wife Carolina from the sea, creates a deep rift in their marriage. With his boat as his mistress, Bud turns away from his wife. Only later, does he come to realize that the ship and the sea can't replace the real Carolina. Together, he and his wife are whole, but when apart, their lives become empty and full of despair.
With parallels to Hemingway's classic The Old Man and the Sea, Mary Alice Monroe turns Bud's tragic accident and a storm at sea into a life changing event. Forced by his own mortality to face honestly the decisions made in his life, Bud Morrison recognizes that what he thought were his life's priorities were mere illusion. What truly matters is love and family, and acceptance of one another through the storms of life. Carolina remembers storms of the past, as well as the stormy days of her marriage to Bud. After a storm, there is a second chance to rebuild. Both Bud and Carolina realize that their own love, and of those around them, deserve a second chance too.
I highly recommend Last Light over Carolina by Mary Alice Monroe, to anyone seeking a powerful love story between two people adrift on the sea, and in danger of striking a rock and sinking their marriage. The book contains the timeless themes of love, betrayal, redemption, and forgiveness. It's a story about being granted a precious second chance at happiness, and grabbing on and never letting it go again.
Read Last Light over Carolina by Mary Alice Monroe, and be swept away by the rich detail of life in a close knit coastal South Carolina shrimp fishing town, where life depends on nature and the bounty of the sea. Discover the power of love and forgiveness, the importance of family, and how sometimes the unexpected events of life can work true miracles.
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