Tuesday, January 9, 2018

The Lightkeeper's Daughters

The Lightkeeper's Daughters

The Lightkeeper's Daughters
Jean E. Pendziwol

Jean E. Pendziwol is a Canadian author of several award-winning kids' books. The Lightkeeper's Daughters is her debut novel for adults. As a resident of Northern Canada, Pendziwol is knowledgeable about Lake Superior and its history and geography in the Thunder Bay area, the setting for this well-researched novel. 

The story itself is fairly complicated but Pendziwol unwinds it adeptly yet at a pace that keeps the reader engaged. Here is a concise summary of the novel from the author's website:

Elizabeth's eyes have failed. She can no longer read the books she loves or see the paintings that move her spirit, but her mind remains sharp and music fills the vacancy left by her blindness. When her father's journals are discovered
after an accident, she enlists the assistance of a delinquent teenager, Morgan, who is completing community service at the retirement home where Elizabeth lives, and together they read the musty books. An unlikely relationship develops between the two women as they are drawn into the word of the Porphyry Island light-keeper penned more than 70 years ago. In the process, they discover they are both connected to the isolated island, their lives touched by Elizabeth's enigmatic twin sister Emily and the beautiful but harsh Lake Superior environment. But for Elizabeth, the faded pages of her father's journals hold more secrets than she anticipates and threaten the very core of who she is.

Like so many modern novels, the tale is told in two voices, one reflecting on the past, the other coping with the present. This blending of past and present is skillfully done and the complicated web of the storyline is expertly unravelled.

The characters of the novel are well-developed, with authentic voices, largely sympathetic to one another, helping the reader to both understand and relate. 

I really enjoyed the descriptions of the great Lake Superior in its many moods and how the lives of those living nearby can be impacted. It's good to remind ourselves too that shipping on the Great Lakes was and is an important part of our country's heritage and economy. As a landlubber, I often take such things for granted, giving little thought to the risks involved.

I really enjoyed reading The Lightkeeper's Daughters. I hope that Jean E. Pendziwol is able to get plenty of recognition for this excellent novel and that she will continue to write many more.

If you'd like a little taste of the audio version of the novel, click here.

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