|
CLOUD NINE opens with Sarah Talbot drinking tea, enjoying the autumn sun in upstate
New York, and dreaming of her home on Elk Island, Maine. This innocuous beginning doesn't
give any hint of the tragedies Sarah has endured or will endure. You might not suspect
that she has survived a cancerous brain tumor, dropped out of college to save the family
farm, or has a teenage son who ran away from home when she became ill.
The opening scene does tell us, however, that Luanne Rice is a skilled storyteller whose
narrative is warm, comforting, stormy, and filled with pure emotion. All of the elements
you might expect from the New England coast, sunshine, and apples.
CLOUD NINE follows Sarah's relationship with Will Burke, a charter pilot with an ex-wife
and a troubled teenage daughter. Of course, Will and Sarah fall in love (they are,
predictably, the last ones to discover the depth of their feelings for each other). His
presence helps her relax with her estranged family and she accepts his daughter, Susan.
Susan, by the way, only wears her deceased brother's socks --- an example of her
personality quirks. These odd little facts lend authenticity to a familiar tale, making
Sarah Talbot's world more believable.
Her story is filled with cataclysmic events --- much like a daytime drama. In the course
of one weekend, Will saves Sarah's son, Michael, from drowning (something he couldn't do
for his own son); thereby easing his guilt. Sarah persuades Michael to return with her to
New York. Her father explains his silence around her as a symptom of his anguish over her
mother's death. Finally, Sarah suffers a relapse and survives a plane crash.
Don't worry, though, everyone discovers love just in time to tell Sarah. Due to Rice's
ability to describe the significant moments in life, this story is heart-wrenching and
spirit-warming. She has an eye for humorous and revealing details. She conveys the
all-consuming concern Will feels for his daughter in the disinterest he shows for a hot
dog piled temptingly "high with relish, chili, and onions." It is a small,
almost insignificant moment, but Rice uses it well. She allows Sarah to notice, describing
Will through Sarah's eyes as "a man with something weighing heavy on his
mind." We might expect Rice to follow up this observation with a touching
moment of revelation between Sarah and Will. Instead, Sarah admits she didn't know him
well enough to ask. The combination of sentiment and honesty allows us to sympathize with
their false assumption that they are unloved.
A seasoned storyteller, Rice uses emotion, depicted thoughtfully, to make CLOUD NINE more
than just another made-for-television movie. Rice lays bare the uncertainty of life and
promotes the certainty of family. She makes it clear that Sarah would not have had the
strength to face death again without rediscovering her son's love and finding
Will.
After reading CLOUD NINE, your thoughts will be of family --- your mother, father, son,
daughter, or lover. This novel will make you cry, chuckle, and, most of all, remember to
love.
--- Reviewed by Amee Vyas
© Copyright 1996-2008, Bookreporter.com. All rights reserved.
|
