A Better View of Paradise
A Novel
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- $8.99
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
Dramatic, moving, and exquisitely written, A Better View of Paradise explores the tender bond between fathers and daughters, ponders the delicate nature of healing, and celebrates the redemptive power of forgiveness and love.
Thirty-six-year-old Stevie Pollack has come into her own as a celebrated landscape architect. Her designs, famed for their evocative natural beauty, reflect her upbringing amid the splendor of Hawai‘i. But when critics blast her latest efforts and her boyfriend abruptly ends their relationship, Stevie seeks solace in her roots among the dazzling flowers, and comforting traditions of the islands and their calming waters. Still, in the back of her mind, Hawai‘i holds troubling memories of a childhood with Hank, her emotionally distant father, and a reserved British mother.
Despite her irascible father’s presence, the trip home promises Stevie a welcome departure from her trials on the mainland. But the shocking news that Hank is dying forces the pair’s reunion into high gear. As father and daughter attempt to rekindle their bond, Stevie discovers sides of Hank she never knew, including family secrets that have shaped their lives. And what started as a holiday escape for the beleaguered architect becomes a chance for transformation, one as exciting as it is uncertain. Inspired by her father’s insight, and energized by the attentions of an attractive local veterinarian, Stevie learns to surrender her inhibitions and seize the day.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In Coburn's third novel (after Owl Island), mid-30s landscape architect Stevie Pollack has just fled a failed project in Chicago and a failed relationship in New York to be with Hank, her querulous, dying father, in her Hawaiian hometown. Every turn of events every argument between father and daughter, every meeting with a lover, every sleepless or dream-filled night seems to be watched over by the book's most colorful and passionate character, the "swirling wonder" that is the island, whose prophetic creatures and therapeutic beaches add eccentric splendor. Coincidentally, in Chicago, Stevie meets her cousin, Margo, who reveals that Stevie's father has a hidden sister. Reconnecting with Margo gives Stevie the chance to "talk story," or reminisce, about Hank's family life, giving Stevie some much-needed perspective on her contentious relationship with the old man. As her own icy edge melts in the presence of a lost puppy, an approachable veterinarian named Japhy, childhood friends and a blossoming appreciation for Hawaiian folklore, Stevie becomes an engrossing character who makes up for a predictable plot and a cascade of unlikely coincidences.
Customer Reviews
Good book
Good read.