Julie's Review: Above

Author: Isla Morley
Series: None
Publication Date: 
Publisher: Gallery Books
Pages: 372
Obtained: Publisher
Genre:  Contemporary Fiction,Dystopian
Rating: 4.25/5
Bottom Line: An intriguing look at what captivity is and what freedom really is
Grab, Just get it at the library, or Remove from your TBR list? Grab

Summary: I am a secret no one is able to tell. Blythe Hallowell is sixteen when she is abducted by a survivalist and locked away in an aban­doned missile silo in Eudora, Kansas. At first, she focuses frantically on finding a way out, until the harrowing truth of her new existence settles in—the crushing loneliness, the terrifying madness of a captor who believes he is saving her from the end of the world, and the persistent temptation to give up. But nothing prepares Blythe for the burden of raising a child in confinement. Deter­mined to give the boy everything she has lost, she pushes aside the truth about a world he may never see for a myth that just might give mean­ing to their lives below ground. Years later, their lives are ambushed by an event at once promis­ing and devastating. As Blythe’s dream of going home hangs in the balance, she faces the ultimate choice—between survival and freedom. Above is a riveting tale of resilience in which “stunning” (Daily Beast) new literary voice Isla Morley compels us to imagine what we would do if everything we had ever known was taken away. Like the bestselling authors of Room and The Lovely Bones before her, Morley explores the unthinkable with haunting detail and tenderly depicts our boundless capacity for hope. ~powells.com

Review: Above is a harrowing story of survival and what it means to be a survivor. Blythe is kidnapped when she was 16 and is held captive for the better part of her young adult life. She is taken for the purposes of recreating the world after it ends.

Above is the kind of book that you don't want to put down because you want to find out what happens to Blythe. You want to know that she gets her Freedom. Like Blythe you imagine what her freedom will look like; tears of joy, people lined up to see her, hugs and kisses from her parents. What she gets isn't what her fantasies have been during her captivity.

Ms. Morley does a fantastic job of pulling you in and never letting you go. She makes Blythe's plight harrowing, heartbreaking and painful to read about. Just when you think this is about a kidnapping, survival and freedom, she turns the whole story on a dime. I honestly had no idea that the story was going to go that route and if I had known, I might not have picked it up.

Having said that, I would have missed out on a truly wonderful book. The setting of the novel in rural Kansas only adds to the desperation her escape and freedom. I wish that some of the plot lines had been more flushed out. There are things that I wished I would have learned more about towards the end of the book but I understand why she only included so much. Some of the them could have their own book.

This book will draw comparisons to Room but Above is so much more than that one. Other than being a book about being in captivity and having young protagonists,  Above moves a step past that and examines a world that I hope we never come to know.

For fans of a good, edge of your seat book with wonderful characterization, then go grab Above.

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Giveway: Come Sunday

We are thrilled to be able to giveaway a copy of Isla Morley's debut novel Come Sunday.

In order to qualify for the giveaway, you must:

1. In the comments section, tell us how you follow our blog (Google Friend, Twitter and/or our Facebook page).
2. Tell us what excites you about this book and why you want it
3. Enter the contest by September 9th at Midnight EST.
4. Be a resident of the US or Canada.

Good luck!!

UPDATE: Come Sunday has just won the 2010 Kafka Prize! Congratulations to Isla Morley!

Author Interview: Isla Morley

Yesterday, I reviewed a wonderful book, Come Sunday by Isla Morley. She was kind enough to answer my questions.

GJR: I didn’t really like Abbe but I didn’t dislike her either. I felt for her but I also felt that she was self-absorbed and not really mindful of others around her. Was this intentional on your part or just how the novel/character unraveled?

Isla Morley: It’s more important that we somehow relate to her, even in a small way. Haven’t we all had those days when we’re not our best selves? Abbe, before the tragedy, is flawed, she’s got baggage, she’s wounded beneath that layer of irritability. And after the tragedy, she’s ripped open. You see her at her worst, but you gradually begin to see her get better. And so “liking” isn’t as important as hanging in there with her, pulling for her and hoping she’ll find a patch of peace where she can be herself. I think we’re cautious to judge her; who knows what we’d be like in her situation? But if we’ve endured just a little bit of suffering, we know that it can make us very self-absorbed. The journey, then, is moving from that position to a more outward- or other-oriented one. If Abbe had started off being Mother Teresa and ended up in the same place, what’s the point? And the same applies to us. I’d have to say that from the onset I knew she’d have to make that inner journey, but the extent of it and all the ramifications along the way were mostly her doing. By the end of the book, I think I’d learned almost as much as she did.

GJR: In my opinion, I don’t think you have to love the heroine to enjoy a book. Would you agree?

Isla Morley: This is a tricky question. Some readers like to fall in love. They meet the main character in the first paragraph and by the end of page one, it’s a full-blown crush. I probably fall into this category most of the time. And this is all well and good when page one opens on a rainy day when our heroine has to cast aside her journal where she has just been recording her latest dieting failure to go apply a tourniquet to a soldier all shot up with shrapnel. But what if the story shows our heroine in a pitbull mood setting fire to her kitchen curtains? Maybe we’re not so quick to give away our heart. For this book I’ve written, I’m deeply grateful for those readers who are the slow-burners, who eventually grow to love the heroine and as they do, become fiercely loyal.

GJR: Before the tragedy, you can almost see the writing on the wall for Abbe and Greg. Why did you decide to have them move apart rather than come together?

Isla Morley: Again, this wasn’t my doing as much as it was Abbe’s. And Greg’s too. They choose different paths, and rather than Abbe relying on Greg to heal her pain and save the day, she realizes she has to do it herself.

GJR: Obviously where we are raised has a tremendous influence on who we become, how do you feel that South Africa shaped Abbe? Do you think her experiences were different because of the political turmoil there?

Isla Morley: Most definitely. Abbe was battered from living with a violent father, but she was also wounded by the violence in her own country. She was terrorized for much of her early life, and instead of dealing with it, she relocated. So the next big trauma comes along, and suddenly she’s confronting everything: the death of her daughter, the abuse of her father, her mother’s untimely death, as well the injustices and atrocities she’s witnessed in the land of her birth. Healing can only come when she deals with the issue of blame, figures out what forgiveness looks like, and tests her heart rubbed raw to see if it’s willing to risk again.

GJR: Why title the novel “Come Sunday”?

Isla Morley: It’s the title of a great song by Duke Ellington. There’s a refrain in it that says, “God of love, look down and see my people through.” We all go through great trials, but the song speaks of hope, like it’s shining through grey clouds and falling on the path just up ahead. I thought this was perfect for Abbe’s struggle, and also for the struggle of her homeland.

GJR: What are some of your favorite books that are set in South Africa? Or books that are about South Africa?

Isla Morley: My Traitor's Heart by Rian Malan; Country of My Skull by Antjie Krog; Towards the Mountain by Alan Paton; The Smell of Apples by Mark Behr; Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood by Alexandra Fuller (although she writes about the neighboring countries of Zimbabwe, Malawi and Zambia), and The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay.

GJR: Since this is your first novel, did you have any preconceived notions about writing a book? What is easier or harder than you thought?

Isla Morley: I had no preconceived ideas at all, particularly since I didn’t set out to write a novel. It started out as a vision, of sorts, and after I told my husband about it, he told me to make a note of it. So, the next day, I did, except the note starting getting longer and longer, and eighty pages into it some three months later, I said, “Hang on a mo’.” It only got hard when my next thought was, “You silly girl! You’re writing a novel! Quick, go look up how to do it.” All the advice was paralyzing. Finally, I had to put it all aside and tell myself what I tell my daughter almost every day, “Let’s just take it one step at a time.”

GJR: Are you working on a new novel? If so, can you tell us the premise?

Isla Morley: I am working on something, yes. But no, I can’t tell you about it. If it makes you feel better, I didn’t show my husband the manuscript of Come Sunday till it was almost ready to be sent to an agent.

GJR: What are you currently reading?

Isla Morley: I just started Anne Tyler’s book, Dinner at the Homesick Restaurantand I am still wading through Steinbeck’s East of Eden.

GJR: What authors do you always go back to? What books do you gravitate towards reading over and over again?

Isla Morley: I like literary fiction with the redemption theme, stuff that makes me cry, and I like books where I just marvel at the craft. Cormac McCarthy, Annie Dillard, Carol Shields, Richard Russo. For the first time since college, I am about to re-read a book: Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout. For wit, Anne Lamott and Bill Bryson.

I want to thank Isla Morley for taking time to answer my questions. I'm definitely going to have to check out some of those books regarding South Africa!

You can also find her on Facebook, Isla Morley's Page.

(photo courtesy of Molly Hawkey)

Julie's Review: Come Sunday

Summary: In her poignant first novel, former South African magazine editor Morley explores a mother's grief. Abbe Deighton, part-time journalist and full-time wife and mother, finds herself living in Hawaii with her preacher husband, Greg, and precocious three-year-old daughter, Cleo, thousands of miles from her South African birthplace. Her flight from an abusive father and complicit mother is not accidental—her poet brother also fled to America—and when Cleo is killed in a car accident, Abbe re-examines the choices that have brought her so far from home. She and her husband become estranged as he turns to God and forgives the man who killed their daughter while Abbe descends into self-pity and anger at the unfairness of life. Their marriage suffers and Greg loses his job, forcing Abbe to turn homeward for financial help. Upon returning to South Africa, she confronts the ghosts of her family's past and the reality of her homeland's future. Morley convincingly depicts a grief-stricken woman without resorting to clichés, and though she telegraphs the resolution of Abbe's plight early on, the storytelling, line by line, is rather beautiful. ~amazon.com

Review: Come Sunday is one of those books where place has a great influence on the character. This is true for Abbe who grew up in South Africa. Not only is it the place but it's what happened to her there that shapes her personality. I didn't particularly care for Abbe or identify with her. Sure, my heart went out to her because she loses her daughter in a horrific accident but she's not really likable.

I don't think I liked Abbe because Abbe doesn't like herself. I understand there are times in our lives, especially for women, where we lose sight of our self. We lose it to work, family, children and husbands. Her husband, Greg, seemed more concerned about his flock at the church than what was going on at home. It's only after the tragedy with Cleo, where Greg starts to pay attention and by then it's too late.

I loved the way Ms. Morley's prose stands out in the novel. It's her writing and weaving of the old South African traditions that get me through the book. There are some remarkable passages throughout the book that really spoke to me but here is just a sample of one:

It seems to me the older I get, the more I yearn for my past. For the neighborhoods I grew up in, the little community events, my old school pals. I suspect that if I went back there I would still feel nostalgic. So it's a deceptive thing, isn't it? Nostalgia traps you into believing the past was better than what's up ahead. ~page 177

Isn't that so true? It's because we can re-create the past to be what we believe it to be and the future is so unknown that we can't do anything about it in our heads.

The book takes us from the shores of Hawaii to the mountains/plains of South Africa. Going to South Africa is going home for Abbe. It is here in South Africa where she learns the truth about her family, specifically her mother and learns about forgiveness. What it takes to forgive and how to forgive herself. Forgiveness is one of the hardest lessons to learn because it means learning to let go.

There are some terrific secondary characters in the novel. From her brother Rhiaan, her sister-in-law Cicely, Jenny and Beauty.

I would love for Ms. Morley to explore the relationships between whites and blacks in South Africa. Much like Kathryn Stockett did in The Help. South Africa is a place rooted in history and trying to change. This is what intrigues me.

I'm looking forward to what Ms. Morley explores in her next novel.

Final Take: 3.75/5