Alabama Skye by J.C. WingMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I enjoyed J C Wing’s first novel, The Color of Thunder, very much and found her descriptions of characters and places captivating and admirable. So I looked forward to reading Alabama Skye, hoping for a similar reading experience. I was not disappointed. The author has the ability to produce a vivid mental picture without slowing down the pace of the story as it unfolds. Admittedly the pace of this book is a somewhat gentle one, being about a group of women who are brought together when the recently widowed Cheney, moves to Alabama from Scotland. Cheney McGillivray persuades her niece, Greer Dover, to help her start a guest-house in Kelby, Alabama. It sounds simple but the venture is complicated by the fact that Greer is the grand-daughter of Cheney’s father who suddenly left Scotland when Cheney was only five years-old to start a new family. Lots more family secrets are revealed as the tale develops through J C Wing’s excellent writing. The main female characters are shown in depth and with feeling, though that is not perhaps the case with the men in the story.
This story is a wonderful illustration of the strength and importance of family. The novel is full of the emotions experienced by both young and old characters but I was not moved as much as when I read The Color of Thunder. My favourite character in this book had to be the feisty and fiercely loyal Noah, the almost-sister of Greer. There is an element of suspense introduced towards the finale of the novel, which I found to be a weak point, when we discover the circumstances around the death of Cheney’s beloved husband, Callum. However, this did not spoil my overall enjoyment of the story. Greer’s pregnant condition and the circumstances surrounding her love life are particularly well done and felt very real. Readers who enjoy stories that engage with people’s lives as they meet and survive challenging issues will certainly find Alabama Skye to be a worthwhile read. Cheney's frequent use of Scottish Gaelic was a problem and I thought that a glossary with appropriate translations at the end of the book would have been very useful.
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