The Keening by A. LaFaye

The Keening

A. LaFaye

Milkweed Editions

ISBN-10: 1571316922

ISBN 13: 978-1-57131-692-9

Pages: 224
2010

Lyza Layton was born into an artistic but eccentric family that lives in the small Maine coastal town, Kingsley Cove. Her father, Pater, (Evan) carves beautifully; her mother, Mayra, plays cello but Lyza herself has only workman-like skills. At fourteen, both herself and her father contracted influenza during the epidemic that raged during 1918. Both survived, but many did not. Lyza comments how common the funeral marches became that year, “When the marches became as regular as the tide that winter, I stayed inside”.

The relationship between her parents is touching; her Mater understands that her husband is totally consumed by his work, to the point that he will not take care of himself. She plays her cello on the cliff to draw him out and remind him to eat. She is a tender mother to Lyza, reminding her to study for her examinations; her ticket away from Kingsley Cove.

Pater has a talent, a talent to see and hear the dead. Because of this, he carves small mementoes he puts in the ocean to help send them to the other side, and writes mysterious letters he posts without a return address to take care of their unfinished business.

But his peculiarity has endangered him, and there are those in the town, and even in the Bradley’s, his former wife’s family, that want him returned to the work farm; which is an asylum, a place where those with feeble wits were put to work. And it was there that Lyza’s mother met Pater, who was carving into the work table. She recognized his talent, and she married him, bringing him out to her house in Kingsley Cove.

Now Lyza, full of grief and longing for her mother, must confront the ugliness of her family, and find a way to protect both her father and herself. When her father tells her he is waiting for Mayra to return, Lyza knows she must get help.

She undertakes an almost Herculean task for one so young, courageously rowing across stormy seas to locate the one person that might be able to help them; and encountering those that have passed on herself. And in doing so, she discovers her own path, one that walks on both sides of the veil that separates the living from the dead.

This is an atmospheric thriller about the bonds of family and friendship, and the lengths that a daughter will go to to protect her father and her heritage. The writing is so subtle, it wasn't until the end of the book that I realized that Lzya was communicating with ghosts. An excellent read for both young adults and their parents.

Angel Time by Anne Rice

This first in the Songs for the Seraphim series introduces Toby O’Dare. Toby (later called Lucky) is an assassin for the “good guys”, the U.S. government. He was brought up Catholic in New Orleans and once dreamed of becoming a priest. He grew up in a dysfunctional family with an alcoholic mother, an absent father and two younger siblings. It became Toby’s job to hold the family together. His one passion is the lute, a medieval instrument that he excels at playing. He thought he was successful at managing his mother’s alcoholism until he returned from his high school graduation ceremony to find his brother and sister drowned in the bathtub, and his mother dead from slitting her wrists. Overcome by the horror and futility of his efforts, he leaves New Orleans. He remakes himself as a street musician in New York City, which brings him to the notice of Alberto, a restaurant owner who gives him a job as a waiter. When the Russian mob moves in and takes over Alberto’s business, Alberto holes up at Toby’s apartment. To repay Alberto’s kindness, Toby takes it upon himself to clear out the Mob; and he does this with ruthless efficiency; exterminating everyone in sight. After, he tells Alberto what he’s done, Alberto introduces to men who will “… take care of him”. So begins his career as Lucky, a government assassin; where he kills by stealthily applied lethal injections. He is quick, precise, and deadly. Lucky is a man of contradictions, he loves music and beauty but hates blood and violence. But he is a tortured soul who has been contemplating suicide for years. After his latest assassination; he is approached by an angel of the Lord, Malchiah. Malchiah offers him a chance of redemption; if he becomes the earthly agent for the angels, he will attain God’s forgiveness. Lucky accepts and he sent back to 13th century England, where, as Dominican friar Brother Toby, he is to protect a Jewish couple wrongly accused of having murdered their young daughter for her conversion to Christianity. 13th century England was a brutal place, rift with prejudice against the Jews, suspicion and intolerance. 100 years before, a child believed to have been crucified by the Jews was made a Saint, Little St. Hugh, in Lincoln. Now the Dominican Friars want a saint for the town of Norwich, and has contrived a story to achieve this. They assert that Meir and Fluria killed their daughter Lea because she converted to Christianity after visiting a church on Christmas Eve. Lea actually died from a burst appendix; called the Iliac Passion in the 13th century. Because her parents buried her under cover of night, there is no body as evidence. How he accomplishes this task through bravery and faith against severe prejudice and overwhelming odds is a compelling story. This expertly written and vividly imagined tale transports you first into the mind of a contract killer; and then to a unforgiving past where the desires of the venal and powerful cause hardship and heartache for the innocent. You will root for Brother Toby as he skillfully navigates the treacherous path between what is wanted by the avaricious monks, what the superstitious mob believes and what really happened to Lea.