Shadow Song

Rating:
Summary: Good writing but love sory misses the mark
Review: The theme of lost love and "what might have been" or woven together in the rhythmical, almost mystical writing of Shadow Song, written by Terry Kaye. Kaye is a masterful storyteller and his method of weaving the past and the present into a coherent rendering was done very well. I read page after page waiting for the answer to the question: why did Amy and Bobo love each other? What values did they share that made their love so special?

Unfortunately, the question was never answered. As near as I can surmise, the only reason Bobo loved Amy was because she was the most beautiful girl he had ever known, and at 55, she still possessed he teenage luster (a dubious claim at best). Without some reason for loving each other, the love story of Amy and Bobo seems more like a memory of a teenage infatuation, shared by two people suffering from a middle age crisis. There just does not seem to be any substance to their feelings for each other.

When Amy and Bobo meet in the forgotten resort town of the Catskills, they are 55 years old and in their entire 55 years of life, they have spent all of a few weeks together. The rest has been dreams of what might have been and of what it would really be like to love and live with that other person. They don't know each other.

To be honest, as I was reading, I thought that Kaye left their love devoid of reason intentionally, that they were beginning to realize the truth and act accordingly-until the final page. Their decision simply did not make sense, given the facts presented in the book.

I enjoyed reading the book because I think the story telling itself was very good; I could genuinely feel myself in the Catskills. The character development was good for some, especially Lila and Sammy, whom I feel I know and understand better than Amy. The love story itself; however, missed the mark.

Rating:
Summary: Good writing but love sory misses the mark
Review: The theme of lost love and "what might have been" or woven together in the rhythmical, almost mystical writing of Shadow Song, written by Terry Kaye. Kaye is a masterful storyteller and his method of weaving the past and the present into a coherent rendering was done very well. I read page after page waiting for the answer to the question: why did Amy and Bobo love each other? What values did they share that made their love so special?

Unfortunately, the question was never answered. As near as I can surmise, the only reason Bobo loved Amy was because she was the most beautiful girl he had ever known, and at 55, she still possessed he teenage luster (a dubious claim at best). Without some reason for loving each other, the love story of Amy and Bobo seems more like a memory of a teenage infatuation, shared by two people suffering from a middle age crisis. There just does not seem to be any substance to their feelings for each other.

When Amy and Bobo meet in the forgotten resort town of the Catskills, they are 55 years old and in their entire 55 years of life, they have spent all of a few weeks together. The rest has been dreams of what might have been and of what it would really be like to love and live with that other person. They don't know each other.

To be honest, as I was reading, I thought that Kaye left their love devoid of reason intentionally, that they were beginning to realize the truth and act accordingly-until the final page. Their decision simply did not make sense, given the facts presented in the book.

I enjoyed reading the book because I think the story telling itself was very good; I could genuinely feel myself in the Catskills. The character development was good for some, especially Lila and Sammy, whom I feel I know and understand better than Amy. The love story itself; however, missed the mark.

Rating:
Summary: Enchanting
Review: This was my 6th book by Kay and I have loved every one of them. The 7th which I tried to read and couldn't get into was The Day The Lights were Turned on or some such. It got 5 stars and Shadow only got 4. Very disappointing as it was a precious love story. Taking current characters back to their youth is a favorite technique of mine. Some of the scenes and action here were somewhat far fetched but I can overlook that and concentrate on the characters who made the book live. I hope the most negative reviewer has now read more of Mr. Kay. She should try Taking Lottie Home. I hope Kay is not through with his stories. After Eli is soo good, too.