Burning Ground

Rating:
Summary: Passions just below ground level, from a bird's eye view!
Review: I adored this book, which I grabbed, I admit, from cover and brief write-up alone.

The notion of fire, and burning, tied up with the omnipresent Canadian Wilderness and Weather, becomes a moving portrait of passions in the life of the heroine, Percy Turner. The novel explores the isolation of a fire-watch tower in the wilderness, with only a hastily begun e-mail romance, and semi-regular supply drop-offs to break up the isolation. Percy travels in her minds eye, through her past, including her tempestuous relationship with a woman who still holds much of her heart, and her current budding relationship with a fellow fire tower watcher, a man who seems to spark new emotions within her.

Free will, erotic passions, losses and the notions of relationship detente are just some of the themes explored in this novel. The imagery sears.

Moving through the past, the present, and Percy's emotional potential future with an extreme grace, Pearl Luke's passions seem to smoulder on the pages, imagery tight with some of the most vivid prose I've ever read. I will definitely be looking out for her in the future, and happily reccommend this to anyone looking for a contemporary story that borders on the erotic while remaining truly expressive and character-driven. Even the conclusion of the story kept me gripped, and I put the book down at its completion with a real sense of fulfillment.

'Nathan

Rating:
Summary: Couldn't make up my mind!
Review: I picked the book out because I read the woman was working in a fire tower, and Ranger Gord happens to be my fav. Red Green SHow charactor so I figured I'd see what it was about (And there WAS a Ranger gord in this story, how ironic:)
I'm 16 years old so I'm not quite used to reading literature so erotic and bold when it comes to sexual content. It scared me a little at first, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to continue the book or not, but I did and I'm glad I did! I thought that perhaps, like the one girl in seattle said, maybe I'm just a bit too immature to be reading something like this. but I thought what the heck, and put myself past it. It's not like I'm not used to swearing and talking about sex, heck, I go to hight school, lol.

The book had a powerful menaing to it, all about finding you true inner self and what's important to yourself. It's about learning to tell apart the truth from the lies you tell yourself. Good book.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing!
Review: I'd bought this book during a recent visit to Canada, while searching for Canadian writers. It seems to me like I found a very promising one!

There isn't much action in the book, but the philosophy, the outlook on life, the memories all make up for it. I couldn't put this book down. Those long train rides I have to go through every day seemed to be the shortest ever with this book accompanying me.

The way that Pearl Luke has contrasted the underground fires and our lives was amazing. By the end of the book I got the feeling that the fires burning underground were also burning in us as our memories, our childhood traumas or experiences.

It's a great book! Everybody must read this. I hope Pearl Luke keeps writing.

Rating:
Summary: Where there's smoke
Review: Working in a fire tower deep in the Canadian forest, Percy Turner uses the isolation as a wall against people, and uses the time for reflection on her past and future. She has a strained relationship with her parents, burdened by family secrets, and her childhood friend & longtime lover Marlea can't seem to choose whether to be with Percy or with her current boyfriend (not that Percy has had a stellar record keeping faithful to Marlea either). Through an internet exchange with a fellow fire tower worker, Percy slowly begins piecing her life back together. Pearl Luke's compelling story is sprinkled with fascinating facts about fires that make this tale so unique. She eloquently shows us that desire and attraction aren't always as clear cut as we like to think.

Rating:
Summary: not child appropriate
Review: yes this book had many ways of stating life, but it was a disturbing teenage child/teen hood. I thought it could of been more appropriate and should of been rated higher than teen status.