Jul 17, 2007 02:14 AM
19336 Views
It feels bad to review a different book but I couldn't find a place to review a new book. However inspiration comes from different levels. If one is from India's most enlightened mind- the original topic, this book is inspired by the creative talents of one of the finest Naturalists and psycologists. On the playing field of inspiration, it is apt to review this book here.
If one thing is truly admirable about Nicholas Evans, it is his consistency. After his first book- The Horse Whisperer went on to become an international bestseller, the bandwagon kept on rolling. The Loop and the Smoke Jumper were tragic and adventurous respectively but in this book he returns to his emotional best.The beauty of this book lies in the fact that it can be analysed at various levels and considering various aspects. Rarely a book is so captivating and thought provoking. All the characters are well sketched out and each ask a subtle question.
The title itself suggests a lot. What is a divide? Who is being divided and why? Circumstances in life divide people from the company of each other and later within oneself, each one himself or herself fully responsible for this.
When Abbie is found dead in the spring snow by two injured skiers, the world is about to change for everyone. Sheriff Charlie Riggs, an unhappy divorcee, is to do the dirty bit of informing the family as that part of Montana(where her body was discovered) is under his charge. Sarah and Ben, Abbie's parents, are devastated in their own ways and so is her brother, Josh who is not introduced in the 1st Part. In the rest of the brief 1st part we learn that their marriage has failed and Sarah ends it with a blistering comment that Ben is responsible for Abbie's death.
Part2 is the core of the book. In a family vacation to Montana, Ben falls in love with Eve and decides to take matters into his own hands. Mentally tired from his pressurized job and a wife who can't satisfy him physically or emotionally, he finds solace in direct pointed talk from Eve. Meanwhile Abbie falls in love with Tye, a rancher’s son and he stokes her concern for the environment a notch higher. In flashbacks we get to know the love between Sarah and Ben and where they failed to click despite 2 decades of being together. Enhancing this division is an obtrusive father of Sarah, hated by all but Sarah. Eve comes to New York on an Art Exhibition of her friend and the coincidence of her meeting Ben alone escalates his emotional roller coaster. Eventually things go beyond the boundary and he decides to cheat on Sarah, casually, just as he did so twice before.
Evans provides an excellent canvas on which the pettiness of human emotions is contrasted against the grandeur of nature. Even as Abbie begins life in University of Montana against a backdrop of mountains and lush green open fields, Ben decides to leave Sarah for good when Eve refuses to have an affair with a married man. On the Thanksgiving vacation, he breaks this news to them that were to shatter them forever. He coolly leaves after telling Sarah that Eve is just the catalyst, their marriage failed long back. None of entreaties or force work on him.
Abbie, their golden child, is shattered forever. Once the numero uno in academics, horse riding and social skills and a protective shield for her mediocre brother, Abbie now becomes involved in loud environmental campaign and anti-social activity. The motive was good but the means bad. She becomes news after spitting on a logger and is saved in Seattle by a German militant environmentalist. In her disturbed state of mind, her motive and this man, Rolf is her saviour.
Evans is good at understanding the trials and turbulations of teenage girls. Just like Grace in Horse Whisperer, we travel with Abbie on an emotionally stinging journey.
Things become worse when she accidentally murders the son of a Business Tycoon who destroyed the environment and occupation of Tye’s father. Already secluded and aloof from her family, she now goes on the run and the 9/11 attack brands her group as a terrorist- marking no difference between terrorism and eco-terrorism. Even in her most disdainful self, she still cares for her family specially when the abusive Rolf gets too cruel. She meets her family in the context of taking money that is given to her after a series of thrilling steps to avoid detection. Only then do they realize that Abbie is lost to them forever. Josh however, still keeps the cell phone. She once calls him to say that she loved him and she wanted to end his life. Two years later, circumstances are far happier. She wants to meet him in Montana. By this time she had left the abusive Rolf, patched up with Tye and her family and decided to surrender. Taking Rolf’s laptop proved to be their undoing. Josh meets her at Montana and then helps Tye decode the files of Rolf. However they get the shock of their lives when Rolf turns up. A fight later, Abbie’s life ends tragically. However she deserves this end and not any other way.
Part3 is a journey of redemption for the family. 3 years after leaving Sarah, Ben ponders marrying Eve. Things become less frosty between Sarah and Ben after she apologizes for her comments. She meanwhile has a new man in her life in the guise of Sheriff Charlie Riggs. He earns the respect of Josh after handling in a mature way the truth about events leading to Abbie’s death. As Sarah turns 50, the sunlight that long eluded her life showers it’s rays again. To start it all Josh gives a stunning speech and later he lets them know that Abbie loved both of them. As the three stand by Abbie’s grave, new hope filters through and we leave the book with the assurance that the worst was over.
This book is rich in a gamut of human emotions and Nature descriptions are as usual exemplary. It is not recommended for people who wish to oversee and avoid tragedy. If one can digest tragedy, this book is gem of a masterpiece.
