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Monica Sanders and Paul Logan find themselves alone on a deserted island in the Bahamas after their plane crashes and kills everyone else on board. Monica is a 22-year-old black woman and Rick is a 62-year-old retired white man. With no other living person around and no one but each other to depend on, the two quickly fall in love. The couple realizes that they are the perfect match for each other, yet they both feel that their love might be a pipe dream. The only negative tension between them arises with the topic of whether they should compromise their philosophical differences to align with the way the outside world will judge them. They both know that the question of trying to cope in a world where prejudices against race and age still abound is the only matter that will tear them apart. The single conflict between these characters is an emotional one, and organically from the characters' knowledge and experiences of life. The premise of being the survivor of a plane crash disaster and washed up on a deserted island was used as a stepping-stone to the meat of this story -- a romance. These two people needed to be able to concentrate their thoughts on each other. By separating them from the world they were given the opportunity, and the sense of their unique situation, to take all the time they needed to ponder their weighty thoughts as to the ways of their fellow flawed creatures in the outside world. The idyllic island cooperated by supplying fresh water, bountiful sources of food, and weather so temperate that it is mentioned only once. No excess heat, or cold, or rain bothers the couple for months upon this island. Paradise made to order for the two people to expound upon their thoughts on all raging issues of the day. Much of their time on the island is spent bemoaning the fact that Paul, the retired editor, is so much older than Monica. They are so painfully aware that their love is metered out in time, that rather than celebrating that they did find their perfect mate in each other, they permitted their joy to be dampened because of the idea of age. Though many relationships end for varied reasons, they seemed to be unfortunately stuck on the subject of growing old. Sensuality abounds on this island, but the lovemaking is never taken lightly. It is a physical pairing, yes, but the main union of these two people is a spiritual one. There's a lot more to this novel than just an everyday romance. This is a love story with a racial diversity of characters. Finally, we get to read about a leading character of color, a woman, and I can only hope that there will be more like this book. It might have furthered the readers¹ feelings of a bond with both characters if more time had been spent solely in each person's point of view. No sooner do the readers begin to feel as if they are inside Monica's skin and mind, then they are pulled into Paul's very different view point and background. I would have loved to have spent more time to get to build an intimate connection with each of the leads before going to the other. The occasional lapses into omniscient voice also interrupted the warm attachment between the readers and the couple. And there were times where the two, rather than speak to each other in a conversational tone, lectured the other. The writers have created wonderful characters. The heroine is someone we identify with and the hero is completely appealing, with only that one fatal flaw that he has lived so much more of life than she has. These two people learn more about themselves and the nature of love on that island than most people do in a lifetime in the everyday world.
Reviewed by Sharon Katz, April 2003
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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