Sterling Reviews

Their father seems to be in a constant drunken state. Their younger sister Aileen seems to have physically and mentally stopped maturing five years ago when she turned ten. Their two brothers are always looking for a quick rich scam. Only their mother serves as a positive role model. Yet life on the island of Mull off the coast of Scotland in 1878 was pleasant enough for sisters, Biddy and Innis.

However, everything abruptly changes when a newcomer, shepherd Michael Tarrant, arrives. Both sisters want him for themselves and a sibling rivalry breaks out between them. However, Biddy, being prettier than Innis, catches Michael's immediate attention, but its is Innis, the deeper of the duo, who falls in love with the Incomer. With the rivalry turning acrimonious, it would seem that none of the participants in this skewed triangle will find lasting happiness.

THE ISLAND WIFE is a well-written historical romance by one of the sub-genre's top writers, Jessica Sterling. The novel is charming due to several intriguing sub-plots that add depth while neatly tying into the main story line. The three prime characters and the support cast add much local flavor to an already superb tale. The esteemed Ms. Sterling has created a pure gold experience for the historical romance audience.

Harriet Klausner

But more than anything else, this is a work about race and identity and the burden that history places on each of us.

The novella is set in New Orleans in the early 19th century. So out of place is Francois Le Favorite, the young white son of an undertaker, that not only does he not believe in the inherent superiority of whites but also he believes it is blacks who are superior.

In his quest to create the perfect man, Le Favorite uses the body parts of free and enslaved black men who have been murdered or have died suddenly and mysteriously. The head (as well as the right shoulder and upper hand) belongs to a slave named Baptiste, lynched after he rejected the overtures of his master's son.

Le Favorite's creation/creature is a giant made up of the many-hued parts of men who died because they were strangers in a strange land. Called "Le Griffon" after the griffin of Greek mythology, he becomes the strangest and most feared being of all.

Cursed-or blessed-with the memory of Baptiste and what was done to him, the creature seeks revenge on his former master as well as the son. He becomes the walking embodiment of rumored slave insurrections that cost slaveholders many a sleepless night: the incarnation of an angry Mother Africa crying for her stolen children.

The remainder of the killings, save one, are committed by the Griffon when he's threatened or attacked. The one exception is when he accidentally smothers the fiancee of Le Favorite to keep her from screaming. This accidental killing mirrors the one committed by Bigger Thomas in Richard Wright's classic, "Native Son."

Bigger, the literary antecedent of the Griffon, lived in a 20th -century America in which he was seen and treated as a beast. Bigger also was a creation of forces larger than he, a confused monster created not by a mad scientist but by the mad pseudo-science of racism.

If the Griffon is an unusual amalgamation of body parts, he is no less "pure" and of one source than the many multiracial characters Houston paints into his literary landscape. In many ways, the Griffon-a man of many men-is the most America of beings, someone made up of that came before him.

What Houston wisely leaves for the reader to ponder is this: At what point do we become the individuals we are and not just the sum of our many parts?

The language with which Houston writes is a spare and poetic lyricism.

The questions he asks are powerful and profound.

Yes, they haunt.

Simple enough for a young person to read and understand (our ancestor's were great communicators), and interesting enough for adults to savor the meanings of the thoughts expressed. A brief summary places each passage in the context of its times, and the passages are word for word of the original.

This volume will also help non-Americans to understand the United States better, and the ideas that shaped it into the nation that it is today.

Highly recommended for all ages.

It would take all night to tell you how much I loved this book. It's got too much to write about. Really. If you like science fiction or fantasy fiction, this one is great. If you want a story that really moves, get this one. It's still totally Christian, no cliches. Refreshingly original. Heavy in some places. Funny in others. I really loved it.

I often have visitors both from the US and other countries and like to keep books on long island accessible to them so that they can find their bearings as well as plan day trips etc. This book makes for great conversation and holds your attention like no other book of it's kind. It takes a refreshing standpoint in describing Long Island and what has taken place here over all these years. I, myself, as a both an avid reader and well educated Long Island Native have learned so much from this book.

This would make a marvelous gift and an excellent book to send to friends overseas. Oh, what a tribute to Long Island.....an environment for success.