Books reviewed by Adrienne Power MY LITTLE LIGHTHOUSE by Peter McCluskey (Available through his website www.petermccluskey.com ) Paul Rickman takes a long earned cycling holiday in Wales from his Software Company, Rickman Software. The unimaginable happens when both Paul and his wife Colleen are struck by lightning while in the Brecon Beacons National Park. Paul takes the brunt of the strike and ends up in and out of a coma which causes amnesia. Not only have the family to deal with Paul’s devastating illness, there is also the problem of his company about to launch some new software and he is the expert on it. His grown up son Jon and daughter Margo, have to step in to run the business in his absence. The entire future of the business rests on the successful launch of the new software package. The novel is told through multiple viewpoints of the family and the doctor, also with a mix of media commentary throughout. The most fascinating part for me was the viewpoint of Paul while in a coma state when he enters the strange world of the Lighthouse. I loved the symbol of the lighthouse as a beacon of safety through the horror of forgetting who you are. There are so many important themes in this book. The idea of a work life balance. Not to let work take over your life, but to make time for family. How important the people closest to you are in times of crisis! The toll it takes on the family when someone is long term ill! All proceeds from the sale of this book go to Crumlin Children’s Hospital. Peter is a long time union member. This is his third book.
Thought-provoking family drama THE SMALL HAND by Susan Hill Susan Hill is best known for her gripping Victorian Ghost Story, "The Woman in Black". The Small Hand is another of her ghost stories and begins with an atmospherically descriptive first chapter when Antiquarian Bookseller Adam Snow gets lost on the way to a client’s house and finds the old dilapidated “White House”. He is peculiarly drawn to investigate this old house with its long forgotten garden and as he stands on the doorstep he feels the unmistakable presence of a child’s hand slipping into his own. From that moment on Adam becomes increasingly haunted by the experience and so begins the mystery of who the ghostly child was and what is the terrible story behind the house known as the “White House”. This is a lovely small compact volume. The book itself grabs hold of you from the very first word just as much as the invisible child grabs hold of the character Adam Snow.
A gentle chillier and a little gem of a book 62