THE LAVENDER HOUR

Author: Anne D. LeClaire ISBN: 0345460480 4/2007 CONTEMPORARY Publisher: BALLANTINE

Downsized from her teaching job, Jessie longs for a sense of renewal and decides to spend a year on Cape Cod, seeking to be cleansed by rushing ocean waters and comforted by the lavender hues of the setting sun. While there she volunteers with a local hospice program, where she meets Luke, a once proud fisherman whose life and body have been ravaged by cancer. Jessie’s presence is a great help to Luke’s mother, who has moved in to take care of her son. After initial misgivings Jessie and Luke forge a deep friendship, and the former teacher is surprised to find herself opening up about her life, the loss of her father when she was a girl, her often difficult relationship with her mother, and her own battle with illness. When Luke makes a critical request of his new friend, Jessie must look deep within herself for an answer, knowing that her actions will have far-reaching effects on Luke’s family and forever change the bonds within her own.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

This book is not what I expected. THE LAVENDER HOUR is inspirational and touching, while at the same time very upsetting.

The characters are real—a cancer survivor with a history of failed romances and a man who is losing his battle to cancer. Jessie, the cancer survivor, begins volunteer work with cancer patients. She is assigned to Luke, who is dying of pancreatic cancer. Of course, Jessie falls in love with Luke, which is hopeless. The story takes a startling turn when Jessie assists Luke with a suicide by overdosing on medication.

The jury is still out on whether I like this story or not. I think the novel has depth, is real and believable. But, I like a place where happy-ever-after prevails, at least in the living. I did not find that in this novel. THE LAVENDER HOUR would be an outstanding novel to read in an English Literature class, but not one I would read on my own.

Kym Oetting