Today it is my turn on the BlogTour The Pelican by M. Naidoo. It's contemporary and women's fiction, a tale of acceptance, support and friendship during the most difficult of times.
Born and raised in Germany, M.Naidoo lives in Northern California with her husband, two daughters, and three dogs. One of them, Dusty, a spunky terrier mix, found its way into her debut novel.
When she is not in front of her computer, pounding out story lines and characters, she enjoys reading, movies, spending time with her family, and long walks on the beach - her proverbial 'happy place'. M's love for the beach and ocean shine through in the vivid descriptions of the coast in The Pelican.
"Juggling my life as a writer and a full-time 'real' job has its challenges. I don't get to spend half as much time as I'd like doing what I love, and there are never enough hours in the day. Still, I feel extremely lucky to be following my passion, and I am enjoying every minute of it. Getting here has been one heck of a ride!"
About the book
"Because life is about living..."
Julia has never been one to surrender without a fight, but when she receives a devastating diagnosis, she has a decision to make.
Even after thirty years, she can still see her mother slowly fading away with every dose of chemo, every round of radiation, and every lost shred of hope. No, she won't do it... not to her family... and not to herself!
Without warning, she packs up her belongings and disappears, leaving behind a life that, by all accounts, had been as perfect as they come, and a distraught family full of questions.
Finding peace in a beach house in Northern California turns out to have its complications though. While only a handful of other residents share the tiny beach community, each one has brought their own baggage and developed their own way of dealing with it. All Julia wants is to be left alone, but that simply does not seem to be an option, especially when there's a persistent bird that declares her to be his new best friend.
Haunted by the shadows of the past, Julia is struggling to cope with the present. Will she have the strength to do this alone and eventually follow through with her plan? Will her family, divided by mixed reactions to being abandoned, come together to try and track her down? And what is the deal with that pelican of hers?
Only time will tell - and time is the one thing Julia does not have...
When Julia receives devastating news she reacts in an impulsive and bizarre way. Fight or flight takes over and she runs from confrontations and conversations. She runs full speed ahead in the opposite direction, far away from her family. In her mind she thinks she is doing them a favour and is being honourable.
I don't find Julia or her actions selfless. In fact I find them selfish. From the get-go her instinct is to act as if she is a character in a telenovela or a Hallmark movie. The whole dramatic departure with a flip of the hair, racing away like a fugitive on the run. It's self-serving and thoughtless, not romantic or admirable. This isn't Beaches and there is no wind beneath her wings.
Yes, she is still traumatised by the slow and painful death of her mother. She doesn't want any repeat of the past. Not for herself or for her family. Of course that means leaving them in the dark, whilst she fights her final battle alone without her loved ones.
The most ironic and tragic element of the story is the way Julia accumulates a pseudo family, despite going through the whole process of eliminating her real one.
It's a tragic story, which is uplifted by the connection to the pelican and its connection to the beach and certain people. It gives it a certain essence of magical realism. At the core of the plot is the freedom to choose our own path when it comes to certain moments in our lives. When we know the what and the when we should be allowed the choice of how.
It's contemporary and women's fiction, a tale of acceptance, support and friendship during the most difficult of times. I think the attraction to this story will be her drastic action and whether or not the reader feels empathy or disagrees with the main character. Food for thought instead of a sense of peace and nostalgia.
Buy The Pelican at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Kaedin Press; pub date 29 July 2017. Buy at Amazon com, Buy at Kobo. At Barnes & Noble.
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