Sunshine and Shadows

By: Sharon and Tom Curtis
Genre: Romance
Grade: Not sure, but I didn't enjoy it. It wasn't a bad book but it just wasn't a fun one.

Most novels turn on the actions of the book. This is understandable as there has to be something going on to make you want to turn the pages. This was one of those rare books where very little seemed to be actually occurring, that the book itself takes place within the characters. Part of that is that the authors use a very poetic, almost lyrical style of writing. They are all about conveying emotion, setting and character interactions. Some might think this is like "Pride and Prejudice" but in fact P and P has a great deal of action, from the early walk home from church to the dance to the ball -- well, you get my drift. A lot happens. This one had the feel of a warm, summer day -- cozy and almost drowsy in some ways.

That is not in fact the setting, though. The book begins with Alan Wilde, a James Cameron/George Lucas sort of character, cursing his idea to film in the frigid spring weather of Wisconsin. He is even more taken aback when that filming is disrupted by a breathtaking young Amish woman attacking his monster. The scene he is filming quickly becomes farcical and many of the production crew believe the film has been wasted. Alan disagrees. Watching it that night he is struck by how the camera catches the lovely Susan and determines to have her fill the now vacant leading lady role.

Susan is embarrassed to have been taken in by a fake monster and more than a little hesitant to get involved in such a project. But Alan has an odd effect on her senses and she soon finds herself involved in secretly filming the movie. She is uneasy with the deception she is putting upon her family and friends but views it as temporary and necessary. Her brother Daniel is supportive of what she is doing and soon Susan finds herself drawn to much in the world she has always been taught to fear, most especially the man who has mesmerized her into being involved with the project to begin with.

This book was a very slow read for me. One of the disadvantages of romance is that you know the ending. That means the authors job is to really intrigue you with the road she is going to use to get there. In this case, because of how little action took place, I knew that there was only one road to get there. Susan and Alan would succumb to their desires and find a way to make his world fit into hers. I also knew that things would have to come to a head with her community - there was no way Susan was going to keep her involvement in this project hidden. She was making a movie for national release. The Amish may not go to movies but they do on occasion go to stores and restaurants and there was just no way they wouldn't stumble across the information there. She would have had more luck keeping a pregnancy secret.

And this is where I begin with what I found difficult about the book. Alan "teaches" Susan to act by telling her it is like a game of pretend. That is lovely but filming is actually not quite like that. The director decides your words, your reactions, where you stand, how you tilt your head. And you do it all in front of a rather large crew. With tons of technology around you (yes, even in the 80's we had technology. Probably bigger, more mechanical stuff than the sleek stuff they use now.) I just found it hard to stretch my disbelief that innocent Susan, who didn't recognize a stereo when she saw one, was able to react naturally around boom mikes, cameras, lights, and dozens of people. That she felt comfortable in the make up and costuming also seemed a stretch. Had Susan been rebellious against her community, the kind of person who loved to sneak into town to listen to music and watch the English at play, if she had crept into Walmart or K-mart to stare in amazement at their televisions, I might have bought it. But that she loved her community, loved their simple way of life and simply wasn't interested in the world outside of it made it impossible for me to buy into her transformation into an actress who was anything but awkward before the camera.

Alan's interest in her was on the creepy side for me. Fortunately, he questioned it himself, wondering if he had become so nasty that the only joy he could take was from the destruction of purity. He goes on to resolve this in his own mind but not really in mine. I couldn't ever quite get a handle on what he loved about Susan other than her wholesomeness and her sense of community.

I also couldn't get a handle on why Susan, who supposedly loved her community, felt so comfortable betraying it. Yes, she had some unease but she was fascinated by what she was doing too. I couldn't reconcile the Susan I was told she was with what she was doing. The two seemed like puzzle pieces which looked like they match but when you put them together they don't.

In the end this book was entirely a love story and it was one I didn't buy. It was beautifully written, the characterizations were well drawn, but the romance just didn't work for me. Since it was only a romance, that left me with a puzzling lack of satisfaction at the end of the book. Like a delicious desert which leaves you wishing you hadn't eaten it.

Tea: I have no tea in mind but here is a link to Amish recipes.http://www.amishrecipes.net/amish-recipes.php Personally, I love their fat egg noodles. Essenhaus makes some that I like to boil in chicken broth. Yummy!