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The Candle's Shadow

by:
Catharine Cool (Author)

ISBN: 0-7414-5162-X ©2009
Price: $15.95
Book Size: 5.5'' x 8.5'' , 258 pages
Category/Subject: BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Personal Memoirs

Although the relationship I had with my beautiful and enigmatic mother was always troubling, with age I discovered how rich and unusual were the gifts she offered in place of motherly love.

Abstract:
The immense realm of childhood lies just beneath the surface of consciousness in all of us, holding images forever within the castle of our minds.

This memoir of my lonely childhood, alienated by space from the warmth of family, unfolds the enduring mother-daughter tensions which persisted throughout her life and my own.

Imagine yourself a child of five, sent away to boarding school in a distant homeland, as children from the British Colonies were. You share a childhood often haunted by uncertainty, loneliness and change.

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Customer Reviews

  *A Compelling Story* , 05/27/2009
Reviewer: *Lindsay*
The juxtaposition of the exotic and the familiar propels the reader through The Candle's Shadow. The exotic strand is the narrator's childhood in Malacca, Malaya and an assortment of schools in Australia, during the Second World War. The familiar strand is the emotional tension between the narrator and her mother, a complicated relationship of clashing expectations and miscommunications, topped with a smattering of competition and misunderstanding, but always with an underlying regard and love that neither was confident how to express. That the narrator calls her mother "Charlotte" is as telling as the writer's insightful choice of title. The colorful use of language and well painted scenes are a clear strength that invite the reader to experience this unfamiliar and interesting time and place. The examination of childhood emotions and thoughts is particularly refreshing because of the wisdom time has brought to the observations and the understanding of them. The Candle's Shadow is a compelling, well told story that informs and delights. *H*

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  A Great Read , 06/11/2009
Reviewer: Judy Crooke
This deeply satisfying book speaks with great authenticity of a lonely childhood spent moving between South East Asia and Australia as the offspring of British Colonial parents during the 1930s. With revealing, vivid descriptions of an unusual life, the memoir depicts the ensuing tensions between love and resentment that arose between mother and daughter. The tumultuous background history of this period is recounted in a fluent, colorful descriptive style that is immediately captivating. Prepare to engage the heart-strings!

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  A Wonderful Read , 09/01/2009
Reviewer: Williem Weertman
Congratulations on the completion and publication of your wonderful book! About two weeks ago I finished reading “The Candle’s Shadow”, and have already loaned it to a friend here at Timber Ridge who tells me she is fascinated by every word. Somewhat like you, she was an only child, which gives her a lot of empathy for your early years. I do admire your vividly descriptive writing style that I think is a perfect match for the story you are telling and I know your book will hit a responsive chord with many, many readers. William Weertman

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  The Candle Light , 10/17/2009
Reviewer: Rachel Crawford "Page Turner" (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews
The CANDLE LIGHT, October 15, 2009 This is a lovely book.. wonderful reading I was drawn with the author to her lonely childhood, her experiences with the people in her world. The trauma of boarding schools, separation and anxiety of WWII and always searching to know her emotionally distant mother. The book is so skillfully and beautifully written that instead of a tale of woe,which it could have become it composes a song for the soul. I loved it.

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  A stunning book. , 10/29/2009
Reviewer: Judy Evered
This is a stunning book; extremely interesting and authentic. Carefully crafted from personal letters written by the author's parents to each other. Climaxing with the tragic events of WWll, it is at once a romance, a history and a psychological treatise. Catharine Cool knew her parents better than they knew themselves. One is given a new experience of understanding of love, war and loneliness. It overreaches all standards of a page turner. ~ Judith Evered, Santa Barbara, California

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