A Live Coal in the Sea

This is a book I keep going back to read. The characters are well-written, complex, and sympathetic. The wisdom of the book's narrator is one of the books best features-even though that wisdom was hard won. She, and nearly every character in the book, must figure out how to go on and continue loving family members when terrible truths surface. Every family can relate to the need for forgiveness, love,healing. The book is a realistic love story.

After reading Madeleine L'Engle's Camilla, I just had to find out what had become of her. A Live Coal in the Sea introduces new characters and reunites us with old friends. Written in the style of A House Like a Lotus, with flashbacks every few pages, the reader will never be confused about the time. The main character is Camilla Dickinson, who is happy until her granddaughter, Raffi, comes to her home asking "Are you or aren't you my grandmother?" Camilla is forced to deal with something that happened long ago. So she tells the story of her life, beginning at her senior year of college, when she met her husband which all lead up to the discovery of Raffi's father Taxi's parentage. There is a surprise twist at the end of the book. Ms. L'Engle deals with complicated issues in a subtle way. This book should be read by more mature readers, but everyone will learn something from it.

A Live Coal in the Sea was a fantastic book. It is a sequel to the novel Camilla, but you don't have to read Camilla to enjoy the book. It is about Camilla's granddaughter discovering her hidden hereditary. You relive Camilla's past and find out about all the skeletons that are hidden in the closet. Once you pick it up, the book is impossible to put down. Camilla lived a fascinating life, and you get the vicarious thrill of reliving her past as she reveals what really went on to her granddaughter. There is a surprise twist at the end, so when you think that you've figured it all out, there's still more to come. The book is appropriate for almost anybody that is at the end of high school or an adult, there are inappropriate situations for younger kids to deal with. I would reccommend this book to anyone who likes to read good books, or likes the author Madeleine L'Engle (who is a fantastic writer). It was a wonderful book with an intricate plot, I was sorry to finish it.

How many books have you read that give you something to think about that doesn't assault your being? This one tells a meaningful story about something not so pleasant...something families face all the time. There is something to learn from this 'story'...something that we might just be able to use in our own journey! Thank you Ms. L'Engle for this wonderful lesson. It's one I'll read again.

If you want to read an absorbing, moving and surprising story that you could read over and over again, reach for Madeleine L'Engle's "A Live Coal in the Sea." L'Engle is one of this century's greatest living writers. She always writes about meaningful and varied topics, and this novel is full of them. The story is shocking at times, and yes, there are sexual themes that are deeply disturbing, but this is an INCREDIBLY WELL-WRITTEN book. As a college graduate from the University of California in English and American literature, I have read plenty of books. I truly feel that writing doesn't get much better than this. L'Engle creates characters who are realistic and who have profound concepts to teach yet are fallible people. The protagonists within the story are amazing role models who inspire and disappoint us. "A Live Coal in the Sea" is a sequel to L'Engle's novel "Camilla" and it just makes the experience richer if you've read that before reading this one, but not crucial. I have to laugh after reading the other reviews here that pick apart small "flaws" within this story - YOU try writing something like this and then we'll talk! I think that all novels, whether they are written by Charles Dickens or by Jackie Collins, have something to pick apart if you are looking for that. If you want a story that will affect you and you want to read one of the most magnificent writers of our time, choose "A Live Coal in the Sea." I have read over 2/3 of L'Engles books (she has written many!!!) and besides "A Ring of Endless Light" and "A Wrinkle in Time" it is one of the best of her books. Whether or not you're L'Engle fan, you will most likely become one after reading this tale of true mercy, growth, and love.