Book Review
©Moronic Ox Literary Journal - Escape Media Publishers / Open Books
Calico Pennants by David A. Ross
Open Books, 2009
Reviewed by Joyce Norman
If you happen to read while standing up, sit down. If you read while sitting down, find something and hang on! David A. Ross's novel, "Calico Pennants" starts out setting you up for a nice, relaxing read about a man named Julian who takes a vacation to Hawaii. Next, he buys a big boat and next...well, if you think this reviewer is going to tell you anymore about the plot, click the Delete button.
David A. Ross is definitely not new to writing. This author has been around the literary block a time or two and knows how to write a
page-turner. When I began the read, I thought I would make it to the end of Part I and come back to it later. Well, it's much, much later and I couldn't stop until the last period appeared at the end of the last sentence! Several times I thought I had things figured out. More than several times I realized I did not. Books that pick you up and have the power to carry you on adventures is my kind of book. "Calico Pennants" is my kind of book.
A novice sailor with a new boat on his hands takes a weekend trip to get the hang of being a ship's captain. He loses his anchor (well, the boat does), the engine won't start and he drifts from Hawaii far out into the South Pacific Ocean. He loses track of time, loses consciousness and winds up with the boat's hull jammed deeply in the sandy beach of a small island very far from Hawaii.
Meanwhile, years and years before in a flashback, Amelia Earhart is making her attempt at circling the globe and her plane goes down in...yes, somewhere in the South Pacific Ocean...yet, when Julian finally awakes and realizes he is shipwrecked, he is aware of a plane's sputtering, gasping-for-gas sound above him. He follows the sound to where he assumes the crash to be and finds... nothing! Time zones are in conflict here but you must keep reading for it only gets better and you'll have to decide how Earhart influences Julian. Strange? Read on.
David A. Ross describes the surroundings on this tiny atoll vividly and precisely and you can almost hear the coconuts hitting the sand and the Trade Winds blowing through the palm fronds. It's interesting what this author does with the different way things look in varying lighting.
The comic relief is wondrously carried out by a very talented, verbal parrot. He and Julian have made this trip together and toward the end of the book they both share something that draws them very close together. The bird takes on human traits and becomes one of the strong characters in the book.
You must read this novel if you want something different from the norm. It's about taking risks, about what it would be like to live in Paradise. It's about finding out who you are and it's most of all, about time, the real main character in this riveting novel.
I gave this novel 5 stars for brilliant writing and creativity at its best!
by Jane Austen
Originally Published for the Author, 1811
Sense and Sensibility
portrays the life and loves of two starkly different sisters: Elinor and Marianne Dashwood. Secrets, betrayals and confessions soon complicate the lives of the Dashwoods, whose goal is nothing less than the achievement of perfect happiness.
About the Author:
Jane Austen was born in 1775 in Hampshire, England.
Austen remained with her family all her adult life, never marrying.
After the publication of Sense and Sensibility in 1811, her life was brightened by a wide readership, several of her books reached second or third editions in her lifetime.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
David A. Ross was born January 6, 1953 in Chicago, Illinois. In addition to his career as a novelist (Good Morning Corfu, 2009; Open Books; How High The Wall, 2008; Open Books; Sacrifice and the Sweet Life, 2003, Escape Media; A Winter Garden, 2003, Escape Media; Stones, 2001, Escape Media; Xenos, 1998, Escape Media; The Trouble With Paradise; 1997, Escape Media), he is a former columnist and contributing editor for Southwest Art Magazine (1984-1985). His first novel, The Trouble With Paradise, was awarded third prize in the 1997 National Writer's Association Novel Competition. David A. Ross lives on the Island of Corfu, Greece, where he is the editor of Corfu Magazine.
ABOUT THE REVIEWER
Joyce Norman is the author of Coming Together (Chalet Publishers, LLC, 2009).
