Who are you, Morgan? – is the quintessential question of the book ‘The Lightkeeper’s Daughters” by Jean E. Pendziwol.
Morgan is an orphan teenager lost in the web of the non-functional foster system. As all of this isn’t enough, her boyfriend is the type of handy guy, implicated in various questionable jobs with drugs and guns.
Elizabeth is an old woman who is almost blind, a nursing home resident, art-passionate, and with a story to tell.
Between the two women, the connections are unknown and very powerful. Morgan is connected to the past by a violin and some drawings. Elizabeth brings up her past through her father’s journals and her sister’s Emily drawings.
The story
Caught doing graffiti on a nursing home wall, Morgan is punished by having to work some hours at the said nursing home. Here she meets Elizabeth surrounded by her father’s journals. Because she’s almost blind, Elizabeth asks Morgan to read the journals, trying to relive her past and uncover its secrets.
By reading the journals, Morgan takes us on a fascinating journey inside the life of Elizabeth and her sister Emily. The sisters have lived maybe half of their lives on Porphyry Island, managing the lighthouse of the island. We witness the making of a family and its evolution far away from civilization. A family that seems to have spent years as a spectator at the world’s evolution while living its quiet life in the security of Porphyry Island. Elizabeth and Emily are twin sisters, or at least that’s how the story goes. Elizabeth is the guardian of her sister Emily who was born with some health problems ( probably autism).
We watch the life of the two sisters, we survive beside them, and discover love and betrayal, pain and powerlessness. Porphyry Island is not only the house of the lightkeeper but is also the guardian of deep secrets that are changing lives. It is the quiet witness of fractured, deviated destinies marked by decisions and consequences that tie up through time into Morgan’s existence.
“Who are you, Morgan?” is the question that leads us to find out who is Elizabeth and who is Emily. “The Lightkeeper’s Daughters” is a novel about identity search. Jean E. Pendziwol creates a real treasure hunt, in this case, a secret hunt that takes us to a surprisingly emotional finale.
In her journey to the past, Elizabeth becomes a light in Morgan’s life helping her to navigate through feelings, facts, pains, and lack of fulfillment that mark her present life.
What I liked
The description of the islands, seasons, and day-to-day life is so detailed and well done that makes it very easy to imagine yourself inside the lighthouse keeper’s house. The characters are simple and strong, fully presented at the beginning of the book. They do not grow during the book but reveal themselves to the reader. While I was reading the book, I had the distinct feeling that if I look up I will see Elizabeth smiling ready to take my hand and walk me through her life and her islands. The connection between past and present, between Elizabeth and Morgan, is so beautifully created and nurtured throughout the story, is like looking at a painting that is knitting destinies and whispers stories with each brush stroke, each added color.
What I didn’t like
For two days I looked for something not to like, I did not find anything objective. I did not like the pain of Emily’s life, I did not like the emotionally unavailable mother. But all these made the story more beautiful, more sensitive, and more complex.
In a time with literature dominated by fantasy, fae worlds, and romance dotted with hot sex scenes, “The Lightkeeper’s Daughters” is a welcome change. It is like the first sip of coffee after a cake too sweet, bitter, and different, an explosion of flavors becoming addictive.
Buy the book here:https://l.profitshare.ro/l/12238183
