Glass Beach

by Jill Marie Landis

Book Overview

Even paradise demands a price for love and happiness . . . Widowed Elizabeth Bennett believes her troubles are over. Her loveless marriage is at an end. The death of her husband leaves her free to... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0515122858
• ISBN13: 9780515122855
• Release Date: June 1998
• Publisher: Berkley
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.0" x 1.0" x 4.3"

Customer Reviews

Very well written

An utterly beautiful romance. The characters in this book had a tragic feel to them. It was a welcome change from the gushy arrogance of England-set historical novels. The exotic setting, the cultural and racial issues, the emotional complications between the two main characters, all blend together to make a beautiful book. Couldn't put it down!

FABULOUS!

I absolutely LOVE the way Jill writes. Mony, or whoever, you must have no heart or imagination not to fall in love with this book. I haven't finished reading it but I just think Mrs. Landis is a great author!

Great Story

I loved Glass Beach. I thought it was compelling and I loved the setting! The characters were wonderful-especially Spence Laamea!

The courage to trust yourself.

Elizabeth is elated at Franklin's sudden death by stroke. She is eager to claim her life as her own, and transform Mauna Noe, the cattle ranch which she anticipates to inherit for herself and Hadley, into a thriving productive cattle ranch. Little does she know of Franklin's vindictive plans set in his will. When Spencer Laamea, a hapa Haole, half Hawaiian man (who turns out to be Franklin's illegitimate son), shows up at the reading of the will, Elizabeth is shocked at her primal reaction to Spence's physical appearance (he first reminds her of Franklin, and she is therefore apprehensive), then his beauty (this man is very handsome and she is strongly attracted) and lastly, his strong, grounded presence (and she feels comforted). Together, they heal each other and Hadley as they work together to revitalize Mauna Noe. Elizabeth comes to trust her own strength, her inner knowingness, and her love for Spence and the Land. She comes to know that Spence is an honorable man. Spence heals the bitterness he had nursed all those years when Franklin abandoned both Spence's Hawaiian Mother and Spence himself. Through Elizabeth, Spence learns the truth about his Father's brutality. Hadley blossoms into a healthy, light-hearted, loving young woman as she grows to love and trust Spence as a father-figure and becomes friends with the Hawaiians on the ranch. The attitudes about race and interracial relationships that underpin the story in this book connected me to a story my Father told me about his growing up. Dad's parents were in the Navy, stationed on Guam around 1925, when he was 10 or 11. He said his favorite activity was body surfing on the beaches with his buddies, the Island boys. He recalled that his Mother was called in to the base Commandant's office and told to keep her son from playing with the "native boys," because it wasn't "seemly." I remember my Dad looking both sad and angry at his memory, because, he went on to say, "Those were the only friends I had. & qu! ot; Glass Beach takes place in an era when the description, "going native," was seen as a moral step down in the social scheme of things. I especially enjoyed learning about the Paniolos, the Hawaiian cowboys, and appreciated Landis' use of Hawaiian words throughout the book. Her descriptions of the Land and people and the love the people have for the Land had me right there on Kauai, and I've never visited there before. Maybe now is the time?!