The Color of Light

The Color of Light by Karen White is a wonderfully written novel about the struggles of a woman in her mid- thirties. White draws in her reader with a significant amount of suspense and foreshadowing that leads to the plot of the novel. Since the story takes place in modern times, it allows the reader to better understand and relate to the characters. The third person point of view also helps in relating to the characters because the reader is able to understand what is going on with each individual character. White also uses a large amount of imagery to describe the setting which makes the reader feel as if he/she is present in the story. The story takes place on Pawleys Island, South Carolina, when Jillian Parrish, a pregnant woman in her mid-thirties, moves there to seek refuge with her daughter and unborn child. She has always thought of the town as home, but it is also a town filled with bad memories, including the disappearance of her best friend Lauren. While Jillian moves to the town to start new, she is met with new problems. She runs into an old friend Linc, who she hasn’t seen since he was arrested for being thought guilty of murdering Lauren, and her daughter begins having conversations with an imaginary friend named Lauren. All of this and more will unleash the truth about what happened to Lauren and uncover the feelings that Jillian has kept buried for sixteen years. The main goal of the author is to present the reader with a fictional story that becomes entirely realistic as the plot unfolds. White wants the reader to feel as if he/she is actually present in the story as he/she reads it, and that’s exactly what it does. The use of third person also allows the reader to enter into the minds of some characters; therefore, they experience the story from more than one point of view. However, the majority of the focus is on the main character, Jillian, which allows him/her to focus their attention primarily on what is happening with her. The strongest writing skill used by the author is imagery that makes the reader feel like they are present not only mentally but also physically. At one point the text reads, “Handmade arches and columns adorned the white porches that surrounded the lower floors, while their elevated, strong timbered foundations clung fiercely to the ground upon which they were built. The shadows of the houses sat together with identical eaves and roof pitches, matching dormers, and a single turret on opposing sides...” This appeals to the sense of sight and makes the reader feel that he/she is seeing the houses himself/herself. The author also appeals to the sense of smell when she says, “It made him think of dancing barefoot in the sand, with the scent of salt and sea and sweat and coconut oil heavy in the air...”. Her extraordinary use of imagery appeals to all of the senses. She also manages to include other forms of figurative language such as personification by saying, “They stooped in the sand, the sea oats bowing around them and kissing their bare legs...” I am a big fan of supernatural stories, but this story is completely different from others that I have read. Everything I was reading seemed to be unbelievably realistic as if it could actually occur in real life. While the idea of supernatural occurrences is usually turned down or disproved, the reader of this story will have a hard time denying the existence of the supernatural when he/she witnesses the realistic and heart warming happenings of this story. Overall I enjoyed this book. It has a surprise ending that was completely unexpected. The imagery used to describe Pawleys Island made me want to visit it very much and experience the same feeling of calmness that overtook the main characters of the book. The writing style of White made me want to continue reading. She included more than one genre in this astonishing book. I would recommend The Color of Light to anyone who is interested in mysteries, romance, or supernatural novels.

Unfortunately I had it all figured out before the first quarter of the book was done. Not a lot of drama there. She was also very inconsistent in this one. In one case a character got up from the beach and cleaned her shorts, walked up to the house and lifted her dress. Huh? Normally I like this writer however...

Very good book, I couldn't put it down! :-)