Book Review of Wild and Distant Seas by Tara Karr Roberts

 Name of Book:

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Type of book: Based on Moby Dick, 1849-1905, Nantucket, Massachusetts, quest, South America, Europe, generational trauma, repetition cycle, travel, female-centric, 

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Summary:

Characters:

Main characters are Evangeline, Rachel, Mara and Antonia. Evangeline begins the story in 1849, when her husband is lost but she refuses to acknowledge the truth. She is charming, filled with secrets and is lonely. At the same time Evangeline wants to focus on present rather than worry about tomorrow, especially as it pertains to her future family. Rachel is Evangeline's daughter and she is curious, determined and wants to find out the truth badly, which causes her to make some questionable choices and decisions. Mara is Rachel's daughter and she is a lot like Rachel yet towards the end she also exhibits a lot of Evangeline's characteristics. Antonia is Mara's daughter and it is up to her and her grandfather (Rachel's husband) to find out the truth about Ishmael. She is resourceful, determined, intelligent and a bit psychic. (All of the women have a degree of psychic powers, or of having sixth sense.) 

Theme:

Trauma can last for centuries

Plot:

The story is in first place narrative from Evangeline's, Rachel's, Mara's, and Antonia's points of view. Although the storylines are unique, they do have commonalities between and they also take place in different corners of the world, from North America to South America to Europe. I personally wasn't able to connect to the characters, and often wanted more from them, namely more stories and more personalities, something beyond their situations. I also desired more setting details because it felt as if the setting was used more as a prop than a place, if it makes sense. 

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Opinion:

I hadn't read the Moby Dick, although I did end up reading plenty about the book as well as the author of Moby Dick. While I enjoyed the read a lot, I am not quite sure how to verbalize my feelings about it. Did I enjoy it? Yes. But it felt incomplete, as if there should be a lot more stories told about the women, as if I wanted more details on the setting and background. But still an awesome read of how trauma affects the generations of women, from choices to their lives. 

This was given for review

4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)