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booktalkwithkarla 's review for:
Surviving Savannah
by Patti Callahan
Rating 3.5 stars.
In this novel, Everly and Oliver come together to discover and tell the stories of the passengers who boarded the steamship Pulaski in June 1838. As they learn about the losses and impact on families in Savannah, they cope with their own loss and survival.
Patti Callahan gives us the historical novel in alternating accounts between Everly and the passengers attempting to survive. She creates appropriate tension and the need to know what happens next. Her detailed research is evident. The author’s note clarifies facts and imagined aspects. The resources are extensive.
Callahan leads us (at times a bit heavy handed for my taste) to ask deep questions about what it means to survive the surviving, what it means to live, our tendency to ask why, and the choices available when given a second chance. I appreciated the questions and the times where she left them unanswered. It was interesting to hear about this part of the world and time in history.
Notable quotes:
“... metaphor for all of us. Nothing all virtuous. Nothing all wicked. This mixture that is life, that is human, that is brokenness and wholeness.“
“‘Not everyone who survives trauma becomes a better person. The idea that surviving brings everyone to a new and better place is a lie told by people who need the world to make sense.’ There was always a choice.”
“...if not for... but there is no use in lamenting what might have been, so we are here and there is a life after horror. There is tragedy behind, and it trails us and walks alongside us, but still there is the great mystery of life after.“
In this novel, Everly and Oliver come together to discover and tell the stories of the passengers who boarded the steamship Pulaski in June 1838. As they learn about the losses and impact on families in Savannah, they cope with their own loss and survival.
Patti Callahan gives us the historical novel in alternating accounts between Everly and the passengers attempting to survive. She creates appropriate tension and the need to know what happens next. Her detailed research is evident. The author’s note clarifies facts and imagined aspects. The resources are extensive.
Callahan leads us (at times a bit heavy handed for my taste) to ask deep questions about what it means to survive the surviving, what it means to live, our tendency to ask why, and the choices available when given a second chance. I appreciated the questions and the times where she left them unanswered. It was interesting to hear about this part of the world and time in history.
Notable quotes:
“... metaphor for all of us. Nothing all virtuous. Nothing all wicked. This mixture that is life, that is human, that is brokenness and wholeness.“
“‘Not everyone who survives trauma becomes a better person. The idea that surviving brings everyone to a new and better place is a lie told by people who need the world to make sense.’ There was always a choice.”
“...if not for... but there is no use in lamenting what might have been, so we are here and there is a life after horror. There is tragedy behind, and it trails us and walks alongside us, but still there is the great mystery of life after.“