Shades

  About a month or two ago, my teacher recommended a book for me, entitled Shades. Honestly? I was a bit skeptical. But she told me to go ahead and savor the book... take my time. So I did. I read it very slowly, sometimes stopping in the middle to read another book. I savored it. Each passage, each breath of writing Ms. Poland created, was beautifully crafted. It wasn't so much that the plot shook me up-- it was the fascinating writing itself. 

  How the blood betrays, marching up the neck and across the cheeks and through the ears, announcing itself. Walter could feel the heat rising. Poised, they stood, Victor and he. Then Victor shuddered his way past, opened the door and was gone. The draught blew out the candle that stood on the table. The little grey tail of smoke hung suspended in the dark. -- Marguerite Poland, Shades

   

          How can you not love such writing? Perhaps it is not your favorite style, but her descriptions are so vivid, you cannot help but be entranced by them! I know I was. While reading the last half of the book, I was amazed at how much I loved it. In the beginning, you have to get used to her writing and her descriptions, but once you plow through and keep reading, you start to love her details. I would rate Shades an 8 out of 10.

   

Shades is about a young man, Walter, who travels to South Africa for a mission. He stays with the Farboroughs, a family of four. Walter feels an immediate attraction to Frances, the daughter, and their romance and emotion towards each other progresses throughout the book. Meanwhile, the book follows the lives of others, such as Crispin Farborough, the son; and Victor Farborogh, the heroic and brave cousin of Crispin and Frances. All those in the story struggle to find love and faith in difficult times of drought, famine, war, and loss of hope. 

Inspiring and sharp, Shades tells a story of passion, turbulence, and the clash of cultures: a story I will continue to be awed by.