The Lighthouse
- Publisher
- Tellwell Publishing
- Initial publish date
- Jan 2020
- Category
- Contemporary, General
-
Paperback / softback
- ISBN
- 9780228810544
- Publish Date
- Jan 2020
- List Price
- $18.99
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Description
The glory of New Mexico sunshine refracting through the famed Tree of Light window embodies the spirit of the Lighthouse resort, architect Niels Larsen's final, brilliant creation before his untimely death. Located on the family ranch and run by his daughter Ris and her husband Lucas Wilde—whose harrowing past led to a monk's vows until his love for Ris shattered them—the Lighthouse is a haven offering rest and rejuvenation. One by one, Niels' descendants are drawn back to the sanctuary of the ranch. His grandson Theo Wilde, a frustrated artist, has abandoned his wayward wandering to raise his young son alone. Ben Wilde, a successful lawyer and Theo's estranged brother, flees a crumbling marriage to manage the Lighthouse after internal corruption is exposed. Fin Larsen, Niels' son and a renowned composer, retreats to mourn the loss of his wife. Devastated by her mother's death, their runaway daughter Leah comes home after a mysterious ten-year absence. As the family warily threads itself back together, old conflicts are reignited, deep secrets are revealed, past traumas are confronted, and taboos are tested. And with the future of the Lighthouse hanging in the balance, the spirit of its creator must shine through one last time...
About the author
Elaine Kozak has done it all, from drafting economic policy and promoting international trade and investment to building a winery on Canada’s west coast and writing her debut novel. Elaine now spends her time writing and making wine with her husband at their flourishing small estate winery, Garry Oaks. Root Causes is inspired by Elaine’s experience creating the vineyard. Happily, no one actually died in the process. Visit Elaine’s website on Iguana Books (elainekozak.iguanabooks.com) or find out more about her winery at www.garryoakswinery.com.
Excerpt: The Lighthouse (by (author) Elaine Kozak)
Leah Larsen dropped her backpack on a table in the café and nodded at the other customers as she went to place her order. She wouldn’t have done either in New York but since coming to this small lakeside town in the Adirondacks nine months previously she had come to know, if only by sight, most of its inhabitants. Even though she could have recited its contents she studied the chalkboard menu, itching—as she always did—to correct the four spelling errors. She craved a latte but ordered a plain black coffee. With small economies like this she could afford to live here for another few months. But then what? A racoon-eyed, sooty-haired woman with Yakuza-like tattoos snaking up her neck took her order. “Thanks, Flory,” Leah said, accepting a brimming mug. She returned to her table. Maybe I could get a job here. Flory would probably need help after the thaw, when the cabin dwellers and tourists flocked back to the town. If she did, the first thing she’d do is rewrite the chalkboard. She sat down and pulled a laptop out of her pack. Her visits to the coffee shop were in part to counter a worrying preference for solitude, but mainly to access the Internet. Today, her research was completed quickly. In no rush to head back out into the cold she topped up her half-empty cup with milk from the condiments table and tasted the lukewarm liquid. Poor man’s latte. If Flory noticed, she didn’t say anything. Back at her table she studied her computer screen, wondering what else to do. She didn’t have an email account and avoided social media. She was about to access the New York Times website when she remembered that she hadn’t checked on her parents in a long time. Calling up Google she typed in “gabriel findlay larsen musician.” Family and friends knew her father as Fin, but the Internet didn’t. There was little new in the results since her last search. She leaned forward and scrolled through the lines of images of her father as a young man intermixed with more current ones. The deep-set eyes and raptor-like features remained the same but the luxuriant dark hair was threaded with gray, and he now wore glasses. Her father was rarely photographed alone. She recognized some of his companions: other musicians and singers, a famous film director, a Canadian prime minister. One picture was of him and his wife. By no conventional standard was Leah’s mother a beauty, but her high cheekbones and slightly Asiatic stargazer eyes were memorable. In this picture, Fin was sharing a laugh with someone out of the frame while her mother looked abstractedly in the other direction, like she was reflecting on the mysteries of the universe. As she probably was. Leah moved the cursor to the query box and typed in “alexandra tarnovsky physicist.” The images had caught her attention first, which was why she didn’t immediately notice the lead item of the search results. It was an obituary—her mother was dead.
Editorial Reviews
KIRKUS REVIEW After 10 years away, a 26-year-old woman returns home to confront her past and rediscover her family in Kozak’s (Root Causes, 2013) novel.
While in a coffee shop, Leah Larsen does an online search for her parents—as she’s done every so often since running away from home at 16—and discovers that her mother has died. Using what little money she has left, Leah travels to Taos, New Mexico, returning to the family ranch and the prestigious resort that her late grandfather designed, the Lighthouse. There, she finds her beloved aunt and uncle; her father, who greets her with expected “condemnation and contempt”; and Niels, the son whom she’d abandoned after her teenage pregnancy. Another figure, who’s unfamiliar to Leah, is Theo Wilde, her older cousin who tends to the stables. He’s a bit of a black sheep, as she is—a handsome artist who leaves the care of his own young son mostly to his uncle. He immediately feels connected to Leah, the cousin he barely knew, and encourages her to stay. When Theo’s brother Ben also feels compelled to come home to help get the resort’s struggling finances in order, the entire family is together for the first time in a decade. Leah finds herself on a path to uncover deep truths about her own past and her family’s complicated history, all while experiencing motherhood and a surprising new romance. Throughout this novel, Kozak pays particular attention to setting, surrounding her characters with gorgeous mountain scenery and a ranch that’s layered with memories of departed family members; Leah can feel her grandfather’s presence, for instance, “rippling” beneath the walls. The family’s extensive wealth and privilege lowers the stakes, at times—there’s an embezzlement subplot, but there’s little worry that they’ll run out of money—and the book’s unexpected romantic connection may raise eyebrows. But Kozak has crafted warm, inviting, and thoughtful characters here; there’s family bickering, of course, but they mostly speak to one another with fierce intelligence and admirable honesty. Even in dark moments, it’s a pleasure to spend time with them.
A peculiar but engrossing family drama, elevated by truly rich characters.
