Sandcastles

by Luanne Rice

Book Overview

Painter Honor Sullivan has made a life for herself and her three daughters-Regis, Agnes, and Cecilia-at Star of the Sea Academy on the magical Connecticut shore. Here she teaches art at the convent school's beautiful seaside campus, over which Honor's sister-in-law, mother superior Bernadette Ignatius, keeps a benevolent and watchful eye. No one could have foreseen the day rebellious Regis would come home with the stunning news that she was getting...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0553587676
• ISBN13: 9780553587678
• Release Date: January 2006
• Publisher: Bantam
• Length: 480 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 4.2" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

Luanne Rice delivers another good book

As artists, Honor and her husband John were as passionate as they were about each other. Married, with three children, Honor began to fear the physical chances John would take for his art. Six years ago, their life came apart. Now John is returning to the family he has always loved. This is a book about decisions made, protecting your family, and loving each other.

wonderful read

enjoyable characters.Luanne realy knows how to write strong characters.I loved the relationship of the family and kept turning the pages in hopes that everything would tuen out good.Spellbinding and captivating you will not be dissapointed

Great read!

While SANDCASTLES may not be the best of Luanne Rice's novels, it does deliver the complex emotional ties and family drama that have become her signature. The Sister Bernadette character reminded me of Sisters Agnes and Portia in SHADOW OF DEATH by Patricia Gussin which I read recently. Like Rice, Gussin can weave courage and love and complex emotions into first class Woman's Fiction. If you like reading Rice, I'd highly recommend reading Gussin as well.

A compelling family novel

Both John and Honor Sullivan are artists --- John creates massive sculptures from nature and then photographs his fleeting work that nature will soon rearrange and destroy, and Honor paints landscapes and portraits in oils. While working in Ireland John crosses paths with a troubled drifter; a fateful confrontation between them causes a tragedy that eventually threatens to destroy the entire Sullivan family. John is a stubborn and passionate risk taker with a dark brooding side. Honor wants to keep the family, especially their three daughters, safe and intact at any cost. But John continually puts himself in harm's way while creating his earthscapes. Because he is often absent from home, Honor tries to provide the security she craves for her children. The oldest daughter, Regis, has inherited her father's sense of recklessness. The middle daughter, Agnes, wants to be like her aunt, Sister Bernadette, who once experienced a vision that sealed her fate. And youngest daughter Cecilia just wants to be included in whatever her sisters are doing; she is too young to understand the family dynamics that have been impacted by her father's lengthy imprisonment. John went to Ireland to connect spiritually and physically with the land of his ancestors. There he labored on a huge sculpture at the edge of steep cliffs that faced the sea. He hired a drifter named Greg to assist him with the difficult physical work. Greg wanted more work than John could offer and thus vandalized the sculpture; in anger, John threatened his life in front of witnesses. Later, there was a confrontation at the edge of the cliff. Greg was killed and John, who was charged with the murder, offered absolutely no defense and was imprisoned for six years. Honor was perplexed and dismayed that John refused to offer any defense against the charges. While John spends six years languishing in an Irish prison, Honor and the girls return to America, to the peaceful convent grounds at the Star of the Sea Academy in Connecticut where Honor teaches art. The six years move rather slowly and the whole family suffers, each in her own way, without John's presence and love. Regis, now 20, has just become engaged to the son of well-to-do summer residents. Agnes seems to think that she has psychic powers and tries to will herself to have visions. Honor is upset that Regis might abandon her studies to marry just for the sake of security. Without notifying Honor, John returns to the family's hometown and is secretly watching them; Honor and the girls have no idea that he is so nearby --- they assume he's still in prison. He resurfaces because he wants to attend the upcoming wedding. Honor is torn between her love for John and her desire to maintain what has become a peaceful though unhappy existence without him. The girls all want their father to rejoin the family and cannot understand Honor's reluctance to welcome him back with open arms. John's sister, the nun, is dealing with past regrets, and when

NARRATOR BLAIR BROWN IS THE BEST !

Said it before and I'll say it again - audio book readers simply don't get any better than Blair Brown. Then give her an emotionally charged story by bestselling author Luanne Rice, and listeners are treated to both a touching story and a most pleasurable voice performance. It's hard to make a life for yourself when your husband is in prison but Honor Sullivan has managed to do it. She teaches painting at a convent, Star of the Sea Academy, in Connecticut. She lives with her three daughters, Regis, Agnes and Cecilia. It has been 11 years since their family was broken when husband and father, John, was sent to prison. A man was dead, yes, but John claimed he was defending his daughter from rape. Nonetheless, his absence has left indelible scars on those he loves the most. Honor doesn't know whether or not she can forgive him for what he has done, one daughter really doesn't remember him, another daughter harbors ill feelings for what she considers to have been her father's abandonment, and the third, Regis, well, she suddenly announces that she plans to be married. John has been released from prison but has been reluctant to approach his family, not knowing what his reception might be or whether or not they are better off without him. He turns to his sister, Mother Superior Bernadette Ignatius, for solace and advice. Once again, author Rice explores the labyrinth of human emotions and raises the question of whether or not love can really conquer all. - Gail Cooke