Scott Graham

A lovely story about special children in a home intended to keep them safe from the world, and the world safe from them. As the protagonist learns to love the children and find love for himself, he spreads his wings (figuratively) and having emerged from his self-imposed cocoon, acts for the protection and betterment of the inhabitants of the titular house on the cerulean sea. Told in a Grimms Fairy Tale fashion, the author's prose fits the story well, which makes the immersion into the magical world of the novel easy for the reader. Although a skinch heavy-handed at times, the tale has the right message. Who can resist a winsome son of satan?

This tale of Native Americans in Oakland CA converging at a Pow Wow in Oakland Coliseum is slow paced for the first three-quarters as we are introduced to all the ins a d outs of the characters, then switches gears in part IV and finishes at 120 mph. The description of the continued life struggle of these people displaced by the European migration is depressing, but effectively told. The characters are all interesting and Tommy Orange gives them all some level of sympathy, even the villains of the piece. The devestating ending is almost a fait accompli. I had a strong visceral reaction to the end, particularly one death, and subtracted a star for that reason.