BOOKMONGER
Beacon of hope in
a time of despair
New Zealander Christopher
Parker has plenty of shoreline in
his own country, but he decided
to use the Oregon coastline as
the setting for his debut novel
because, as he said in a recent
interview, he felt his main char-
acters, a rancher and a college
student on a swimming scholar-
ship, sounded “quintessentially
American.”
And it may be only coinci-
dence that he borrows the name
of a Washington coastal commu-
nity, Seabrook, for the name of
his fictional Oregon town that, he
says he built from scratch — in
his imagination, at least.
Nonetheless, Parker notes that
his beachside hometown of Taka-
puna, and the lighthouse there,
were the inspiration for his story.
This tale, tinged with mysti-
cal elements, begins with the rela-
tionship between Kevin Tucker
and his 18-year-old daughter,
Amy. Separately, each is griev-
ing the loss of Helen — Amy’s
mom and Kevin’s wife — who
recently died in a traffic accident.
Since then, Amy hasn’t been eat-
ing, and she’s been suffering from
insomnia.
Kevin, a Portland cop, had
always deferred to Helen as
the primary parent, and now he
doesn’t know how to reach out
to his daughter. But when he
receives an assignment that will
take him a couple of hundred
miles down the coast to Seabrook
to update a family about a miss-
ing person’s case involving their
son, he invites Amy along, hoping
a change of scenery will do her
some good.
Amy goes along reluctantly.
When they arrive in Seabrook and
check in at the hotel, the lady at
the front desk tells them that the
town’s annual Lighthouse Festi-
val will take place the next day.
Amy goes for a walk down the
beach to check out the landmark,
and discovers that the lighthouse
14 // COASTWEEKEND.COM
This week’s book
‘The Lighthouse’ by Christopher Parker
Beacon Press Limited – 368 pp — $14.45 paperback
is dilapidated, boarded up and out
of commission. Some townsfolk
even say it is haunted.
This doesn’t do anything to
pick up Amy’s spirits. In fact, she
has never felt so low.
Meanwhile, on a dude ranch
just outside of town, Ryan Porter
also is grappling with bad news
and unwanted changes. Scarcely
into adulthood, he’s been caring
for his widowed, convalescent
father for years, while trying to
keep the ranch running. Now the
local bank manager wants Ryan
to give him a call.
The first encounter between
Amy and Ryan couldn’t be more
awkward or less auspicious, but
once any misunderstandings are
cleared up, they wind up spending
the next day together at the festi-
val. Over just a matter of hours,
they find themselves sharing
some deeply guarded secrets with
one another that they haven’t told
anyone else.
But even as their relationship
intensifies, they are drawn into
some off-kilter events that are
happening around town in con-
junction with the festival. As the
plot unfolds, it involves not only
familial connections and teen
romance, but also supernatural
elements a la the “Twilight Zone.”
The explication may seem
overlong to some readers, but the
gist of the story is affirming.
And that abandoned old light-
house? It may yet shed the light
needed to ensure safe passage.
The Bookmonger is Barbara
Lloyd McMichael, who writes this
weekly column focusing on the
books, authors and publishers of
the Pacific Northwest. Contact
her at barbaralmcm@gmail.com