Author unleashes
novel spiced with
environmentalism
and religion
BY PATRICK WEBB
‘T
he Hounds of Heaven” does not
begin well for proselytizing Jeho-
vah’s Witnesses who approach
the novel’s main character. Grant Parish
cusses them out, shoots his powerful Glock
pistol into the air and sends them away.
So begins a story about environmental
activism and community members coming
together, from author Joe Paliani. The man-
ner in which sect members Sally and Kurt
forgive the rude man and join his campaign
is a core element.
After a career with programs battling
poverty in California, Paliani retired to
Ocean Park, Washington, and sent himself
to work writing plays. Several of these have
been performed by Ilwaco based theater
troupe the Peninsula Players.
Now, Pailani’s fi rst novel, penned during
the past two years of isolation, has come
to fruition. According to Paliani, he didn’t
intend to write it, but his New York-based
publishers categorize it as a young readers’
work.
The story features Parish and his wife
Charlotte, named for Paliani’s wife, as
they campaign against a wealthy transplant
developer who wants to fl ood their valley
and bring jobs and supposed prosperity to
their idyllic home in Washington state.
The way they rally the commu-
nity against the threat, and the role reli-
gion plays in this process, forms the cen-
terpiece of the action, which covers 136
pages. The only annoyances for this reader
were that the somewhat large type was cen-
tered, which made it occasionally awkward
to read, as did the varying number of lines
on each page. One, for instance has only
seven.
See Page 15
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