5 November 2014

Review #59: Eastland by Marian Manseau Cheatham




My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Before beginning my review about the novel Eastland by Marian Cheatham, I request you guys to read this small excerpt about one of the largest shipwreck in America’s history:

The SS Eastland was a passenger ship based in Chicago and used for tours. On July 24, 1915 the ship rolled over while tied to a dock in the Chicago River. A total of 844 passengers and crew were killed in what was to become the largest loss of life disaster from a single shipwreck on the Great Lakes.

The author Marian Cheatham has paid a tribute to all those passengers and survivors of SS Eastland's mishap in her new novel, Eastland. After all there's no other greater way in paying tribute to these victims, by representing them in words and forever etching them into our hearts. With her eloquent words, she has caught the danger, horror, panic and pain afterwards so sharply and strikingly.

Synopsis:
This novel is about one of the survivors, Delia, a.k.a, Dee and her best friend, Mae, who unfortunately couldn't survive in that ship-wreck. Dee and Mae, both 17year old, used to work in Western Electric in the coiling department. Their company threw a picnic on the new ship, Eastland, on Saturday, July 24th, 1915. Dee, always had a crush on Mae's brother, Karel, hence she was looking forward to this picnic day. But unfortunately, on that day, her mother asked her not to go on that ship, and being
obedient, she accepts her mother's plea. But soon she finds a way on that ship and finally finding comfort in Karel's presence, but all of a sudden, the ship rolls over and since Dee was on the hull with Karel, so she survived, but those who were in the lower deck, never got a chance to survive, along with Dee's best friend, Mae. Feeling light-headed, she felt like jumping overboard into the water, to find Mae, but she was once again rescued by a mysterious Marine named Lars. Dee gets devastated after Mae's death. But soon, she learns to cope with her death and she finds more than peace in her restless world.

The author’s words have created a miracle. It seems she has made the whole incident alive again in front of our eyes and also she has managed to capture the pain and loss of so many people so vividly. It's so sad to see when Dee lost her only best friend, Mae. You might shed a few tears too, as the author has sensitively conquered the pain of Dee. Also some of her characterization is based on real life victims. And she did a great justice to those victims. The book will engage you from the very beginning. And because of all those pain and losses and adding to the mystery of Dee's life, this book is going to keep you hooked till the very end.

Verdict: Read this wonderful book, thereby paying your tribute to all those victims of SS Eastland.

Courtesy: A huge thanks to the author, Marian Cheatham, for giving me an opportunity to read and review her incredible book.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Author Info:
Writing Contemporary and Historical Fiction for Young Adults 
Visit her here

Book Purchase Links:

View all my reviews

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Thanks for your feedback!