Review of The Fisherman's Son

By Cheryl McCann, Review-Books.com

The Fisherman's Son is a children's novel filled with fantasy, adventure and the heroic qualities of a brave, young boy. The book consists of two parts:

Part I - "In the Dead of Winter"
Part II - "In the Depths of the Ocean"

The story begins with Wiley O'Mara, twelve years old. His mother, Robyn, is ill with a fever that has ravaged the whole village. Vail O'Mara, his father, is so drunk that he leaves Wiley's mother to die alone. Wiley is left the responsibility to carry out the village custom of having a wake within 3 days of a person's death since his father sometimes is gone for several days. Since the priest himself died of the fever, Wiley has to go to the next village and bring the priest back to his village to perform the wake.

Here is a taste, in outline form, of The Fisherman's Son as Wiley takes a journey through the forest as he is on his way to get the priest:

First, he encounters a white rabbit which then leads him to a strawberry patch.

Then Wiley continues on after eating a bite from his knapsack. Then he finds himself surrounded by animals as nighttime falls. He can see their glowing eyes. He hears wolves howl but trudges on through the forest in the night. He continues on until he falls asleep. When he awakens, there is a beautiful, petite woman with golden hair carrying a golden wand and wearing golden slippers. Her name is Lucinda. She leads him to a clearing with an oval lake. Then she gives him a goblet to take a drink from the lake. The goblet has these words:

"Drink deeply by land or sea. Earth comes only once."

Wiley will use this later in his journey along with the goblet that Lucinda left him. Find out how this goblet and the special words are used in Wiley's heroic tale.

This is just the beginning of the extraordinary journey which includes life under the sea, scenery and culture of villages of the nineteenth century like those in Ireland, along with imaginary creatures beautifully portrayed.

Opinion by Reviewer:
Even though it is considered a children's book, I certainly enjoyed the rich, descriptive text of this tale. It has wonderful imagination with touches of realism; descriptions of events are rich and put you in the scene, and it has a wonderful plot. I recommend it highly and look forward to the next book.

"This is a great book.  I enjoyed reading its rich text and got lost in the words."

Copyright (c) 2008 Marilyn Peake