THE POET OF LOCH NESS by Brian Jay Corrigan
Brian Jay Corrigan's THE POET OF LOCH NESS is a beautifully written novel about Scotland and the people who live there. It tells a story of love that is patient, love that is forgiving, and love that is rescuing. Yes the many faces of love are in evidence in these pages. The story, however, that brings them to the reader is slow moving and at times plodding. Corrigan excels at descriptions but his storytelling abilities could use a bit of work.
Perry and Perdita Miggs are starting an adventure. Perry has obtained a grant to allow him to study the waters contained in Loch Ness in Scotland. It will mean they will live in Scotland for the entire summer. Perdita is especially delighted by this because it means she will be returning to the spot where she attended college.
Once they arrive in Scotland, Perry hires Andrew Macgruer to act as their guide and operate their rented boat. Perdita is shocked to see him, as he is her lost love from her college days. She had pined for him for years but eventually married the quieter and more reserved Perry.
Perdita had some health problems in the past but those seem to be behind her now and she is ready to take a new and fresh look at life. Once they arrive at the small village where they will reside for the summer she begins to see things with new eyes. She buys a new wardrobe and involves herself in the lives of the two sisters who run the bed and breakfast where the Miggs stay.
Eventually Perdita and Andrew have their moment once again, and the love that had been there between them in the past bursts into life once more. It is a passionate love, not like the sedate one she shares with Perry.
This romantic triangle forms the crux of THE POET OF LOCH NESS. Will Perdita run away to the old love that fires her heart, or will she stay with Perry who is the one constantly good thing in her life? Corrigan offers many possibilities to the reader before he makes his final choice.
As intriguing as the love triangle is, Corrigan drags it out for too many pages and lets the reader lose interest before he makes his final determination. It is a good ending for the book but with a little brevity the impact would have been greater.
The pages of descriptions of the Scottish highlands and the loch on which it sits are breathtaking. The prose is so rich in adjectives that you can almost smell the air and fell the Scottish breezes. Anyone who reads this book will subject themselves to a need to visit this beautiful place.
There is a battle between the beauty of the words and the pacing of the plot. If the plot had been faster moving and the descriptions still retained, then THE POET OF LOCH NESS would have been a better book. As it is, it is pleasing to the mind's eye but not to the heart.
THE POET OF LOCH NESS is published by Thomas Dunne Books. It contains 302 pages and sells for $23.95.