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A strong writer with contemporary things to say
Book Review
By Derryll White
White, Randy Wayne (2012). Gone.
Pain is an inescapable part of the human experience. Misery, however, is not. Misery is an option.
— S.M. Tomlinson, One Fathom Above Sea Level.
Randy Wayne White has a long-running series of Doc Ford novels, noted for the exploration of the Gulf Coast and great fishing vignettes as a result of White’s 13 years of work as a fishing guide around Sanibel Island. ‘Gone’ is the first in a new series that Randy Wayne White is writing, with Hannah Smith as the central character.
Although this is a work of fiction, Hannah and Sarah Smith are iconic real figures in Florida’s state history. Like John D. MacDonald and Carl Hiaason before him, White takes note of the challenges facing Florida and the ongoing exploitation of its environment. The Smith family story affords an attractive vehicle for moving the reader backward and forward in time while comparing the state of rape and loss being suffered by Florida’s coastline.
In ‘Gone’ Hannah Smith works as a fishing guide, taking wealthy clients out after tarpon and other trophy fish. Hannah had in the past helped her uncle Jake out in a private investigation agency. Responding to a request from one of her fishing clients Hannah reopens the agency.
White is a strong writer with contemporary things to say, and Hannah Smith promises a new and interesting series with a strong female lead. I look forward to following her exploits in future works.
****
Excerpts from the novel:
TRUTH – My mother says I reopened Uncle Jake’s private investigation agency because I’m always losing men, so it’s natural for me to search for things that are missing. This would offend some women my age, but she had a stroke two years back and now her damaged brain relies on honesty instead of good manners, so I’ve got no choice but to take it in stride. One thing I’ve learned is, don’t argue with the truth on those scarce occasions when you’re lucky enough to know what the truth is.
HIGH SCHOOL – I still think of high school as the three long years I spent trying to recover from the upset of acne and middle school. I was the gawky, silent girl in the back of the room who slouched because I was too tall and who used whatever I could to hide my face when someone tried to strike up a conversation.
DISCLOSURE – Not that I wanted details. Talking about such things has always made me feel uneasy, and feel sort of sneaky, even when the person is eager to share. What’s private in a person’s head isn’t like seeing them step out of a shower. It’s the sort of nakedness that can’t ever be covered once it has been revealed.
PHOTOGRAPHY – “The soul on the other side of the camera has to commit total energy to the moment. All of his … well, it’s a childlike quality. Spontaneous. An open hearted love of whatever the lens discovers. I don’t let myself explore why or how it all works, it just does. Photography – art, not Photoshop tripe – has more in common with sorcery than engineering. Spirituality …. Passion ….”
– Derryll White once wrote books but now chooses to read and write about them. When not reading he writes history for the web at www.basininstitute.org.
