Description:
A really interesting and captivating story of a young girl, Jess, whose grandfather is dying. He is an artist, determined to finish his last painting. To do so, he must travel to the remote area where he was a teenager. Even when he can hardly move, he holds on to life, knowing he must complete the painting. Meanwhile, Jess, a swimmer, has fallen in love with the river that runs through the property, eventually meeting the sea. One day, she sees a boy swimming, but when she approaches him, he is gone. This happens several times, but the shy boy always disappears when she approaches. But watching him, Jess takes on courage and finally pushes herself past her own limits. Then she finally understands her grandfather, and his determination to finish his final painting.

The connections between the characters in this book are amazing. You feel the spirit flow between them, and you wonder from the start, how they fit together and who they all really are. It is not only about family relationships, not only about pushing oneself past the limit, but it is also about the sharing of souls and the release of the spirit.


She turned and gazed back down the slope in the direction of the fall, and there, below her, clear in the morning light, she saw the valley rolling away to the west and the river weaving a path through it towards the sea.

And, far away in the distance, to her astonishment and joy, was the sea itself, floating, it seemed, like a deep blue cloud.

...

"I didn't konw we could see that far." She found she was whispering, as though she were in some sacred place. "It's like...it's like..."

"Like seeing a whole life," he said.

"A whole life?" She looked round at him, though she already sensed what he meant.

"The life of the river." His eyes remained fixed on the horizon. "It's born here and it runs its allotted distance, sometimes fast, sometimes slow, sometimes straight, sometimes twisting, sometimes calm, sometimes turbulent, and it keeps on running until it reaches its end in the sea. I find that comforting."

"In what way?"

"Just to know that whatever happens to the river on its journey, it'll end up in something beautiful."

"But death isn't beautiful," she said, thinking of Grandpa.

"It's dying that isn't beautiful," he said, still gazing at the saa. "But then, living isn't always beautiful either. This river will have its battles on the way but it'll keep on running because it has to. And even when it reaches the end, it'll already have started renewing itself here. I find that comforting, too."

图书介绍：