In the Foam of the Blue Waves, by Kathleen Wakefield (Pen And Brush, 2015) reviewed by Lauren Lancaster
In the Foam of the Blue Waves is a fiction book published by Pen And Brush in October 2015. Kathleen Wakefield captures Moira’s search for her father, Nicholas through landscapes and sceneries in California. The author incorporates childhood memories and feelings, creating a thoughtful and inspiring story. The story goes into Nicholas life by Moira reading about the places he had once been and documented in his journal.
Wakefield has structurally thought out and organized, specific timelines for her story. The story has a structure where new cities and landscapes are introduced at the start of every few chapters. Each chapter is introduced with a specific date and year followed by multiple accounts of vivid descriptions and details. The details in this
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story are so powerful they can transport readers to Marin County, Folsom, and San Francisco. The author incorporates literary techniques such as tension and conflict to expand the plot.
Tension is revealed with Moira’s internal struggle of accepting the absence of her father. Wakefield also has a strong sense of tone throughout the entirety of the story. Character’s thoughts and the narrator’s descriptions are all clues used to determine the tone. I felt there was an overwhelming presence of dramatic and thrilling tone, but also a sad, longing tone, especially from Moira and her feelings towards her father. An example of dramatic tone is:
“California would be a great atom of dazzling gold for Nicholas. He would never have seen anything like it, would never have seen or felt the span of the world like that.” (Wakefield 49)
Although In the Foam of the Blue Waves is fiction, real life events contribute to Wakefield’s intense explanations and reports. Wakefield incorporates literary allusions to depict the natural disasters and devastation that occur within the story. An example of an allusion is:
“On April 18, 1906, at 5:12 AM, The Great San Francisco Earthquake struck the coast of California...” (Wakefield
76) This story is accompanied by six illustrations by the artist Steven Cannon. An example of the illustrations working effectively is the depiction of Nicholas’s death. The image is a truck driving off a cliff and landing into an ocean or a river. The piece is titled, “Airborne, To Be Lost In The Waves.” (Wakefield, 122) The illustrations in the story correspond to an action or a scene. Cannon’s illustrations reflect the greatest, noteworthy moments that have happened in the characters’ lives. Kathleen Wakefield’s story, In the Foam of the Blue Waves is well written and narrated. The character’s ambition and California’s natural, scenic beauty overcome the devastation and destruction Moira had been fighting in the story. The story has a deeper meaning and takes readers on a visual and imagery-filled journey. If you enjoy reading narratives in the style and form of a novella and stories about people searching for meaning, this book would be worth the read.
There was a massive earthquake in San Francisco during the year of 1906. The country of United States went through great loss because of this massacre. Nearly 250,000 people had become homeless as the result of this great earthquake. Winchester pointed out the question: How unprepared was America when this disaster hit? He compared the San Francisco earthquake to the Katrina hurricane in 2005.
When one of the worst earthquakes ever hits the town of San Francisco panic ensues, but not for everyone. On April 18, 1906, at 5:15 am the city of San Francisco was demolished by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake which also led to many fires being started. There was $350m in estimated damages, and 400-750 people perished in the earthquake and fire. Around 490 city blocks were destroyed, causing 250,000 people to become homeless (A Brief Account, SF Tourism Tips). In the aftermath of the earthquake there were many eyewitness accounts written about it. The eyewitness account, “Comprehending the Calamity,” by Emma Burke and the eyewitness account,"Horrific Wreck of the City" by Fred Hewitt both describe the same event, but they both have very different
“Long days. Open country with ash blowing over the road. The boy sat by the fire at night with the pieces of the map across his knees. He had the names of towns and rivers by heart and he measured their progress daily”
Baldwin, James. “Sonny’s Blues.” Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia.12th ed. New York: Pearson, 2013.58-78.Print.
"The Most Terrible Was Yet To Come": San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906." Map of Time A Trip Into the Past. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 May 2014.
The San Francisco Earthquake commenced at five thirteen o’clock in the morning, with the epicenter offshore of San Francisco. The city carried more than 400,000 people during this event (Earthquake of 1906, 1). Most of the
The 1906 San Francisco earthquake was one of the largest earthquakes in the United States. Even though it only lasted less than a minute, the damages and aftermath of the earthquake were disastrous. These damages were not just from the earthquake, but also from other hazards that occurred because of it. It also had a huge effect on the people living in San Francisco. Many people, the government, and other countries helped the city of San Francisco with relief goods like food and clothing. The city used up their resources in order to rebuild the city and spent a lot of money. This earthquake also started a scientific revolution about earthquakes and its effects.
At 5:12 a.m. on April 18th, 1906, the California city of San Francisco was awoken by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake. Chaos erupted with the earthquake leading to fire break outs throughout San Francisco (Cameron and Gordon. Pgs 69-73).The earthquake and the resulting fires caused destruction to majority of the city with buildings crumbling and igniting into flames. Many people died along with thousands and thousands of people being left homeless. This devastating earthquake left the city and United States in a financial crisis. Although the 1906 earthquake was one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history, the city of San Francisco was able to overcome these substantial physical, social and economic impacts it had.
Rich, Adrienne. “Diving into the Wreck” The Norton Introduction to Literature. Ed. Kelly J. Mays. 11th ed. New York: Norton, 2013.1010-1012. Print.
[2] Davis, Williams. Seventy-five years in California; a history of events and life in California. Part 67
The Novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte took a surprising twist when Bertha "Mason" Rochester was introduced. Bertha leaves a traumatizing impression on Jane’s conscious. However, this particular misfortunate event was insidiously accumulating prior to Jane’s arrival at Thornfield. Through Bertha, the potential alternative dark turn of events of Jane’s past are realized, thus bringing Jane closer to finding herself.
The song "Waves" by Bahamas, written by Afie Jurvanen (the lead singer), conveys a message about Jurvanen and his past lovers. Jurvanen uses metaphors to describe his relationships. Suggesting that each women he has been with is a single rolling wave in the oceans of his love life "And I saw myself as one of many waves" (2). Jurvanen continues to illustrate his relationships when he expresses "And when I knew I'd become the oceans slave / I just stayed" (3,4). This being another metaphor to express that, even when Jurvanen knew he was in trouble, he didn't have the courage or whatever it may have been for him to leave the relationship. Thus dreading the relationship and treating it like a job.
Rawls, James J., and Walton Bean. California: An Interpretive History. 10th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1968. Print.
The setting for this novel was a constantly shifting one. Taking place during what seems to be the Late Industrial Revolution and the high of the British Empire, the era is portrayed amongst influential Englishmen, the value of the pound, the presence of steamers, railroads, ferries, and a European globe.
...n time and place’ in Woodhead, M. and Montgomery, H. by John Wiley & Sons LTD/ The Open University