The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud (Film Tie-in) - Softcover

Ben Sherwood

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0330520288 ISBN 13: 9780330520287

Publisher: Picador, 2010

Synopsis

`Refreshingly romantic, dangerously good fun, hugely addictive' Joanne Harris, author of Chocolat As a boy, Charlie St. Cloud narrowly survived a car crash that killed Sam, his little brother. Years later, still unable to recover from his loss, Charlie has taken a job tending to the lawns and monuments in the New England cemetery where Sam is buried. When he meets Tess Carroll, a captivating, adventurous woman in training for a solo sailing trip around the globe, they discover a beautiful and uncommon connection that, after a violent storm at sea, eventually forces them to choose between death and life, past and present, holding on and letting go. The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud is a romantic and uplifting novel about second chances and the liberating power of love. `A deeply romantic yet profound story of one man's journey from death to life . . . it will grip you from page one' Adriana Trigiani, author of the Big Stone Gap trilogy and Lucia, Lucia `Heart-meltingly moving. Just the ticket for summer' Glamour

About this title

Review:

The eponymous hero of The Death and Life of Charlie St Cloud is a good boy; an American teenager who works hard at school, is good at sport and loves his mum and his little brother Sam. And then one terrible day, tragically, he finds himself responsible for Sam's death. Charlie dies too for a brief moment but is brought back to life by the skill of a paramedic. From that moment on, Charlie makes a sacrificial decision to live his life in the past. Until that is, he meets tough but beautiful yachtswoman Tess and he has to rethink life and death.

Ben Sherwood's novel is an unusual love story set against a background of bereavement and grief. Sherwood is a former TV news producer and journalist so not surprisingly this, his second novel, is perfectly well written, has attractive characters and a compelling story line. Yet, disappointingly, it feels one-dimensional, wholly predictable and ultimately, unsatisfying.

Rights to the film version were sold even before The Death and Life of Charlie St Cloud was published and perhaps herein lies the answer. It is easy to visualise on celluloid: a feel-good, light romance with equal measure of tears and smiles, not too demanding. Tess could have been written for Julia Roberts.

Maybe it wasn't written as a film script, but what's missing is what could have made this a great book. After all, the central theme affects us all: what happens after death and, perhaps far more importantly, what happens to the living, left behind to mourn and cope? If you're looking for meaningful insights and serious answers, this is sadly not the place to find them. --Carey Green

Review:

'This is a story of life and death, beautifully written with a gentle simplicity which lends it great emotional power...' --Daily Mail Paperbacks review, Friday 21st May 2004

About this edition

• Publisher: Picador
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0330520288
• ISBN 13: 9780330520287
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288