- KEY WEST--
AN ISLAND IN THE STREAM OF LIFE AND DEATH
Key West is an island of many peoples--tourists, artists, writers, and celebrities, not to mention the locals, the "conches," who stay there year-round, as if dog-paddling in the stream and waiting for something to change. And of course there are the Cubans, the people seeking refuge in Florida, who arrive one at a time or one small boatload at a time, always in the midst of night.
There's something dangerously seductive about Key West, something that attracts people to its shores, to bask in the tropical heat, the spectacular sunsets, the boats, beaches and bars, and each other. There's also something seductively dangerous: warm breezes can turn to storms, romance can turn to hearthache, and a boat ride can end in disaster.
This is the Key West found in Rosalind Brackenbury's Seas Outside the Reef, a sensuous, lushly written novel of love and politics, sailors and tourists, locals and illegal Cubans, danger, sex, and death. It is the story of Emily (or Emilia) De Soto, originally from Cuba, who has come to Key West with a mission: to help smuggle in her Cuban husband, Raul, whom she hasn't seen for fourteen years.
But Key West can be as unpredictable as the human heart, and before Raul arrives, Emily has time to fall in love with a local sailor, a man with a weak heart and a strong suit of private demons. When Raul shows up, Emily finds herself battered by emotional and political crosswinds. Before the novel ends, one of these men will claim her loyalty, and the other will die.
About the Author: Rosalind Brackenbury grew up in England, where her eight previous novels were published by Macmillan UK and Harvester Press and her poetry by Taxus Press. Her most recent poetry collection, The Beautiful Routes of the West, was published in 1996 by Fithian Press. She now lives and writes in Key West, Florida. |
