Michael C. Hurley

The Passage by Michael Hurley is a very highly recommended novel of self-discovery.

Jay Danforth Fitzgerald, "Fitz," is a failed stockbroker in his early 60's who has also failed at three marriages. He doesn't believe in love, certainly not lasting love. After his third and last divorce, he moved onto his sailboat. His boat has been in Charleston Harbor for the last three years. Fitz is slowly running out of money, but he still goes to Tiddly's Bar every evening for dinner and a beer. When a show more young, 34 year old woman, Gemma, sits next to him at the bar and starts a conversation, his life changes. He decides to attempt to sail to Ireland (or die trying), but when Gemma secretly stows aboard, his plans change.

I'm going to be honest and tell you that I did not like The Passage in the beginning. I was not in the mood for Fitz's self-loathing pity party. I was not prepared to accept that a young 34 year old woman was intrigued by this guy in his 60's who is soaking wet and dressed like a bum. And when Fitz lies to her and says he's 44, well, I was not too keen on a protagonist who was, by all appearances, going to be a huge jerk, lie, and hit on a young woman. Nope, not too keen on old guys thinking they deserve younger women and not interested in reading any novel along those lines. But that's not quite what happens, and I should have given Hurley more credit based on his previous to novels I read and loved.

Yes, this is a novel about love, failed love, and redemptive love, but it's also a novel about longing for what might have been - and that is what makes it a much stronger novel than my first impression allowed. When the twists happen in the plot and everything falls into place, I was totally enamored with the underlying themes and symbolism Hurley tucked into the plot so perfectly and tenderly. I went from strongly disliking The Passage to adoring it, a tough transition to make and certainly a change of opinion that is rarely traversed.

Hurley is an exceptional writer and that helped me stick with The Passage until I reached the transformative part. As I have said before, Hurley writes with a depth, intelligence, and thoughtfulness that make you crave more - and made me want to keep reading. The settings are clearly described. Obviously, Hurley knows his way around a sailboat and can describe it. The characters are also clearly well developed and there is personal growth and change in the end.

Disclosure: I received a digital advanced reading copy of this book from the author for review purposes. show less

Sometimes, and only some rare times I stumble across a book that defies description. Suffice it to say that certain chapters caused a swift and sharp intake of breath. Others had me shaking my head and mouthing, "No, no don't do or say that" to the characters as if I might have some impact on their behavior. And the positing of how this story was going to come together had me wishing for more time to read just another page, another chapter. The writing was beautiful, intelligent and show more perfectly descriptive. There was a perfect blend of theory, supposition and the room for the ultimate leap of faith. This is among the few books I will hold close and remember. show less

The Prodigal by Michael Hurley opens with a princess and her lover escaping on a boat and then jumps to the present where we meet Aidan Sharpe on Ocracoke Island. Aiden is a talented partner in a prestigious Raleigh law firm whose life is on the cusp of taking a turn in a new direction. While it looks like Aiden's life is headed for a great fall, he actually begins to rebuild his life in an unexpected way back on Ocracoke Island with an unlikely group of cohorts while overcoming an enemy and show more restoring a boat with a mysterious past.

The Prodigal is an incredibly well written debut novel. This well rounded novel includes a mystery, a legend, a little romance, personal challenges, and pulls in knowledge of the law, Catholicism, and sailing. It is also an allegorical novel. Those with a background of Biblical stories will be able to make comparisons between characters and events in the book and the Bible. But note that the religious underpinnings of this novel are not force fed to anyone and any previous knowledge of them is not necessary because this is also an epic tale of self-discovery. It truly begs comparison to a legendary mythological struggle where the imperfect hero has to overcome great odds - with a hint of magic realism.

Those who enjoy literary fiction are going to love The Prodigal. Themes explored include: human frailty and failings, loss and betrayal, self-awareness and discovery, restoration and redemption, friendship and hope, loyalty, honor, and trust. The characters are all imperfect but many of them are trying to overcome their limitations and do the best they can under their various circumstances. Hurley does a commendable job of not judging his characters, while allowing them their various human frailties and foibles.

I am actually surprised at how much I loved The Prodigal. Admittedly the first third of The Prodigal was slow to totally capture my attention while the backstory and all the characters were being set into place, but once it hit its stride, I was completely hooked. Hurley manages to weave so many diverse elements into his tale, but, just as in life, a good story has many different parts to it.

Its surprising to note that this is Hurley's debut novel. He's written other things, but for a first novel there is a depth, intelligence, and thoughtfulness present that make you crave more.

Very Highly Recommended

(As of the writing of this review on 10/8 the Kindle edition was .99!)

Disclosure: I received an advanced reading copy of this book from the publisher and TLC for review purposes. show less

I first picked this book up because of the title. Something about the work ‘prodigal’ always draws me in! But then I saw the setting, Ocracoke Island, and knew I would be reading this one. The Outer Banks is one of my favorite places and I’ve been to Ocracoke more than once! The beginning of the book seemed to ebb and flow, just like the ocean. It was slow paced, which was good, because there were several characters introduced, and I sensed eventually they would all be connected, so I show more wanted to take my time getting to know them. I loved the characters. All were flawed, some more than others, but most were loveable characters that I wanted to know.

The story revolves around Aiden, a recently disgraced lawyer who has been struggling with himself for some time. After losing his law license, he comes to Ocracoke to regroup under the care of a priest, Father Marcus. Marcus is himself flawed, an alcoholic, banished to the island because of his conflict with the Bishop. There are so many characters, I can’t tell you about all of them, but one of my favorite is Sarah, a woman who washed ashore with no memory of who she is, but who marches to her own drummer.

Once we get to know the characters, the action begins. Sarah disappears, and while searching for her, Marcus and his friends discover Prodigal, a worn old boat in need of refurbishment. The group decides to race Prodigal in a big money sailing race. There are ‘bad guys’ racing the big new boat. I don’t know much about racing, and some of the terms were new to me, but I think the author did a good job of using the language of sailing while explaining what I needed to know to understand this story. I think if I were actually involved in racing, I would enjoy this story even more! The story was exciting and the ending good.

There was some sadness in the story but I enjoyed it anyway. The story would be great for a discussion group! It is thought provoking on several levels! I’m still thinking about it and what it all means. There were some things at the end that I still didn’t quite understand, but that is okay. I think I’m going to take the advice of one of the characters in the book…“telling me not to try -- to just accept it on faith, along with everything else we don’t know or can’t understand”

SOURCE: I received a copy of this book through TLC Book Tours in return for an honest review! show less