Beside a Burning Sea by John Shors

After reading Beneath a Marble Sky a few months ago, my book club was very eager to try out John Shors’ new book, Beside a Burning Sea. Unfortunately, it definitely didn’t grab us the way the first book did. This one is also historical fiction, set in the South Pacific during WWII and tells the story of the sinking of the Benevolence, an American hospital ship. Only nine people survive the sinking grueling swim to a nearby island; Annie and Isabelle, sisters and nurses on the ship; Joshua, the captain and Isabelle’s husband; Akira, a wounded Japanese soldier; Roger, Nathan and Jake, crewmembers; and Ratu, an 11-year old stow away. During the swim to the island, Akira risks his life to save Annie to ensure that she and Isabelle make it to shore. Once on shore, the group of stragglers forms a makeshift camp and tries to avoid drawing unfriendly attention. The overall theme of the story is a good one, but it seems to have lost something in the practical application – the ‘bad’ characters are completely evil and the ‘good’ characters are noble and true. Everyone is so one dimensional and the love story between Akira and Annie is too saccharine. I also didn’t like the Haiku’s throughout the story; I felt it was all too contrived. And if my opinion isn’t enough for you, the book club agreed. Pass on this one, but definitely check out his first.