Book Review: Chasing The Wind

At 8:47 A.M. on Wednesday, October 12, 1977, new-to-town businessman Bingham Murdock flew his small plane into New Orleans, banking it in such a way that a ray of sunshine shot through the city at light speed.

Amalise Catoir saw the flash from her sixteenth floor law office window. Finally feeling alive after the death of her abusive husband, she imagined seeing the plane was a fate for her eyes only; a special connection between the unknown giver and she, the recipient of light.But someone else saw it, a six-year-old Cambodian refugee in foster care for whom a sudden burst of brightness reminds him of artillery fire.

Destined to cross paths with the man and the child, Amalise doesn’t yet know the deeper spiritual lesson she will learn: that we are responsible not only for the things we do, but also for the things that we don’t.

Pamela Binnings Ewen practiced law for twenty-five years before she followed in the authorial footsteps of relatives such as James Lee Burke (The Glass Rainbow) and Andre Dubus III (The House of Sand and Fog). Chasing the Wind is her fourth novel. Ewen lives in Louisiana.

My Impressions:

Chasing The Wind is the sequel to Dancing on Glass (see my review HERE). And while it is not necessary to have read the first book to enjoy the second, I recommend that you do. Pamela Binnings Ewen’s writing is so good, you do not want to miss the pleasure. Chasing The Wind again centers on Amalise Catoir, a female, second year attorney in the male dominated occupation of the 1970s. The book takes place in New Orleans and the flavor of the city shines through and is itself a character of sorts. Other intriguing characters are Bingham Murdoch, the investor that has Amalise’s law firm working on one of its biggest projects of the year and Luke, an orphan from southeast Asia. Mystery surrounds both of these characters and touches the story in big ways.

Mystery and magic are the highlights of Chasing The Wind. While not a suspense novel, Ewen’s writing creates a tension that had me in knots trying to work out the same problems Amalise faced —  ethics and confidentiality versus morals and justice. And while not an overtly religious novel, Chasing The Wind is definitely a book about faith and God’s sovereignty. Ewen also makes you care about her characters, and her writing is excellent. This book is so good it made my best of 2012 list!

I highly recommend Chasing The Wind. So get both books and schedule a great reading experience.

Highly Recommended.

(I received a copy of Chasing The Wind from NetGalley. The opinions expressed are mine alone.)

Tags: general fiction, Pamela Binnings Ewen