Primarily set in 2001 on the Monterey
Peninsula, Cypress Point by Diane Chamberlain is a novel
that actually spans decades
and locations in Northern California, from historic
San Francisco of the 1930s to scenic Big Sur in the 1960s to
modern day Monterey.
Best friends Mara Sommers and Joelle D’Angelo are separated
by a tragic event during the birth of Mara’s first child,
leaving Mara with permanent brain damage and to spend the
rest of her live in a home.
Mara’s husband Liam is beside himself with grief as
he raises the child alone. Joelle has been like a surrogate
mother to the child but as events play out, Joelle and Liam
find themselves in bed, with Joelle getting pregnant. She
can’t tell Liam and feels that she’s betrayed her
best friend’s trust so she makes plans to leave Monterey
and her career to raise their child in Berkeley near her own
parents. But something holds her back.
Years earlier Joelle’s parents lived in a hippie commune
in the wilds of Big Sur. This is a time of free love, commune
living and natural birth. When Joelle’s mother experiences
some difficulty with her birth it’s Carlynn Kling they
turn to. Carlynn is a doctor and is visiting her friend at
the commune. Through a miracle, Joelle’s life is saved.
Her life is forever bound to Carlynn and her special ability.
Joelle finds herself in need of another miracle in her life
and goes in search of Carlynn. If anyone can bring Mara out
of her state, it would be Carlynn. Only there’s a secret
that Carlynn isn’t telling that could change the whole
outcome of Mara’s treatment, and Joelle’s life.
Cypress Point is an incredible story that expertly weaves
many sub-stories together so that each life is undeniably
linked to the next. Each character is so well fleshed out
that once I turned the last page I felt an immediate loss
at not being able to follow the characters through the rest
of their lives. The setting descriptions are almost like being
there. This reviewer was raised near Cypress Point so I tend
to be very critical about books set in my home. Cypress Point
was an exceptional read, and was almost like a trip home for
me.
The plot was another exceptional point for me. I haven’t
read a book so well plotted in a long time. Because this book
takes place over 3 specific time periods I could see where
it would have been very easy to miss a step in the plotting
which would have thrown the whole story off. Ms Chamberlain
avoided every pitfall that I could see to create a story so
intricate in it’s weaving that it was almost a tapestry.
If I were to award stars for recommended books, Cypress Point
would receive a strong 5.
