Synopses & Reviews
A wonderful new storyteller unleashes a soaring debut that sweeps from the hills of Hawaii to the veldt of South Africa. Come Sunday is that joyous, special thing: a saga that captivates from the very first page, breaking our hearts while making our spirits soar. Abbe Deighton is a woman who has lost her bearings. Once a child of the African plains, she is now settled in Hawaii, married to a minister, and waging her battles in a hallway of monotony. There is the leaky roof, the chafing expectations of her husbands congregation, and the constant demands of motherhood. But in an instant, beginning with the skid of tires, Abbes battlefield is transformed when her three-year-old daughter is killed, triggering in Abbe a seismic grief that will cut a swath through the landscape of her life and her identity. What an enthralling debut this is! What a storyteller we have here! As Isla Morleys novel sweeps from the hills of Honolulu to the veldt of South Africa, we catch a hint of the spirit of Barbara Kingsolver and the mesmerizing truth of Jodi Picoult. We are reminded of how it felt, a while ago, to dive into the drama of The Thorn Birds. Come Sunday is a novel about searching for a true homeland, family bonds torn asunder, and the unearthing of decades-old secrets. It is a novel to celebrate, and Isla Morley is a writer to love.
Review
“A heart-wrenching tale of unthinkable loss and hard-won healing. This is a novel to savor.” ---Sara Gruen, author of Water for Elephants
“An arresting, heart-wrenching novel...a phenomenal debut.” ---The San Diego Union-Tribune
“A compelling tale of survival, reinvention, and hope, in the end, Come Sunday is less about the death of a young child as about personal redemption and resurrection.... Vivid and poignant.” ---The Boston Globe
“An intense and ambitious first novel, and an exquisitely detailed exploration of the mother-daughter bond.” ---Los Angeles Magazine
“A debut full of heartbreak and promise...Through her portraits, Morley shows us flawed flesh-and-blood characters we come to care about.” ---Christianity Today
“Morley brings a pathos palpable in its authenticity and a maturity arresting in its conviction. Firmly establishing her in the pantheon of such insightful authors as Chris Bohjalian, Sue Miller, and Anita Shreve, Morleys poignant, read-in-one-sitting tale of loss and renewal will haunt readers.” ---Booklist
Review
"Jennifer Wiltsie's resourceful range and vocal skills bring this debut novel to life unforgettably...She perfectly renders the dissolution of their marriage and Abbe's return to South Africa, where she confronts painful memories and essential decisions. Wiltsie's fascinating portrayal delivers on every level." - AudioFile
Synopsis
A wonderful new storyteller unleashes a soaring debut that sweeps from the hills of Hawaii to the veldt of South Africa. "Come Sunday" is a novel about searching for a true homeland, family bonds torn asunder, and the unearthing of decades-old secrets.
Synopsis
A wonderful new storyteller unleashes a soaring debut that sweeps from the hills of Hawaii to the veldt of South Africa.
Synopsis
WINNER OF THE JANET HEIDINGER KAFKA PRIZE FOR FICTION
FINALIST FOR THE COMMONWEALTH PRIZE
Abbe is a restless young mother living on the outskirts of Honolulu with her husband, Greg, the pastor at a small church. Their lives are suddenly riven by tragedy when their three-year-old daughter, Cleo, is struck and killed by car. As Greg turns to God and community for comfort, Abbe turns inward and reflects upon her own troubled past. Isla Morley brilliantly weaves the story of Abbes grief with a gripping tale of her tempestuous childhood in apartheid South Africa---and how Abbes father, a villainous drunk, held her family hostage for decades with his rage, until they finally began to plot their escape from him. Come Sunday is a spellbinding drama about a woman breaking free of her grief and of her past, and what it takes to revive hope when all seems lost.
About the Author
ISLA MORLEY grew up in South Africa during apartheid. During the countrys State of Emergency, she graduated from Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in Port Elizabeth with a degree in English literature. By 1994 she was one of the youngest magazine editors in South Africa, but she left career, country, and kin when she married an American and moved to the United States. For more than a decade she pursued a career in nonprofit work, focusing on the needs of women and children. Now in the Los Angeles area, she shares a home with her husband, their daughter, two cats, a dog, and a tortoise.