by R.P. Burnham
Comments and reviews
In Envious Shadows, R. P. Burnham has given us a full blooded novel, driven by plot, character and issues of racism, sexism, infidelity, the struggle to survive economically in a small Maine town and the overarching love that can redeem us from sorrow and loss. This is a book that will provoke thought, feeling and rage at hatred and inequity. Surely this is the most we can ask of any writer when we pick up his book.
–Laurel Speer, poet and former columnist for Small Press Review
R. P. Burnham demonstrates his knack for storytelling in his novel, Envious Shadows. He keeps the reader interested in the plotline while also managing to interweave a penumbra of moral lessons about love, prejudice,and judgment in a modern context. Envious Shadows is filled with a highwit and a talent for creating relatable and realistic characters. For those looking for a strong plot with an accompanying wisdom for modern life, Envious Shadows is a must-read.
–Jesslyn Roebuck in identity theory.com web blog July 2006
Envious Shadows is a deftly crafted, engrossing contemporary novel, one of those works that is not afraid to face the grim realities of life and the cruelties of society as well as the redeeming power of love... A beautiful work that depicts life in all its grim realities, Envious Shadows is a rewarding read.
–Mayra Calvani, Bloomsbury Review
Envious Shadows is a marvelous book. It is about a black and white relationship which has strength to resist the intermittent brutality of human nature. With the lightest of hands, the essence of your personality is present on every page, leading the reader forward toward an understanding of human nature as it should be. The book never lags for a instant, and it is full of realistic details on a wide framework of topics which range from dealing with the psychological integration of half-way house residents into society, the intricacies of the game of softball, the atmosphere of pubs, the challenges facing building contractors, the mindset of the KKK, to the correct planting of roses. There isn’t a pompous moment in it and it is loaded with quiet wit, with seriousness, with irony, and through it all there shines not only a knowledge of literature but a knowledge of life. … I was very taken by your last novel but I truly believe that Envious Shadows is even better, and that is as it should be. From Shelley’s poem on the first page to Millie’s soothing advice at the end, the book is truly a living work which encompasses modern dilemmas.
–Susan Davey
ENVIOUS SHADOWS
by
R.P. Burnham
******
PUBLISHED BY:
Envious Shadows
copyright 2005 by R. P. Burnham
Cover: Malevolence by William Blake
#
Who reigns? There was the Heaven and Earth at first
And Light and Love;—then Saturn, from whose throne
Time fell, an envious shadow ...
Shelley, Prometheus Unbound, II, iv, 32-34
*****
Table of Contents
Today and Tomorrow
A Car, a Cottage, and the Persistence of Memory
Dangerous Games
Love and Hate
A Gathering of Like-Minded Men
Secrecy
Refuge
Live and Let Live
Two Serious Conversations
The Last to Know
Meeting Secretly
End of the Affair
Snowbound
Girls Night Out
Losing the Way
Roses
Trapped
The Fatal Shot
It Doth Repent Me
A note about the writer
