Safe
Harbour
By Danielle Steel
Brief Summary:
A woman named, Ophélie,
moves to Safe Harbour, a gated community near the coast of San Francisco during
the summer to relieve herself from the traumatic aftermath of the deaths of her
husband and only son. While Ophélie’s daughter, Pip, is still around to comfort
her mother, Ophélie maintains a deep sense of depression. Also, despite the
soothing presence of a friend named, Andrea, Ophélie barely eats during her
daily routine and can only sleep to relieve herself from her sorrow. However,
Pip soon finds a friend on the beach; the friend is a divorced man nicknamed,
Matt. Over time, Matt begins to soothe and heal the emotional wounds that both
Ophélie and Pip have endured.
Elements of the Women’s Lives and
Relationships Genre:
Pacing: The novel unfolds most of its
events at a leisurely pace (Saricks, 2009, p. 161). However, the book contains
at least one short chapter that rapidly accelerates the pace of the book,
making the book into page-turner at this particular section (Saricks, 2009, p.
161). In addition, the novel’s pacing speeds up when the novel focuses on
Ophélie’s problems or sudden outbursts in relation to her friends (Saricks,
2009, p. 161).
Storyline: The storyline examines “themes
of concern special to women” (Saricks, 2009, p. 158). The novel specifically
deals with the themes of “family relationships and friendships, issues with
health and career, and women triumphing over adversity and reconstructing their
lives” (Saricks, 2009, p. 158). The novel also emphasizes the idea of
compromise being a key part of Ophélie’s quest to secure resolution in her life
(Saricks, 2009, p. 159).
Characterization: This novel focuses on
exploring the life of Ophélie and “her relationships with family, friends, and
lovers” (Saricks, 2009, p. 157). The book additionally explores Ophélie’s “attempts
to make sense of her life” (Saricks, 2009, p. 158). As a single protagonist,
Ophélie is supported by her daughter, Pip, and by a female friend, Andrea (Saricks,
2009, p. 158). Also, the novel is heavily character-centered (Saricks, 2009, p.
158).
Frame/Setting: The currency of issues
plays a major part in the book’s frame (Saricks, 2009, p. 159). The novel
addresses modern-day concepts in relation to women, such as the effects of
cancer and depression (Saricks, 2009, p. 159). The book also places an emphasis
on “background details related to geographical setting” and hobbies for its
frame (Saricks, 2009, p. 160). Specifically, the background details of the
geographical setting of a coastal Californian beach and Matt’s painting hobby
are relevant components of the novel’s frame and setting.
Tone/Mood: Tone is a vital component of
the book (Saricks, 2009, p. 157). The book’s tone prioritizes setting up an “emotional
link that readers want and expect” (Saricks, 2009, p. 157). The novel’s tone
also varies considerably (Saricks, 2009, p. 157); the book’s tone ranges from being
sorrowful, painful, hopeful, and cheerful. The book’s contrasting mood of both
sadness and joy stems from centering on “difficult and emotional topics” (Saricks,
2009, p. 157).
Style/Language: The novel’s language
focuses on telling “the story of women and their lives” (Saricks, 2009, p.
160). The language of the book is simple and easily understandable. Also, the
book contains a specific style that is based on a romantic tone (Saricks, 2009,
p. 160). The writing style of the book utilizes the method of repeating the
details of the same events from multiple characters. Because of this writing
style, readers will not be perplexed about the events of the story and will
find it easy to resonate with the book’s story and characters (Saricks, 2009,
p. 160).
Read A Likes:
LaRose by Louise
Erdrich. The novel is involved with exhibiting Safe Harbour’s subgenre
of domestic fiction, which is an assumed subgenre of the genre of women’s lives
and relationships (EBSCO Industries, Inc., 2018, n.p.). The book also deals
with Safe Harbour’s topic of sons (EBSCO Industries, Inc., 2018, n.p.).
Loving
Frank by
Nancy Horan. This book contains the subgenre of love stories, which is
associated with the larger genre of women’s lives and relationships (EBSCO
Industries, Inc., 2018, n.p.). The novel also utilizes the topic of married men
(EBSCO Industries, Inc., 2018, n.p.).
The
marriage of opposites by Alice Hoffman. The book is associated with the topic of widows and
the subgenre of love stories (EBSCO
Industries, Inc., 2018, n.p.).
Two by two by Nicholas Sparks. This novel
deals with the topic of married men and exhibits the subgenre of domestic
fiction (EBSCO Industries, Inc., 2018, n.p.).
References:
EBSCO Industries,
Inc.. (2018). Read-alikes for Safe harbor.
Retrieved from
Saricks, J. G.
(2009). The readers’ advisory guide to genre fiction (2nd ed.). Chicago, IL:
American Library Association.
I usually don't read these types of books. I'm wondering if this book is depressing? Would it make me cry? Or is it more of a story of hope and healing?
ReplyDeleteSafe Harbour is only a slightly depressing book, due to the tragedies that are presented in the novel. The book would not make you cry at all unless you're a very sensitive person. Personally, I did not feel that the scenes in the book were very heartbreaking or sorrowful, although the tragedies had some elements of sadness in them. Generally, the story is more about the hope and healing of the book's characters from the tragedies that the characters have experienced.
DeleteSo, I've never read Danielle Steel, which is something that causes most of my patrons to gasp :-) I guess I never really got it. Were they supposed to be romance? Or just really emotional? But I was never curious enough to find out, I guess. This actually sounds like a really good story, though, and different from what I thought a Danielle Steel book might be. The one thing I do know about her is that she had a son die, and I believe she wrote a book about it. So it's interesting to see that this is a theme of this book. I would imagine that some of that pain comes through rather acutely in this story. The book I read for this genre also explored a mother and daughter relationship, but a mother and daughter dealing with this kind of grief together probably makes for some pretty emotional story telling. This annotation was very enlightening! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteMandy, I think that this Danielle Steel novel is a combination of the romance genre and somewhat emotional content. I would assume that most of Danielle Steel's books would contain this combination. Also, I didn't really think that the story in Safe Harbour was very emotional, although it exhibited some emotional moments. In addition, I was disappointed in the story; it wasn't my cup of tea. While I liked the slow and detailed beginning of the novel, the rest of the novel was quite abysmal. I disliked how the novel's plot and dialogue were structured.
DeleteHi Megan! Have you read other Danielle Steel books before? Do you find them to be very formulaic? I am always wary of the big-name authors because of the author mills that we talked about earlier in class!
ReplyDeleteI was wondering that as well! I've never read any of Steel's books, though I know she's very popular. If she's not too predictable, I might be willing to give hers a shot. I think I'll definitely have to add this title to my TBR, because it sounds super sweet while remaining a relatively gentle read (in case the news hasn't made it to you, yet, the book I chose turned into a steamy read, and I was quite unhappy, lol).
DeleteD.M., I have never read a Danielle Steel book before I read Safe Harbour. I found this book to be very formulaic. I've seen Hallmark films with much better plots than this book's plot. I think that you have a right to be afraid of big-name author mills. I believe that most of the author mills out there are to snag a convenient cash grab from devoted followers through the publishing of a novel. The authors don't really give their books much creativity, but they do adhere closely to the conventions of certain genres, which is what fans desire. So, the authors are at least satisfying demand for certain plots.
DeleteAlso, Emma, this book is not a novel from the gentle reads genre. It is a novel in the women's lives and relationships genre, which contains edgier content. It has profanity and even a sex scene, which I think is implied. If the scene did not contain any sex, then it is a scene where the protagonist stays in bed with another man before she's married. So, I consider the scene to be something along the lines of a sex scene, even if sex possibly didn't occur during the scene. The scene has some terrible tropes in it as well, such as the protagonist stating that she feels safe with the man that she's in bed with. I was fairly appalled at this scene, since it seemed like something that would come out of a Twilight novel.
DeleteHello Megan,
ReplyDeleteDanielle Steel has always been intriguing to me as a popular author simply because she writes in so many different styles, I never really know what her books are about! So, it's nice to read about one to finally see. I like that you make a note of how the pacing switches, I think some patrons would enjoy this kind of surprise so it's good to know. I am wondering if that's something she does often with her work. I like that you included a Nicholas Sparks as a read-a-like, because I was thinking throughout your review that it sounded similar to his books! Great review!
Thanks, abartkow! I think that the differences in pacing does assist in creating tension for the novel at certain points during the story, even if I think that many of the book's scenes were poorly constructed. So, some fans may find the differences in pacing to be refreshing. I don't know if Steel actually changes the pacing on purpose for her other novels.
DeleteI've never read this title by Danielle Steel, but I have read others by her. I tend to like happily ever after type of books so I'm careful about which of her books I read. But I have enjoyed certain titles in the past. Would you try any more of her work?
ReplyDeleteI would not try any more of Danielle Steel's work. This novel was a happily ever after type of book, but I didn't really appreciate how the novel's plot and dialogue were structured.
DeleteExcellent annotation! You did a wonderful job with your summary and appeals. You also garnered a lot of comments. Great work and full points!
ReplyDelete