Stuck in a dead-end job, single, and discontented…Lily receives a most unexpected visitor: an “heir finder” who informs her she is the sole beneficiary to an unclaimed fortune—$16 million left behind by a grandfather she never met. The boon comes with a caveat: the money can only be claimed if the remains of her grandfather—a man who went missing in action in World War Two—are located and he’s … located and he’s proven legally dead.
The Far Shore follows Lily as she embarks on a global odyssey—from the shores of South Carolina to the deepest jungles of Myanmar—in a quest for answers. In the process, she uncovers an incredible story—that of a stricken, shell-shocked soldier who left the battlefield and went to the ends of the earth in an attempt to answer the age-old questions of mankind: Why do we suffer? Is there a God? Is there a way out? It is a journey that will change Lily forever; for, like her grandfather, she finds herself going further afield in search of answers, deeper into harm’s way, into both the unmapped places of the world and of the heart, where she will find either unimaginable wisdom and wealth . . . or madness and death.
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This is a book that has large sections of brilliance buried in, well, other stuff. I’m glad that I read it, which took some perseverance. The war and battle scenes are brilliant, vivid and very moving. These parts of the book are seen through the eyes of a male character. Clearly, the author should stick to writing men’s stories, because the sections of the book that are written through the female character’s eyes are really insulting.
Abandoned book after first chapter. Not of interest, too many other great books.
I loved Lily’s journey as she traces the steps of the grandfather she never knew, in the beginning in an effort to qualify as his heir, but along the way learning so much more about herself. The book was a little long, but so well written I didn’t mind. I highly recommend this story, stretching from modern times back through WWII.
Engaging book from the first page. I couldn’t wait to see how the main character made discoveries about herself and her family.
How do I rate this book? I loved it and hated it. It is definitely not for the casual reader or the faint of heart. One chapter goes on interminably but I don’t know if it could have been shortened. That all being said, I think it is praise worthy and will stay with you for a long time.
I loved the way this writer brings the reader in with flowing wording. The story was good, but not great, however the ending was lame, boring, and unfulfilling. I would not recommend this book.
Well, it wasn’t terrible, cause I finished it. According to the blurb, The Far Shore is supposed to be about Lily, an overweight clerk at a shipping office.
Lily has so many hangups, she can barely function. Then, this Heir Finder shows up and tells her she is the sole survivor of a soldier MIA in WWII and there is 16.5 million at stake. Lily sets off to find proof of Gray Allen’s (her grandfather) death.
Most of the book is about Gray Allen being in the army in Germany then in Japan. And about his life when he walked away from the army when Japan surrendered. Very little is actually about Lily. And, Lily isn’t all that likable. Gray is not really likable either, but more so than Lily. At least he has a goal in life, not just spending time waiting for someone or somethng to save him, as Lily seems to be doing.
Should have passed on this one. Gray’s story is at least interesting, Lily’s not so much.
The main character may have started out stuck in a dead-end job but quickly into the 1st chapter I found myself thinking, “I will not waste my time trying to read a dead-end book.” Sorry but between the one sentence paragraphs, the dry, depressing storyline, the constant sarcastic undertone, and the. broken. sentences. that. served. only. to. lose. the. reader (and this was only chapter 1), I decided this was not a book for me nor would I recommend it to anyone.