One Christmas Knight
Kathleen Creighton
copyright 1997 Kathleen Modrovich. Silhoutte Intimate Moments #825, in arrangement with Harlequin S.A. ISBN 0-373-07825-0, $3.99, 249pp.This book had received excellent press from not one but two persons on the review site I've been culling my latest to be read pile, and so too was I delighted---from the title, which I thought was clever, both in its obvious reference to the male protagonist, and a more subtle parallel it draws between Mirabella's journey and one undertaken a very long time ago; and the cover, which excepting the wedding band adorning the woman's hand the author makes most clear her female protagonist doesn't wear, is otherwise attractive in that it depicted the protagonists accurately and in a believable pose, onward to the very last line, a bit of truckers' CB conversation, which otherwise opens each chapter.
Once upon a time, authors frequently used to decorate their chapters with a quote, usually to function as a summary for the upcoming action. Hardly anyone uses that old-fashioned device any more; Connie Willis, who I think constructs some the most beautifully composed stories I've ever encounted, does, to very good effect. So does Ms. Creighton, whose story of a southern long haul trucker, and the very pregnant woman whom he meets on the road over the Christmas holidays, comes very close to breaking out of the conventional romance mold. (The book does retain a few romantic cliches: both characters are goodlooking, for example)
Jimmy Joe Starr can't help admiring the beautiful, redheaded Californian who crosses his path at a truck stop, even though he feels anyone eight months pregnant engaging to drive over a thousand miles---through blizzard conditions no less---is an irresponsible idiot. Mirabella Waskowitz is absolutely determined to join her folks both for Christmas and the birth of her child, and since her father is at the last moment too ill to come to her, she resolves to go to them, even though they live in Pensacola, FL.
The book has several things going for it, not the least of which are strong and determined protagonists from decidedly different backgrounds: Mirabella is a successful interior designer (and her job is the only aspect of the book I felt lacking in the sharply delineated depictions otherwise characterizing the story), college educated, and a sophisticated, upper class resident of Los Angeles; Jimmy Joe, as his name implies, is an old fashioned southern gentleman, who may own his own truck but is at heart blue collar. Novels in which the characters do not change in some way are typically pretty boring to read, and obviously for any sort of a romance to work between them the characters must make concessions to their relationship.
Mirabella, of course, as the one about to become a new parent (Jimmy Joe has an 8 or 9 year old son---and let us be honest here, as a female parent, her life has the greater likelihood of being affected) is making the greatest adjustment. As the truckers' lingo and references to Christmas carols sketch out the novel's setting in space, mostly a vividly depicted 18 wheeler called Big Blue Starr, and in time, the holiday season---so do Mirabella's changing goals mirror the decisions facing many modern American women. Having gone through somewhat (very somewhat) similar experiences I found her answers, if a trifle bittersweet, nevertheless possessed of a very familiar tang.
This is not to say that Mirabella throws up her whole self for the love of a good man: how extraordinarily refreshing to read of people, just because they might be in love, nevertheless do not immediately lose their judgement, their values, or their backgrounds. Huzzah. Three and a half stars.
Sylvus Tarn Last modified: Sun Sep 13 00:40:01 EDT 1998
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