West Maui Book Club

McLain’s writing carves out Beryl’s life much in the way an artist sculpts out a statue. First it is a dream, then an image, and finally a beautiful piece of art. Between the lines and chapters, McLain hums a quiet steady beat with her chisel. She chips us through Africa and sweeps us across the sea, all to tell a story of one woman, one soul, looking and learning and hoping and doing. There’s failure and sorrow, joy and a deep, aching love….for Africa, for man, for adventure. I’ve read Beryl’s written story “West With The Night” and McLain’s brings it to life again. “Circling The Sun” is beautifully written.

Book Review written by Elaine Gallant

There has never been a better time than now to eat your vegetables. So may I suggest that you run…not dawdle…to Garden Sushi @ Choice Health Bar for a Nubu-esque experience of the freshest vegetables presented in a most stunning array of “sushi” made from brown rice, quinoa, and forbidden rice.

We had an unbelievable evening of tantalizing tastes and textures. Warm kinoko mushroom miso soup; a delightful tower of daikon and avocado with tahini sauce; house made dumpling with kale, shiitake, black bean and tofu; beet carpaccio with tangy apple salsa; a sampler plate of “nigiri” sushi (I swear the eggplant with miso glaze rivaled my favorite sweet unagi) and last but not least, a memorable tasting of a tomato caviar roll.

This place is five star…on a “sushi” scale and vegetarian scale. Our palates were alive from the moment we started eating until we left crying that we did not have a camera between us to post a photo…not even a cell phone. So? We’ll have to go back again and again and again.

Garden Sushi @ Choice Health Bar is open Mon-Sat, 6PM – closing and BYOB. 1087 Limahana Pl, Lahaina, HI 96761, 808-661-7711.

How does one share with the world their deepest fears? Head on, I guess. Because Beck has saddled her life to a sprinting horse in “Expecting Adam”. True, while the entire story is about how she had to slow down to completely understand and appreciate her Down Syndrome son, she nonetheless races wildly around the corral before being tamed to the point of acceptance. “Expecting Adam” is a delightful read for all of us and Beck deliciously delivers it by the mouthful.

Much emphasis was placed on getting this story published. Mission accomplished. The build up for that, however, did not fully meet my coaxed anticipation as a result. I also had some difficulty staying “on point” with name changes and the authors odd inclusion of modern day time references. I wanted to stay in the period, understand Garibaldi’s influence on the characters and move forward with them. The last chapter, however, took a major leap, forcing an ending that otherwise would have been better for me if allowed to build. All in all, I learned some things, found the author’s skew interesting, and warmed slightly to the overall tale.