Pearl Johnson

Unknown to her but obvious to almost everyone else, Pearl Johnson falls in love with a younger man. Due to the heavy baggage of a yet-to-be-terminated marriage which was doomed from its beginning, strict obedience to religious dogma, her family’s mores, and a strained relationship with her grown daughter, Pearl has difficulty accepting that she has the right to enjoy her own being, life, and the pursuit of happiness.

Widower Bob Johnson

With three grown children, Bob Johnson is clueless about what the future holds for him. He only knows that he was happily married for almost thirty years and is dubious even thinking about a second relationship, fearing that it would lead to disappointment because he would always be comparing the new women to his deceased beloved. Buried in loneliness, he becomes heavily involved in volunteer work and begins to imbibe a bit too much in self-pity and alcohol.

Setting and Guidance

This story of love and internal conflict takes place amid the wonderfully complex, yet beautiful, sometimes tragic, life in Haiti. Guidance comes from two unlikely friendships... a Voudoun priest and a Haitian engineer. Fates intervention in the relationship is best capsulated by the Voudoun, who says, God works in strange and mysterious ways.

About the Novel

As with all of Jim’s novels, Sins of Pearl is written to entertain. Hopefully, the reader will laugh a little, cry a little, and think a little. Its clash of cultures and comparisons of religious doctrine may cause some to think, which is good.