Alfred Kildow of Boothbay Harbor will talk about his fourth novel, “Chandelle,” at the Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library on Friday, Aug. 23 at 1:30 pm. The public is invited. 

“My novel is a love story about war, or a war story about romance; take your pick,” Kildow says. 

The novel ponders a dilemma and a solution: To climb out of tragic despair a jet pilot reprises a combat maneuver to find lost love—and redemption. “Chandelle” is published by Maine Authors Publishing. 

Kildow, a jet fighter pilot during the Korean War and later, describes aerial combat as a barrier and enabler in the novel. “Chandelle” focuses on a romance that war enables, then takes away harshly. What follows is the evolution of the lovers, separately, together, then separately again as war intrudes a second time.  

The word “chandelle” is the name of an aerial maneuver that can be used to escape imminent danger. Kildow applies it also to dangerous challenges in love and in marriage. Chandelle also means “candle,” in French, and is a popular girls’ name in France. 

Kildow’s previous novels are “Fallout: remains of an atomic war”; “Exiles: a curveball called destiny”; and “Prelude to a Sting.” 

“Fallout” builds on Kildow’s experience training for nuclear war. “My mission didn’t happen,” he observes. “Otherwise, you’d have noticed.”