Sea Glass: Amazon.co.uk: Anita Shreve: Books

Amazon.co.uk Review

Anita Shreve's new novel Sea Glass represents a remarkable advance. She previously caught the attention of many readers with Fortune's Rocks and The Pilot's Wife, beautifully crafted novels with rich and subtly observed characterisation. But however impressive those books were, Sea Glass has the same adroit creation of character, but the prose is even more rich and allusive. This is a story of the human heart, of the demands of the past, and of the necessity for pragmatism in human relationships. It's 1929, and Honora Beecher and her husband Sexton are enjoying their new marriage in a cottage on the coast of New Hampshire. Honora is renovating the rundown property and searching for pieces of coloured glass washed up on the beach. Sexton attempts to buy the house they both adore, but with disastrous results: like many other Americans, he is a victim of the stock market crash and is financially wiped out. He is forced to work in a nearby mill, where a labour conflict is having violent results. The couple's struggle to maintain their marriage in the face of dangerous forces that threaten to overwhelm them is vividly and poignantly told.

Shreve has written nine novels and throughout her work she has painstakingly honed her storytelling skills with elegance and intelligence. She is particularly skilful at depicting interlocking lives, as in Sea Glass, and adroitly invests each with its own portion of love and tragedy. If you want to be one of the "early adopters" of Shreve's cherishable novels, now is the time:

In the wet sand by her foot, a bit of colour catches her eye. The glass is green pale and cloudy, the colour of lime juice that has been squeezed into a glass. She brushes the sand off and presses the sea glass into her palm, keeping it for luck.

--Barry Forshaw --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

'A beautifully visualised novel of emotional discovery' SUNDAY TIMES 'Shreve skilfully unfolds her story of interlinking lives, displaying an intimate knowledge of the workings of the human heart' WOMAN AND HOME 'A finely written story of human beings pushed to the edge' SUNDAY MIRROR 'When violence erupts, the ensuing tragedy is all the more heartbreaking when described with Shreve's polished restraint' DAILY MAIL 'superbly read by Emilia Fox and Kerry Shale, and when it ended I decided to listen all over again.' CHRISTINA HARDYMENT, INDEPENDENT MAGAZINE 'Anita Shreve's new novel Sea Glass represents a remarkable advance. She previously caught the attention of many readers with Fortune's Rocks and The Pilot's Wife, beautifully crafted novels with rich and subtly observed characterisation. But however impressive those books were, Sea Glass has the same adroit creation of character, but the prose is even more rich and allusive. This is a story of the human heart, of the demands of the past, and of the necessity for pragmatism in human relationships. It's 1929, and Honora Beecher and her husband Sexton are enjoying their new marriage in a cottage on the coast of New Hampshire. Honora is renovating the rundown property and searching for pieces of coloured glass washed up on the beach. Sexton attempts to buy the house they both adore, but with disastrous results: like many other Americans, he is a victim of the stock market crash and is financially wiped out. He is forced to work in a nearby mill, where a labour conflict is having violent results. The couple's struggle to maintain their marriage in the face of dangerous forces that threaten to overwhelm them is vividly and poignantly told. Shreve has written nine novels and throughout her work she has painstakingly honed her storytelling skills with elegance and intelligence. She is particularly skilful at depicting interlocking lives, as in Sea Glass, and adroitly invests each with its own portion of love and tragedy. If you want to be one of the "early adopters" of Shreve's cherishable novels, now is the time: In the wet sand by her foot, a bit of colour catches her eye. The glass is green pale and cloudy, the colour of lime juice that has been squeezed into a glass. She brushes the sand off and presses the sea glass into her palm, keeping it for luck.' BARRY FORSHAW, AMAZON.CO.UK REVIEW

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38 of 38 people found the following review helpful

A compelling read - beautifully constructed 31 Mar 2002

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

Anita Shreve is one of my favourite writers. She writes books that are beautifully constructed with lyrical prose that carries the reader along.

In this new novel Shreve takes the setting from two of her previous books, Fortune's Rocks and The Pilot's Wife. The period in time of this book falls betweens that of these previous two books. The story is told from the viewpoint of numerous characters which span the social classes in the town of Ely Falls.

The story centres on two characters, Honora and Sexton Beecher who are newlyweds. They move to the town of Ely Falls where they buy a house. Unfortunately events take a turn for the worse and they are financially ruined. Sexton is forced to take a job at the local mill where workers like McDermott, another character who tells the story, are setting up a union and attempting to fight for the rights of workers. It is a story that raises interesting moral issues from this period in history, child labour and the oppression of manual workers. This is juxtaposed with Vivian's story, a young society girl in a privileged position.

This is another wonderful story from a fantastic writer who never fails to maintain reader interest.

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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

Intelligent and emotional novel 26 Mar 2003

By OllyOctopus

Sea Glass is partly set in Fortune's Rocks again, and interweaves the famous house from that book and The Pilot's Wife, which adds interest for her readers. I did like this book, but not as much as the other two I mentioned. Hence, the 4 stars. I was interested in the rise of unionism, and the desire for improved working conditions and pay in the factory. However, I felt some of the lesser characters were a bit too similar.
The use of the collection of sea glass added to the atmosphere of the book, and felt like Anita Shreve territory. I do recommend it - but if it's your first Anita Shreve....then I recommend Fortune's Rocks more.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

Tender, beautifully written story 12 Jun 2002

By Mrs. Nicola Vanlennep

Anita Shreve weaves a wonderful plot and captures you with her poetic prose from the very first page. Franco-Americans, child labour, poverty, The Great Depression and union movements all feature in this novel. Honora, the heroine, collects sea glass washed up on the beach but her husband, Sexton, describes it as "other people's trash". Yet to Honora, the smoothly rounded edges and pearly hues of the glass are exquisite. They symbolise Honora's escape from their rocky marriage and the gloom of The Great Depression. Perhaps they even represent a glint of hope found in the ruins of the heady days of The Prohibition? The novel weaves strong characters into the story: Alphonse, a Franco-American child from the mills, McDermott his kindly benefactor and Vivien, Honora and Sexton's privileged neighbour. Honora's mother writes to her daughter in short, succinct letters, yet her maternal tenderness and concern are so cleverly revealed.

Having read "The Last Time We Met", I wondered how Anita Shreve would match the ending in Sea Glass. All I can say is that it is poignantly perfect!