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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
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Honora sets the cardboard suitcase on the slab of granite. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Honora sets the cardboard suitcase on the slab of granite. Read the first page
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
38 of 38 people found the following review helpful
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.
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
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.
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
Format:Paperback
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!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Enjoyable look at the rise of unionism
I've never read any Shreve before and enjoyed this much more than I expected to. I thought the characters were all beautifully drawn, distinct and believable. Read more
Published 8 days ago by daisyrock
Sea Glass
This is the first Anita Shreve novel I read and bought it as part of a Christmas present for my sister-in-law as I knew she'd love it too. Beautifully written. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Rose Garden
Love Anita Shreve
Set against the wall street crash of 1929 this was my first Anita Shreve. The story unfolds through the narrative of different charactors so you get all angles of the story as it... Read more
Published on 2 Sep 2009 by Dr Phibes
Period fiction with a difference
I love Anita Shreve - her work is unique amongst novelists in that while I'm reading her books real time seems to stand still. Read more
Published on 3 Feb 2009 by Psyche Out
Love and Hardship
At the centre of the story are Honora, bank clerk and Sexton, typewriter salesman who meet and marry at the start of the great depression. Read more
Published on 2 Aug 2008 by LindyLouMac
Subtle but powerful
Shreve writes elegant and restrained prose, but under the surface, there are deep emotions at work. The story line sounds like a plot from one of those genre novels beloved by... Read more
Published on 27 Dec 2007 by Beebarf
Striking and thoughtful
If you only read one Anita Shreve book, make it this one - and then you'll make time to read many more! Read more
Published on 27 Jun 2007 by Claire King
Visting Familiar places at different times.
This is the most enjoyable of the more historical Shreve books I have read. Also it is set in the same place as Fortune's Rocks - the main characters live in a house formerly... Read more
Published on 5 Dec 2006 by Aly
Worth a read
Just finished this book today. At first I thought I didn't really like how it was written - i.e 'she sets the table' - all in the immediate tense, as though you are watching it... Read more
Published on 18 May 2006 by P. L. Barrett
Sea Glass
We return to Fortune's Rocks years on and read another love story intermingled with poverty and danger. Yet again a wonderful story which you don't want to put down. Read more
Published on 18 Jan 2006 by Frances
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