Sea Music (Paperback)

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• This item: Sea Music by Sara MacDonald

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• Come Away with Me by Sara MacDonald

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Come Away with Me by Sara MacDonald 4.4 out of 5 stars (8)  £5.49

Another Life by Sara MacDonald 4.7 out of 5 stars (6)

The Hour Before Dawn by Sara MacDonald 4.8 out of 5 stars (4)

The Memory Garden by Rachel Hore 3.6 out of 5 stars (18)  £4.19

The Villa in Italy by Elizabeth Edmondson 4.4 out of 5 stars (17)  £4.31

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Review
Spanning four generations, Sea Music weaves a tale of love, loss and difficult healing. Moving from Nazi Poland to modern-day Cornwall, Sara Macdonald shows how history affects individuals and families, and looks at family ties and the corrosive nature of family secrets. Anna Tremain is the difficult daughter of Fred and Martha Tremain. Anna's own daughter, Lucy, finds documents from the 1940s which explain the awkward relationship between Anna and Martha, and mothers and daughters journey towards reconciliation against the tide of the past. Whilst her plotting is superb, it is Macdonald's characters who are most compelling. Although many of her characters are wounded, she refuses to present them as victims. This is the key to the novel's huge emotional appeal: even Martha, haunted by Auschwitz, transcends the past's brutality. At the same time, Macdonald avoids triteness; she portrays Martha as an Alzheimer's sufferer whose muddled recall means that not every mystery can be solved. Reflecting Martha's condition, the novel is structured through bright flashes of recall. The frequent shifts from past to present make this a fast-moving narrative. The Tremain history mesmerises as it unfolds, and Macdonald steadily feeds us the truth, however uncomfortable that truth may be. Macdonald's evocation of both Cornwall and Nazi Poland is adept. While Cornwall is peaceful and verdant, the Warsaw ghettos are utterly bleak. She describes the horrors of the death camps with sharp-edged realism but also a huge respect for those who suffered there. The modern-day story takes place against the background of the latest conflict in Kosovo, where Lucy's boyfriend goes to work for the UN. Macdonald's message is understated yet poignant: she asks us how ethnic loathing can be allowed to persist after Nazism. In Sea Music she shows how one family heals its wounds and begins to forgive. (Kirkus UK)

Product Description
A beautifully written novel with great emotional appeal, of family secrets and wartime heritage, set in Cornwall, London and Warsaw. The house and the cottage overlooking the sea, on the corner of the big estate, was home to three generations of the Tremain family. Fred Tremain, the country doctor who - with his wife, Martha, for whose sake he had become estranged from his family - came first to this beloved corner of England: Anna, the difficult, determined older child, now a highly successful solicitor; and Barnaby, the easy-going second child, now a vicar to the parish: and the beloved granddaughter, Lucy. It is she whose discoveries of family papers, hidden in the old cottage, brings to light the first of the wartime secrets and begins the process of questioning so many old fears and hatreds, and unlocking the way to new relationships and new loves. Sara Macdonald has created a wonderful range of characters, depicted with great tenderness and understanding, against a background of the human price paid for the upheavals caused by prejudice, violence and wars today and yesterday. A wonderful novel for all the fans of Anita Shreve, Niall Williams and Rosamund Pilcher.

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6 Reviews 5 star:  (3) 4 star:  (2) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:  (1) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 4.2 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   18 of 18 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyed, 3 Jun 2003 By A Customer I thoroughly enjoyed this book right to the last page - written with real feeling and descriptions that made you feel you knew the persons concerned. Also allowing the reader real insight into the Jews plight in Poland during the last World war. Highlighting how barriers can build up around situations in a family that are then very difficult to break down. Held my attention to the last page and apart from enjoying the storyline I felt I had learned a few historical facts too. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   2 of 2 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars enlightment, 14 Jul 2006 By  Ruth Hamilton "book junkie" (Guildford, Surrey, England) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    Sea Music was a wonderfully written novel with well rounded characters, especially Lucy and Barnaby. Having read a few of Sarah MacDonald's books I can see a Barnaby type character thread running through them but as he is such a warm and gentle person this is no bad thing. However, Sea Music made me weep with shame that such acts of brutality were carried out so indiscriminately, even though I am fully aware of the death camps of WWII. This book made me feel humble - would the human spirit be able to survive such degradation and humiliation today when we are so spoilt and selfish and uncaring of our fellow human beings? Have attitudes changed that much? It raises questions and makes me wonder if we could overcome such difficulties and still be human. I have almost finished another of Sarah MacDonald's books, Another Life, which is quite different but has her marvellously deft touch. I am enjoying it so much I don't want to finish it, anymore than I wanted to finish 'Sea Music'. It is so refreshing to find an author who can tell a story and involve the reader at every stage. I find myself wondering how the tale will develop and actually savour the moment of picking up the book and continuing it. Well done -there are not many authors who have the power to do that and she never disappoints! Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   1 of 1 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Deep and thought provoking., 19 April 2008 By  M. HENNING (South Africa) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    Not your avarage soapy story, but deep, thought provoking story line. I did not find it sad, but rather a reminder of what the human spirit is capable of, good and bad. A good read and as compelling as "Another life". Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this) Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review › See all 6 customer reviews...		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 4.0 out of 5 stars Thought provoking A friend lent me this book and when she told me what it was about, I must admit to some unease but I found it thoroughly good reading, I won't say enjoyable. Read more Published 5 months ago by Bookworm 5.0 out of 5 stars tim clarke i loved this book it was so well crated and the characters were totally believable. i looke forward to her next book. Read more Published 19 months ago by J. J. Clarke 2.0 out of 5 stars Predicatable and Rather Depressing Having read "Another Life" by Sara Macdonald and thoroughly enjoyed it I was eager to read another of her novels and started "Sea Music" with a positive outlook. Read more Published on 16 Mar 2007 by Jenna Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews › See all 6 customer reviews...

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