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Sea Glass (Paperback)

by Anita Shreve (Author) "Honora sets the cardboard suitcase on the slab of granite ..." (more)
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
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Product details

  • Paperback: 368 pages
  • Publisher: Abacus; New edition edition (21 Nov 2002)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0349115176
  • ISBN-13: 978-0349115177
  • Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.6 x 2.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 36,231 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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    #9 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > S > Shreve, Anita

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Product Description

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 alternate Paperback edition.


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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Customer Reviews

18 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (18 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A compelling read - beautifully constructed, 31 Mar 2002
By A Customer
This review is from: Sea Glass (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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51 of 52 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars an entertaining and enjoyable read, 14 Dec 2002
By kimbofo (London, UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)   
This was the first book by Anita Shreve I've ever read. I wasn't sure what to expect; maybe something like a New England version of Maeve Binchy. (Not that Maeve Binchy is bad, mind, it's just that sometimes her novels are cloying, overly sentimental and hackneyed, and you have to be in the right mood to read them.) I was surprised, then, to find that this book was not only enjoyable and thoroughly readable, but it was also quite well-researched, and, dare I say it, literary. It's set in 1929, a short time before the huge stock market crash which plunged America and, indeed, the rest of the world, into a gut-wrenching economic depression. A young bride, Honora, makes a home in an abandoned house by the sea with her new husband, Sexton, a travelling typewriter salesman. At first things are, if not idyllic, then at least happy and reasonably comfortable. But the first flush of love soon dissipates when Sexton loses his job and takes up a lowly-paid position at a nearby woollen mill, where conditions are difficult and dangerous. When the workers retaliate by taking industrial action (unheard of at the time), Honora, provides support, shelter and food for those involved in the strike, while her marriage slowly crumbles around her. It's a simple tale but it's very well told. There's an emotional resonance which can be difficult to achieve without resorting to cliche and stereotypes, something Shreve never does. Shreve also fills her novel with rich historical detail that makes the era come alive. And her characters, which take it in turn to tell their version of the story chapter by chapter, are sharply drawn and very believable. I found myself reading this book at a very fast rate of knots, wondering what was going to happen next. If the rest of Shreve's novels are as entertaining as this one, then she had definitely won a new fan. But which of her other eight or so novels to read next . . . ?
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Intelligent and emotional novel, 26 Mar 2003
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.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars 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 2 months ago by Dr Phibes

5.0 out of 5 stars 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 9 months ago by Psyche Out

4.0 out of 5 stars 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 15 months ago by LindyLouMac

4.0 out of 5 stars 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 23 months ago by Beebarf

5.0 out of 5 stars 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

4.0 out of 5 stars 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

4.0 out of 5 stars 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

4.0 out of 5 stars Sea Glass
We return to Fortune's Rocks years on and read another love story intermingled with poverty and danger. Read more
Published on 18 Jan 2006 by Frances

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderfully poignant tale
This is an excellent book and I can thoroughly recommend it. The characters are superbly drawn and I was desperate to know what happened to them all. Read more
Published on 17 Jun 2005

3.0 out of 5 stars Another Great Book from Anita Shreve
My first Shreve book was 'The Pilot's Wife' which I thoroughly enjoyed, therefore, I bought 'Sea Glass' hoping to enjoy again. Read more
Published on 9 Aug 2004 by justaz6

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