This novel was quite unlike anything I've read in a long time.It revolves around a family living together as a result of tragic circumstances. They are very much a loving family in terms of the depth of emotion they have for each other, but like so many of us, they find this next to impossible to display. The landscape and surrounding nature, especially the river and sea, feature heavily in this novel too. It's so colorful and alive, you can almost smell the sea spray yourself. Just beautiful. A powerful story in which the author carefully paces a year in the life of a family on Fire Island who experience both tragedy and loss yet manage to survive although with bruises. The author provides a bibliography of the books she used for research regarding the hurricane that hit Long Island during the late 1930s. The characters are developed with the same careful intensity so that the reader can't help but share their frustrations and fears. It many ways it is like experiencing reality TV only through the power of words.
A powerful, sorrowful tale. It was slow going for me at first, but then I really got into the story.
—Thunder
This is a remarkable first novel, beautifully written, every page compelling in its story.
—halo
The writing in this book had better improve PDQ, of I'm taking it back!
—husker
