A complex and engrossing read about building a boat that’s rich in character and spirit.
Heberden (Outside Man, 2014, etc.) paints a particular portrait of American wants, values, and ideals in this contemporary literary novel.
When Eric Sumners decides to buy a boat for his wife, it seems like a simple enough plan. It’s the action of a rich man, certainly, but no more complex than the purchase of any expensive, beautiful romantic gesture. But while viewing his ideal ship, Eric stumbles on something that calls these ideas of beauty, art, and romance into question. A glimpse of a rowboat made by a neighboring craftsman creates a spark of imagination in Eric, and the gaudy, famed Nickerson ketch doesn’t seem nearly as appealing—much less artistic—as something built from scratch, made of wood with care. A true, genuine labor of love. But Eric’s whims and dreams don’t only concern him, and the size of the undertaking means much more than he could have anticipated. For Scott McKay, the disaffected artisan who made the boat Eric has become so enamored with, the wealthy man’s dreams represent an opportunity to prove himself to his business partners and live up to his potential by building this remarkable project. Meanwhile, Scott’s partner, Jack Colby, sees the project as a foolhardy risk, especially since he’s ready to leave the dying art of boat-building and repair behind. And Scott’s feelings for Jack’s wife, Ellen, only complicate matters. The story’s point of view shifts from chapter to chapter, lending insight into each character in turn as they move around and past each other in an intricate dance of wants, needs, and secrets. With hopes, dreams, love, and money on the line, conflict is inevitable, and no one knows all the other players well enough to prevent escalation or even, perhaps, to skirt disaster. There is an exquisite balance among character study, conflict, and scene here, as the details of the boat’s construction and the area’s history intertwine with plot and character. There are perhaps a few expository sections that go on too long or ring as awkward, but readers should get past these hiccups quickly enough and be richly rewarded with a truly excellent piece of Americana.
A complex and engrossing read about building a boat that’s rich in character and spirit.Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-692-39080-1
Page Count: 566
Publisher: Camerado Press
Review Posted Online: May 6, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.
A violent surfacing of adolescence (which has little in common with Tarkington's earlier, broadly comic, Seventeen) has a compulsive impact.
"Nobody big except me" is the dream world of Holden Caulfield and his first person story is down to the basic, drab English of the pre-collegiate. For Holden is now being bounced from fancy prep, and, after a vicious evening with hall- and roommates, heads for New York to try to keep his latest failure from his parents. He tries to have a wild evening (all he does is pay the check), is terrorized by the hotel elevator man and his on-call whore, has a date with a girl he likes—and hates, sees his 10 year old sister, Phoebe. He also visits a sympathetic English teacher after trying on a drunken session, and when he keeps his date with Phoebe, who turns up with her suitcase to join him on his flight, he heads home to a hospital siege. This is tender and true, and impossible, in its picture of the old hells of young boys, the lonesomeness and tentative attempts to be mature and secure, the awful block between youth and being grown-up, the fright and sickness that humans and their behavior cause the challenging, the dramatization of the big bang. It is a sorry little worm's view of the off-beat of adult pressure, of contemporary strictures and conformity, of sentiment….
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.Pub Date: June 15, 1951
ISBN: 0316769177
Page Count: -
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1951
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
APPRECIATIONS
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
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