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Wrecked Upon This Shore
Wrecked Upon This Shore is a bold new novel from Kate Story that follows and will build upon the success of her critically-acclaimed debut Blasted. At the novel's centre is Pearl abused by her father at a young age, she is wild, charismatic, and damaged.The story moves back and forth in time. We follow Pearl through the eyes of her adult son Stephen, but also from the viewpoint of Mouse, the girl she befriends and falls in love with as a teenager. Mandy, christened Mouse by the seductive, aggressive Pearl, had a relatively sheltered upbringing in Newfoundland. But when Mouse falls for Pearl, the affair changes her life. In the end, Mouse loses almost everything when Pearl leaves her; in fact, Pearl is pregnant when Mouse learns the affair is over.
197 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 8, 2013
This is an excellent novel but not easy to read in terms of content. There are several themes: abuse, lesbian love, motherhood and the need to understand our past to move forward in our lives.
The central character is Stephen but the entire novel swirls around his mother Pearl a wild, damaged, narcissistic and troubled woman. The novel opens with the touching scene of her death at home and Stephen’s attempt to revive her. Another woman Mouse is present at Pearl’s death, and from here we go back to follow the story of these three people.
It is 1979 when we meet Pearl as a wild, self centered eighteen year old teenager. She has taken her Newfoundland friend Mandy, who she has named “Mouse”, to her family’s island cottage near Gananoque. Pearl has a wealthy background and the setting is very different from what Mouse has known back home. Pearl is flippant about all her worldly and expensive possessions, hurling her earrings and watch into the river while Mouse watches aghast and unbelieving. Mouse comes from a relatively sheltered background and has already encountered culture shock entering this Southern Ontario area in her first foray from home. Her encounter with Pearl, for whom she is developing a loving affection, is confusing and difficult. Pearl is seductive and aggressive and she treats Mandy with disdain, ordering her about, but then there are striking moments of affection, throwing Mouse into further confusion. After several drunken days, Pearl takes off in the boat and doesn’t return until the next day. Mouse is at first angry and then bereft. She is angry that Pearl has left but also sad that she has lost her first potential lover. Mouse is incredibly marked with her island affair with Pearl.
From here, the story moves quickly over the years and back and forth in time. Pearl and Mouse meet one more time when Stephen is four, but their lives have diverged and they do not meet again until Pearl is dying.
Stephen is now thirty, yet he seems to be going nowhere. He works in a second hand bookstore and has an unconventional living relationship with the beautiful bisexual Laura. But even as we meet this couple it seems they are both treading on very fragile ground and the whole arrangement is tenuous.
Pearl is diagnosed with lung cancer after all her years of heavy smoking and submits to radiation treatment, but both she and Stephen know her cancer is terminal. Stephen visits her every day, withstanding the constant abuse she hurls at him and caring for her even when she is at her worse. At times you want to slap her she is so cruel.
Stephen remembers scenes from his youth as a neglected child. He does not know who is father is and Pearl has never told him. Pearl has also cut herself off from her own wealthy family and has no contact with them at all. She is adamant she does not want her father contacted even as she is dying.
Pearl treats Stephen with absolute contempt, belittling him, criticizing him, and shouting him down. She is clearly an unconventional mother. There does not seem to be a kind or nurturing bone in her body. They live in a dilapidated house that requires many repairs and hasn’t seen a caring hand in decades. How did this all happen?
Stephen realizes he has come to a turning point in his life. Pearl is all he has in this world and he desperately wants to understand why she is always so angry and chaotic. Why does she have such absolute disdain for her father? He also knows this is his last chance to try and find out something about his father, a request Pearl has to this point refused. As Pearl’s death approaches, Stephen’s need to come to terms with these questions is what drives the novel.
This story of an unconventional family is beautifully told and though it is not an easy read, it ends with a measure of hope. It explores how people survive by “keeping monstrous truths in air tight compartments”, how the process of dying can serve as a catalyst to reframe relationships and how children strive to understand their parents so that they can further understand themselves.
Kate Story is another of those great Newfoundland writers and I continue to be amazed at the talent that comes from those eastern rocky shores.
The central character is Stephen but the entire novel swirls around his mother Pearl a wild, damaged, narcissistic and troubled woman. The novel opens with the touching scene of her death at home and Stephen’s attempt to revive her. Another woman Mouse is present at Pearl’s death, and from here we go back to follow the story of these three people.
It is 1979 when we meet Pearl as a wild, self centered eighteen year old teenager. She has taken her Newfoundland friend Mandy, who she has named “Mouse”, to her family’s island cottage near Gananoque. Pearl has a wealthy background and the setting is very different from what Mouse has known back home. Pearl is flippant about all her worldly and expensive possessions, hurling her earrings and watch into the river while Mouse watches aghast and unbelieving. Mouse comes from a relatively sheltered background and has already encountered culture shock entering this Southern Ontario area in her first foray from home. Her encounter with Pearl, for whom she is developing a loving affection, is confusing and difficult. Pearl is seductive and aggressive and she treats Mandy with disdain, ordering her about, but then there are striking moments of affection, throwing Mouse into further confusion. After several drunken days, Pearl takes off in the boat and doesn’t return until the next day. Mouse is at first angry and then bereft. She is angry that Pearl has left but also sad that she has lost her first potential lover. Mouse is incredibly marked with her island affair with Pearl.
From here, the story moves quickly over the years and back and forth in time. Pearl and Mouse meet one more time when Stephen is four, but their lives have diverged and they do not meet again until Pearl is dying.
Stephen is now thirty, yet he seems to be going nowhere. He works in a second hand bookstore and has an unconventional living relationship with the beautiful bisexual Laura. But even as we meet this couple it seems they are both treading on very fragile ground and the whole arrangement is tenuous.
Pearl is diagnosed with lung cancer after all her years of heavy smoking and submits to radiation treatment, but both she and Stephen know her cancer is terminal. Stephen visits her every day, withstanding the constant abuse she hurls at him and caring for her even when she is at her worse. At times you want to slap her she is so cruel.
Stephen remembers scenes from his youth as a neglected child. He does not know who is father is and Pearl has never told him. Pearl has also cut herself off from her own wealthy family and has no contact with them at all. She is adamant she does not want her father contacted even as she is dying.
Pearl treats Stephen with absolute contempt, belittling him, criticizing him, and shouting him down. She is clearly an unconventional mother. There does not seem to be a kind or nurturing bone in her body. They live in a dilapidated house that requires many repairs and hasn’t seen a caring hand in decades. How did this all happen?
Stephen realizes he has come to a turning point in his life. Pearl is all he has in this world and he desperately wants to understand why she is always so angry and chaotic. Why does she have such absolute disdain for her father? He also knows this is his last chance to try and find out something about his father, a request Pearl has to this point refused. As Pearl’s death approaches, Stephen’s need to come to terms with these questions is what drives the novel.
This story of an unconventional family is beautifully told and though it is not an easy read, it ends with a measure of hope. It explores how people survive by “keeping monstrous truths in air tight compartments”, how the process of dying can serve as a catalyst to reframe relationships and how children strive to understand their parents so that they can further understand themselves.
Kate Story is another of those great Newfoundland writers and I continue to be amazed at the talent that comes from those eastern rocky shores.
February 27, 2016
Kate Story is gifted writer who tells this difficult story well. A tale told from the POV of Pearl's adult son, Stephen, dipping back and forth through time. Pearl is an enigmatic but damaged woman who tries to live life to the full. In her adult life, she is estranged from her father, raises Stephen on her own and on her deathbed expects her friend and lover Mandy (Mouse) of thirty years ago to return to her.
October 30, 2012
A thought-provoking novel about grief, love, and coming to peace with the past. The characters in this novel are shockingly true to life, gloriously imperfect, and complex enough to command your attention. Highly recommended.
March 16, 2016
Sticky, gluey mess. Characters are badly damaged people living nasty little lives, and the roads where they intersect are full of odd moments.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews