Evening Ferry

Snow Island #2

by Katherine Towler

Following on from the success of Snow Island, Katherine Towler returns to the fictional island with the second installment of this trilogy. Thirty-two year old Rachel Shattuck has not returned to Snow Island since she attended her mother's funeral. A year later, in the summer of 1965, she remains frightened of what she will confront at home: her mother's absence, her father's stern nature, and the unrealized promise of her own life now that she is divorced. When she returns to Snow Island to care for her father after he is injured in an accident, she discovers her mother's diaries, hidden in the house where she died a year earlier. What Rachel learns through reading her mother's diary and becoming an islander once again reveals the truth about her family's history and sets her own troubled life on a new course.

Genres: Fiction, Literary Fiction

372 pages, Paperback

First published July 11, 2005

About the author

Katherine Towler is author of The Penny Poet of Portsmouth: A Memoir of Place, Solitude, and Friendship and the novels Snow Island, Evening Ferry,and Island Light. This literary trilogy is set on a fictional New England island and takes place between the early 1940s and early 1990s, chronicling the lives of two generations in two island families and the impact of war on the island community. Katherine is also co-editor with Ilya Kaminsky of A God in the House: Poets Talk About Faith, a collection of conversations with poets. All three of her novels were Indiebound selected titles. Snow Island was also chosen as a Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers title. Katherine grew up in New York City and attended the University of Michigan, Johns Hopkins, and the Bread Loaf School of English at Middlebury College. She teaches in the MFA Program in Writing at Southern New Hampshire University. She is happy to hear from book groups and to arrange Skype visits.

Reviews

[Candice · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book takes place mostly on Snow Island, a small island off the coast of Rhode Island. Rachel Shattuck thinks she has left the island for good, but after her father suffers some injuries in a fall, she returns to help care for him. It is 1965, and a year after her mother's death. Recently divorced Rachel finds some of her mother's diaries and learns a lot that she never knew about her mother and her father. The book alternates between Rachel's experiences in the present and her mother's experiences, via diary entries, in the 1940s. There was enough suspense to keep me turning the pages, and I did figure out a few things, but was wrong on others. There were many passages on how difficult it is to care for handicapped child, and the author didn't sugarcoat the hardships involved. It was a very good read with lots to think about.

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Made me question how well I know my parents, how well my kids know me.We only know what they want us to know about them.

[Melody Cole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good- left me with several questions. Hoping these will be answered in the third book.

[Claudia Putnam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Towler's work reminds me in some respects of Kent Haruf's. Clean, simple, evocative. And she means to do something similar--hold a close lens on a small community, usually by following a certain person and those immediately close to her. This is the middle book in a trilogy about Snow Island, off the coast of Rhode Island. While not far from the mainland, island character of the community keeps it apart in many ways from the rest of America, from changing mores and opportunities, though it is not spared war and economic downturns.

As the characters explore their identities, loyalties, and commitments, reading these books is a nice way for the reader to step off the mainland, and into island time, without going into the realm of escapist fiction. This is as real a world as any, often quite harsh, though lovely. But it feels separate from the world we normally live in, as any island does. Towler captures this beautifully.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad book, but perhaps a little trite. It tells the story of a young woman who returns to the New England island where she grew up. The island is only accessible by ferry, and undergoes periods of isolation. Her father (mostly estranged) still lives on the island. Her mother died several years before. She has a developmentally-disabled brother who lives in a state institution.

On the island, she discovers her mother's journals from when all of her children lived at home. Many revelations ensue. Unsurprisingly (though not un-interestingly) she begins to make peace with her past.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this sequel to "Snow Island," set on a fictitious island off the coast of Rhode Island. (Lots of islands in that sentence.) Rachel Shattuck returns to the island after the death of her mother to care for her father,with whom she has always had a tumultuous relationship. She discovers a set of her mother's diaries, which shed a very different light on family issues and reveal unknown truths about the person her mother was. It's not a quick-moving plot, but rather a look into the characters and their inner lives.

[Barb Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book. I like books and stories set on Islands they seem so ramantic. This book is about a young woman who grew up on the Island. She thinks she leaves the Island for good after her Mothers death. But she returns when her father is injured. It is then she learns more about her Mother and her relationship with her father changes. . The second of Towlers Island books. Hoping for the third to come out soon.

[Liv · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got interested in this book after reading Snow Island, which I loved. Katherine Towler is apparently writing a triology and Evening Ferry is the second book in the series. I felt a connection with Rachel, the main character, because there were many similarities between the relationship with her mother and my relationship with mine.

[Vivian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely wonderful follow up to her first novel, Snow Island. The story and characters, new and old, grabbed me from the first page. Ms. Towler writes beautifully and I loved Rachel's character. Can't wait for the final installment to return to the island for the last time. Very highly recommend.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is book #2 in the Snow Island trilogy. I really enjoy this series and returning to the island to see who and what has changed. Rachel Shattuck returns home and discovers her mother's (Phoebe) diaries. Good read.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful story of a young woman who learns that her mother really was human. This is a sequel to 'Snow Island', both great stories, the kind that make you want to get back to the book.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this even better than Snow Island and can't wait to read the third of the trilogy. This author pulled me right into the story with her excellent character development.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

2nd in the series. Takes place on Prudence Island, probably. A little more grit than the first.

[Patti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice

[Delissca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent read! Terrific 2nd book in the trilogy. Katherine Towler has a way of drawing me into her island scenerio. I felt I was actually watching this story unfold in front of my eyes.

[Alan Piesco · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as the first but still a good read