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Fortune's Rocks #2
Sea Glass
It is a house on the beach. Honora doesn't mind renting - despite its age and all its flaws, the old house is the perfect place for a new marriage. She and Sexton throw themselves into fixing it up, just as they throw themselves into their new life together. Each morning, Honora collects sea glass washed up on the shore, each piece carrying a different story in its muted hues.
Sexton finds a way to buy the house, but his timing is perfectly wrong. The economy takes a sickening plunge, and as financial pressures mount, Honora begins to see how little she knows this man she has married - and to realize just how threatening the world outside her front door can be.
Like those translucent shards that Honora finds on the beach, Sea Glass is layered with the textures, colors, and voices of another time. There is Vivian, an irreverent Boston socialite who becomes Honora's closest friend even as she rejects every form of convention. McDermott, a man who works in a nearby mill, presses Honora's deepest notions of trust - even as he embroils her in a dangerous dispute. And there's Alphonse, a boy whose openness becomes the bond that holds these people together as their world is flying apart.
Sexton finds a way to buy the house, but his timing is perfectly wrong. The economy takes a sickening plunge, and as financial pressures mount, Honora begins to see how little she knows this man she has married - and to realize just how threatening the world outside her front door can be.
Like those translucent shards that Honora finds on the beach, Sea Glass is layered with the textures, colors, and voices of another time. There is Vivian, an irreverent Boston socialite who becomes Honora's closest friend even as she rejects every form of convention. McDermott, a man who works in a nearby mill, presses Honora's deepest notions of trust - even as he embroils her in a dangerous dispute. And there's Alphonse, a boy whose openness becomes the bond that holds these people together as their world is flying apart.
378 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2002
606 people are currently reading
8262 people want to read
About the author
Anita Shreve
107 books4,559 followersAnita Hale Shreve was an American writer, chiefly known for her novels. One of her first published stories, Past the Island, Drifting (published 1975), was awarded an O. Henry Prize in 1976.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,645 reviews
March 20, 2008
I almost passed on this book when I found it at a thrift store. The book's plot looked promising and I wasn't disappointed.
My favorite quaote from the book:
"The only problem with looking for sea glass", Sexton says one day when he and Honora are walking along the beach, "is that you never look up. You never see the view. You never see the houses or the ocean because you're afraid you'll miss something in the sand."
My favorite quaote from the book:
"The only problem with looking for sea glass", Sexton says one day when he and Honora are walking along the beach, "is that you never look up. You never see the view. You never see the houses or the ocean because you're afraid you'll miss something in the sand."
December 10, 2010
Love this line in the book when the main character Honora meets her prospective husband and is commenting on his less than perfect appearance...."Honora laid these flaws aside as one might overlook a small stain on a beautifully embroidered tablecloth one wanted to buy, only later to discover, when it was on the table and all the guests were seated around it, that the stain had become a beacon, while the beautiful embroidery lay hidden in everybody's laps."
December 11, 2007
What I liked: The setting - Shreve does a great job evoking the atmosphere of the New England coast/mill town in the Depression era. I liked learning about the mill strikes & plight of the workers & those who led the strikes. I would have liked a lot more detail about that. I liked the interesting rhythm that Shreve has created with the story - a rhythm that echoes the sea itself - the story sort of surges forward & then backs off, surges & backs off. This was a little weird at first but then I got into it. I liked some of the characters but not all. My main difficulty with the book is that I feel it's a little superficial. I wanted to go deeper into Honora, & McDermott, & some of the others. Other characters like Sexton didn't interest me at all, so I couldn't figure out why Honora married him in the first place. If it had a little more depth I would give it four stars but I don't think this one is going to stick with me.
February 2, 2009
I liked this book because it draws you in—you care about the characters. And it also gives insight into a tragic part of our country’s history—the Great Depression of the 1920’s. I liked that she used sea glass as a metaphor for the human spirit. No matter how much it is battered by the rough sea, it does not break; it becomes more beautiful. I loved the friendship between Honora and Vivian, women from two different worlds who are drawn together. I didn’t want the story to end. And, it got me interested in collecting seaglass, which I’m now obsessed with.
June 6, 2021
I loved this book, and the ending would have had me bawling like a baby had I not been on a train ride surrounded by strangers. From the moment we meet Honora (on-NOR-a), to her marriage to the creepy Sexton, to her walks on the oceanfront looking for sea glass, meeting her vibrant and very wealthy neighbor Vivian, and then came the millworkers’ labor strike of 1929 just when everything else in the world (stock market crash) went to hell. Honora and Sexton are paying a mortgage on a house (which has ties back to my other fave Shreve book Fortune’s Rock), and in danger of losing it after the banks fail and Sexton proves what a little conniving sh*t he is. He gets a job in the mills right when the owners impose yet another pay cut on the workers and child labor laws are being broken right and left. There’s a strike, and Honora’s home is soon a safehouse for some of the workers.
Shreve’s characters and her vivid descriptions of the sea glass, of Honora’s house, etc., but especially the characters, are what make this book. I will be thinking about this for weeks to come, I’m sure.
Shreve’s characters and her vivid descriptions of the sea glass, of Honora’s house, etc., but especially the characters, are what make this book. I will be thinking about this for weeks to come, I’m sure.
April 5, 2009
No, no, no... Though there were touching moments in this book that I enjoyed, I felt like the plot was SO boring for such an important issue. I really had a hard time finishing this book (which is extremely rare,) until it started picking up a little bit at the end.
I always love the way Anita Shreve writes about character interaction. Using her words, I can always picture exactly the way a person is moving, smiling, speaking, and how they are feeling. Maybe that's why I'm so addicted to her despite the fact that half of her books are disappointing.
Oh well.
I always love the way Anita Shreve writes about character interaction. Using her words, I can always picture exactly the way a person is moving, smiling, speaking, and how they are feeling. Maybe that's why I'm so addicted to her despite the fact that half of her books are disappointing.
Oh well.
January 28, 2009
I didn't expect terribly much from this book, but I felt the need to read it because, well, someone gave me a copy and it's party about the labor movement during the Depression in a textile mill town. So I had no choice.
I wish it were a better book. It's nice summer reading, if you're not part of the "I only read happy books" crowd. It's not a happy book. But it never reaches tragedy, because, well, Shreve just can't get it there. She relies too much on archetypes to develop true characters for us to react to. Sigh. I really wanted it to be a better book. Though it is certainly a nice read.
I wish it were a better book. It's nice summer reading, if you're not part of the "I only read happy books" crowd. It's not a happy book. But it never reaches tragedy, because, well, Shreve just can't get it there. She relies too much on archetypes to develop true characters for us to react to. Sigh. I really wanted it to be a better book. Though it is certainly a nice read.
April 22, 2008
Set in the early depression era somewhere on the East Coast, the novel follows Honora and Sexton Beecher from the beginning of their marriage. They moved into a large deserted old house on the beach and threw themselves into making it habitable with mostly sweat equity and little money. Sexton is away every week because of his job as travelling salesman and Honora lives a quiet but very structured life. She walks frequently on the lonely beach and collects colorful bits of sea glass.
When the owner decides to sell the home, Sexton manages to scrape together enough for the down payment and takes a mortgage at the local bank. Unfortunately, it's at the worst possible time as banks are starting to collapse and many are losing their jobs.
The story follows the arc of their relationship from good times to bad and explores the discoveries they make about each other as a result of their travails. Part of the subtext of the story is revealed through homey letters from Honora's mother. Sexton becomes involved with a group of men fomenting a strike at the local textile mills. Their home becomes the headquarters of the organizers, bringing them into the center of a dangerous and controversial movement.
The historical context of the novel was interesting, but what was most compelling was Anita Shreve's ability to create a fully imagined, complex, sympathetic character - Honora Sexton. I could imagine myself living in her time and faced with the same challenges. It's not always possible to "associate" yourself so completely with a fictional character, but Anita Shreve's skill make it possible.
When the owner decides to sell the home, Sexton manages to scrape together enough for the down payment and takes a mortgage at the local bank. Unfortunately, it's at the worst possible time as banks are starting to collapse and many are losing their jobs.
The story follows the arc of their relationship from good times to bad and explores the discoveries they make about each other as a result of their travails. Part of the subtext of the story is revealed through homey letters from Honora's mother. Sexton becomes involved with a group of men fomenting a strike at the local textile mills. Their home becomes the headquarters of the organizers, bringing them into the center of a dangerous and controversial movement.
The historical context of the novel was interesting, but what was most compelling was Anita Shreve's ability to create a fully imagined, complex, sympathetic character - Honora Sexton. I could imagine myself living in her time and faced with the same challenges. It's not always possible to "associate" yourself so completely with a fictional character, but Anita Shreve's skill make it possible.
October 2, 2009
This book is the reason that whenever I walk on the beach, I am walking stooped along the shore, searching for little bits of beach glass in the sand. So far I have collected two bowlfuls. I don't have a big white platter like Honora does in this book, but a bowl full of beach glass is very satisfying to run your hands through (don't worry, it is so dulled by the sand and the waves that it's smooth and curved, not sharp anymore) . . . And although so far I've mostly found green, white, and brown, little Gabrielle (maybe because of how short she is and consequently how much closer to the ground) just this week found a lavender one with starbursts on it . . . SCORE!
Anita Shreve's book is not just about glass. It weaves in an unhappy marriage, the Great Depression, Franco-American millworkers' lives, the rise of unions, the loneliness of wealth, and best of all, of course - love! When Honora and McDermott fall in love, you definitely fall in love too. The second best thing to unrequited love is love that can't be acknowledge, in my opinion. VERY good love story.
I know maybe Anita Shreve seems a bit like a "yeah, Oprah's book club, women's lite literature' but I personally love this book. Just the right combination of love story, history, and social issues. Oh, and the added bonus of inspiration to start collecting sea glass!
Anita Shreve's book is not just about glass. It weaves in an unhappy marriage, the Great Depression, Franco-American millworkers' lives, the rise of unions, the loneliness of wealth, and best of all, of course - love! When Honora and McDermott fall in love, you definitely fall in love too. The second best thing to unrequited love is love that can't be acknowledge, in my opinion. VERY good love story.
I know maybe Anita Shreve seems a bit like a "yeah, Oprah's book club, women's lite literature' but I personally love this book. Just the right combination of love story, history, and social issues. Oh, and the added bonus of inspiration to start collecting sea glass!
April 20, 2009
This is the 2nd Shreve book I finished in the last couple of weeks. I really enjoyed reading it, though not quite as much as Light on Snow. The structure of the book -- alternating between the viewpoints of the different characters -- made it take a little while to really get into it and feel invested in the characters, but once they started intersecting, I couldn't put it down. And the structure provided some great symbolism -- little threads weaving in and out of others' lives, sometimes only briefly, and sometimes with monumental consequences.
One final note: I also recently read The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, and apparently like many others, absolutely hated the ending -- so much so that it ruined the whole book for me. Wroblenski supposedly set out to write a tragedy, and I guess he did, although a completely pointless one that made we want to chunk the book in the trash. Sea Glass provides a great contrast, and I would argue, is the way to write a tragedy without angering your readers. There is, literally, a pointless massacre at the end of Sea Glass. The two people you want to live happily ever after don't. The "bad guy" gets away. But unlike in Edgar Sawtelle, there is something salvageable, something beautiful to pull from the ashes of the tragic circumstances -- much like the Sea Glass that give the story its title.
One final note: I also recently read The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, and apparently like many others, absolutely hated the ending -- so much so that it ruined the whole book for me. Wroblenski supposedly set out to write a tragedy, and I guess he did, although a completely pointless one that made we want to chunk the book in the trash. Sea Glass provides a great contrast, and I would argue, is the way to write a tragedy without angering your readers. There is, literally, a pointless massacre at the end of Sea Glass. The two people you want to live happily ever after don't. The "bad guy" gets away. But unlike in Edgar Sawtelle, there is something salvageable, something beautiful to pull from the ashes of the tragic circumstances -- much like the Sea Glass that give the story its title.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 18, 2018
This is a fast and easy read set in 1929 New England during the start of the depression. Our characters include a young newlywed couple, an 11 year old boy, a young 20-something man who has worked in the mills all his life, a 30-something wealthy woman, and a few communists to round out the group. The very unlikely people come together and their lives change forever.
It was a bit confusing getting in to the book because each chapter (maybe only a page or two long) switches between characters and it can take a little bit to remember who, what, and where. But, once you get going, you won't want to put the book down.
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I loved the book up until the ending and probably would have given it 4 stars but considered dropping it to 2 based solely on how the book ends. Its as if the editors told her to CUT if off and she did. Although the worst part was the death of some and the escape of another, the book would have been better at the end if the final few chapters (that wrap it all up supposedly) were set five years into the future. Then we could have gotten much better updates on everyone involved.
It was a bit confusing getting in to the book because each chapter (maybe only a page or two long) switches between characters and it can take a little bit to remember who, what, and where. But, once you get going, you won't want to put the book down.
SPOILERS
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I loved the book up until the ending and probably would have given it 4 stars but considered dropping it to 2 based solely on how the book ends. Its as if the editors told her to CUT if off and she did. Although the worst part was the death of some and the escape of another, the book would have been better at the end if the final few chapters (that wrap it all up supposedly) were set five years into the future. Then we could have gotten much better updates on everyone involved.
September 12, 2007
A Southwest Airlines flight attendant gave me this book when she saw me reading another Shreve novel and said this was the author's best work yet. She was right!
Some Anita Shreve novels grab you from the start and don't let you go, while others are nearly impossible to get into. Sea Glass is the former.
The plot and the characters are captivating, and the book provides a great history lesson on the early years of the labor movement in New England. I must say, I didn't know much about that topic and found it fascinating. I definitely do not recommend all of Anita Shreve's novels, but this one is worth your time!
Some Anita Shreve novels grab you from the start and don't let you go, while others are nearly impossible to get into. Sea Glass is the former.
The plot and the characters are captivating, and the book provides a great history lesson on the early years of the labor movement in New England. I must say, I didn't know much about that topic and found it fascinating. I definitely do not recommend all of Anita Shreve's novels, but this one is worth your time!
October 3, 2021
This was given to me by a work colleague and as I give any book from any genre a go, I smiled and said thank you.
Having read a few by AS, I had a feeling that I wouldn't be jumping up and down about this. I was right... not for me. Uninspiring writing that left me feeling flat. I could not picture the scene at all.
Having read a few by AS, I had a feeling that I wouldn't be jumping up and down about this. I was right... not for me. Uninspiring writing that left me feeling flat. I could not picture the scene at all.
December 6, 2017
Onvan : Sea Glass - Nevisande : Anita Shreve - ISBN : 316013838 - ISBN13 : 9780316013833 - Dar 374 Safhe - Saal e Chap : 2002
August 8, 2013
3.5 stars
Sexton, a fast-talking typewriter salesman, and Honora married after knowing each other for a short time. The newlyweds moved into a large neglected house along the New Hampshire shore in 1929. After the stock market crash, Honora found out her husband was not totally honest in obtaining a loan for the house. Sexton lost his job and his car, and could only find a new job at the mill.
The working conditions at the mill were terrible, and the mill owners decided to reduce the meager wages they were paying. The men started to organize into a union, and Sexton and Honora were swept up in the effort. The story is told in chapters from the views of five characters. There were also letters from Honora's mother, Alice, advising her how to maintain a household on a small amount of money, and offering warm motherly support.
Throughout the story, Honora walked the beach looking for smooth sea glass. She imagined that different colors of glass represented the various people she knew. The sea glass was bounced around by the waves like Honora was challenged by life. But they both ended up beautiful and unbreakable.
Set at the start of the Great Depression, this was a quiet story full of financial difficulties and emotional pain. But there was also friendship and hope for the future. While I enjoyed the story, I did not feel a strong emotional connection to the main characters.
Sexton, a fast-talking typewriter salesman, and Honora married after knowing each other for a short time. The newlyweds moved into a large neglected house along the New Hampshire shore in 1929. After the stock market crash, Honora found out her husband was not totally honest in obtaining a loan for the house. Sexton lost his job and his car, and could only find a new job at the mill.
The working conditions at the mill were terrible, and the mill owners decided to reduce the meager wages they were paying. The men started to organize into a union, and Sexton and Honora were swept up in the effort. The story is told in chapters from the views of five characters. There were also letters from Honora's mother, Alice, advising her how to maintain a household on a small amount of money, and offering warm motherly support.
Throughout the story, Honora walked the beach looking for smooth sea glass. She imagined that different colors of glass represented the various people she knew. The sea glass was bounced around by the waves like Honora was challenged by life. But they both ended up beautiful and unbreakable.
Set at the start of the Great Depression, this was a quiet story full of financial difficulties and emotional pain. But there was also friendship and hope for the future. While I enjoyed the story, I did not feel a strong emotional connection to the main characters.
October 23, 2019
I loved that Honora loves sea glass, but her new husband thinks it is trash. To Honora they were broken shards of colored glass that were discarded but the sea had made it strong and beautiful.
Vivian, a friend that Honora met on the beach was smart, sassy and wise. Vivian can see a way to the future and she valued friendship as it should be.
Sexton sees everything as money or potential money. He is a typewriter salesman, smooth talker but not completely honest. Sexton does not how to adapt with adversity. He is only for himself not for others. When he lost his sales job he finally gets another one at the textile mill. He never accepted the change in his after the stock market crash.
McDermott cared about people and when the little mill boy, Francis' mother dies, he takes him under his wing. He is very caring and I kept wishing that Honora and he were married instead.
My heart went for Francis, his mother was to my father's. In the Great Depression, families were divided up between the relatives.
I loved this and the only thing that was difficult was introduction of so many characters all at once at the beginning. But I took notes and it all fit together. I would have liked a longer ending too. Just make sure that the characters were all settled down!
Vivian, a friend that Honora met on the beach was smart, sassy and wise. Vivian can see a way to the future and she valued friendship as it should be.
Sexton sees everything as money or potential money. He is a typewriter salesman, smooth talker but not completely honest. Sexton does not how to adapt with adversity. He is only for himself not for others. When he lost his sales job he finally gets another one at the textile mill. He never accepted the change in his after the stock market crash.
McDermott cared about people and when the little mill boy, Francis' mother dies, he takes him under his wing. He is very caring and I kept wishing that Honora and he were married instead.
My heart went for Francis, his mother was to my father's. In the Great Depression, families were divided up between the relatives.
I loved this and the only thing that was difficult was introduction of so many characters all at once at the beginning. But I took notes and it all fit together. I would have liked a longer ending too. Just make sure that the characters were all settled down!
December 22, 2011
Blah, another dated book that was just kind of lame. And dated. On all accounts. No only did it take place like 100 years ago, the writing style was dated too, which didn't help. But if you like that olde timey writing, then pick it up. Otherwise, I'll say right now, don't bother. So as you can tell, I didn't like that book all that much. In contained a cluster of characters that didn't do anything, but annoyed me. Took awhile to straighten everyone out. Typical, New England 1920's life. Some rich, some poor and why would any of their stories overlap in real life? Not at all. Women who live and die by what men tell them, never to think for themselves. Gah, no thanks. A little bit of "historical fiction" behind the plot, which normally I kind of enjoy, but I guess I have to like the historical part of it as well and in this book, I didn't care at all.
This author's work seems to be all over the place. Sometimes I am praising it for its easiness and simplicity of characters and then next I am complaining about the exact opposite. Funny enough, unlike a lot of authors today, I like this ones later stuff a lot more then her earlier work.
This author's work seems to be all over the place. Sometimes I am praising it for its easiness and simplicity of characters and then next I am complaining about the exact opposite. Funny enough, unlike a lot of authors today, I like this ones later stuff a lot more then her earlier work.
July 18, 2022
This was my first Anita Shreve book that I read. I love the way she is descriptive in people, places and things. It sets the tone of the book. The title of this book intrigued me and finding it at a thrift store , I read it. I enjoyed the story- very original. Its a different kind of author/writing than I typically read, but was very intriguing. The times are difficult , work is scarce and most of the work in amd around mills are getting dangerous due to union talks and conflict. The main character of this book goes thru bountiful and meager times in her life and those that experience these with her. I loved her strong character. Sea glass is glass from objects broken and weathered down by the turning of tides and ocean toiling the glass smooth. This was a literal description of our main character and was a great analogy to describe her. The location was a Character in itself as this is second in a trilogy but only due to the location of the boardinghouse. It has been several years since I read it , but I did enjoy it and it was a good Shreve book to start. Read this back in 2009 but update my rating so it shows I just read it somehow.
July 15, 2009
This is one of my favorite books by Anita Shreve. The characters are wonderful, especially Honora. She shows such strength in the middle of the adversity that she faces. Every time I have read this book I find myself wondering how she managed to marry Sexton Beecher (why?) He is incredibly dishosnest and just downright shady. I wish Shreve had spent more time developing some of the other characters and the story about the mill strikes. I also hated the way it ended. I would have loved to know how Honora's and Aplphonse's futures turn out. This novel incorporates the house that we see in The Pilot's Wife, Fortune's Rock, and Body Surfing. She usually adds teasers about the house's previous owners but she never gives a complete story. For example, in this book, she mentions Olympia from Fortune's Rock (Honora even finds a picture of her), but she never explains what happened to her.
February 7, 2017
** 3.5 stars **
I love Anita Shreve's writing as well as the characters she develops. I enjoyed the story quite a bit but I didn't love it as much as two other books I have read by her.
I love Anita Shreve's writing as well as the characters she develops. I enjoyed the story quite a bit but I didn't love it as much as two other books I have read by her.
February 17, 2020
3.75 stars. Sea Glass is the second book that Shreve wrote that takes place along the New Hampshire coast in the same house as Fortune's Rocks and The Pilot's Wife. I do love how each story is different, with only references to who lived in the house before and what life may have been like for the previous residents.
This story takes place in 1929, and the house occupants are Honora and Sexton Beecher, newly married, and set on carving out a life for themselves. In place of rent, they agree to fix it up and look after the house. They set to this task in earnest- painting, cleaning, repairing- slowly making it their own. Honora takes on her role of housewife, while Sexton is a typewriter salesman. He is good at selling and quite often gets ahead of himself in what he can promise a client and what the benefit will be to him. As the story moves along, we are introduced to a variety of characters, and Shreve alternates each chapter based on one of these characters. In doing so, she sets the tension and suspense, and this soon becomes a page-turning book.
Little does anyone know of the impending stock market crash that takes place in October 1929. This event is part of the story plot and turns everyone's life upside down. The tension builds as these characters become more and more a part of each other's lives. Shreve does a fantastic job in weaving the lives of these characters together. A fine book, and I highly recommend!
This story takes place in 1929, and the house occupants are Honora and Sexton Beecher, newly married, and set on carving out a life for themselves. In place of rent, they agree to fix it up and look after the house. They set to this task in earnest- painting, cleaning, repairing- slowly making it their own. Honora takes on her role of housewife, while Sexton is a typewriter salesman. He is good at selling and quite often gets ahead of himself in what he can promise a client and what the benefit will be to him. As the story moves along, we are introduced to a variety of characters, and Shreve alternates each chapter based on one of these characters. In doing so, she sets the tension and suspense, and this soon becomes a page-turning book.
Little does anyone know of the impending stock market crash that takes place in October 1929. This event is part of the story plot and turns everyone's life upside down. The tension builds as these characters become more and more a part of each other's lives. Shreve does a fantastic job in weaving the lives of these characters together. A fine book, and I highly recommend!
July 20, 2024
Below mid, kinda boring and predictable ending
June 3, 2019
Good beach read.
May 30, 2023
Really loved this little visit to 1930 New England. The characters were fantastic - Honora, Alphonse, and Vivian were especially favorites. Their fortitude and their friendships, during the collapse of the economy, the strikes of the mills, and their own personal dramas were heartening and made me want to see more books about their lives.
April 4, 2020
Honora may be one of the most beautiful fictional characters I've ever met. Anita Shreve fans, should I read Fortune’s Rock or The Weight of Water next?
April 7, 2010
This book was a huge disapppointment when it comes to an Anita Shreve book.
I always love the way Anita Shreve writes about character interaction. Using her words, I can always picture exactly the way a person is moving, smiling, speaking, and how they are feeling. Maybe that's why I'm so addicted to her despite the fact that half of her books are disappointing.
Each chapter is told from the point of view of a different character, and eventually their lives begin to intersect. It begins in the summer of 1929, with a character who has just married a man she barely knows. The impending financial crises loomed over the narrative for me, and it does crush some of the characters, more or less, but it is more positive than grim. It was a clever story of several persons coming together during a mill strike in 1929/30. 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. The love and hardship they face together is beautifully told by Anita Shreve in her very visual style. We are introduced in this way to McDermott, mill worker and Alphonse the young boy he has chosen to protect, Vivian, wealthy socialite an unlikely group but whose stories all link and merge. There are also a few chapters written as letters from Honora’s mother Alice that helps to link the background information together.
Set in New Hampshire during the troubled years of 1929/30, Sea Glass is about the coming together of a motley collection of people in troubled times. It was a strange time for them all as although the strikes and Wall Street crash were affecting them all they were happy that summer of 1930, in their innocence not knowing how disastrously it would all end. As the reader I certainly had no inkling of how things were going to turn out, for me the sign of a well told story. A heartbreaking and vividly descriptive insight into the far reaching consequences of The Wall Street crash and the mill strikes.
I also found absolutely fascinating the descriptions of Sea Glass, those colourful shards of glass smoothed by the sea that one sometimes comes across on beaches. Anita Shreve cleverly uses Honora’s collection of these shards as a link throughout.
The heroine of this book, Honora, is a wonderful character. we meet her as she embarks on a new marriage to a slightly swarmy typewriter salesman in the pre-depression 20's in a small coastal town in NH. The depression hits, and her quiet, muted efficiency as a housewife becomes a beacon of stability and honor as the people around her become involved in labor strikes and violence. She collects pieces of sea glass from the beach - ones that have been worn smooth from their time in the ocean, but...more The heroine of this book, Honora, is a wonderful character. we meet her as she embarks on a new marriage to a slightly swarmy typewriter salesman in the pre-depression 20's in a small coastal town in NH. The depression hits, and her quiet, muted efficiency as a housewife becomes a beacon of stability and honor as the people around her become involved in labor strikes and violence. She collects pieces of sea glass from the beach - ones that have been worn smooth from their time in the ocean, but that have become so strong they never break, and that glass becomes the metaphor for Honora in the maelstrom of the times. Told from the rotating perspective of 5 different characters. Written in a quiet and muted literary style that matches Honora's key attributes, yet the novel becomes
There was one passage early on in the book, as she is just getting to know her future husband.
Though there were touching moments in this book that I enjoyed, I felt like the plot was SO boring for such an important time.I really had a hard time finishing this book (which is extremely rare) and it fact I skimmed the last 50 pages it was so bad.Didn't really grab my attention. I kept waiting for something big to happen, by the time it did it was too late.
I always love the way Anita Shreve writes about character interaction. Using her words, I can always picture exactly the way a person is moving, smiling, speaking, and how they are feeling. Maybe that's why I'm so addicted to her despite the fact that half of her books are disappointing.
Each chapter is told from the point of view of a different character, and eventually their lives begin to intersect. It begins in the summer of 1929, with a character who has just married a man she barely knows. The impending financial crises loomed over the narrative for me, and it does crush some of the characters, more or less, but it is more positive than grim. It was a clever story of several persons coming together during a mill strike in 1929/30. 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. The love and hardship they face together is beautifully told by Anita Shreve in her very visual style. We are introduced in this way to McDermott, mill worker and Alphonse the young boy he has chosen to protect, Vivian, wealthy socialite an unlikely group but whose stories all link and merge. There are also a few chapters written as letters from Honora’s mother Alice that helps to link the background information together.
Set in New Hampshire during the troubled years of 1929/30, Sea Glass is about the coming together of a motley collection of people in troubled times. It was a strange time for them all as although the strikes and Wall Street crash were affecting them all they were happy that summer of 1930, in their innocence not knowing how disastrously it would all end. As the reader I certainly had no inkling of how things were going to turn out, for me the sign of a well told story. A heartbreaking and vividly descriptive insight into the far reaching consequences of The Wall Street crash and the mill strikes.
I also found absolutely fascinating the descriptions of Sea Glass, those colourful shards of glass smoothed by the sea that one sometimes comes across on beaches. Anita Shreve cleverly uses Honora’s collection of these shards as a link throughout.
The heroine of this book, Honora, is a wonderful character. we meet her as she embarks on a new marriage to a slightly swarmy typewriter salesman in the pre-depression 20's in a small coastal town in NH. The depression hits, and her quiet, muted efficiency as a housewife becomes a beacon of stability and honor as the people around her become involved in labor strikes and violence. She collects pieces of sea glass from the beach - ones that have been worn smooth from their time in the ocean, but...more The heroine of this book, Honora, is a wonderful character. we meet her as she embarks on a new marriage to a slightly swarmy typewriter salesman in the pre-depression 20's in a small coastal town in NH. The depression hits, and her quiet, muted efficiency as a housewife becomes a beacon of stability and honor as the people around her become involved in labor strikes and violence. She collects pieces of sea glass from the beach - ones that have been worn smooth from their time in the ocean, but that have become so strong they never break, and that glass becomes the metaphor for Honora in the maelstrom of the times. Told from the rotating perspective of 5 different characters. Written in a quiet and muted literary style that matches Honora's key attributes, yet the novel becomes
There was one passage early on in the book, as she is just getting to know her future husband.
Though there were touching moments in this book that I enjoyed, I felt like the plot was SO boring for such an important time.I really had a hard time finishing this book (which is extremely rare) and it fact I skimmed the last 50 pages it was so bad.Didn't really grab my attention. I kept waiting for something big to happen, by the time it did it was too late.
November 22, 2012
Although I always find Anita Shreve's novels somewhat depressing, there's no denying that she produces extremely well-written and, in this and many other instances, mesmerizing stories. The year is 1929 as Honora and Sexton Beecher begin their life together as husband and wife. The home Sexton sets out to buy is somewhat beyond his means, but through a clever deception, he manages to secure a mortgage for the home, which is situated directly on the beach of a small New England town. In the town itself, Ely Falls, most of the residents work at the town's clothing mills and live very menial, hard-working lives. Initially, Sexton sees himself above these people and, as a typewriter and business-machines salesman, he does, indeed, earn a better living than the mill workers. It is not long before Honora senses her husband's deceit and by Christmas of that year, all their dreams come crashing down on them. As the entire country is falling on bad times, the bank calls in the Beecher's home loan and Sexton loses his job. His deceit is discovered and, suddenly, he is relegated to taking a job at the mill, something upon which he'd looked down his nose only 6 short months ago.
The author focuses on 5 main characters, each of their stories told in separate chapters, all of their lives gradually coming to intertwine: Honora, a homemaker; Sexton; Vivien, a high-society neighbor who becomes Honora's friend; McDermott, a mill-worker and a leader of the strike that would soon come to pass; and Alfonse, a young, mill-working 12-year old who McDermott befriends and quickly grows to love and watch over.
Outside strike organizer, Louis M, enlists McDermott's help in gathering the unionized mill workers and attempting to expand their support-- to non-union workers -- for a strike calling for fairer wages. Sexton becomes a central figure in the organizing movement, when he offers his copy machine for the printing of daily newsletters. The beach house soon becomes a refuge and a great organizing venue, being that it is in an isolated location where they are not likely to be found. As the lives of the main characters come together in very interesting fashion and as the true historical depiction of the times unfolds, I found I couldn't wait to pick up reading where I left off each day. As with other Shreve novels, however, there is a haunting quality, from the very beginning, that transcends the tenor of the book. I find this somewhat off-putting each time I consider whether I want to read another Anita Shreve novel. So long as the reader recognizes that these novels are not light-hearted, fluffy reads, he/she will find that they are, most certainly, well worth reading.
The author focuses on 5 main characters, each of their stories told in separate chapters, all of their lives gradually coming to intertwine: Honora, a homemaker; Sexton; Vivien, a high-society neighbor who becomes Honora's friend; McDermott, a mill-worker and a leader of the strike that would soon come to pass; and Alfonse, a young, mill-working 12-year old who McDermott befriends and quickly grows to love and watch over.
Outside strike organizer, Louis M, enlists McDermott's help in gathering the unionized mill workers and attempting to expand their support-- to non-union workers -- for a strike calling for fairer wages. Sexton becomes a central figure in the organizing movement, when he offers his copy machine for the printing of daily newsletters. The beach house soon becomes a refuge and a great organizing venue, being that it is in an isolated location where they are not likely to be found. As the lives of the main characters come together in very interesting fashion and as the true historical depiction of the times unfolds, I found I couldn't wait to pick up reading where I left off each day. As with other Shreve novels, however, there is a haunting quality, from the very beginning, that transcends the tenor of the book. I find this somewhat off-putting each time I consider whether I want to read another Anita Shreve novel. So long as the reader recognizes that these novels are not light-hearted, fluffy reads, he/she will find that they are, most certainly, well worth reading.
March 14, 2013
As with "The Pilot's Wife" by Anita Shreve, "Sea Glass" really resonated with me since I grew up on the coast of Maine and experienced so much of what the protagonist, Honora, experiences. "Sea Glass" takes place in a New Hampshire beach town and actually travels to places familiar to me in Maine - particularly Sanford where I was born and spent my early years! Like Honora, I've walked the beaches and searched for sea glass.
"Sea Glass" takes place in the late 1920s/early 1930s so the characters are swept up in consequences of the 1929 stock market crash, the Great Depression, and the decline and failure of many New England textile mills. This again resonated with me since both my parents worked in a textile mill in Maine and the effects were still felt in the 1950s. Many of these huge mills eventually failed and still sit empty. It was the failure of the mills that precipitated my family's move to the coast.
Even if I hadn't been drawn to this book on a personal level, I would have enjoyed it. Shreve weaves a story about a newly married couple (Honora and Sexton) and the many people who touch their lives - from the wealthy heiress who owns a grand beach house down the shore from their rundown cottage, to the lives and struggles of Sexton's co-workers. It is about love, personal frailty, friendship, flaws...and so much more. And, topping it all off, sea glass! Beautiful, tumbled, thrown about, surviving - as do we.
Definitely worth the read.
"Sea Glass" takes place in the late 1920s/early 1930s so the characters are swept up in consequences of the 1929 stock market crash, the Great Depression, and the decline and failure of many New England textile mills. This again resonated with me since both my parents worked in a textile mill in Maine and the effects were still felt in the 1950s. Many of these huge mills eventually failed and still sit empty. It was the failure of the mills that precipitated my family's move to the coast.
Even if I hadn't been drawn to this book on a personal level, I would have enjoyed it. Shreve weaves a story about a newly married couple (Honora and Sexton) and the many people who touch their lives - from the wealthy heiress who owns a grand beach house down the shore from their rundown cottage, to the lives and struggles of Sexton's co-workers. It is about love, personal frailty, friendship, flaws...and so much more. And, topping it all off, sea glass! Beautiful, tumbled, thrown about, surviving - as do we.
Definitely worth the read.
March 2, 2011
This book took place during the depression on the east coast of New England. It is a story of a handful of characters. Honora who just got married to Sexton, a typewriter salesman. They buy an old convent on the water. Honora is adjusting to married life and likes to walk the beach and collect sea-glass. Vivian is a rich lady from Boston who is bored. She comes to the ocean to waste time with her rich friends. She meets Honora on the beach one day and they become friends. She buys her friend Dickie’s beach house when the market crashes. McDermont is a supervisor in the local mill. He is trying to organize a union. Alphonse is a young boy who works in the mill. He befriends McDermont who takes him under his wing. They go fishing and Alphonse helps McDermont with the union duties. This was a very interesting portrayal of life in a mill during the depression. Families were barely scraping by. Kids were working to try and help make ends meet. I normally enjoy Shreve’s books, not that I didn’t like this one. However, there were slow parts and I didn’t always feel pulled to keep reading on. I was a little disappointed in the ending but it seemed to be vintage Shreve style. Not one of my favorites, but I didn’t dislike it.
April 16, 2021
Not bad, but could have been a lot better. Author is absolutely brilliant at setting the atmosphere and landscape of the story. The historical aspect was obviously well researched and I really did find that part of the story interesting. I just felt like the book was choppy - maybe too many points of view and the ending was so rushed and abrupt. The characters were interesting but not developed enough.
Favourite Quotes
"She has been known to snatch a bowl of stew from a complaining boarder's hands, leaving the man with nothing to eat at all. A boarder usually makes that mistake only once."
“Poverty, her mother has written, makes you clever, and Honora knows that this is true.”
Favourite Quotes
"She has been known to snatch a bowl of stew from a complaining boarder's hands, leaving the man with nothing to eat at all. A boarder usually makes that mistake only once."
“Poverty, her mother has written, makes you clever, and Honora knows that this is true.”
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