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The Silver Dark Sea
On the island of Parla, some believe in the ancient tale of the Fishman, others believe in nothing. All carry with them the mourning and sadness for what the sea has taken away. But when a man with no name is washed up on the stones of Sye, it appears the mythical figure has returned. Now the islanders must unearth the pains of the past in the hope that the Fishman will bring new fortunes.
Lyrical and redemptive, The Silver Dark Sea is a powerful new story of love, loss and the lore of the sea from Susan Fletcher, award-winning author of EVE GREEN and OYSTERCATCHERS. It tells how the sea gives, and how it takes away, leaving us myths which will alter the lives of a community forever.
Lyrical and redemptive, The Silver Dark Sea is a powerful new story of love, loss and the lore of the sea from Susan Fletcher, award-winning author of EVE GREEN and OYSTERCATCHERS. It tells how the sea gives, and how it takes away, leaving us myths which will alter the lives of a community forever.
469 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
76 people are currently reading
1775 people want to read
About the author
Susan Fletcher
8 books578 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Susan Fletcher is a British novelist. She was born in Birmingham and studied creative writing at the University of East Anglia. Her first novel, Eve Green, won the 2004 Whitbread First Novel Award, the Authors' Club Best First Novel Award, and the Society of Authors Betty Trask Prize; it was also picked for Channel 4's (UK) Richard and Judy Summer reading list. Subsequent novels have been shortlisted for the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and the Writers’ Guild fiction award, and longlisted for the Romantic Novel of the Year award. Her novel Witch Light won France’s 2013 Saint-Maur en Poche award. Fletcher is a former Fellow at the University of Worcester, as part of the Royal Literary Fund's fellowship program, and is the author of The Night in Question.
source: Amazon
Susan Fletcher is a British novelist. She was born in Birmingham and studied creative writing at the University of East Anglia. Her first novel, Eve Green, won the 2004 Whitbread First Novel Award, the Authors' Club Best First Novel Award, and the Society of Authors Betty Trask Prize; it was also picked for Channel 4's (UK) Richard and Judy Summer reading list. Subsequent novels have been shortlisted for the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and the Writers’ Guild fiction award, and longlisted for the Romantic Novel of the Year award. Her novel Witch Light won France’s 2013 Saint-Maur en Poche award. Fletcher is a former Fellow at the University of Worcester, as part of the Royal Literary Fund's fellowship program, and is the author of The Night in Question.
source: Amazon
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 159 reviews
June 8, 2020
What makes this book special is the writing. Beautiful language that is both expressive and reflective.
The central theme is loss. How does one deal with that? Loss can be a result of death, but it need not be. It can simply be life moving on, circumstances changing, children growing up and the loosening of bonds.
Magic is woven into the telling, but with a beautiful touch. You see the magic as fits you; if you prefer to see life in realistic terms that is how you will see the story, but if you enjoy the magic of legends the story may be interpreted through that lens instead. That the author allows both interpretations in one telling adds a creative touch. Clearly, this is a talented author.
Island life and nature are beautifully and accurately described.
The book will bring tears to your eyes. It will move you. The writing is all about human relations and emotions, about what we say and cannot say, about what we feel deep inside.
Here follow a few lines to exemplify the writing:
About loss:
"No one has lost precisely what you have lost. Not exactly. We are in it alone."
and
"You don't mend fully, but you mend enough, in time."
and
"Letting go is not a choice. It happens."
About love:
"Nathan, who makes him (Tom) wear socks on splintery floors.
About nature:
"It is a dandelion day."
About people:
"It is how people walk when they have something to say."
The audiobook is narrated by Maggie Mash. She reads slowly, which is important, allowing the listener time to ponder the reflective lines. Her intonations fit well the different characters - masculine, feminine, elderly and young. There is a large portion of first person narrative spoken by the character Maggie. This too is well intoned. Very good narration in fact.
I gave the author's book Corrag five stars. In both it is the language that shines. This author draws a time and place beautifully. In Corrag the setting is centuries ago. In this book it is contemporary, but on an island. Susan Fletcher has a tremendous talent for capturing natural settings; I strongly recommend her to those of you who appreciate nature!
The central theme is loss. How does one deal with that? Loss can be a result of death, but it need not be. It can simply be life moving on, circumstances changing, children growing up and the loosening of bonds.
Magic is woven into the telling, but with a beautiful touch. You see the magic as fits you; if you prefer to see life in realistic terms that is how you will see the story, but if you enjoy the magic of legends the story may be interpreted through that lens instead. That the author allows both interpretations in one telling adds a creative touch. Clearly, this is a talented author.
Island life and nature are beautifully and accurately described.
The book will bring tears to your eyes. It will move you. The writing is all about human relations and emotions, about what we say and cannot say, about what we feel deep inside.
Here follow a few lines to exemplify the writing:
About loss:
"No one has lost precisely what you have lost. Not exactly. We are in it alone."
and
"You don't mend fully, but you mend enough, in time."
and
"Letting go is not a choice. It happens."
About love:
"Nathan, who makes him (Tom) wear socks on splintery floors.
About nature:
"It is a dandelion day."
About people:
"It is how people walk when they have something to say."
The audiobook is narrated by Maggie Mash. She reads slowly, which is important, allowing the listener time to ponder the reflective lines. Her intonations fit well the different characters - masculine, feminine, elderly and young. There is a large portion of first person narrative spoken by the character Maggie. This too is well intoned. Very good narration in fact.
I gave the author's book Corrag five stars. In both it is the language that shines. This author draws a time and place beautifully. In Corrag the setting is centuries ago. In this book it is contemporary, but on an island. Susan Fletcher has a tremendous talent for capturing natural settings; I strongly recommend her to those of you who appreciate nature!
April 15, 2016
"There are stories that come from the sea and those are good stories. They are the best I have heard, by far. I know stories, but none are better than those I was told in coastal homes, with sour-smelling oilskins drying by the fire or the pale chalk of whale-bones standing on their ends."
Susan Fletcher's writing is the kind that will allow you to completely immerse yourself in the sights, sounds and smells, or perhaps all your senses, in the small isolated world of her story. As in her novel Corrag (also called The Highland Witch), the language is once again stunning and quite lyrical. The beauty, the unrest and the mystery of the sea envelop the island and the people of Parla. This small community of sheep farmers, fishermen and small business owners has its fair share of secrets, but when a mysterious stranger literally washes up onto the shore each and every person is affected by his arrival. The island is drenched in the folklore and mythology of the sea and this stranger is promptly dubbed "Fishman", a man who sheds his aquatic tail and acquires legs to walk on land amongst the inhabitants of the island. This man has an uncanny resemblance to that of the illustrated Fishman in the island's book of legends. Furthermore, he has no memory of his background to share with the Parlan residents, so what other logical explanation remains?
If you are now thinking, okay, this book about mermen and strange tales of the ocean is not my cup of tea, then I urge you to reconsider! This is so much more than that. Four years prior to the arrival of the Fishman, the islanders staggered with the loss of one of their beloved to the sea, one quite similar in appearance to the Fishman himself. During those four years, the people have suffered, grieved, bristled, and in some cases isolated themselves even further. We begin to learn about these characters so intimately. Their pain is evident and eventually their secrets are slowly revealed through the narrative. How each individual deals with grief is very distinct and personal but no less heartbreaking in any case. "Grief is such a lonely thing. There is no-one in it with you – others may grieve for the same soul, but they do not grieve exactly for what you also grieve. No-one has lost precisely what you have lost. Not exactly, never exactly. We are in it alone." Fletcher does an outstanding job of allowing the reader a glimpse into the heart of each person as they struggle with their own sense of loss. Then, there is the Fishman. What does his appearance mean to these people - is he a sign of hope or love? Is he an omen or a poor substitute for the one lost? As the north wind brings a sense of change, whether good or bad, does a stranger washed up on the beach mean a shift in the circumstances and mindset of the Parlans?
I truly enjoyed this, my second Susan Fletcher novel. The reason I rated this as 4 stars versus the 5 I allotted to Corrag was that there was perhaps a bit of repetition from time to time. In addition, I was just completely bewitched by Corrag herself, whereas I had a harder time focusing and attaching myself to any one character in this story. Regardless, I would not hesitate to recommend either book and strongly urge anyone to pick one up if you are at all charmed by a story with a strong sense of place, a dash of mystery and gorgeous prose.
"The Fishman asks me this: what makes a good story? You know your stories. I consider this. And I say it must have happiness in it – people finding it. It must have a landscape that fills the mind, and can be seen so clearly you feel you could be walking there. It must have love. Perhaps a little sadness. And it must have a journey, of some kind."
Susan Fletcher's writing is the kind that will allow you to completely immerse yourself in the sights, sounds and smells, or perhaps all your senses, in the small isolated world of her story. As in her novel Corrag (also called The Highland Witch), the language is once again stunning and quite lyrical. The beauty, the unrest and the mystery of the sea envelop the island and the people of Parla. This small community of sheep farmers, fishermen and small business owners has its fair share of secrets, but when a mysterious stranger literally washes up onto the shore each and every person is affected by his arrival. The island is drenched in the folklore and mythology of the sea and this stranger is promptly dubbed "Fishman", a man who sheds his aquatic tail and acquires legs to walk on land amongst the inhabitants of the island. This man has an uncanny resemblance to that of the illustrated Fishman in the island's book of legends. Furthermore, he has no memory of his background to share with the Parlan residents, so what other logical explanation remains?
If you are now thinking, okay, this book about mermen and strange tales of the ocean is not my cup of tea, then I urge you to reconsider! This is so much more than that. Four years prior to the arrival of the Fishman, the islanders staggered with the loss of one of their beloved to the sea, one quite similar in appearance to the Fishman himself. During those four years, the people have suffered, grieved, bristled, and in some cases isolated themselves even further. We begin to learn about these characters so intimately. Their pain is evident and eventually their secrets are slowly revealed through the narrative. How each individual deals with grief is very distinct and personal but no less heartbreaking in any case. "Grief is such a lonely thing. There is no-one in it with you – others may grieve for the same soul, but they do not grieve exactly for what you also grieve. No-one has lost precisely what you have lost. Not exactly, never exactly. We are in it alone." Fletcher does an outstanding job of allowing the reader a glimpse into the heart of each person as they struggle with their own sense of loss. Then, there is the Fishman. What does his appearance mean to these people - is he a sign of hope or love? Is he an omen or a poor substitute for the one lost? As the north wind brings a sense of change, whether good or bad, does a stranger washed up on the beach mean a shift in the circumstances and mindset of the Parlans?
I truly enjoyed this, my second Susan Fletcher novel. The reason I rated this as 4 stars versus the 5 I allotted to Corrag was that there was perhaps a bit of repetition from time to time. In addition, I was just completely bewitched by Corrag herself, whereas I had a harder time focusing and attaching myself to any one character in this story. Regardless, I would not hesitate to recommend either book and strongly urge anyone to pick one up if you are at all charmed by a story with a strong sense of place, a dash of mystery and gorgeous prose.
"The Fishman asks me this: what makes a good story? You know your stories. I consider this. And I say it must have happiness in it – people finding it. It must have a landscape that fills the mind, and can be seen so clearly you feel you could be walking there. It must have love. Perhaps a little sadness. And it must have a journey, of some kind."
March 23, 2023
A truly wonderful read, full of natural magic. The novel is best read slowly so you can immerse yourself in the remote island setting and enjoy the beautiful, evocative writing. It's a story about loss and healing, and has a cast of unforgettable characters. I will be looking for more by this writer.
May 7, 2019
Abigail Coyle used to tell me, we only know the foam...A sweep of her arm, over the sea. And I’d walk home understanding her. We do not know it all. That’s what I’d tell myself, when standing waist-deep in water. When I sat on a boat I’d think of what was beneath me--the deep, deep chasms, the secrets and the dark.
Tom Bundy is dead. He was taken by the sea that he loved, and his death has collapsed the lives of his mother, Emmeline; his wife, Maggie; his brother, Nathan; and most of the small community on the island of Parla. When a man who resembles Tom is washed up on a beach at Sye four years later, all the grief, all the guilt, all the sadness bubbles to the surface, but what also comes is the retelling of an ancient myth, a Parlan myth of a half-man, half-fish who comes from the sea and brings hope and healing.
There is so much healing that is needed. So few have come to grips with the finality of their loss. The found man is a catalyst, he is an unknown element that changes life on the island and he forces people to look into their souls, and sometimes bare them.
I know this; there is no sense to grief. There is no pattern or shape or texture, and there are no books or stories which can lessen the pain at losing a person you have loved, and will always love. There are no rules with loss.
Susan Fletcher understands love, she understands loss, and she understands grief. Parts of this novel were so poignant that I had to stop reading to collect myself. So much of it struck a chord with me that I ached for each of these people. I cried for Maggie. I thought how unfair life can be and how difficult it is to move forward when every aspect of your life feels destroyed. I thought of how I clutched my mother’s chenille housecoat to my face so that I could smell her distinctive scent in the months after she was gone and how I cried when my husband accidentally put it in the wash and made it smell of fabric softener.
Grief is such a lonely thing. There is no one in it with you--others may grieve for the same soul, but they do not grieve exactly for what you also grieve. No one has lost precisely what you have lost. Not exactly, never exactly. We are in it alone.
If you have ever lost someone you love, I highly recommend this novel. But I caution you to buy tissues before you begin. You will need them.
Tom Bundy is dead. He was taken by the sea that he loved, and his death has collapsed the lives of his mother, Emmeline; his wife, Maggie; his brother, Nathan; and most of the small community on the island of Parla. When a man who resembles Tom is washed up on a beach at Sye four years later, all the grief, all the guilt, all the sadness bubbles to the surface, but what also comes is the retelling of an ancient myth, a Parlan myth of a half-man, half-fish who comes from the sea and brings hope and healing.
There is so much healing that is needed. So few have come to grips with the finality of their loss. The found man is a catalyst, he is an unknown element that changes life on the island and he forces people to look into their souls, and sometimes bare them.
I know this; there is no sense to grief. There is no pattern or shape or texture, and there are no books or stories which can lessen the pain at losing a person you have loved, and will always love. There are no rules with loss.
Susan Fletcher understands love, she understands loss, and she understands grief. Parts of this novel were so poignant that I had to stop reading to collect myself. So much of it struck a chord with me that I ached for each of these people. I cried for Maggie. I thought how unfair life can be and how difficult it is to move forward when every aspect of your life feels destroyed. I thought of how I clutched my mother’s chenille housecoat to my face so that I could smell her distinctive scent in the months after she was gone and how I cried when my husband accidentally put it in the wash and made it smell of fabric softener.
Grief is such a lonely thing. There is no one in it with you--others may grieve for the same soul, but they do not grieve exactly for what you also grieve. No one has lost precisely what you have lost. Not exactly, never exactly. We are in it alone.
If you have ever lost someone you love, I highly recommend this novel. But I caution you to buy tissues before you begin. You will need them.
February 3, 2013
Feel free to judge this book by the cover, as there has never been a more apt book cover or title.
“The Silver Dark Sea” is exactly that – magical, part mythical, part real, lyrical, sentimental, cold and warm at the same time.
After reading “Eve Green” in August, Susan Fletcher’s debut, I was wondering where she was now as a writer, four or five books later. I have no idea what happened in between but judging by the first and last book, she is sticking to what has worked for her once.
I think there are two categories of writers: one is the people who strain their imagination to come up with something entirely different each time and the other who just try to perfect a few recurrent themes that are particularly important to them. Both have their pros and cons and both have their place in the world of literature.
Fletcher writes about love like it’s 1820. It’s touching and it’s poetic but it’s not very realistic, and a cynical reader like me might find it occasionally maudlin and too full of things like ‘from the first moment they knew’. But Fletcher can write about grief and bitter-sweet melancholy.
This is definitely not urban writing. Fletcher likes to write about small, isolated places and create a self-sufficient world within them. It might every now and then look like an episode of Bold and Beautiful where everything that happens happens within the core cast so people have to swap lovers and family members, but generally I’m weirdly fond of this literary technique.
In ‘The Silver Dark Sea’ everything takes place on a small, made up island of Parla, which might or might not be somewhere by Scottish coast. As everything happens somewhere between a myth and reality, it’s suitable that it’s an unspecified cold sea island.
In short, if the cover appeals to you, so will the book.
The only thing I could possibly cook for this book was a hearty, no nonsense fish dish, the sort of thing the hardened fishermen from a cold sea island could eat. I baked silver carp with onions in a cream sauce (Silver Dark Sea – Silver carp, get it?) and served it instead of the classic carp this Christmas. And yes, I know carp is actually a freshwater fish, so the whole thing doesn’t make much sense, but not everything has to make sense. Also carp is what we eat for Christmas, it’s our turkey.
“The Silver Dark Sea” is exactly that – magical, part mythical, part real, lyrical, sentimental, cold and warm at the same time.
After reading “Eve Green” in August, Susan Fletcher’s debut, I was wondering where she was now as a writer, four or five books later. I have no idea what happened in between but judging by the first and last book, she is sticking to what has worked for her once.
I think there are two categories of writers: one is the people who strain their imagination to come up with something entirely different each time and the other who just try to perfect a few recurrent themes that are particularly important to them. Both have their pros and cons and both have their place in the world of literature.
Fletcher writes about love like it’s 1820. It’s touching and it’s poetic but it’s not very realistic, and a cynical reader like me might find it occasionally maudlin and too full of things like ‘from the first moment they knew’. But Fletcher can write about grief and bitter-sweet melancholy.
This is definitely not urban writing. Fletcher likes to write about small, isolated places and create a self-sufficient world within them. It might every now and then look like an episode of Bold and Beautiful where everything that happens happens within the core cast so people have to swap lovers and family members, but generally I’m weirdly fond of this literary technique.
In ‘The Silver Dark Sea’ everything takes place on a small, made up island of Parla, which might or might not be somewhere by Scottish coast. As everything happens somewhere between a myth and reality, it’s suitable that it’s an unspecified cold sea island.
In short, if the cover appeals to you, so will the book.
The only thing I could possibly cook for this book was a hearty, no nonsense fish dish, the sort of thing the hardened fishermen from a cold sea island could eat. I baked silver carp with onions in a cream sauce (Silver Dark Sea – Silver carp, get it?) and served it instead of the classic carp this Christmas. And yes, I know carp is actually a freshwater fish, so the whole thing doesn’t make much sense, but not everything has to make sense. Also carp is what we eat for Christmas, it’s our turkey.
April 5, 2016
I finished this book last night at about 8 o'clock but decided to sleep on my decision to rate it and write my review this morning.
Susan Fletcher quickly became one of my favourite authors after reading Witch light / Corrag , I love how lyrical and poetic her descriptions of places are and the way she makes you feel you're actually in the place she is writing about . How is it possible that words can make you smell the flowers, the coffee, the scent of a person, the tang of the sea ? I feel I know this little island of Parla with its houses called things like Wind Rising , it's beaches Lock and key , Sye where The Fishman was washed up , I see 'pigeon' the boat bobbing on waves, the lighthouse where Rona is baking cakes for her cafe and the people oh the people here, all wonderful , flawed , damaged human beings.
Throughout there is the myth of the Fishman, stories within the story, not all what they appear to be.
We read on and slowly and eloquently things unwrap.
Everyone here is mourning the loss of Tom Bundy it reverberates through the island, the sense of loss is palpable, it has damaged everybody in some way.
This book also deals with grief in a compassionate and real way.
So my reasons for a 4* rating and not a 5* one which right up until the end virtually it was going to be.
Now I cannot remove spoilers and this might be one so if you've not read this please stop here........
There was a couple of places that for me would have been the perfect place to end this story, to leave it ambiguous as to what happened next. In some books you need a conclusion a definite set in stone ending but for me this didn't and it took away some of the magic that this story evoked, an over egging of the pudding so to speak.
My next Susan Fletcher book is on its way as I write this and it won't be long before I get to it.....
Susan Fletcher quickly became one of my favourite authors after reading Witch light / Corrag , I love how lyrical and poetic her descriptions of places are and the way she makes you feel you're actually in the place she is writing about . How is it possible that words can make you smell the flowers, the coffee, the scent of a person, the tang of the sea ? I feel I know this little island of Parla with its houses called things like Wind Rising , it's beaches Lock and key , Sye where The Fishman was washed up , I see 'pigeon' the boat bobbing on waves, the lighthouse where Rona is baking cakes for her cafe and the people oh the people here, all wonderful , flawed , damaged human beings.
Throughout there is the myth of the Fishman, stories within the story, not all what they appear to be.
We read on and slowly and eloquently things unwrap.
Everyone here is mourning the loss of Tom Bundy it reverberates through the island, the sense of loss is palpable, it has damaged everybody in some way.
This book also deals with grief in a compassionate and real way.
So my reasons for a 4* rating and not a 5* one which right up until the end virtually it was going to be.
Now I cannot remove spoilers and this might be one so if you've not read this please stop here........
There was a couple of places that for me would have been the perfect place to end this story, to leave it ambiguous as to what happened next. In some books you need a conclusion a definite set in stone ending but for me this didn't and it took away some of the magic that this story evoked, an over egging of the pudding so to speak.
My next Susan Fletcher book is on its way as I write this and it won't be long before I get to it.....
August 1, 2015
Warning: This is a slow story. A story that needs time to blossom in your heart.
This is a story full of melancholy, grief, hope and most of all - love.
This is a book for dreamers.
This is a story full of melancholy, grief, hope and most of all - love.
This is a book for dreamers.
October 21, 2023
Nothing new I’ve read this year has really done it for me & just as I was starting to accept that this maybe wasn’t my year for reading, I was given this book. The writing is so beautiful & encapturing, a tale of life, love and loss. I’m looking forward to reading more of Fletcher’s work. ✨
August 29, 2015
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Bu yazının orijinali canlabirsene'de yayınlandı.
Şimdiye kadar merkezinde deniz olup da "ıyk" dedirten bir kitapla tanışmadım. Gümüş Karası Deniz de yer yer beni zorlamış olsa da Fletcher İskoçya'nın Parla Adası'nı öyle capcanlı bir şekilde anlatmış ki suların yüzüme vurduğunu, ayaklarımı serinlettiğini hissedince ferahladım gitti. Zaten ada takıntım var, "Parla'ya götürün beni!" diye haykırdım valla.
"Eeee, denizden başka bir şey yok mu kitapta?" derseniz, var tabii ki. Kocası, birini kurtarmak için deniz atladığında kaybolup giden bir kadın, oğlunun ortadan kayboluşunu bir türlü atlatamayan bir anne ve bir anda adada beliren bir yabancı var. Ve bu yabancı Parla Adası'ndaki insanların sırlarının ortaya çıkmasına neden olur; her zaman birbirlerine karşı olmasa da, okura karşı tabii. İçinde ilk aşk var, aileye olan sevgi var, sevgisinin karşılığını bulamamak ve aşk maceraları var... E adanın pek kalabalık bir nüfusu olmadığını da göz önünde bulundurursanız dönen işleri hayal edebilirsiniz herhalde!
Bu yazının orijinali canlabirsene'de yayınlandı.
Şimdiye kadar merkezinde deniz olup da "ıyk" dedirten bir kitapla tanışmadım. Gümüş Karası Deniz de yer yer beni zorlamış olsa da Fletcher İskoçya'nın Parla Adası'nı öyle capcanlı bir şekilde anlatmış ki suların yüzüme vurduğunu, ayaklarımı serinlettiğini hissedince ferahladım gitti. Zaten ada takıntım var, "Parla'ya götürün beni!" diye haykırdım valla.
"Eeee, denizden başka bir şey yok mu kitapta?" derseniz, var tabii ki. Kocası, birini kurtarmak için deniz atladığında kaybolup giden bir kadın, oğlunun ortadan kayboluşunu bir türlü atlatamayan bir anne ve bir anda adada beliren bir yabancı var. Ve bu yabancı Parla Adası'ndaki insanların sırlarının ortaya çıkmasına neden olur; her zaman birbirlerine karşı olmasa da, okura karşı tabii. İçinde ilk aşk var, aileye olan sevgi var, sevgisinin karşılığını bulamamak ve aşk maceraları var... E adanın pek kalabalık bir nüfusu olmadığını da göz önünde bulundurursanız dönen işleri hayal edebilirsiniz herhalde!
December 29, 2014
Wow.
This is one of those books that unfolds ever so slowly, taking the reader a while to get a footing in the story. However, Fletcher has such a unique gift of voice and characterization that as she discloses small, individual pieces of information about the characters, and their intertwined histories (they all live on a small Scottish isle), you come to know them in a deeply personal and profound way.
With the themes of love and loss, grief and redemption Fletcher exhibits remarkable skill and never once lets them get away from her or become maudlin. Having lost someone close to me just over a year ago I can't even express how much I was moved by the spot-on depiction of loss and grief captured here. Yet, the author does not leave her reader there. With a sure hand--and incredible wisdom--she moves them through the grief, along with her characters, to the other side of the chasm.
A remarkable interweaving of reality and myth using the devices of legend, story-telling, and the ever-present influence of the sea. Beautiful, lyrical.
I'm in awe. Fletcher is a true artist.
This is one of those books that unfolds ever so slowly, taking the reader a while to get a footing in the story. However, Fletcher has such a unique gift of voice and characterization that as she discloses small, individual pieces of information about the characters, and their intertwined histories (they all live on a small Scottish isle), you come to know them in a deeply personal and profound way.
With the themes of love and loss, grief and redemption Fletcher exhibits remarkable skill and never once lets them get away from her or become maudlin. Having lost someone close to me just over a year ago I can't even express how much I was moved by the spot-on depiction of loss and grief captured here. Yet, the author does not leave her reader there. With a sure hand--and incredible wisdom--she moves them through the grief, along with her characters, to the other side of the chasm.
A remarkable interweaving of reality and myth using the devices of legend, story-telling, and the ever-present influence of the sea. Beautiful, lyrical.
I'm in awe. Fletcher is a true artist.
January 28, 2018
Soms heb je simpelweg zo'n boek nodig. En dan heb je geluk als je op zo'n moment dit in handen krijgt.
July 13, 2025
The story is of all of Parla's island inhabitants. The characters full of secrets and harbouring hopes for something that seemingly belongs only in stories. That is, until an unknown man washed up on one of the shores and brings to life a local legend. He is not Maggie's lost husband, he is not the man that his widow, family and community have been so desperately seeking. However what this strange, amnesiac, gentle, tall man brings to everyone is the belief that the seemingly impossible and unexpected love can wash in unexpectedly with the tide.
September 29, 2016
The Silver Dark Sea is written by established author Susan Fletcher. It is a ‘profound tale of love, loss and the lore of the sea’, and is described as ‘tender, lyrical and redemptive’.
The opening lines of The Silver Dark Sea are rather reminiscent of fairytale-esque stories: ‘Once there was a man. He was bearded and kind. He lived on an island in a stone-walled house with a tap that dripped, and a small peat fire. He had no friends to speak of. All his family were gone’. Known locally as the Fishman of Sye, the man resides in myths and legends. This lyrical and intriguing prose manifests itself in the descriptions which Fletcher has woven throughout the book, and creates a novel which is incredibly evocative of place. We meet ‘a girl with sun-coloured hair’ and on the small island, ‘the grass was wind-bent’ and its waves were ‘crashing like glass’. Fletcher creates such wonderful and realistic imagery and often conveys the bleakest and most commonplace of scenes in fresh and interesting ways. On the island, ‘there aren’t any trees… Nor are there many houses, but there are some; they all have missing tiles, damp window frames and peeling paint’.
The main thread of the story comes when a man believed to be the Fishman of Sye is washed up on the beach in one of the island’s coves. ‘Still’ and ‘white-skinned’, he is thought, at first, to be dead. The islanders are charged with finding his identity when a bout of rather predictable amnesia ensues.
Although the island itself is given the name of Parla, our narrator, Maggie, makes it clear that ‘names do not matter, as they never truly do in the tales I know. What matters are the people themselves’. This is Fletcher’s cue to introduce a whole host of characters, the majority of whom are introduced very quickly. Their primary scenes are presented as a series of small vignettes, and it is clear that the author has such compassion for them. At first, the character descriptions and their personalities have been created in such a way that although there are lots of them, it never becomes difficult to keep track. This changes rather suddenly, however. Some of Parla’s inhabitants are clearly more developed than others, and whilst it is interesting to have such a complete cast of characters, it would have been better to focus on just a handful of them in order to erase the vast confusion which often clouds the book. The character tree at the beginning of the novel is definitely a useful addition, and one which is sure to be used a lot.
The third person omniscient perspective has been used to convey the story of the man upon the island, and from then on a mixture of third person and first person narrative voices have been used. The reader is a character at points too, as we are addressed directly by the first person narrator. Thoughts of separate characters who make up the story have been included in italics, a technique which works well for the more solitary inhabitants of the island but which is not always necessary in scenes which contain dialogue. The dialogue itself has been presented without speech marks, which can make it a little difficult to follow in places.
The novel is rich from the first page, and in its beginning, its pace is wonderful. Fletcher has created an incredibly well thought out picture of island life when beset by mystery and fables. Whilst her narrative and prose techniques are interesting, one cannot help but think that a more traditional approach would better complement the story of an island which is steeped in history, whether it is set in the present day or not. It would have been an incredibly powerful novel had a lot of the characters been removed and the story of Maggie and the Fishman were concentrated on almost entirely. The Silver Dark Sea is certainly absorbing, but elements of it stop it from becoming a wonderful novel.
The opening lines of The Silver Dark Sea are rather reminiscent of fairytale-esque stories: ‘Once there was a man. He was bearded and kind. He lived on an island in a stone-walled house with a tap that dripped, and a small peat fire. He had no friends to speak of. All his family were gone’. Known locally as the Fishman of Sye, the man resides in myths and legends. This lyrical and intriguing prose manifests itself in the descriptions which Fletcher has woven throughout the book, and creates a novel which is incredibly evocative of place. We meet ‘a girl with sun-coloured hair’ and on the small island, ‘the grass was wind-bent’ and its waves were ‘crashing like glass’. Fletcher creates such wonderful and realistic imagery and often conveys the bleakest and most commonplace of scenes in fresh and interesting ways. On the island, ‘there aren’t any trees… Nor are there many houses, but there are some; they all have missing tiles, damp window frames and peeling paint’.
The main thread of the story comes when a man believed to be the Fishman of Sye is washed up on the beach in one of the island’s coves. ‘Still’ and ‘white-skinned’, he is thought, at first, to be dead. The islanders are charged with finding his identity when a bout of rather predictable amnesia ensues.
Although the island itself is given the name of Parla, our narrator, Maggie, makes it clear that ‘names do not matter, as they never truly do in the tales I know. What matters are the people themselves’. This is Fletcher’s cue to introduce a whole host of characters, the majority of whom are introduced very quickly. Their primary scenes are presented as a series of small vignettes, and it is clear that the author has such compassion for them. At first, the character descriptions and their personalities have been created in such a way that although there are lots of them, it never becomes difficult to keep track. This changes rather suddenly, however. Some of Parla’s inhabitants are clearly more developed than others, and whilst it is interesting to have such a complete cast of characters, it would have been better to focus on just a handful of them in order to erase the vast confusion which often clouds the book. The character tree at the beginning of the novel is definitely a useful addition, and one which is sure to be used a lot.
The third person omniscient perspective has been used to convey the story of the man upon the island, and from then on a mixture of third person and first person narrative voices have been used. The reader is a character at points too, as we are addressed directly by the first person narrator. Thoughts of separate characters who make up the story have been included in italics, a technique which works well for the more solitary inhabitants of the island but which is not always necessary in scenes which contain dialogue. The dialogue itself has been presented without speech marks, which can make it a little difficult to follow in places.
The novel is rich from the first page, and in its beginning, its pace is wonderful. Fletcher has created an incredibly well thought out picture of island life when beset by mystery and fables. Whilst her narrative and prose techniques are interesting, one cannot help but think that a more traditional approach would better complement the story of an island which is steeped in history, whether it is set in the present day or not. It would have been an incredibly powerful novel had a lot of the characters been removed and the story of Maggie and the Fishman were concentrated on almost entirely. The Silver Dark Sea is certainly absorbing, but elements of it stop it from becoming a wonderful novel.
September 14, 2016
I loved escaping into this book. Although honestly I don't think it is going to appeal to everyone. It's quite long, and very little happens in it. You've really just got to want to loose yourself in atmosphere if you're going to enjoy this one. It is also about love, grief and community, but for me what I liked most about it was the portrayal of small island life. I am fascinated by the islands around the UK, in particular the Scottish ones. So a book set on a small Scottish island, even if it is an imaginary island - yes!
Parla is the island, and it's a place where you won't escape your family or your past and everything that you have done and that has happened to you. I don't know if I'd cope living in such a tight knit community. And it certainly doesn't make it sound completely idyllic, it's certainly realistic in that island life isn't easy. It's tough making ends meet financially, and there are problems such as alcoholism and domestic violence.
One thing that's fascinating with islands and the coast is the beachcombing, and seeing what's been washed up. In this book, a man washes up on the island. A man with amnesia. But an old woman with a book of myths and legends reckons its actually a fishman. I suppose this is some kind version of the real selkie legends, and mermaids etc. I've not heard of a fishman before. But apparently he is, as the word suggests, a fish-man who can become a whole man when he comes on land, and must go with the next full moon. Whether this man really is a fishman or not, you will find out if you read the book.
It's painful for the community because he has a striking likness to Tom Bundy, a local man who drowned four years ago off the island, and whose body was never found. It's particularly painful for the mother, and the widow, Maggie, who have to face this, and the fact that he will be living in the community whilst they wait for his memory to return. And whilst he is there, the change in the routine in their lives helps some out of ruts they've fallen into and others to stop taking things for granted. It also gets them talking about their own lives and their pasts.
This generational history of the island was also interesting to soak up, although it could get confusing. Despite it being a small community, and so limited in characters, they're all thrown at you right at the start, and Fletcher darts about from one to the other constantly, so I lost track a lot at the start as to who she was talking about. There was a family tree in the front so I could keep flicking back to remind myself of who was who. Although there was a father and son, both called Jack Bundy, and both mean-minded wife-beating men, so sometimes I wasn't sure which Jack she was writing about. Maybe it didn't matter, as it was supposed to just be cyclical behaviour on repeat on the island waiting for something to break the pattern.
Very much a book of pondering and atmosphere and loving the thought of remote islands.
Parla is the island, and it's a place where you won't escape your family or your past and everything that you have done and that has happened to you. I don't know if I'd cope living in such a tight knit community. And it certainly doesn't make it sound completely idyllic, it's certainly realistic in that island life isn't easy. It's tough making ends meet financially, and there are problems such as alcoholism and domestic violence.
One thing that's fascinating with islands and the coast is the beachcombing, and seeing what's been washed up. In this book, a man washes up on the island. A man with amnesia. But an old woman with a book of myths and legends reckons its actually a fishman. I suppose this is some kind version of the real selkie legends, and mermaids etc. I've not heard of a fishman before. But apparently he is, as the word suggests, a fish-man who can become a whole man when he comes on land, and must go with the next full moon. Whether this man really is a fishman or not, you will find out if you read the book.
It's painful for the community because he has a striking likness to Tom Bundy, a local man who drowned four years ago off the island, and whose body was never found. It's particularly painful for the mother, and the widow, Maggie, who have to face this, and the fact that he will be living in the community whilst they wait for his memory to return. And whilst he is there, the change in the routine in their lives helps some out of ruts they've fallen into and others to stop taking things for granted. It also gets them talking about their own lives and their pasts.
This generational history of the island was also interesting to soak up, although it could get confusing. Despite it being a small community, and so limited in characters, they're all thrown at you right at the start, and Fletcher darts about from one to the other constantly, so I lost track a lot at the start as to who she was talking about. There was a family tree in the front so I could keep flicking back to remind myself of who was who. Although there was a father and son, both called Jack Bundy, and both mean-minded wife-beating men, so sometimes I wasn't sure which Jack she was writing about. Maybe it didn't matter, as it was supposed to just be cyclical behaviour on repeat on the island waiting for something to break the pattern.
Very much a book of pondering and atmosphere and loving the thought of remote islands.
January 31, 2023
Just one of the best book I’ve read, such a beautiful,delicate but also sad story, Which depicts grief and loss with such beauty and accuracy .Susan Fletcher is one of my favorite writers, I don’t know how to describe her writing it’s just special, Intriguing and moving.
All my love from a French reader. :)
All my love from a French reader. :)
September 1, 2019
It's been a long time since I read a book that was so quotable. The opening chapter is the most beautiful thing I've read in a while.
It's the kind of book you read slowly as it has such rich descriptions, tons of metaphors and a slow plot. It's very character focussed.
I feel like the main theme of the book is grief and how different people handle it. Maggie, who I suppose you can call the central character, lost the love of her life Tom to the sea. They live on an island called Parla where the seas get rough. When a man is washed up on the beach, his presence almost brings hope to the small number of residents on this island. He resembles The Fisherman, a character from a myth on Parla.
I think Leah was the character I related to the most, probably because we are similar in age. The Fisherman begins to renovate a shed and she finds his presence gives her motivation to go outside and help. She struggled and dropped out of uni and it hints that she is depressed. It was nice to see her find meaning again and fall in love with Sam.
I enjoyed the stories. I enjoyed Maggie and The Fisherman. I enjoyed the ending and learning about his real backstory. It was beautifully written.
I liked the older characters Tabitha and Emmeline. There was such a variety of points of view. Some of the plot was heartbreaking, like Nathan and Kitty's marriage falling apart and his affair with Rona. Everybody handles Tom's death in a different way.
I'm so glad my friend Joyce recommended this book to me because it was stunning. I'll definitely come back to it again and need a hard copy so I can make notes.
It's the kind of book you read slowly as it has such rich descriptions, tons of metaphors and a slow plot. It's very character focussed.
I feel like the main theme of the book is grief and how different people handle it. Maggie, who I suppose you can call the central character, lost the love of her life Tom to the sea. They live on an island called Parla where the seas get rough. When a man is washed up on the beach, his presence almost brings hope to the small number of residents on this island. He resembles The Fisherman, a character from a myth on Parla.
I think Leah was the character I related to the most, probably because we are similar in age. The Fisherman begins to renovate a shed and she finds his presence gives her motivation to go outside and help. She struggled and dropped out of uni and it hints that she is depressed. It was nice to see her find meaning again and fall in love with Sam.
I enjoyed the stories. I enjoyed Maggie and The Fisherman. I enjoyed the ending and learning about his real backstory. It was beautifully written.
I liked the older characters Tabitha and Emmeline. There was such a variety of points of view. Some of the plot was heartbreaking, like Nathan and Kitty's marriage falling apart and his affair with Rona. Everybody handles Tom's death in a different way.
I'm so glad my friend Joyce recommended this book to me because it was stunning. I'll definitely come back to it again and need a hard copy so I can make notes.
July 7, 2013
I could barely get past chapter 10? let's just say nearly a quarter of it past and I could barely keep focused at all. While the author certainly has a gift of vivid descriptions - I grew VERY tired of reading what seemed like ENDLESS descriptions of the island and what seemed like every single person on it. I LOVE mer-stories - I have a shelf full of them and their some of my favorites (next to Rapunzel-retellings and fairy tale-retellings in general) so in a way - I was disappointed that I ended up feeling this way about this book. I'm never one to give up on books - especially mer books - but this time...I had to - my brain just could not take it, and in addition - the way the chapters were presented didn't seem to make much sense? I have no idea - just me and this book weren't a match made in heaven. Maybe some day I'll try again but not anytime soon. Just thinking about all those endless descriptions and how long it's taking to actually MOVE ON WITH THE STORY is making my head spin. Lovely cover though.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 29, 2012
The islanders of Parla are struggling to come to terms with the loss by drowning of a young man, Tom, four years previous, when a stranger is washed up on shore. His appearance is a mystery - its a two hour ferry trip from the mainland, there have been no reported losses at sea, and he is suffering from amnesia.
There are whisperings of the legend of the Fishman, half fish half man who comes to land to bring hope and change.
Gradually the different effects of loss and grief on Tom's friends and family are uncovered and the Fishman becomes a catalyst for change.
The lyrical strength of the narrative is stunning. The silver sea shimmers throughout and provides a backdrop to the most wonderful characters. For a young woman, the author shows such wisdom. So often, novels promise to be redemptive and fail - this one truley is.
There are whisperings of the legend of the Fishman, half fish half man who comes to land to bring hope and change.
Gradually the different effects of loss and grief on Tom's friends and family are uncovered and the Fishman becomes a catalyst for change.
The lyrical strength of the narrative is stunning. The silver sea shimmers throughout and provides a backdrop to the most wonderful characters. For a young woman, the author shows such wisdom. So often, novels promise to be redemptive and fail - this one truley is.
February 8, 2016
Oh my. There is something about Susan Fletcher that slays me every time. I found this book so moving, it was heart-breaking to open and continue reading, but worse to put it down again. It's stayed in my mind for days since finishing. Characters that make you want to know them, and a setting that suits them perfectly. And it felt like so much truth - the way life really can be, messy, painful, simple, endearing, funny, slight. Little moments and vast depths. I won't forget this book. I hope it won't forget me. It's early in the year, but it'll be a challenge to read anything this year that tops this.
July 1, 2023
This was so close to being the book I hoped it would be, but too many references to ragwort and a need to tie up loose ends left me a little disappointed. Despite this there are some really beautiful paintings of set here, on a mythical Scottish Island, which took me back to childhood holidays on skye
July 26, 2024
This book is a beautiful woven web of love, family, grief and folklore. The world that is built is so grounded in the beauty of the sea, and our deep relationships with the land and our communities. The story unfolds like an unfurling wave, slowly at first, then all at once. Beautiful, captivating this book will go down as one I'm truly grateful to have experienced.
April 26, 2012
Beautiful, poetic and lyrical. This is such a wonderful and touching novel centered around a widow who's husband was lost at sea four years ago, a story of how myth and legend can help mend grief and sorrow.
May 19, 2018
I really dont understand all the rave reviews for this book. The writing is pretentious and confused. Why make the reader read the same page over and over again just to discover who isnarrating. If I didn't need to finish this for a book club I would have given up
March 29, 2020
Premier coup de coeur de l’année
January 18, 2024
Beautiful. This is exactly my type of book, with it's use of folklore and landscape to centre the story. Evocative. Magical. But real.
March 22, 2023
I went to the library and all the books on my list were uitgeleend so I just searched for titles that sounded interesting to me. I am happy I ended up with that one. It'a a good story about myths and people wanting to believe in them. I love the way she tells this story, it is really unfolding more and more with every chapter, things start to make more sense with every chapter on past situations. I love Maggie and her collection of feathers and shells. I love the secrets everyone on this island has. I love the feeling this book gave me. I truly felt like on this island somewhere out in the sea, the sound of the waves as a constant sound in the background and the wind. I could feel the wind, the salt in the air and the sand in my shoes. I love the old stories about the sear and the ancestors of the people living on the island. It's been a long time that I was on an island out there surrounded by nature and few people. I miss it.
"Please, she whispers. She does not often pray. Let thes be the start of... Of what? What is she wanting? What does she hope for, as she's sitting here? The only words that she can find are something special. Something lovely. New, and lovely, and good.
There are moments that come to matter in our lives - defining, powerful moments. Sometimes they happen so quietly that they slip by unmarked so that only later do we look back and realise that they changed everything; sometimes, they are known for exactly what they are."
"But nearly four years later and this is still how Sam and Leah speak - with their thumbs and silently, alone in their bedrooms."
"She'd said gone? Uncle Tom? I don't understand... And if Leah had been struggling before, this buckled her; if she'd felt heavy up till then, this dragged her to the ground and kept her there. That was the start of her depression. What Leah refers to as It."
"Maggie turns the pages, and it is like seeing half-forgotten friends: the seal, and the foolhardy man who was turned into a black-coloured stone."
"Please let this get better." Five words and five only. Black ink neatly done."
"Maybe that's the imps, then.
Imps? A sniffle.
Imps. Like elves. Little people, but they are naughty. They like coming into people's houses at night, and taking things. Food.
Why?
And so Nathan invented them - these miniature, mischievous men. That night, Nathan lay on the bottom bunk with his younger brother snuffling beside him and he talked of these mis with their culed-up beards, their jackets made from leaves and their trousers made from moss, how they hid in old rabbit holes which annoyed the rabbits a lot because who'd want to share their house with them? With cross little people? The imps argued all the time. They'd creep into houses when hungry, or bored. They'd fight over food, kick furniture over, break plates, and make the cat dart upstairs."
"The Fishman asks me this: what makes a good story? You know your stories.
I consider this. And I say it must have happiness in it - people finding it. It must have a landscape that fills the mind, and can be seen so clearly you feel you could be walking there. It must have love. Perhaps a little sadness. And it must have a journey, of some kind."
"Celia had her own words for certain things - milk was cow-juice, a walk round the block was a bumble - and she had a theory that you should try to fill your life with people with wrinkles next to their eyes because it means they've got it right: they've lived and laughed..."
"Please, she whispers. She does not often pray. Let thes be the start of... Of what? What is she wanting? What does she hope for, as she's sitting here? The only words that she can find are something special. Something lovely. New, and lovely, and good.
There are moments that come to matter in our lives - defining, powerful moments. Sometimes they happen so quietly that they slip by unmarked so that only later do we look back and realise that they changed everything; sometimes, they are known for exactly what they are."
"But nearly four years later and this is still how Sam and Leah speak - with their thumbs and silently, alone in their bedrooms."
"She'd said gone? Uncle Tom? I don't understand... And if Leah had been struggling before, this buckled her; if she'd felt heavy up till then, this dragged her to the ground and kept her there. That was the start of her depression. What Leah refers to as It."
"Maggie turns the pages, and it is like seeing half-forgotten friends: the seal, and the foolhardy man who was turned into a black-coloured stone."
"Please let this get better." Five words and five only. Black ink neatly done."
"Maybe that's the imps, then.
Imps? A sniffle.
Imps. Like elves. Little people, but they are naughty. They like coming into people's houses at night, and taking things. Food.
Why?
And so Nathan invented them - these miniature, mischievous men. That night, Nathan lay on the bottom bunk with his younger brother snuffling beside him and he talked of these mis with their culed-up beards, their jackets made from leaves and their trousers made from moss, how they hid in old rabbit holes which annoyed the rabbits a lot because who'd want to share their house with them? With cross little people? The imps argued all the time. They'd creep into houses when hungry, or bored. They'd fight over food, kick furniture over, break plates, and make the cat dart upstairs."
"The Fishman asks me this: what makes a good story? You know your stories.
I consider this. And I say it must have happiness in it - people finding it. It must have a landscape that fills the mind, and can be seen so clearly you feel you could be walking there. It must have love. Perhaps a little sadness. And it must have a journey, of some kind."
"Celia had her own words for certain things - milk was cow-juice, a walk round the block was a bumble - and she had a theory that you should try to fill your life with people with wrinkles next to their eyes because it means they've got it right: they've lived and laughed..."
January 8, 2026
3.5 rounded up.
Beautifully and lyrically written, atmospheric, profound, easy to read, and with enough of a hook to make you want to find out the end, but somewhat overshadowed by the central romance, which I disliked. I'm not a fan of second romances anyway, but, regardless, I just found it hard to believe in the overall context: that a widow of four years would not only fall in love instantly at first sight (even if the man has a self-fulfilling mysterious, folkloric, otherworldly aura), but also become intimate in such a short space of time, especially when you consider the extent to which It's just weird to me. I understand this book is about grief and moving on/bearing it, but I just hated that that process involved new romantic love .
I'm not even entirely sure I like the whole Fishman thing. The incorporation of folklore into the story and the way the story itself was written in a fairytale-esque manner, was nice. And on the one hand, I understand why the islanders would choose to use the man in the way that they do to process grief, but on the other hand, I did find it odd that everyone on the island changed only when a man washes ashore; it was only his very appearance on the island, rather than any of his actions, which causes this process to begin. I understand that the islanders were waiting for the chance to confront their flaws, trauma, and conflict, but that this man's appearance, and four-week stay with them, was the catalyst when he really didn't do much, and they just projected onto him, didn't really work for me.
I did much prefer the other characters' stories, though, and I liked the themes of generational trauma, grief, and trying to break cycles of violence, but, like other reviewers have noted, the book is repetitive, could have ended earlier, was a touch too sentimental at times, and, I too, did not like the ending - that should have been left open/ambiguous (this must be the first time I've read a book and disliked that the ending was closed), but again, that was mainly due to the , though it also didn't feel in keeping with the rest of the story.
Overall, it was the charm of the writing, the characters themselves, their slowly unfolding histories, and the examination of grief which made this book good, but I didn't like or want the romance.
NB: I spent a good portion of the book confused about who was related to whom and how, so I kept having to flick back to the family tree at the beginning.
Beautifully and lyrically written, atmospheric, profound, easy to read, and with enough of a hook to make you want to find out the end, but somewhat overshadowed by the central romance, which I disliked. I'm not a fan of second romances anyway, but, regardless, I just found it hard to believe in the overall context: that a widow of four years would not only fall in love instantly at first sight (even if the man has a self-fulfilling mysterious, folkloric, otherworldly aura), but also become intimate in such a short space of time, especially when you consider the extent to which It's just weird to me. I understand this book is about grief and moving on/bearing it, but I just hated that that process involved new romantic love .
I'm not even entirely sure I like the whole Fishman thing. The incorporation of folklore into the story and the way the story itself was written in a fairytale-esque manner, was nice. And on the one hand, I understand why the islanders would choose to use the man in the way that they do to process grief, but on the other hand, I did find it odd that everyone on the island changed only when a man washes ashore; it was only his very appearance on the island, rather than any of his actions, which causes this process to begin. I understand that the islanders were waiting for the chance to confront their flaws, trauma, and conflict, but that this man's appearance, and four-week stay with them, was the catalyst when he really didn't do much, and they just projected onto him, didn't really work for me.
I did much prefer the other characters' stories, though, and I liked the themes of generational trauma, grief, and trying to break cycles of violence, but, like other reviewers have noted, the book is repetitive, could have ended earlier, was a touch too sentimental at times, and, I too, did not like the ending - that should have been left open/ambiguous (this must be the first time I've read a book and disliked that the ending was closed), but again, that was mainly due to the , though it also didn't feel in keeping with the rest of the story.
Overall, it was the charm of the writing, the characters themselves, their slowly unfolding histories, and the examination of grief which made this book good, but I didn't like or want the romance.
NB: I spent a good portion of the book confused about who was related to whom and how, so I kept having to flick back to the family tree at the beginning.
March 10, 2019
“The Silver Dark Sea” is perhaps the most significant character in this novel. For the inhabitants of the island of Parla, the sea’s moods, sounds, harvest and destruction rule their lives. This is not an easy novel at first; written in the main as the stream of consciousness of the key protagonists, interspersed with folktales from Abigail’s book, it slips from third person to first person and only becomes comprehensible when the reader identifies that individual.
The location of Parla is unclear but the intermingled fates of the Bright family from the lighthouse and the Bundy family from the farm “Wind Rising” provide the background to this tale of love and loss. The roles of women and men in this simple old-fashioned community are separate and clearly defined and after a tragedy 4 years earlier many have lost their stability and focus. Maybe if the story of The Fishman of Sye comes true, they will be redeemed.
I want to give this beautiful atmospheric novel five stars, but the slow laborious plot development makes me award it 4.5 stars. I was unsure how the story should end but for me the conclusion was just right. Susan Fletcher is an author to seek out.
The location of Parla is unclear but the intermingled fates of the Bright family from the lighthouse and the Bundy family from the farm “Wind Rising” provide the background to this tale of love and loss. The roles of women and men in this simple old-fashioned community are separate and clearly defined and after a tragedy 4 years earlier many have lost their stability and focus. Maybe if the story of The Fishman of Sye comes true, they will be redeemed.
I want to give this beautiful atmospheric novel five stars, but the slow laborious plot development makes me award it 4.5 stars. I was unsure how the story should end but for me the conclusion was just right. Susan Fletcher is an author to seek out.
August 14, 2021
Uzun zamandır bu kadar hızlı bir çırpıda bir solukta okuduğum bir kitap olmamıştı. özellikle de bir aydır uzun soluklu bir seyahat halindeyken. Bulunduğum bölgede Bir iki gün durmaya karar verdim ve dün başladığım roman bugün bitti. Hüzünlü kalp kırıcı anlatılarla dolu kayıp ve yas ile nasıl başedilir insanlar hayatlarında gündelik yaşamlarına nasıl tutunur onu anlatan bir roman. Üslup açısından yenilikçi bir tablo yok oldukça sade. Hikayesi kurgusu hüzün dolu keder dolu ancak bir deniz kenarında okunmayı gerçekten hak ediyor çünkü her bir satırında denizin dalgaları yosunların kumların kokusunu alabiliyorsunuz.
February 17, 2018
Oh, oh, wat houd ik van dit boek.
Een verhaal over verlies, over loslaten en terug verliefd worden.
Over het eiland Parla en zijn bewoners die vele volksverhalen kennen, die generaties lang aan elkaar worden doorverteld. Over Maggie en haar Visman.
Over het zilte water, het ruisen van de zee en het geroep van de meeuwen.
Het verhaal is zo schoon geschreven. Zo liederlijk en dichterlijk. Zo beeldend.
Ik legde het boek regelmatig opzij om wat weg te dromen bij de personages op het eiland en te mijmeren over mijn eigen leven en keuzes.
Voor iedereen die nog in sprookjes gelooft en een beetje magie in zijn / haar leven wil.
‘Those who don’t believe in magic, will never find it.’ Roald Dahl
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