Dancing in the Shallows

by Clare Reddaway

She's had this feeling before. This feeling of marking time. Of pressing her nose against a window and watching as everyone else lives their best lives. Isla Wintergreen has not seen her grandfather since she was seven, but when she unexpectedly inherits his cottage on the Isle of Skye, she cannot resist the opportunity to escape her purposeless life. As she slowly becomes a part of the island community, she learns more about the family she never really knew – from her estranged father, to her reclusive grandfather, and her intelligent but oppressed great-grandmother. Meanwhile, her mother Cathy reflects on her own past. Mother and daughter both hope to find new freedom – but can family patterns ever really be broken? Told through the lives of four generations of Isla's family, all linked by their connection to water, Dancing in the Shallows masterfully explores family relationships and generational inheritance.

256 pages, Paperback

Published May 14, 2024

About the author

Clare Reddaway's debut novel 'Dancing In The Shallows' was published in 2024. When Isla inherits a tumbledown cottage from a grandfather she barely knew, she starts to uncover family secrets and find out for herself who she really is. A lyrical, multigenerational exploration of family, set on Skye. Described as ‘engaging, immersive and utterly believable’ Dancing in the Shallows is available to buy now.

Clare's short story collection 'Mouthy' is out now. A collection of stories about women, these are stories of power and resistance, of love, loss and persistence, of finding a way to live. These stories are gathered together from years of short story writing and have been honed in front of audiences throughout the south-west of England.

When she's not writing novels, Clare writes plays and leads story-walks in Bath and Bristol.

Clare is lucky enough to live in Bath, and writes in a room overlooking the golden city.

Reviews

[Korcan Derinsu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sığ Sularda Dans, hiç tanımadığı dedesinden kendisine bir kulübe miras kalan Isla’nın hikayesi olarak başlıyor ancak daha sonra açılarak ailenin diğer fertlerinin hikayelerinin anlatıldığı bir metne dönüşüyor. “Büyük” bir hikaye anlatmaktansa kısa kısa anlara, durumlara odaklanan; zamanda ileri-geri gidip gelen bir yapı kurmuş yazar. Oldukça dinamik bu yapı metnin kolay okunmasını sağlıyor. Üstelik büyük bir merak unsuru olmamasına rağmen yapıyor bunu. Ancak diğer yandan da ister istemez bir dağınıklık hissi yaratıyor. Bu kadar karaktere dağılmaktansa sadece Isla’nın hikayesini okusam daha mutlu olurdum doğrusu. Nitekim romanın sonu da tercih edilen bu yapı yüzünden biraz havada kalıyor. Yine de Clare Reddaway’in ne yapmaya çalıştığını anlıyorum ve bir yere kadar da amacına ulaştığını düşünüyorum. Tam günümüz edebiyatının beklentilerini karşılayan, basit ama derinliğini de gösteren bir metin. Aşırı etkilendim diyemem ama yazarın bir potansiyel taşıdığını da düşünüyorum.

[Miki · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a short but sweet gem!

Clare Reddaway’s new novel Dancing in the Shallows focuses on Isla Wintergreen after her paternal grandfather passes away, leaving her his home. The inheritance sets of a chain of events which all feature her family members’ relationships to water. Told from the multiple POVs of Isla’s family members, readers gain insight to her mother’s, father’s, grandfather’s, and great-grandmother’s lives.

At first, I felt that Isla was just another iteration of a woman who doesn’t have any control over her life, but what we learn is that Isla is unhappy and looking for a positive change, and her inheritance presents itself as the vehicle for her fresh start. Sure, Isla makes a few mistakes along the way, but instead of seeing never-ending, self-destructive behaviour, we see a young woman channel her past in such a way that she’s able to move forward making difficult, but fruitful decisions, and I’m so thankful that we didn’t see Isla’s complete breakdown.

I loved reading about Isla, her family history, and her family’s different experiences. My time spent with each person was so enjoyable that my only complaint about this novel is that I wanted more: more time with every one of Isla’s family relations!

If you’re interested in reading from multiple POVs, generational family stories, multiple timelines, and/or historical fiction, then Clare Reddaway’s Dancing in the Shallows is for you.

Many thanks to Fairlight Books and NetGalley for an ARC of Dancing in the Shallows in exchange for an honest review.

[Kelly Rosalyn Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cosy novella set in Scotland, I really enjoyed learning about Isla's generational history. There are some truly heartfelt moments in this and the beautiful motif of the sea really made me want to go wild swimming in the Isle of Skye. I'm also a sucker for books with multiple narrators!

Thank you to Fairlight Books and NetGalley for the ARC

[em · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautiful little book. I absolutely adored this from the get go, Isla was a wonderful character to centre the book around. The descriptions of Skye were vivid and warm, as were the passages about love and life. I especially loved finding out more about her family, their history and how everything and everyone was connected. Although nothing much actually happens, plot wise, this book is full of gorgeous moments. There’s something special when a book makes you feel melancholy, hopeful and content all at once.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for kindly providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. #DancingInTheShallows #NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

[miyopastronot · Rating 3 out of 5]

Belirgin bir olay örgüsüne sahip olmasa da atmosferi ve kuşaklar arası anlatımıyla tatlı bir metin Sığ Sularda Dans.

Ben de pek çok okur gibi daha derinlikli karakterlerle karşılaşmayı isterdim; ancak kasaba hikayelerine özgü o sessiz ve sakin tonu sevdiğimçin anlatının gidişatını zınk diye kabullendim. Beni asıl huzursuz eden, zaman zaman klişeye bir tık fazla yaklaşmasıydı; neyse ki toparlandı. Genel olarak okuru yormayan, akışına kendinizi rahatça bırakabileceğiniz, dinlendirici bir kitaptı diyebilirim.

Önerir miyim? Biraz düşüneyim bu meseleyi bi’ durun.

[Ashton Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute delight of a book. Warm, inspiring and hopeful.

[Milly Reynolds · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published 14 March 2024. This is a short book, 192 pages, which although there is no plot to really speak of is full of family, love and the gorgeous landscape of the Isle of Skye. Water is a theme, dancing in the shallows of the sea, a sea that connects everything. Our main focus is Isla who has just inherited a cottage on the Isle of Skye from a grandfather that she only ever remembers meeting once when she was a child. Before deciding to sell the property she decided to jump in her car and drive over 500 miles to visit it. She finds a rather run down little cottage but with views to die for and a sea that she can swim in every day. Over the rest of the book we meet her mother, her estranged father and we get glimpses of the grandfather that she didn't know and the great grandmother who eventually inspires her. We see their strengths and their vulnerabilities. We see these relationships ebb and flow like the tide, but just like the tide, they are always constant. A book that leaves you feeling warm and satisfied.

[Tuna Turan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kitap, genel olarak büyükbabasından miras kaldığını öğrenen Isla karakterinin çevresinde geziniyor. Bu beklenmedik miras, onun her biri suyla ilişkisiyle bağlantılı dört nesli kapsayan ailesinin tarihini ve sırlarını keşfetmesine yönlendiriyor. Karakter hem yaşamak istediği yere entegre olmaya çalışırken, hem de kendini keşfetmeye başlıyor.

Genel anlamda kitap tatmin edici ama karakter derinliğini bir türlü veremiyor. Her ne kadar Isla karakterine odaklanmış olsa da diğer bölümlerdeki karakterler çok sığ. Finalini sevdim.

[betül · Rating 3 out of 5]

okumak çok keyifliydi ama ben cogunlukla Isla babası ve annesı arasındaki iliskiyi okumak isterdim. babasıyla iliskisinin gelisimi hakkında hicbir sey okumamıs gibi hissettim ve bi anda aralarındaki iletişim iyileşmiş gibi bir bölüm vardı. ok diger karakterleri okumak gerekliydi ama onları bu kadar detaylandırırken diger seylerin altının bos bırakılması guzel degıldı (bence) kitabın son sayfasına geldigimde bile bi bosluk hissi olustu ve devamı OLMALI diye düsündüm
yine de dedigim gibi okuması keyifli güzeldi. bir cırpıda okunur bitirilir

[Jannicke Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you have ever been to Skye, this will have a fond little place in your heart. The description of Macleods Tables hit a little too hard after I just finished, nay survived, a hike on those mountains. But truly any book about the comfort of cold water swimming, tidal pooling and moorlands is a book for me.

[Gretel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely little book. A palate cleanser. Great humour. At times, I felt that there were enough storylines for an epic, but on the whole, most chapters work well as individual short stories. Slightly saccharine ending, and at times, the dialogue felt a little too condensed, but such is the risk when writing a novella.

[Wendy Greenberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

An inter-generational narrative where each perspective throws light on the others. There is a century of life, changing attitudes, searching for meaning in this short book.

Lovely to read but felt it was on the cusp of cliche most of the time.

[JXR · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unfortunately it’s almost plotless. it is though gorgeously written m and the story is great. Thanks for the arc

[Rosko · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely wee nugget of a book! Would recommend to those who like books.

[Paige Keating · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy read but a unique story! I did get confused by changing perspectives every chapter since I read it over a few weeks.

[Carol Scheherazade · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautiful story! Four generations of imperfect people in one perfect story. Lovely writing. Novella but felt like a full novel. Loved it so much ❤️

[Contrary Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Follow your dreams. Don’t be made small by others expectations. Go live on an island by the sea!

[Tadea Martin-Gonzalez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Guys. I read this book on a cold and windy December night in a hostel in portree, and omg it was so perfectly cozy— like a warm hug! A fast read, I found myself so comforted by the story, especially getting to know all of the characters and not just Isla. I would agree with most others that it was pretty plotless, but I think given the set up I didn’t really mind! My only critique was that it felt like some of the characters were left unfinished, but I don’t think that hindered the book too much!

[Sarah Gaudenzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe one of the most soft and delicious book I’ve read this year

[Maelys · Rating 4 out of 5]

“There is water and sky and stars. It is big and empty and quiet. There is space to live, space to be.”

A short, cosy, feel-good family tale set in Scotland, on wild and stunning Isle of Skye.

The poetic title and the cover really pulled me in. I will read anything that suggests a sense of freedom, adventures around the sea and small cottages in Scotland!

There is not much of a plot - we meet Isla, a young woman who just inherited the Scottish cottage of her grand-father, whom she barely knew, and this will lead us to get to know several of her family members as they reconnect together, as we learn about their past with multiple timelines, and as Isla takes decisions about her future.

I loved reading about how Isla took the opportunity of inheriting the old cottage as the right time to spark a positive change in her life and start anew.

The novel reads like a cosy and quiet story and I loved that it was set on the Isle of Skye (a place that is dear to my heart). It has a feel-good vibe that can be very appreciated. The ending was perfect and I read the two last pages multiple times.

I was left wanting more though and I think that the book was too short with too many characters (maybe it is just me but I kept having to check the family tree at the beginning of the book), hence there was not enough time to develop them enough and make the reader care about all of them. Or maybe the issue was that the story was told from the point of view of each family member, with multiple timelines, and these choices would have worked better on a longer novel? I feel like there was not enough time to get to know everyone and remembering everything. The book could have been turned into an amazing multigenerational story, or maybe kept short but with more focus on some characters and less on others? I did wish that this novel was longer as I did enjoy reading it but some parts felt definitely too rushed and some characters too flat.

For anyone that likes generational stories, Isle of Skye and novels that make them feel cosy and warm!

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cover of this short novel pulled me in; the woman swimming in the water with seaweed beneath her and hills above. It was evocative for some reason and then I found out the story was set on Skye and I wanted to read it.

This is a relatively quiet and short family tale, but we meet generations of Isla’s family. We meet her father, who she doesn’t really know, the grandfather who leaves her the cottage, her seaweed collecting great-grandmother and her mother to name a few. I quite enjoyed meeting all the different generations and to see what made them tick. You see the tragedies, big and small that made them and which, in the end, made Isla herself.

At the end I am in two minds. I felt on one side that I really did enjoy the short sharp chapters and the flashes of lives that we drift through, but on the other hand I really wanted it to be longer and more developed. There was so much more I wanted to know and it did feel quite ‘bitty’. Yet, maybe that is also where the strength of this novel lies; the fact that it never lingers too long.

I did really enjoy this novel, despite the fact it left me a longing for a bit more than it gave me. This is the type of story that I enjoy and I will definitely seek out more from this author.

If the synopsis appeals to you I would happily recommend this one.

[Ink · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dancing in the Shallows is a gorgeous, heartwarming short read. The key elements are inter-generational relationships, the sea as a consistent metaphor and wonderful descriptions of the beauty of the Isle of Skye. I get the distinct ipression that Clare Reddaway has spent a lot of time at this stunning location due to the compassion and authenticity of her descriptions of the area

The story is about Isla, who inherits her grandfathers cottage on the Isle of Skye. She only met him once, and so wants to go to the property to check it out and is immediately entranced by the location

This is a book to read if you want to feel warm and happy, encouraged even. I really like how the sea was used as a metaphor throughout and the interplay between the individual family members. This book is that perfect cup of hot tea when you come in from the freezing rain and there is even a choccie biccie on the side. Wonderful

Thank you to Netgalley, Fairlight Books and Clare Reddaway for this lovely read. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

[Danielle McClellan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a quirky, but enjoyable short novel about ordinary people struggling to find their place in the world. Our protagonist, Isla, is a fully rounded character: unhappy, but open to change; creative; impulsive; feckless, but also capable of real growth. Her slow-but-sure trajectory reminds me of that great Samuel Beckett quote: "Try again. Fail again. Fail better." When the grandfather that she barely knew dies, she inherits a cabin and a new life. I was interested in reading this title because I recently enjoyed another book published by this press, and I appreciated the sensibilities behind both of the novels. This one was a bit more freeform than the last, and I am not sure that all of the strands fully worked for me, but I admired the writing style and the themes that the author grappled with--thoughtful ideas about family connection, trauma, loss, and reinvention and recreation through art and lived experience.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for making an ARC copy available to me.

[Mandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a gentle and engaging read, which I very much enjoyed; although with it being so slight I feel I will probably soon forget it. Isla Wintergreen unexpectedly inherits a cottage on the Isle of Skye, from the grandfather she has only seen once in her life at the age of seven. Perhaps this is the chance she has been waiting for, a chance to change her life and forge a new, more satisfying, future. Impulsively she gets in her car and sets off. Once there she becomes part of the local community, and gradually finds out more about her family’s past and the losses and disappointments that have carried on down through the generations. Not a lot happens, but that really doesn’t matter. It’s more of a contemplative read than a plot-based one. The writing is excellent, the pacing spot-on, and although it’s short gives the reader much to contemplate.

[Ellis (whatellisreadnext) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a really nice story, and I did enjoy reading it, I was just left craving a little more. This is likely a me problem. It reads very contemporary, which is fine for the right audience. I am a big fan of an inheritance trope, and when Isla inherits a house on the Isle of Skye after only meeting her grandad one time, I was punching the air, I mean what a dream. I think I've just realised my biggest issue with this, we didn't get enough time with anyone to care much about them. It had the makings of a great multigenerational story, so it's a real shame. I would still really recommend it if you're looking for something short and easy to follow that is full of heart and about carving your place in the world.

[Afra Binte Azad · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Dancing in the Shallows" is short yet quite profoundly woven tapestry of human lives. The prose is adorned with precisely detailed descriptions of idyllic landscapes. The author masterfully captures the nuances of human vulnerabilities, through the meticulous placement of the atmospheric undertones across the narrative canvas. Each character is intricately crafted, showcasing a diverse architecture of human vulnerabilities. Projecting the both good and bad of life adds a layer of authenticity to the storytelling. All in all, "Dancing in the Shallows" is beautifully written.



Thank you NetGalley and Fairlight Books for the ARC

[Mitsy_Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Isla has not seen her grandfather since she was seven, but when she unexpectedly inherits his cottage on the Isle of Skye. She thought of selling it, but when she visits it she is entranced by it so much that she decides to keep it. The book explores her relationships with her mum and etranged dad who sees the inhenritance as an opportunity to rebuild a bond with his daughter. The story gives us glimpses or her grandparents’ lives as well. It’s almost plotless and not the most memorable story, but it is so beautifully written that I couldn’t put it down. The author’s writing reminds me of Elizabeth Strout’s, so I highly recommend this if you appreciate such writing style!

[Shazza Hoppsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought this little book in a bookshop in Ullapool because I was on route to Skye. At first I thought it was fairly light and predictable but the chapter on the grandfather in Palestine was well done and then the different perspectives came together.
As this author introduces more complexity it will complement the evocative writing.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was a moment at the start when I thought I would hate this (a list of characters and their relationships to each other)! Fortunately, the writing is beautiful, and I enjoyed the clever unfolding of the layers of characters in this short but sweet book.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Does Goodreads ever lose record of your books? I swear I wrote a review of this one already when I finished it last month. It's so short! I think I loved it but am not sure. Note to self: reread closer to end of year.