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The Story of Land and Sea
Set in a small coastal town in North Carolina during the waning years of the American Revolution, this incandescent debut novel follows three generations of family—fathers and daughters, mother and son, master and slave, characters who yearn for redemption amidst a heady brew of war, kidnapping, slavery, and love.
Drawn to the ocean, ten-year-old Tabitha wanders the marshes of her small coastal village and listens to her father’s stories about his pirate voyages and the mother she never knew. Since the loss of his wife Helen, John has remained land-bound for their daughter, but when Tab contracts yellow fever, he turns to the sea once more. Desperate to save his daughter, he takes her aboard a sloop bound for Bermuda, hoping the salt air will heal her.
Years before, Helen herself was raised by a widowed father. Asa, the devout owner of a small plantation, gives his daughter a young slave named Moll for her tenth birthday. Left largely on their own, Helen and Moll develop a close but uneasy companionship. Helen gradually takes over the running of the plantation as the girls grow up, but when she meets John, the pirate turned Continental soldier, she flouts convention and her father’s wishes by falling in love. Moll, meanwhile, is forced into marriage with a stranger. Her only solace is her son, Davy, whom she will protect with a passion that defies the bounds of slavery.
In this elegant, evocative, and haunting debut, Katy Simpson Smith captures the singular love between parent and child, the devastation of love lost, and the lonely paths we travel in the name of renewal.
Drawn to the ocean, ten-year-old Tabitha wanders the marshes of her small coastal village and listens to her father’s stories about his pirate voyages and the mother she never knew. Since the loss of his wife Helen, John has remained land-bound for their daughter, but when Tab contracts yellow fever, he turns to the sea once more. Desperate to save his daughter, he takes her aboard a sloop bound for Bermuda, hoping the salt air will heal her.
Years before, Helen herself was raised by a widowed father. Asa, the devout owner of a small plantation, gives his daughter a young slave named Moll for her tenth birthday. Left largely on their own, Helen and Moll develop a close but uneasy companionship. Helen gradually takes over the running of the plantation as the girls grow up, but when she meets John, the pirate turned Continental soldier, she flouts convention and her father’s wishes by falling in love. Moll, meanwhile, is forced into marriage with a stranger. Her only solace is her son, Davy, whom she will protect with a passion that defies the bounds of slavery.
In this elegant, evocative, and haunting debut, Katy Simpson Smith captures the singular love between parent and child, the devastation of love lost, and the lonely paths we travel in the name of renewal.
246 pages, Hardcover
First published August 26, 2014
80 people are currently reading
5469 people want to read
About the author
Katy Simpson Smith
9 books172 followersKaty Simpson Smith attended Mount Holyoke College and received a PhD in history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an MFA from the Bennington Writing Seminars. She has been working as an Adjunct Professor at Tulane University and is the author of We Have Raised All of You: Motherhood in the South, 1750-1835. Her debut novel, The Story of Land and Sea, was published by Harper in August 2014. She lives in New Orleans.
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November 10, 2022
…to save her from the graveyard he must take her to the sea. He took her mother once, and being on the water only made her bloom.In 1793 ten-year-old Tabitha is smitten with the idea of the sea. Her father, John, an erstwhile pirate, and soldier in the Continental Army, owns a shop in Beaufort, NC. Tab’s affection for the maritime may have to do with her mother, Helen. John and Helen had eloped, over her father’s objections, and sailed together under a black flag. But her father’s tales are all Tab has of her mother, who died giving birth to her. When Tab contracts yellow fever John is desperate to find a way to help his daughter. They board a ship bound for Bermuda. This does not sit well with her grandfather, who believes her chances are best ashore, and well prayed over. Asa owns a plantation, producing turpentine from considerable stands of pines. A religious sort, he is hell-bent on making sure that his legacy is carried forward. When his wife died in childbirth, he focused that need on his daughter. But his attempts to root her to his land failed when she fell in love with John, a man of not much family, but an excellent heart.
The story is told in three parts, beginning with Tabitha’s struggle. Part two goes back to Asa raising Helen, giving her a slave, Moll, for her birthday, and the complicated relationship between Moll and Helen. While the comparison falls very short, both Moll and Helen are chained to their roles in life. Both resent their restrictions. But only Helen can actually act on her desires without being scourged for it. Asa is chained to his land and his attitudes, unable to see past what is to what might be, and unwilling to see beyond self-serving adages to what is right, to ever loosen himself from his own bindings.
Part three returns to John and Asa, Moll, and her son, Davy. It goes into how each of the primary characters ultimately copes or tries to cope, with the challenges of their lives, their losses, and chances.
Katy Simpson Smith has more than enough background for undertaking a look at America in the late 18th century. Before she returned to school to get her MFA, she completed a doctorate in history, and has published an examination of motherhood, We Have Raised All of You: Motherhood in the South, 1750-1835, which covers the period on display in her novel.
The author
It was a hard knock life for women in late 18th century America. Not only was the risk from childbirth far greater than it is today, even past that life-threatening event women were treated as chattel. Not to the same extent as actual slaves, but to a significant degree.
He [Asa] had a possessiveness in him that encompassed his house, his land, his womenAnd he would use marriage as a way to shackle both his daughter and her slave to his land. And what of the reverberations of the lot of females to those around them? Increased peril for their children, for one. Strained existence for their survivors, both emotionally and materially. And various forms of torment as the storms that rise from imprisonment bring forth dark gales. Parents are taken from children and children are taken from parents by the foolishness of custom, the limitations of ignorance and the blind eye of fate.
Thematically there is a lot going on here. Property views figure large. Asa considers Helen a form of property and takes as little heed of her wishes as he does of those of her slave, Moll. Marriage and choice come in for some consideration. Within that larger theme, both Moll and Helen confront the conflict between who their respective owners want them to marry and what they want for themselves.
“I wouldn’t mind if I had some say in who I laid down with.” [says Helen’s slave, Moll]It is also clear that love is not always allowed to be the greatest consideration in choosing a mate, or to define one’s relationship with a mate after the marriage is made.
Helen nods. She puts her chin in her hands, nodding. People want what isn’t given to them. And this is not sin, but hope.
What if God didn’t put us here to accept, but to struggle? Isn’t love itself built on that precise impossible hope?
“Do you miss your husband, Mrs Randolph?” He had died looking for free land in the frontier, shot through with a Cherokee arrow. His partner had buried him in the west and sent Mrs. Randolph his musket and his spectacles. The gun she keeps hung behind her cabin door, where all the little Randolphs know to find it.There is a tautness to this relatively brief novel. The concept of Checkov’s gun is well implemented. A beaten slave in one scene is employed relevantly in another. A notion of escape by boat is recommended and no sooner done than an actual boat appears. Sometimes this seemed a bit too neat. As is the bludgeoning irony of Asa freeing a panicked bird that is trapped in his house, while denying freedom to enslaved humans.
“I mostly miss the money he brought in, to speak frankly. He was a good father to the little ones and did well by us, but there’s something rather nice about one’s own life. Making decisions without someone to tell you ‘no, best not do that.’ He never thought I could do much for myself.”
“We’re lucky to have you,” Helen says.
“There’s no telling what all I can do without him, miss.
On the first page of the novel, John interrupts Tabitha’s request for more information about her mother.
He looks down the hall at the shadows whipping across the slats and holds a finger to his lips. “Can you hear any birds?”This certainly gives one the notion that birds might be related to souls of the dead, or shadows. Could be something else entirely of course. Birds might be functioning as a sort of Greek chorus. In any case, you might want to keep this in mind as you come across the many bird references throughout the book. Land references abound as well, as wood is noted many a time, particularly pine, and flowers.
The writing in The Story of Land and Sea is beautiful, moving, and insightful. The story begins:
On days in August when sea storms bite into the North Carolina coast, he drags a tick mattress into the hall and tells his daughter stories, true and false, about her mother. The wooden shutters clatter, and Tabitha folds blankets around them to build a softness for the storm. He always tells of their courting days, of her mother’s shyness. She looked like a straight tall pine from a distance, only when he got close could he see her trembling.There is plenty more where that came from.
“Was she scared?”
“Happy,” John says. “We were both happy.”
The Story of Land and Sea is a sturdy vessel that will take you to places worth seeing. This is one boat you won’t want to miss.
Review first posted – June 6, 2014
Publication dates
----------Hardcover - 8/26/14
----------Trade paperback - 7/21/15
This review has been cross-posted at Cootsreviews.com
=============================EXTRA STUFF
The book opens with an abridged version of an Isaac Watts hymn about the joys of heaven offering one a reason not to fear death. It seems an odd intro, given that the focus in the tale is, to a large degree, about the impact of death on those left behind (no, not in the Tim LeHaye way) with no assurance of a heavenly reward waiting. Perhaps it was intended ironically. In any case, the hymn is beautifully set to music by Red Mountain Music here.
From mentalfloss.com – The Historical Horror of Childbirth
The author’s site is now up.
A nifty interview with the author on NPR on 8/22/14
August 15, 2019
Regret only exists once the opportunity for change is gone.
this novel set in north carolina during the years 1771-1794, and is split into three separate narratives. it is a very quiet story, with some lovely writing in it, but i'm having difficulty trying to understand its "why." i see where there are references and flare-ups between the stories, but i'm struggling to find its cohesive purpose. all i really have is that it is a very subdued story about faith and duty and sacrifice and family, specifically parenthood. and about the small disappointments parents feel when their children grow into people different than they anticipated. and about mind-boggling spur-of-the-moment decisions based on impulsive emotion rather than long-term practicality and how some things only make sense in novels and that's where i start getting frustrated.
again, lovely writing, when describing the difference between a love whose foundation is faith in a careless and cruel god whose motives are obscure, and one more grounded in the corporeal:
He'd left the letter next to Helen's miniature in the parlor, where Asa would notice it. The older man always sought out the little painting on his visits, holding it when he could. He had a possessiveness in him that encompassed his house, his land, his women. And whatever didn't belong to him belonged to God. Asa would be happy to have the girl in heaven, might consider it safer than Beaufort, but John has no such faith. He could not leave his daughter's body with a man who would not mind it, whose vision of God implied the reclamation of his flock. John believes in flesh. His love survives no transubstantiation.
or the logic behind giving a ten-year-old girl her very own slave as a birthday present:
Helen is nothing like her mother, who was exactly the sort to be married well and loved calmly. Perhaps she would have taught her some of this passivity. But Helen's only mothers have been substitutes: the teacher, the cook, the slave. If she can't have a woman to hold her and love her, she should have a woman to order around. Moll, at least, will give her the pride and responsibility of stewardship. His daughter must be tamed enough to bring a husband and heir to the land, but otherwise her whims are of little concern to him.
or this passage that loses something when taken out of context, but it actually quite romantic:
She reaches for his hand. It's warm and dry, and she remembers for the first time his fingers on her mouth. She cannot bear the thought of leaving this island, the kindling fort. There is nothing she is not afraid of.
"You wrote so little," she says.
"You wrote of farming," he says.
She will go with him anywhere.
but overall it's the kind of writing that's never really resonated with me, not without some incredible storytelling to go along with it; some overarching theme or message or takeaway. the only unifying theme i can see binding the stories is disappointment. in expectations thwarted by god or family. in how the way we see the future can be drastically altered by illness and death, love, or the plans of those we have tied our imagined future to.
i'm certain to be in the minority with my tepid reaction to this one. read will's review for a more enthusiastic response and don't listen to silly old karen.
come to my blog!
this novel set in north carolina during the years 1771-1794, and is split into three separate narratives. it is a very quiet story, with some lovely writing in it, but i'm having difficulty trying to understand its "why." i see where there are references and flare-ups between the stories, but i'm struggling to find its cohesive purpose. all i really have is that it is a very subdued story about faith and duty and sacrifice and family, specifically parenthood. and about the small disappointments parents feel when their children grow into people different than they anticipated. and about mind-boggling spur-of-the-moment decisions based on impulsive emotion rather than long-term practicality and how some things only make sense in novels and that's where i start getting frustrated.
again, lovely writing, when describing the difference between a love whose foundation is faith in a careless and cruel god whose motives are obscure, and one more grounded in the corporeal:
He'd left the letter next to Helen's miniature in the parlor, where Asa would notice it. The older man always sought out the little painting on his visits, holding it when he could. He had a possessiveness in him that encompassed his house, his land, his women. And whatever didn't belong to him belonged to God. Asa would be happy to have the girl in heaven, might consider it safer than Beaufort, but John has no such faith. He could not leave his daughter's body with a man who would not mind it, whose vision of God implied the reclamation of his flock. John believes in flesh. His love survives no transubstantiation.
or the logic behind giving a ten-year-old girl her very own slave as a birthday present:
Helen is nothing like her mother, who was exactly the sort to be married well and loved calmly. Perhaps she would have taught her some of this passivity. But Helen's only mothers have been substitutes: the teacher, the cook, the slave. If she can't have a woman to hold her and love her, she should have a woman to order around. Moll, at least, will give her the pride and responsibility of stewardship. His daughter must be tamed enough to bring a husband and heir to the land, but otherwise her whims are of little concern to him.
or this passage that loses something when taken out of context, but it actually quite romantic:
She reaches for his hand. It's warm and dry, and she remembers for the first time his fingers on her mouth. She cannot bear the thought of leaving this island, the kindling fort. There is nothing she is not afraid of.
"You wrote so little," she says.
"You wrote of farming," he says.
She will go with him anywhere.
but overall it's the kind of writing that's never really resonated with me, not without some incredible storytelling to go along with it; some overarching theme or message or takeaway. the only unifying theme i can see binding the stories is disappointment. in expectations thwarted by god or family. in how the way we see the future can be drastically altered by illness and death, love, or the plans of those we have tied our imagined future to.
i'm certain to be in the minority with my tepid reaction to this one. read will's review for a more enthusiastic response and don't listen to silly old karen.
come to my blog!
December 13, 2017
This book was discussed on Episode 054 of the Reading Envy Podcast. I was expecting more pirates but still found this to be an interesting tale of Beaufort, SC, prior to and during the American Revolution, focusing on the lives of three women.
July 15, 2014
I received a free ARE copy from Harper Collins. And I really, really tried to like it: the jacket description sounded like something I would love. And I gave it a really good chance, completing the first two parts, but then got to Part 3 and am just not invested or interested enough to continue, and find out what happens. Once I found myself reading anything else but picking this up to finish, it was time to admit defeat and move on!
January 5, 2015
Can't I give it zero stars? It was like the author wanted the prose to sound pretty but didn't really care that the plot was tedious and depressing and her characters were uninteresting. A main character dies rendering that whole section pointless, the plots lines are disjointed and I was bored, bored, bored. Bored. I love historical fiction (which this was billed as) but THIS is NOT hitorical fiction. It's an author looking to write "literature." How about we write something readable next time.
August 2, 2016
The Story of Land and Sea by Katy Simpson Smith is a beautifully written story of the love that passes between parent and child, and the devastation when that love is lost. We highly recommend Smith’s debut novel.
April 9, 2017
I am stunned that this averages a starred review of 2.99 on GoodReads. That’s crap. The thing with this book is that it is split in to three parts and each part tells a different story. The first part is the story of John and his daughter, Tabitha. The second part is the story of John’s wife Helen as a child. The third part is the story of John. It disrupted me slightly when it shifted from part one to part two but I stuck with it. I had loved part one and I wanted to love it again so I kept reading hoping it would recapture my attention and it did. If I were to rate the parts separately I would rate them as part 1, part 3, part 2 because I really didn’t love Helen’s solo story although I didn’t dislike it. As the days go by I love this book more and more. It’s sad, but it’s fantastic. I loved it and it’s worth reading especially if you’re a fan of the literary fiction genre.
September 27, 2014
There's some lovely writing here, but the story itself is quiet, so subtle that the emotional moments were really lacking in vibrancy, and I felt disconnected from the characters. I disliked the disjointed structure of the book, and knowing the tragedies up front made me less inclined to finish it. I read Parts I and II, and I don't need to read Part III to tell it's, sadly, not the book for me.
September 26, 2014
THE STORY OF LAND AND SEA is beautifully written with exquisite prose.
The main character is Helen whose story is told before and after her death along with the tale of her husband, her father, her daughter, and Moll, a slave from the plantation and Helen's friend.
You will follow the characters through their lives on a plantation, on a ship, and in a regular household. The characters are an odd sort but ones with depth and with feelings that ooze through the pages simply because of Ms. Smith’s elegant writing style.
THE STORY OF LAND AND SEA takes the reader through complex situations with the reader being put directly into the story and being carried along with the characters and feeling every emotion especially their pain of loss.
I was a bit confused at first, but Ms. Smith writes so beautifully and so poignantly that you can't help but want to continue. THE STORY OF LAND AND SEA is a book unlike any other I have read simply because of the storyline and the time in history.
The confusion came about because of the time frame and order of dates. The book moves back and forth from past to present day in Helen and John's life but seemed to be out of order.
Despite the confusion, the book definitely will keep your interest and will keep you reading. Ms. Smith has written a thoughtful book in a time period that I wasn't familiar with and therefore made THE STORY OF LAND AND SEA even more intriguing and interesting.
I would recommend this book solely on the premise of the marvelous writing style Ms. Smith has and the background she gave as to why she wrote the book. The beauty of the reason Ms. Smith wrote the book makes THE STORY OF LAND AND SEA a stunning debut. 4/5 (See her video below)
This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.
March 9, 2015
I saw this author at a book festival. She talked about how she came to write this. As she read part I was entranced by the beauty of the writing, but many were not and people left as she was reading. I thought it was rude and apologized to the author, but she said she understood. Yes it is quite a bleak story, because life was hard then. The writing is beautiful and evocative, but very sad.
May 22, 2023
About 30% in, I dnf'd. The writing wasn't bad but I just couldn't get into it. I'm giving this 2.5 ⭐ and I'm glad it's finally off my tbr pile.
November 23, 2021
I finished this back in September and forgot to write a review - which I only do for stories I LOVE!
Katy Simpson Smith wrote deftly of a time that was difficult, when our country was young, and recovering from the fight for the freedoms we enjoy today. But the story is not about that. It's about a young girl named Tabitha, whose father, John, is already grieving the loss of Tabitha's mother, Helen. When the young girl contracts yellow fever, he takes her out to sea, a sea her mother loved, and where he hopes to heal her.
The story then sets out on a different path, taking the reader back to Tabitha's mother's childhood revealing how she grew up under the careful, watchful eye of her father, Asa. Asa owns a plantation of pines worked by slaves, and makes his money from the harvesting of pine resin. On Helen's tenth birthday, he gives her a slave girl, Moll. Part of the novel centers on their relationship, one of give and take, push and pull, of justice, and injustice, and all the emotional complexities that made them love and resent one another.
Both John and Asa contend for not only the love of Helen, but eventually Tabitha. John was not the sort of man Asa expected his daughter to marry. He was a pirate, turned soldier, and he committed the ultimate sin of taking her to sea, away from Asa, and out from under his control. Then Tabitha comes along, and Asa, much like John, diverts his love to his granddaughter after Helen is gone.
This is a condensed story, not very long, abut it is rich in detail, and we are transported back to post-Colonial times with ease. As the story progresses the timelines intersect and Asa and John will be forced to contend with one another in a very different manner than in their recent past where the realization they are not that different, that they loved the same people equally comes to light.
And then there is Moll, desirous of her freedom, and the difficulty Asa perceives in this, which is really his own inability to simply let go. To let go of Helen, Tabitha, and even Moll.
Highly recommend to those who enjoy reading unique historical fiction!
Katy Simpson Smith wrote deftly of a time that was difficult, when our country was young, and recovering from the fight for the freedoms we enjoy today. But the story is not about that. It's about a young girl named Tabitha, whose father, John, is already grieving the loss of Tabitha's mother, Helen. When the young girl contracts yellow fever, he takes her out to sea, a sea her mother loved, and where he hopes to heal her.
The story then sets out on a different path, taking the reader back to Tabitha's mother's childhood revealing how she grew up under the careful, watchful eye of her father, Asa. Asa owns a plantation of pines worked by slaves, and makes his money from the harvesting of pine resin. On Helen's tenth birthday, he gives her a slave girl, Moll. Part of the novel centers on their relationship, one of give and take, push and pull, of justice, and injustice, and all the emotional complexities that made them love and resent one another.
Both John and Asa contend for not only the love of Helen, but eventually Tabitha. John was not the sort of man Asa expected his daughter to marry. He was a pirate, turned soldier, and he committed the ultimate sin of taking her to sea, away from Asa, and out from under his control. Then Tabitha comes along, and Asa, much like John, diverts his love to his granddaughter after Helen is gone.
This is a condensed story, not very long, abut it is rich in detail, and we are transported back to post-Colonial times with ease. As the story progresses the timelines intersect and Asa and John will be forced to contend with one another in a very different manner than in their recent past where the realization they are not that different, that they loved the same people equally comes to light.
And then there is Moll, desirous of her freedom, and the difficulty Asa perceives in this, which is really his own inability to simply let go. To let go of Helen, Tabitha, and even Moll.
Highly recommend to those who enjoy reading unique historical fiction!
March 1, 2017
Exquisite writing, but there is something fundamental missing.
September 3, 2014
For ten years now John has raised his daughter, Tabitha, alone. His beloved wife, Helen, died in childbirth leaving the two of them to fend for themselves. And now Tabitha has taken ill. The doctor says there's nothing to do but wait and John's father-in-law says that he must pray. But John knows exactly what will heal his daughter - the same sea air that his Helen once thrived in.
Wow, what a freaking downer of a book! That is not what I was in the mood for at all.
Katy Simpson Smith's fiction debut is set in Beaufort around the time of the Revolutionary War. It first tells the tale of John and Tabitha, then jumps back in time to introduce Helen before bouncing back to John and Helen's father. The Story of Land and Sea is not a straightforward narrative, but instead turned out to be little nuggets of story pieced together to make a whole. So rather than a smooth read it's very jarring and segmented.
The good thing about it is that it's fairly short. The bad thing about it, for me, is that I didn't really like it. Actually, the tale is interesting but the way it's told just didn't hook me.
Wow, what a freaking downer of a book! That is not what I was in the mood for at all.
Katy Simpson Smith's fiction debut is set in Beaufort around the time of the Revolutionary War. It first tells the tale of John and Tabitha, then jumps back in time to introduce Helen before bouncing back to John and Helen's father. The Story of Land and Sea is not a straightforward narrative, but instead turned out to be little nuggets of story pieced together to make a whole. So rather than a smooth read it's very jarring and segmented.
The good thing about it is that it's fairly short. The bad thing about it, for me, is that I didn't really like it. Actually, the tale is interesting but the way it's told just didn't hook me.
February 9, 2015
Melancholic read about life's disappointments and the pain of living. Bleak but with intelligent writing (though I wondered a bit about the choice of present tense). I waffled between giving this 2 or 3 stars.
May 19, 2015
There are books that are suspenseful or romantic or funny....The Story of Land and Sea is beautiful.
I was immediately drawn in by Smith's writing. Her voice is surprisingly lyrical for a debut author and, if nothing else, I'm glad that this book introduced me to her work. She was able to vividly recreate the world of late 18th-century North Carolina so well that it made me homesick for the years I spent living in that part of the country.
The characters quickly became dear to my heart. We have John, the ex-Pirate (yes!) turned soldier, his vivacious wife Helen, his spunky daughter Tab, and his widowed father-in-law, Asa. Along with this family, we have Moll, the slave given to Helen when they were both children, and her oldest son, Davy. Each and every character came to life as I read and I fell a bit in love with each and every one of them.
This book is more a study than it is a story. Smith takes her time to really delve into each and every relationship in this book--and not a single one of them is simple. However, in exchange, this is not a strongly-plotted novel. Personally, I'm fine with that--I would choose a character-driven book over a plot-driven book any day of the week.
However, because of that, I feel I can't give this book the 5 stars that it was for me. I suspect that some readers may be frustrated with the less-developed plot, especially if they are more interested in the story than the characters. On the other hand, those who put more stock in well developed characters and setting would likely fall in love with this book as I did.
I received a copy of this book in return for an honest review. I received no other compensation for this post.
I was immediately drawn in by Smith's writing. Her voice is surprisingly lyrical for a debut author and, if nothing else, I'm glad that this book introduced me to her work. She was able to vividly recreate the world of late 18th-century North Carolina so well that it made me homesick for the years I spent living in that part of the country.
The characters quickly became dear to my heart. We have John, the ex-Pirate (yes!) turned soldier, his vivacious wife Helen, his spunky daughter Tab, and his widowed father-in-law, Asa. Along with this family, we have Moll, the slave given to Helen when they were both children, and her oldest son, Davy. Each and every character came to life as I read and I fell a bit in love with each and every one of them.
This book is more a study than it is a story. Smith takes her time to really delve into each and every relationship in this book--and not a single one of them is simple. However, in exchange, this is not a strongly-plotted novel. Personally, I'm fine with that--I would choose a character-driven book over a plot-driven book any day of the week.
However, because of that, I feel I can't give this book the 5 stars that it was for me. I suspect that some readers may be frustrated with the less-developed plot, especially if they are more interested in the story than the characters. On the other hand, those who put more stock in well developed characters and setting would likely fall in love with this book as I did.
I received a copy of this book in return for an honest review. I received no other compensation for this post.
August 27, 2014
A novel at once delicate and straightforward in its treatment of relationships, love, and loss. Simpson Smith tells of the intricate and often uncomfortable interactions between a distant father who discovers he wants to love his family too late, a man whose child becomes the lodestar in his life, a slave woman who holds herself ruthlessly apart from affection but cannot help but care for even her white mistress, and a religiously righteous young woman who moves from staunch independence to fall in love with a former pirate and soldier. This book is lonesome and vast, like the land and sea after which it is named. My only critique came from an ending that confused me in terms of timing and meaning.
October 23, 2015
I couldn't find anything to like about this book. None of the characters were interesting to me, none of them had any redeemable or even sympathetic qualities. For an historical novel written by someone with a doctorate in history, I found it devoid of historical specifics or any of the little special details that are supposed to make historical fiction interesting. The entire story was flat and featureless, sad and depressing.
Not recommended at all.
1/5
Not recommended at all.
1/5
August 28, 2014
The language in this book is stunning, as is the story it depicts. The characters seem almost sketched at times yet never lose their depth. Smith has managed to draw nuanced people out of striking language without falling into clunky, over-wrought prose. The stories she tells transcend generations and indeed centuries, pulling us into the world of late 18th century North Carolina while never making their struggles feel distant or irrelevant to our world today.
As soon as I finished the book, I turned to the front page and began rereading it to drink in the language that I tend to gloss over when I am being pulled forward through the storyline of a book. I feel like I'm eating a delicious meal when I'm hungry: I want to slowly savor every bite, but I end up eating too quickly. A second read has allowed me to revel in the words, turns of phrase, and imagery that drift from each page.
As soon as I finished the book, I turned to the front page and began rereading it to drink in the language that I tend to gloss over when I am being pulled forward through the storyline of a book. I feel like I'm eating a delicious meal when I'm hungry: I want to slowly savor every bite, but I end up eating too quickly. A second read has allowed me to revel in the words, turns of phrase, and imagery that drift from each page.
July 8, 2014
This is a beautifully written story of love between parent and child, and devastating loss. Set in a small coastal town at the end of the American Revolution. Landowner Asa, a widower, depends on his only daughter, Helen to run the plantation. Though he hopes for an heir he refuses to give his approval for Helen to marry John, a former solider. John and Helen marry anyway and take off to the sea. When Helen perishes during childbirth, Asa blames John for taking away his daughter. The child Tabitha is caught between the two men and when she contracts yellow fever John takes to the sea again hoping the salt air will heal her. Asa sees God as a tyrant, taking away his wife, daughter and granddaughter to punish him for his sins.
Meanwhile Moll, Helen’s slave girl struggles with her own loveless marriage and with being a mother to children that can be taken away from her at any moment.
Meanwhile Moll, Helen’s slave girl struggles with her own loveless marriage and with being a mother to children that can be taken away from her at any moment.
April 22, 2024
I enjoyed this, particularly the first part.
October 1, 2014
Occasionally, I read a book that even after a day or two of reflection I am still not sure what I feel about the book and I am thus stumped when someone asks me how I would rate this book (and not liking to rank a book as I believe most books are much more than their ratings).
I was interested to read this book for several reasons; I enjoy historical fiction, North Carolina (the setting for the book) is now my new home state so enjoying learning the history of the area, and the author has written a history book.
I enjoyed how the author was able to take me to a particular place and time – the waning days of the American Revolutionary War set in a small prospering coastal town in North Carolina whose growth will be spurred by the growing town of New Bern. The book informs and reminds how challenging childbirth was in the past, often with the mother not surviving and how this changed the dynamics of childrearing. While I had no issues with the lyrical yet taut language it did not invest me in the characters. The story format also contributed to my often lack of interest in the characters as the first part told me a little too much of what to expect for the rest of the book.
Themes of duty, devotion, free will and self-blame are well played out and the self-rationalization of the characters show-off that human nature is the same across time. For many in current times, slavery has one face but the author shows us slavery in time as it was evolving into the formal institution that defined the United States and those that were enslaved did not believe the “hype” that sometimes cane from the “caring” slaveholders.
Overall, this book added to my knowledge of time and place despite my lack of connection to the characters.
I was interested to read this book for several reasons; I enjoy historical fiction, North Carolina (the setting for the book) is now my new home state so enjoying learning the history of the area, and the author has written a history book.
I enjoyed how the author was able to take me to a particular place and time – the waning days of the American Revolutionary War set in a small prospering coastal town in North Carolina whose growth will be spurred by the growing town of New Bern. The book informs and reminds how challenging childbirth was in the past, often with the mother not surviving and how this changed the dynamics of childrearing. While I had no issues with the lyrical yet taut language it did not invest me in the characters. The story format also contributed to my often lack of interest in the characters as the first part told me a little too much of what to expect for the rest of the book.
Themes of duty, devotion, free will and self-blame are well played out and the self-rationalization of the characters show-off that human nature is the same across time. For many in current times, slavery has one face but the author shows us slavery in time as it was evolving into the formal institution that defined the United States and those that were enslaved did not believe the “hype” that sometimes cane from the “caring” slaveholders.
Overall, this book added to my knowledge of time and place despite my lack of connection to the characters.
November 16, 2014
I'm rather at a loss on how to review this book, but the only difference is whether I should give it a 3 star or 2, as I eventually did. This story is about an ex-pirate, during the waning years of the Revolutionary War, in a small coastal community of North Carolina.The loss of women that figure prominently throughout the book both slaves and non, and the men who loved them. I was looking forward to this book but it was rather disjointed, and certainly slow moving and rather depressing. Descriptions of time and place were redundant and did not move things along. This was the authors debut book, and while I appreciated some historical aspects of the book, the story itself was not to my liking. So much more could have been made of this time and place in history. I note that it's now selling as $1.99 on Kindle. I don't think it was as warmly received as the publisher thought it would be. I would not recommend this.
October 3, 2014
Set in coastal North Carolina during the American Revolution, this novel follows Tabitha, a little girl who loves her father's stories from his days as a pirate, and her mother Helen, who died giving birth to Tabitha years before. Using eloquent, meticulous, and at times biblical prose, the author explores loss, the love between parent and child, and what it means to expand our horizons. While heartbreaking, this novel captures the senses and moves the reader in a way I have not encountered in a very long time.
Anna C. / Marathon County Public Library
Find this book in our library catalog.
July 4, 2014
I received an ARC at BEA. Smith's writing is so lovely that it's worth reading this novel. There are many beautiful parts and I wanted to love the book, but I didn't.
I felt Smith cared the writing style much more than actual stories. It felt superficial and the tragedies and sorrow didn't move me. It was a pleasure to read such a well-written book, but I will not remember about John or Tab in a few months.
I felt Smith cared the writing style much more than actual stories. It felt superficial and the tragedies and sorrow didn't move me. It was a pleasure to read such a well-written book, but I will not remember about John or Tab in a few months.
December 5, 2021
Katy Simpson Smith's first novel (2014) is an engrossing family saga set in the late 18th century in my home state of North Carolina, featuring towns and cities I've visited (Beaufort, New Bern) and even lived (Hillsborough, a former capital of the state). It follows the lives of three generations of a slave-owning family headed by patriarch and slave owner Asa, as well as Moll, a slave who is purchased for daughter Helen when they are both girls close in age. The girls' relationship alternates between friendly and uncomfortable due to the difference in their statuses.
As the title intimates, the action takes place both on the high seas and and on land, and it was dark, overall, as much loss and tragedy befalls this family through the generations. Once I got into the author's rhythm and became comfortable with switching time periods during the book, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I only wish the ending had a bit more resolution; I was surprised there wasn't an epilogue, but I suppose the author wanted to leave the ending up to the readers' imaginations.
As the title intimates, the action takes place both on the high seas and and on land, and it was dark, overall, as much loss and tragedy befalls this family through the generations. Once I got into the author's rhythm and became comfortable with switching time periods during the book, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I only wish the ending had a bit more resolution; I was surprised there wasn't an epilogue, but I suppose the author wanted to leave the ending up to the readers' imaginations.
January 6, 2015
As seen on my blog:
It is that elated sense of being, when all of your feelings seem to be resonating not only in your heart, but in every other limb and organ in your body. It's that moment when printed words have the ability to move you beyond a smile, or a chuckle, or a tear. It was The Story of Land and Sea that had me in awe of that literary potential. It was a story that seemed to have been written to only speak to itself, to exist quietly, with no hopes of falling into another's hands-it was that sure of itself. But it did, it not only fell into my hands, but it obliterated my heart with it's emotion, with it's consistent portrayal of loss, and abandonment. Not an uplifting story, but had I not read it, it's absence would have been a tangible thing.
We begin in 1793 (officially the furthest back I've experienced in a narrative). Told in three parts, from different points of view, in different moments in time, The Story of Land and Sea follows a family, and all of the hearts that exist around them, and within them. It is a story of grief, but also one of such love, and longing. It begins with Tabitha and her father John, and continues with wistful descriptions of the sea, memories of Tabitha's deceased and beloved mother Helen, and the hardships no single father should ever endure. In Part Two, we find a young and incredibly mature 10-year-old Helen. There are stronger mentions and implications of religion, as we delve deeper into the mindset of the ghost of a women we met earlier. We also meet Moll, the slave that is "gifted" to Helen on her birthday. This section was definitely the foundation, the area that answered floating questions-it was also the most enjoyable for me. Part Three brings together the people that were most prominent in Helen's life: her father, her husband John, her slave Moll, and Moll's son Davy. The slowest moving section for sure, but not for lack of intense beauty, that of which defines this entire novel.
To be honest, the era this book existed in had me doubting it's entertainment value-it's ability to keep me hooked. But hooked I was, though not necessarily on characters and setting, but my GOD, on that writing. The way the author combined a simple string of words, the way those strings then attached themselves to my heart, and pulled whenever it got a chance. I was mesmerized, and caught up in perpetual awe. I urge you to not ignore this book, to pick a place in your heart, or in your home, that you feel the most comfort, and experience this book.
Recommended for Fans of: Historical Fiction, American Revolution in Fiction, Diana Gabaldon.
It is that elated sense of being, when all of your feelings seem to be resonating not only in your heart, but in every other limb and organ in your body. It's that moment when printed words have the ability to move you beyond a smile, or a chuckle, or a tear. It was The Story of Land and Sea that had me in awe of that literary potential. It was a story that seemed to have been written to only speak to itself, to exist quietly, with no hopes of falling into another's hands-it was that sure of itself. But it did, it not only fell into my hands, but it obliterated my heart with it's emotion, with it's consistent portrayal of loss, and abandonment. Not an uplifting story, but had I not read it, it's absence would have been a tangible thing.
We begin in 1793 (officially the furthest back I've experienced in a narrative). Told in three parts, from different points of view, in different moments in time, The Story of Land and Sea follows a family, and all of the hearts that exist around them, and within them. It is a story of grief, but also one of such love, and longing. It begins with Tabitha and her father John, and continues with wistful descriptions of the sea, memories of Tabitha's deceased and beloved mother Helen, and the hardships no single father should ever endure. In Part Two, we find a young and incredibly mature 10-year-old Helen. There are stronger mentions and implications of religion, as we delve deeper into the mindset of the ghost of a women we met earlier. We also meet Moll, the slave that is "gifted" to Helen on her birthday. This section was definitely the foundation, the area that answered floating questions-it was also the most enjoyable for me. Part Three brings together the people that were most prominent in Helen's life: her father, her husband John, her slave Moll, and Moll's son Davy. The slowest moving section for sure, but not for lack of intense beauty, that of which defines this entire novel.
To be honest, the era this book existed in had me doubting it's entertainment value-it's ability to keep me hooked. But hooked I was, though not necessarily on characters and setting, but my GOD, on that writing. The way the author combined a simple string of words, the way those strings then attached themselves to my heart, and pulled whenever it got a chance. I was mesmerized, and caught up in perpetual awe. I urge you to not ignore this book, to pick a place in your heart, or in your home, that you feel the most comfort, and experience this book.
Recommended for Fans of: Historical Fiction, American Revolution in Fiction, Diana Gabaldon.
July 28, 2015
The Story of Land and Sea opens with young Tabitha contracting yellow fever on her tenth birthday. Her father and grandfather, having already lost her mother in childbirth, are desperate to save her despite the limitations of 18th century medicine. Her father takes to the sea with her in tow, thinking that the sea air will cure her. After all, he took her mother to the sea when they first married and she blossomed into the woman he loved with all his heart.
Flashing back 20 years, Tabitha's mother Helen is a young girl receiving her first slave on her tenth birthday. Helen is a serious, bossy soul, teaching the neighborhood slaves on Sunday and becoming perfectly poised to take the reins of her father's turpentine business. And then she meets a soldier.
Hmm. That story I just described is exciting and I'd like to read it. This book is not that book. This book is much more Literary-with-a-capital-L. Instead of the action-y love story I was hoping for, I found a book that explores the holes that grief leaves in the lives of those left behind. It is well-written but I somehow felt removed from the story. I didn't feel like I really knew any of the characters; I only knew their grief.
The book does have a strong sense of place, which is what I was hoping for. I'm a North Carolina girl and we always spent our summer vacations on the coast when I was growing up. I was really excited when I realized that the book is set in Beaufort. We always spent a day exploring the town, eating ice cream at the marina, checking out the maritime museum, and choosing which yacht would be ours if we ever won the lottery. This post-Revolutionary War Beaufort is strangely colorless. It's hot and muggy, as it should be, but it's so hot that all the color has been bleached from the town. I can't describe it better than that.
There are definitely readers who will enjoy this, and they'll be readers who like their books to be more Literary and thoughtful than I generally do. Despite the beautiful writing, this really wasn't the book for me.
Thanks to the publisher for giving me a copy of the book for review.
Flashing back 20 years, Tabitha's mother Helen is a young girl receiving her first slave on her tenth birthday. Helen is a serious, bossy soul, teaching the neighborhood slaves on Sunday and becoming perfectly poised to take the reins of her father's turpentine business. And then she meets a soldier.
Hmm. That story I just described is exciting and I'd like to read it. This book is not that book. This book is much more Literary-with-a-capital-L. Instead of the action-y love story I was hoping for, I found a book that explores the holes that grief leaves in the lives of those left behind. It is well-written but I somehow felt removed from the story. I didn't feel like I really knew any of the characters; I only knew their grief.
The book does have a strong sense of place, which is what I was hoping for. I'm a North Carolina girl and we always spent our summer vacations on the coast when I was growing up. I was really excited when I realized that the book is set in Beaufort. We always spent a day exploring the town, eating ice cream at the marina, checking out the maritime museum, and choosing which yacht would be ours if we ever won the lottery. This post-Revolutionary War Beaufort is strangely colorless. It's hot and muggy, as it should be, but it's so hot that all the color has been bleached from the town. I can't describe it better than that.
There are definitely readers who will enjoy this, and they'll be readers who like their books to be more Literary and thoughtful than I generally do. Despite the beautiful writing, this really wasn't the book for me.
Thanks to the publisher for giving me a copy of the book for review.
November 20, 2014
This debut by Katy Simpson Smith was a quick read for me on the treadmill, a story thematically rich with clean, concise writing – in many places striking and beautiful.
Set in three non-linear timelines during the late 1700s, the novel covers the lives of Asa and his daughter Helen; and John and his daughter Tabitha – and all the regrets both men have about the women loved during their lives. The characters of Moll (Helen’s maidservant) and her son Davy were, to me, the most engaging, even though they were supporting actors on the book’s stage.
The author does a wonderful job of sprinkling references to land and sea throughout, and describing the tug and pull of the natural world on the characters. I also enjoyed the lush descriptions of the coastal surroundings, but the abrupt ending left me feeling like the book wasn’t quite finished. At only 256 pages, it was slim. I wish the author had used those pages to tell us more!
This historical novel is one of loss and regret, as well as man’s struggle with religion and its perceived order. It’s about parenthood and sacrifice and never-ending battles with conscience. It’s about leaving behind a legacy and the pride of man. Thematically it might be best summed up by one of the lines in the story: “people want what isn’t given to them.”
Set in three non-linear timelines during the late 1700s, the novel covers the lives of Asa and his daughter Helen; and John and his daughter Tabitha – and all the regrets both men have about the women loved during their lives. The characters of Moll (Helen’s maidservant) and her son Davy were, to me, the most engaging, even though they were supporting actors on the book’s stage.
The author does a wonderful job of sprinkling references to land and sea throughout, and describing the tug and pull of the natural world on the characters. I also enjoyed the lush descriptions of the coastal surroundings, but the abrupt ending left me feeling like the book wasn’t quite finished. At only 256 pages, it was slim. I wish the author had used those pages to tell us more!
This historical novel is one of loss and regret, as well as man’s struggle with religion and its perceived order. It’s about parenthood and sacrifice and never-ending battles with conscience. It’s about leaving behind a legacy and the pride of man. Thematically it might be best summed up by one of the lines in the story: “people want what isn’t given to them.”
January 20, 2015
“She will be the last bird to leave, and his forest will become as silent as winter.”
Sparing yet descriptive prose. An unromanticized tale of love and heart-wrenching losses during the Revolutionary War. Set in southeastern North Carolina, the waters of the Atlantic Ocean convey little warmth and pleasure. Instead they are a metaphor for the push and pull of feelings, choices, decisions, and relationships of the lives of the characters in this story. Though I hoped for different outcomes for some of the characters and did not always like what was happening in the story, I was still swept along by the author’s style of writing and imagery.
Sparing yet descriptive prose. An unromanticized tale of love and heart-wrenching losses during the Revolutionary War. Set in southeastern North Carolina, the waters of the Atlantic Ocean convey little warmth and pleasure. Instead they are a metaphor for the push and pull of feelings, choices, decisions, and relationships of the lives of the characters in this story. Though I hoped for different outcomes for some of the characters and did not always like what was happening in the story, I was still swept along by the author’s style of writing and imagery.
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