Sage Island

by Samantha Warwick

It's the mid-1920s and New York is shimmering with the hope and vigour of a younger generation in headlong pursuit of greater freedoms and pleasures. Watching from the sidelines, nineteen-year-old Savanna Mason struggles with the gravity of her perceived failures, finding release and security in the water. Savi believes that her swimming has the power to change her world. Just as it seems this notion has been shattered for good, she embarks on a journey to the Wrigley Ocean Marathon-a twenty-two-mile race from Catalina Island to Los Angeles. Inspired by true events, with vivid glimpses of Prohibition, class antagonism and the evolving attitudes of the flapper era, Sage Island is a poignant novel about a young woman diving and surfacing.

Genres: Fiction, Book Club

233 pages, Paperback

First published August 11, 2008

About the author

I'm a Canadian writer, living and working in Calgary, Alberta. My first novel, Sage Island, was released in 2008 with Brindle & Glass. Shorter pieces of nonfiction and poetry have been broadcast on CBC Radio and appeared in various literary and commercial publications including Geist, Event, The Globe & Mail and FASHION. I coach an adult masters swim team and have competed in long-distance open water swim races in British Columbia, California, New York and Spain. I'm currently working on my second novel, and sometimes I blog! www.samanthawarwick.com.

Reviews

[Ali Dooley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful work of historical fiction. Did I want to read a book about swimming? Not particularly - but this is so much more. Highly recommend.

[Keely Dunn · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are a lot of amazing things in this book, but I want to highlight one element I have rarely seen explored in fiction: the experience of failure as an athlete. Savi's reactions to her stumbles in swimming are authentic, making her even more likeable as the book goes on. Add in a masterful nonlinear narrative perfect for this story, lush descriptions that never overshadow the plot, complex secondary characters... just lovely.

[Jerry Auld · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful story that delves into so many deep places - especially our need to achieve and construct our own personality. If you have ever wondered what a great test of your soul would be, open these covers, and I dare you to roll back un-affected.

[Angie Abdou · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review forthcoming (November 1) on www.abdou.ca/litpicks.html

[Ashley J.J. White · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know those authors who can do it all? Compelling characters, strong narrative with high stakes, a rich sense of place, AND breathtaking prose? Samantha Warwick is one of those authors. Every single sentence in her gorgeous novel Sage Island—a deep dive (pun intended) into women’s competitive swimming in 1920s America—feels so well considered, each word so artfully placed. To demonstrate, I’ll pick a random page, close my eyes and point to a sentence. Here goes.

Page 128: “An orchestra was playing slow jazzy songs somewhere in the vicinity; brass and piano streamed and whirled in musical eddies.”

Let’s try another one. Page 75: “She motions for me to come over, but still agitated by her rumour-mongering, I stay where I am, sitting on a flat rock by the fire, and watch the last of daylight disappear into an obsidian sky.”

How about one more? Page 212. “The monotonous repetition of stroking through wild, open water—a primal sense of peace, cleansing atonement, the peeling, stripping, moulting out of myself, out of my skin, an estrangement from all things human, societal constraints, expectations, the disease of materialism, sex.”

I’m telling you, I could do this all day. There is not a single throwaway sentence in this entire book. In this way, her writing reminds me of one of my all-time favourite authors, Ann Patchett. Warwick’s writing ticks all my boxes the same way Patchett’s does. When you embark on a novel by either of these two authors, you become truly invested in the characters and expertly led through a cohesive, compelling story adorned by ornate (but not gratuitously so) prose.

And yet, Warwick’s style is distinctly her own. She deals with structure and plays with time in such a clever way. In this book, the protagonist Savanna’s story unfolds from two braided timelines: Savi before the Channel race and Savi during and after. It’s such an exciting way to tell a story; the reader has a sort of power over past Savi, knowing where she’ll end up, but also a deep curiosity over what brought her to present day.

I love everything about this book. Read it, will you? I promise, no interest in long-distance swimming required. Just an awesome story, beautifully told. <3

[Vivian Zenari · Rating 2 out of 5]

For me the decision to segment the plot out of chronology weakened the novel. There was no build up of tension for the reader to experience along with the protagonist. As a result the stakes remained obscure. The details of swim training in themselves did not interest me.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

I discovered this remarkable novel by chance at a second hand bookstore in NYC and was interested to find it was set in 1920s NY and California, based around true events, and written by a young Canadian author. I enjoyed Savi’s refreshing anti-heroine narrative, the unpredictable turns of the story, the accuracy of the historical detail, the smooth integration of the 1920s slang, physicality of the writing (swimming sections are particularly stunning), overall tight language and well-crafted pace. The narrator’s steely (sometimes angsty) voice rang true right off the bat gaining depth, traction and complexity as the story unfolds. Curious, I researched the book online after thoroughly enjoying it in one sitting (the novel gains momentum as you read) because I wanted to know of Warwick’s’ other novels. I found plenty of great reviews of Sage Island in Canadian newspapers – some interesting posts on Warwick’s website/blog. She is completing her second novel and I look forward to reading it. Difficult to believe Sage Island was her first book. That she wrote the book before she was 30 is impressive. The book is more accomplished than most first novels.

[Landra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sage Island is an interesting book about failure, love, and opportunity. It tells the story of Savannah "Savi" Mason, a nineteen-year-old living in New York during the 1920s, the Flapper Era. Savi is an ardent swimmer who barely misses the cut for the Olympics. Later, she is sponsored to swim across the English Channel. However, when Trudy Ederle completes the swim just three weeks before Savi plans to attempt, her backers are no longer interested in financing her....you'll have to read it to find out!

[Jodi McIsaac · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved Sage Island. The writing is beautiful, the setting is fascinating, the protagonist is extremely relatable. It took me a little bit to get used to the first-person-present-tense narration, but once I found my groove the rest of the story hummed along, um, swimmingly. The attention to detail was brilliant. Most of all, the beauty of the language was a pleasure to read. Would gladly immerse myself in another work by this author.

[Gloria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a terrific read. It was focused on Savanna Mason and her desire to be a champion swimmer, first in the Olympics and then in the world of long distance swimming. She is driven to excel, and throughout the story we see her grappling with the 1920's attitudes toward women and women athletes. The most moving and evocative sections are definitely her mental reveries and wanderings while swimming. I was exhausted afterwards.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this book - beautifully written, fascinating characters and very engaging even though I was never a swimmer. Metaphorically I think the book is about perseverance which relates to so many aspects of life, and the period detail is wonderful.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was super interesting since I am a swimmer and it is so weird to look at the times that got them into the OLYMPICS in 1926 and think "Wow. If it were 1926, I would be an Olympian"

[D Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story, characters, quirky 1920s details, evocative; interesting and well-written.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

book club book, April 2011, local authors