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The Mountain and the Sea
Esther, a painter living in Jamaica and recovering from the death of her husband, comes across a man on a mountain road with no memory of his past. As a hurricane rushes towards the island, she shelters the handsome stranger, names him “Monty”, and tries to uncover the mystery of his missing memory. She soon finds herself falling in love with a man she barely knows, and who doesn’t even know himself.
The Mountain and the Sea is a romantic tale about letting go of the past and embracing the present. Set on the lush Jamaican coast, the poetic prose brings to life the warmth of the sands, the spice in the foods, and the passion of a Caribbean love affair. This is a story for listeners who long for an escape to a faraway place, and for a journey inside the secrets of the human heart. It’s a story that explores the question: How can we leave the pain of our old relationships behind and give ourselves a new chance at love?
3 hrs and 17 mins
Performance Audio
The Mountain and the Sea is a romantic tale about letting go of the past and embracing the present. Set on the lush Jamaican coast, the poetic prose brings to life the warmth of the sands, the spice in the foods, and the passion of a Caribbean love affair. This is a story for listeners who long for an escape to a faraway place, and for a journey inside the secrets of the human heart. It’s a story that explores the question: How can we leave the pain of our old relationships behind and give ourselves a new chance at love?
3 hrs and 17 mins
Performance Audio
4 pages, Audible Audio
First published April 2, 2020
28 people are currently reading
797 people want to read
About the author
Kwame Dawes
119 books180 followersBorn in Ghana in 1962, Kwame Dawes spent most of his childhood and early adult life in Jamaica . As a poet, he is profoundly influenced by the rhythms and textures of that lush place, citing in a recent interview his "spiritual, intellectual, and emotional engagement with reggae music." His book Bob Marley: Lyrical Genius remains the most authoritative study of the lyrics of Bob Marley.
His 11th collection of verse, Wisteria: Poems From the Swamp Country, was published in January 2006. In February, 2007 Akashic Books published his novel, She's Gone and Peepal Tree Books published his 12th collection of poetry, Impossible Flying, and his non-fiction work, A Far Cry From Plymouth Rock: A Personal Narrative.
His essays have appeared in numerous journals including Bomb Magazine, The London Review of Books, Granta, Essence, World Literature Today and Double Take Magazine.
In October, 2007, his thirteenth book of poems, Gomer's Song will appear on the Black Goat imprint of Akashic Books. Dawes has seen produced some twenty of his plays over the past twenty-five years including, most recently a production of his musical, One Love, at the Lyric Hammersmith in London .
Kwame Dawes is Distinguished Poet in Residence, Louis Frye Scudder Professor of Liberal Arts and Founder and executive Director of the South Carolina Poetry Initiative. He is the director of the University of South Carolina Arts Institute and the programming director of the Calabash International Literary Festival, which takes place in Jamaica in May of each year.
His 11th collection of verse, Wisteria: Poems From the Swamp Country, was published in January 2006. In February, 2007 Akashic Books published his novel, She's Gone and Peepal Tree Books published his 12th collection of poetry, Impossible Flying, and his non-fiction work, A Far Cry From Plymouth Rock: A Personal Narrative.
His essays have appeared in numerous journals including Bomb Magazine, The London Review of Books, Granta, Essence, World Literature Today and Double Take Magazine.
In October, 2007, his thirteenth book of poems, Gomer's Song will appear on the Black Goat imprint of Akashic Books. Dawes has seen produced some twenty of his plays over the past twenty-five years including, most recently a production of his musical, One Love, at the Lyric Hammersmith in London .
Kwame Dawes is Distinguished Poet in Residence, Louis Frye Scudder Professor of Liberal Arts and Founder and executive Director of the South Carolina Poetry Initiative. He is the director of the University of South Carolina Arts Institute and the programming director of the Calabash International Literary Festival, which takes place in Jamaica in May of each year.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 255 reviews
May 2, 2022
"I love this place for what it is. Ugly and pretty. Rough and tender. Chaotic and smooth. Loving and murderous. All of it.”
In Kwame Dawes' The Mountain and the Sea, our main character, Esther, is determined to wait out a hurricane in a very remote part of Jamaica. On her way to her house, she picks up a man who has no memory. No clothes either. She names him Monte. They decide to wait out the hurricane together. There was some interesting backstory about Esther's career, previous marriage and her reasons for living in such a remote part of Jamaica. Esther weaves this story into Monte's incomplete tale of ending up by the side of a road without his clothes or memory.
Still, after weathering the hurricane together, it maybe predictably devolved into a brief love affair. I guess that was okay. There was some reluctance to take this step, not because 'Monte' had amnesia, but because he might have a wife he couldn't remember. There was some speculation about whatever trauma he had gone through that caused this amnesia, but practically nothing about how not having one's memory is akin to not having an identity. That should have been apparent in having to bestow a name on him on the first place. I would have liked it better without the romance, but maybe that's just me. 2.75 stars
In Kwame Dawes' The Mountain and the Sea, our main character, Esther, is determined to wait out a hurricane in a very remote part of Jamaica. On her way to her house, she picks up a man who has no memory. No clothes either. She names him Monte. They decide to wait out the hurricane together. There was some interesting backstory about Esther's career, previous marriage and her reasons for living in such a remote part of Jamaica. Esther weaves this story into Monte's incomplete tale of ending up by the side of a road without his clothes or memory.
Still, after weathering the hurricane together, it maybe predictably devolved into a brief love affair. I guess that was okay. There was some reluctance to take this step, not because 'Monte' had amnesia, but because he might have a wife he couldn't remember. There was some speculation about whatever trauma he had gone through that caused this amnesia, but practically nothing about how not having one's memory is akin to not having an identity. That should have been apparent in having to bestow a name on him on the first place. I would have liked it better without the romance, but maybe that's just me. 2.75 stars
September 24, 2020
3.5
This was charming. I loved the narration, by Paula-Anne Jones. I felt as curious as the protagonist about why the man was naked in the road. I enjoyed both characters. The bittersweet ending felt right. I just think that over time, I will forget I've ever read this.
This was charming. I loved the narration, by Paula-Anne Jones. I felt as curious as the protagonist about why the man was naked in the road. I enjoyed both characters. The bittersweet ending felt right. I just think that over time, I will forget I've ever read this.
April 5, 2020
The story is not worth the time, even though it is quite short.
It is presented as a love story, but I imagine this to be a lighter version of 50 shades of Grey (have not read it, one page was enough to understand, that there are better ways to waste my time).
Middle aged woman finds a naked man, who has no memories. The story is naive and dull.
And the biggest surprise for me was to find out that an author is a man as the story really sounds like a middle aged woman’s fantasy in the worst stereotypical way.
It is presented as a love story, but I imagine this to be a lighter version of 50 shades of Grey (have not read it, one page was enough to understand, that there are better ways to waste my time).
Middle aged woman finds a naked man, who has no memories. The story is naive and dull.
And the biggest surprise for me was to find out that an author is a man as the story really sounds like a middle aged woman’s fantasy in the worst stereotypical way.
June 13, 2020
This is an Audible original and the narrator is absolutely phenomenal. The story is a lyrical exploration of a middle aged woman’s coming of age. Widowed Esther is a Jamaican painter stuck in a creative rut. She became a popular portraitist during her marriage but longs for the creative freedom of her youth, which she can’t seem to reconnect with. On her way to her island cabin studio, she encounters a disoriented, naked, handsome man with a head injury. There is a serious storm coming and he seems harmless, so she wraps him in an old coat of her husband’s which is kept in the car for emergencies, and brings him to the cabin, letting the island caretaker and her adult daughter know the situation.
She gives him the name Monty, cleans his head wound, gives him some of her husband’s old clothes and helps him recuperate. They are stuck on the island together for a week, and a friendship with a lot of sexual tension develops.
I was a little nervous about reading this, as some reviews compared it to 50 Shades of Grey and claimed it was pornographic. There is absolutely no inaccurately depicted BDSM with an alphahole hero and there’s only one real sex scene, which is barely explicit, so these reviewers have lived very sheltered lives. Maybe the 50 Shades comparison was because people think this is mommy porn or, to use another reviewer’s term, middle-aged woman wish-fulfillment. It would be more accurate to compare it to Stella’s Got Her Groove Back. It’s definitely a story using the middle-aged woman whose life is stymied has brief affair which reignites her passion for life trope.
This is not a romance, this is the story of a woman who’s making peace with her past and reconnecting with herself as an artist who has a transformative romantic fling. The romance is very slow building, and there are a lot of flashbacks about Esther’s past. She also has some hilarious evolving theories about what happened to Monty. Amnesia is handled sensitively and I really enjoyed watching Monty start to remember or to instinctively express his personality. This is not a relationship that can go anywhere, there’s a sense that he has family to go back to, but it feels like a special moment in time for both of them.
Initially, I felt like the author did too much showing rather than telling, and I felt some of the flashbacks would have worked better in a slightly different order, but the writing is lyrical and lovely and I ended up really enjoying the book. I didn’t feel Monty’s eventual explanation for his predicament made total sense, but it worked. There’s also descriptions of lots of tasty Jamaican food; tasty food is always a bonus!
CW: there are very frank conversations about sensuality, sexuality, sexual needs, and masturbation. There’s dysfunctional family issues, death of a spouse (illness), cheating, inferred sexual abuse by a relative in the flashbacks, amnesia, mild head injury, nakedness, hurricane, sexual dreams, masturbation and sex on the page, tho none of it is very explicit.
This is a juicy older woman rediscovering herself, which some people might find threatening.
She gives him the name Monty, cleans his head wound, gives him some of her husband’s old clothes and helps him recuperate. They are stuck on the island together for a week, and a friendship with a lot of sexual tension develops.
I was a little nervous about reading this, as some reviews compared it to 50 Shades of Grey and claimed it was pornographic. There is absolutely no inaccurately depicted BDSM with an alphahole hero and there’s only one real sex scene, which is barely explicit, so these reviewers have lived very sheltered lives. Maybe the 50 Shades comparison was because people think this is mommy porn or, to use another reviewer’s term, middle-aged woman wish-fulfillment. It would be more accurate to compare it to Stella’s Got Her Groove Back. It’s definitely a story using the middle-aged woman whose life is stymied has brief affair which reignites her passion for life trope.
This is not a romance, this is the story of a woman who’s making peace with her past and reconnecting with herself as an artist who has a transformative romantic fling. The romance is very slow building, and there are a lot of flashbacks about Esther’s past. She also has some hilarious evolving theories about what happened to Monty. Amnesia is handled sensitively and I really enjoyed watching Monty start to remember or to instinctively express his personality. This is not a relationship that can go anywhere, there’s a sense that he has family to go back to, but it feels like a special moment in time for both of them.
Initially, I felt like the author did too much showing rather than telling, and I felt some of the flashbacks would have worked better in a slightly different order, but the writing is lyrical and lovely and I ended up really enjoying the book. I didn’t feel Monty’s eventual explanation for his predicament made total sense, but it worked. There’s also descriptions of lots of tasty Jamaican food; tasty food is always a bonus!
CW: there are very frank conversations about sensuality, sexuality, sexual needs, and masturbation. There’s dysfunctional family issues, death of a spouse (illness), cheating, inferred sexual abuse by a relative in the flashbacks, amnesia, mild head injury, nakedness, hurricane, sexual dreams, masturbation and sex on the page, tho none of it is very explicit.
This is a juicy older woman rediscovering herself, which some people might find threatening.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 11, 2021
Did you know June is also Read Caribbean month? I was looking through my unread Audible library and found this novella by Kwame Dawes, who I usually think of as a poet. In this story, a woman is driving across Jamaica during the early squalls of a hurricane to make sure her boat and art studio are safe, when she encounters a naked and disoriented man on the road. I think Dawes intends this to be a romance in the end, but it is very slow in getting there!
April 26, 2025
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April 18, 2020
How Esther Got Her Groove Back
Review of the Audible Audio audiobook edition (April 2020)
Adult romance is not my genre but the narrator Paula-Anne Jones was excellent in her delivery of this story in a melodious Jamaican accent, so I'm bumping this up to a Like for that. Otherwise the story of a 50ish widow with life ennui who encounters a man with amnesia on a mountain road and brings him to her sea island painting retreat is fairly standard stuff. The revelation of the reason for the amnesia wasn't the dramatic surprise that you thought it would have been leading up to.
The Mountain and the Sea was one of the Audible Originals made freely available to members for the month of April 2020. It is available to everyone for a standard price.
Review of the Audible Audio audiobook edition (April 2020)
Adult romance is not my genre but the narrator Paula-Anne Jones was excellent in her delivery of this story in a melodious Jamaican accent, so I'm bumping this up to a Like for that. Otherwise the story of a 50ish widow with life ennui who encounters a man with amnesia on a mountain road and brings him to her sea island painting retreat is fairly standard stuff. The revelation of the reason for the amnesia wasn't the dramatic surprise that you thought it would have been leading up to.
The Mountain and the Sea was one of the Audible Originals made freely available to members for the month of April 2020. It is available to everyone for a standard price.
April 7, 2020
It was cute.
The Mountain and the Sea was a pretty quick island love story to fall into. In it, you will meet Esther and Monty. They were kind of cute but nothing about their relationship or story will stuck out to me. It just kind of seemed like any other romance book that I've read but instead of it taking place in a city.. it was on an island.
That being said.. when I can travel I would love to go to freaking Jamaica! This book just made it sound like a fantasy and I just want to go and see the world now.
The Mountain and the Sea was a pretty quick island love story to fall into. In it, you will meet Esther and Monty. They were kind of cute but nothing about their relationship or story will stuck out to me. It just kind of seemed like any other romance book that I've read but instead of it taking place in a city.. it was on an island.
That being said.. when I can travel I would love to go to freaking Jamaica! This book just made it sound like a fantasy and I just want to go and see the world now.
April 13, 2020
Narrator's performance is why I listened to the whole thing. Story doesn't really have much going for it. I was expecting steamy romance in Jamaica between middle aged adults. Instead I got a super SUPER slow burn with no steam. This is just a bunch of the main character's past and assumptions, not an actual story about the two characters. Plus the ending was not impactful or satisfying. The entire book is just exposition leading to one scene at the very end then everything rushes to a finish. Needless to say, I was not hot and bothered listening to this and I would even say I was disappointed in the story/characters. I would have DNFed if not for the narrator being so good. If you want a super slow romance that mainly resides in the MCs mind and is really just her remembering her life and repeating herself, then this may be for you. But I, an almost 22yr old, was not feeling it.
May 14, 2020
it’s not “pornography” as some said (how uptight are these people to make that comment). And no, I don’t think it’s for people in their 50s (I’m 38). Narrator’s voice is fabulous and definitely memorable, her voice alone is worth the journey considering it’s a short book. It’s a beach read type of book. I generally have a hard time putting writers’ work down (which stems from appreciating that TYPE of work too much) even when it’s not my cup of tea. With that said, I don’t think I would purchase this book if it wasn’t a free download on Audible, but at the same time I don’t regret reading it/listening to it on Audible.
May 20, 2020
I loved the main character. She reminds me of women I have worked with and a woman I hope to grow into being. It’s more of a self awakening and exploration of becoming vulnerable and open to love and lust than it is a true romance. A bittersweet ending and an interesting depiction of life after trauma.
May 5, 2020
No.
I'd rate this an NC-17.
I'd rate this an NC-17.
May 6, 2020
Really dull, to be frank. I enjoyed the setting - there are not a lot of stories or books set in Jamaica - and the narrator, but that was about it. The story itself was moving over the same bits again and again and slowly getting almost nowhere.
February 6, 2021
I enjoyed The Mountain And The Sea. It is a slower paced story which seems fitting for an island life style which is obviously going to be a different way of living than most people are accustomed to which could explain why some readers would not care for this story. The symbolism used and over all tone perfectly captured the essence of being lost and how it takes time for people to overcome physical and emotional obstacles. I tried to read this a few months back and it was not really for me at the time as with any book but I gave it another try and am happy I did so. Keep an open mind and I think the characters and message will capture you.
April 23, 2020
Not worth it unless you want a quick listen to reach your reading goal :(
April 29, 2021
This audiobook was a complete waste of time, the storyline was not cohesive and enjoyable. The only thing I enjoyed about the audiobook is the narration and ending.
April 14, 2020
This was a free audible selection otherwise I would not have chosen it as romance novels are not something that hold my interest unless integrated into a book that adds to its complexity such as a murder mystery or a scientific/forensic crime book. Taking this into account, there was very little character development at all. We only really know about the main character Esther and bits about all the others. It is very fragmented and to me reminded me more of a wishful fantasy scrawled out onto paper than an actual story. So much time and chatter is spent about her life, her thoughts, her struggles, and .... Golly Gee Whiz! Look! What do we have standing here in front of me? Well damn! I know what my book would focus on if I found that in front of me! Yet, more talk, talk, talk. Like I said in my preface though, I don't read novels of this sort so perhaps this is typical. For me it was a let down.
June 25, 2020
I only read this book because it was free on audible. I don’t think it was worth listening to even though it was free. If the genders of the main characters were switched, the man would be arrested. Imagine a widower finding a strange woman naked in the road right before a hurricane that can’t remember anything, that man taking her home, to a secluded island, not telling any authorities that he had found her or attempting to take her to the hospital, and trying to seduce her. Even a week later, not contacting any authorities, but just being upset that she may one day regain her memories. Creepy? Yeah.
November 16, 2024
I listened to this as a way to gauge whether I wanted to attend an author event with Dawes. Although the plot was interesting to me and the characters seemed genuine and viable, it just didn't "grab me"!
I don't usually listen to audiobooks and there was a tad too much sexual detail for my liking. Added to all that the fact that Dawes has written more poetry than anything else, and I think I'm skipping the 1 1/2 hours of driving to attend this author event.
I don't usually listen to audiobooks and there was a tad too much sexual detail for my liking. Added to all that the fact that Dawes has written more poetry than anything else, and I think I'm skipping the 1 1/2 hours of driving to attend this author event.
April 26, 2020
It was okay. I quick read. Just odd.
February 1, 2025
This is such a wonderful audiobook. I loved that narration, she did a great job and her accent added to the ambiance of the story superbly. It had mystery, love, tragedy, heartache and healing combined so beautifully to make a story, beginning to end, that is well worth the read/listen. I would be more than happy to listen to this again.
June 14, 2020
This free Audible Original turned out to be a disappointment. The main character is supposed to be in her early fifties, but she came across with the maturity of a teenager. Her decisions were based in "she just knew" or "she had a feeling" or "she intuited" sentences. Things that would have simply been correct and polite (calling your daughter to let her know you survived a hurricane), she didn't. Her interaction with the man she met on the mountain was immature as well.
I was going to quit the book, but became stuck in a situation where I needed a listening distraction, so I finished it without it redeeming itself at all. But that's just my opinion. Maybe someone else would find the quasi-romance appealing.
I was going to quit the book, but became stuck in a situation where I needed a listening distraction, so I finished it without it redeeming itself at all. But that's just my opinion. Maybe someone else would find the quasi-romance appealing.
January 12, 2021
A short Story, but interesting...
Esther, a painter living in Jamaica and recovering from the death of her husband, comes across a man naked in the street on a mountain road with no memory of his past. As a hurricane rushes towards the island, she shelters the handsome stranger, names him “Monty”, and tries to uncover the mystery of his missing memory. She soon finds herself falling in love with a man she barely knows, and who doesn’t even know himself.
It's about self awakening and exploration of becoming vulnerable and open to love and lust than it is a true romance. A bittersweet ending and an interesting depiction of life after trauma.
Esther, a painter living in Jamaica and recovering from the death of her husband, comes across a man naked in the street on a mountain road with no memory of his past. As a hurricane rushes towards the island, she shelters the handsome stranger, names him “Monty”, and tries to uncover the mystery of his missing memory. She soon finds herself falling in love with a man she barely knows, and who doesn’t even know himself.
It's about self awakening and exploration of becoming vulnerable and open to love and lust than it is a true romance. A bittersweet ending and an interesting depiction of life after trauma.
April 28, 2020
A short, but excellent audible book about a woman whose husband died four years ago. Living on an island in Jamaica, she makes her living as an artist. When an unidentified naked man turns up on her beach without any memory of his past life, she takes him in and, at the same time, rediscovers herself. This is a wonderful story, can be listened to in one sitting. I highly recommend.
January 19, 2023
An great quick read. The story was light but still deep. Like a beach read that makes you think. Dawes does a great job building the scene without taking too long to get into the story. A story about love, loss and reinventing yourself later in life. And, as a bonus, the audible narrator is excellent, I will definitely check out more books by this author.
May 13, 2020
A beautiful 3 hour short story of a Jamaican woman finding her way through love, loss, and hardships.
April 11, 2020
I enjoyed this book but it took longer than I expected to finish it. There were too many long stretches of Esther's rambly, internal train of thought. And while that was okay but it did nothing really to push the story forward. I wanted some more information about Monte but never got it, of course. I liked the ending, though. I think it was fitting.
The narrator, while having a delightful delivery, seemed like she was smiling the entire time she was reading. That was fine for some parts or the story but did not suit the atmosphere many times. The juxtaposition of the tone of her voice to the circumstances of the moment were really just "off" sometimes. It was a little jarring.
4 stars minus a quarter star for weird narration.
3.75 stars
The narrator, while having a delightful delivery, seemed like she was smiling the entire time she was reading. That was fine for some parts or the story but did not suit the atmosphere many times. The juxtaposition of the tone of her voice to the circumstances of the moment were really just "off" sometimes. It was a little jarring.
4 stars minus a quarter star for weird narration.
3.75 stars
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 16, 2020
Fun, escapist novella. The narrator of the Audible edition has such a beautiful voice- I would truly listen to her read the Kingston, Jamaica phone book.
May 31, 2020
It was just ok. I'm finding fewer and fewer Audible Originals that are actually interesting.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 255 reviews