What do you think?
Rate this book
Cormorant Lake
On a cold November night, Evelyn Van Pelt steals her roommate’s two underfed and neglected little girls from their beds and drives to the northwestern hometown she fled fourteen years earlier—Cormorant Lake. There, hidden in the mountains and woods, dense with fog and the cold of winter, Evelyn grapples with the guilt of what she’s done, and as she attempts to reconcile her wild independence with the responsibilities of parenthood, she reconnects with the two women who raised her—her foster mother, Nan, and her biological mother, Jubilee. But by coming home, she has set in motion a series of events that will revive the decades-old tragedy that haunts Cormorant Lake—and lead her to confront the high cost of protecting her secret.
At once fantastical and deeply rooted in the natural world, Faith Merino’s deeply affecting and spirited debut novel explores the shape of family, the enduring bonds of friendship, and the imperfections of motherhood—messy and beautiful, instinctive and learned, temporal but permanently life-altering.
At once fantastical and deeply rooted in the natural world, Faith Merino’s deeply affecting and spirited debut novel explores the shape of family, the enduring bonds of friendship, and the imperfections of motherhood—messy and beautiful, instinctive and learned, temporal but permanently life-altering.
6 pages, Audible Audio
First published February 2, 2021
17 people are currently reading
8256 people want to read
About the author
Faith Merino
9 books46 followersFaith's short stories have appeared in The Indiana Review, Notre Dame Review, The Carolina Quarterly, Crab Orchard Review, and more. She's won awards and honorable mentions from The Moth International Short Story Prize, The Jabberwock Review, Glimmer Train, and Boulevard, in addition to fellowships from Writing By Writers, The Disquiet International Literary Prize, and The Martha's Vineyard Creative Writing Institute. She lives in Sacramento with her husband, sons, and animal friends.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 83 reviews
February 6, 2021
This book has everything: babies, dogs, vengeful ghosts, pizza, underground caves, derailed trains, chicken tetrazzini, etc. A must read!
Read
October 29, 2020This book is wonderfully dark and slippery - I loved how all the characters are haunted by motherhood both real and illusory, and how unsettled it made me feel while still being grounded in nature in all its harshness and in the exhausting struggle to keep going.
February 12, 2021
(I read and reviewed this book for the San Francisco Book Review.)
When Evelyn returns home late at night and finds her roommate’s two young girls in a dangerous situation, she finally breaks. She hastily gathers their things and buckles the little girls into the backseat of her ’92 Corolla before racing out of California in the dark. The destination is Evelyn’s hometown of Cormorant Lake—nearly two thousand miles away, but unfortunately not far enough to escape her demons. It’s here that she reunites with her own de facto mother, Nan, who takes to the kidnapped girls like a person lost in the desert would take to water.
Cormorant Lake is a saga of de facto mothers, of women whose suitability for motherhood is measured exclusively by eagerness for the job. They scoop up these neglected, malnourished kids, take them in as their own, feed them, care for them as best they can. Evelyn is as eager as they come, helplessly in love with the girls she’s spirited away but so conflicted about what she’s done that she experiences brief fits of paranoid horror that seem almost paranormal. Fear of being alone with her thoughts pushes her along, and she barrels toward burnout immediately—two menial jobs, occasional catnaps between, half-eaten meals, long drives on cold, dark roads. On the rare occasion she does sleep, you’d think she’d imbibed the same mysterious liquor as Rip Van Winkle, falling into a slumber deeper than the titular lake. Before long, she views rest as something of a vice—as if she should be working to cure herself of the need.
Meanwhile, Nan is haunted by her own demons, and it’s startling how often her past mirrors Evelyn’s present. She, too, has separated mother from child. She wrestles with the decisions she’s made and yearns for absolution that will never come. Author Faith Merino is careful not to linger too long on the characters’ perceived iniquities, describing them with tactful prose that is empathetic and never pitying. Even Jamie, an ambitionless, cuckolding swim instructor with a pregnancy fetish—a character who would probably seem ridiculous in any other book—somehow manages to hang onto some dignity because of how Merino presents him. He and the other characters’ idiosyncrasies take on an almost fable-like quality.
Flashbacks and off-the-cuff comments along the way eventually reveal that both Nan’s and Evelyn’s guilt is rooted in much more than simply swooping in and caring for neglected children. The book’s conclusion came as something of a surprise to me. It’s abrupt but deliberate, perhaps illustrating the unfulfilled need for closure the main characters will deal with for the rest of their lives. Faith Merino’s debut novel is engrossing, haunting, and beautifully written. Fans of any genre will find something to enjoy here.
When Evelyn returns home late at night and finds her roommate’s two young girls in a dangerous situation, she finally breaks. She hastily gathers their things and buckles the little girls into the backseat of her ’92 Corolla before racing out of California in the dark. The destination is Evelyn’s hometown of Cormorant Lake—nearly two thousand miles away, but unfortunately not far enough to escape her demons. It’s here that she reunites with her own de facto mother, Nan, who takes to the kidnapped girls like a person lost in the desert would take to water.
Cormorant Lake is a saga of de facto mothers, of women whose suitability for motherhood is measured exclusively by eagerness for the job. They scoop up these neglected, malnourished kids, take them in as their own, feed them, care for them as best they can. Evelyn is as eager as they come, helplessly in love with the girls she’s spirited away but so conflicted about what she’s done that she experiences brief fits of paranoid horror that seem almost paranormal. Fear of being alone with her thoughts pushes her along, and she barrels toward burnout immediately—two menial jobs, occasional catnaps between, half-eaten meals, long drives on cold, dark roads. On the rare occasion she does sleep, you’d think she’d imbibed the same mysterious liquor as Rip Van Winkle, falling into a slumber deeper than the titular lake. Before long, she views rest as something of a vice—as if she should be working to cure herself of the need.
Meanwhile, Nan is haunted by her own demons, and it’s startling how often her past mirrors Evelyn’s present. She, too, has separated mother from child. She wrestles with the decisions she’s made and yearns for absolution that will never come. Author Faith Merino is careful not to linger too long on the characters’ perceived iniquities, describing them with tactful prose that is empathetic and never pitying. Even Jamie, an ambitionless, cuckolding swim instructor with a pregnancy fetish—a character who would probably seem ridiculous in any other book—somehow manages to hang onto some dignity because of how Merino presents him. He and the other characters’ idiosyncrasies take on an almost fable-like quality.
Flashbacks and off-the-cuff comments along the way eventually reveal that both Nan’s and Evelyn’s guilt is rooted in much more than simply swooping in and caring for neglected children. The book’s conclusion came as something of a surprise to me. It’s abrupt but deliberate, perhaps illustrating the unfulfilled need for closure the main characters will deal with for the rest of their lives. Faith Merino’s debut novel is engrossing, haunting, and beautifully written. Fans of any genre will find something to enjoy here.
June 4, 2021
A weird and confusing book about women raising other women’s children, but this was the first time in awhile that I’d read a work of proper literary fiction, of the sort that develops characters largely by describing the physical spaces they inhabit. The vividly-drawn setting in this case is a fictional rural, cash-strapped town in the mountains of Washington State. But the characters are decently vivid as well. Our protagonists are Evelyn, who returns to the town after 14 years away, after kidnapping/rescuing a housemate’s two dangerously neglected young daughters, and Nan, to whom she returns. Nan is a retired teacher who took Evelyn in as a neglected teen. Evelyn’s bio mom is also in the picture, a difficult but unexpectedly loyal person whom Evelyn mostly tries to avoid.
I found the story interesting, though the weird inconclusive ending mostly left me looking back on the book wondering “what was all that?” And frustrating throughout were the characters’ constant bad decisions, large and small. The biggest is Evelyn’s assuming responsibility for and finally taking off with her housemate’s kids rather than getting CPS involved—all right, she’s attached, but what’s the long-term plan here? How’s she going to enroll them in school without their birth certificates? She finds out that the oldest, whom she assumed to be 3, is actually more like 5 but suffering malnutrition, but never considers putting her in school. She’s had care of these kids for practically a year and knew them to be seriously neglected, but never took them to a doctor. Then she turns around and dumps most of their care on her now-79-year-old former foster mother (to be fair I never really believed Nan was 79 myself, she seems to have the body of a 60-something), and disappears without word for days at a time in order to fuck (without protection) and sleep alongside some dude whose last name and contact information she never bothers to learn. At one point she gets a concussion but claims she can’t go to the hospital because she lacks insurance, which first of all, she’s clearly living in the Obamacare era (she’s 32 and her bio mom was born in 1970) and in California and Washington, so why doesn’t she, and second, going to the ER is what uninsured people do, including for primary care. And there’s more. Nan also seems to be falling apart more than coping, but in her case that conclusion seems more the intended one, while I had the sense we were meant to think Evelyn had it more together.
Nan and Evelyn both also see visions of the women from whom they’ve taken children. It’s left unclear whether this is a magical realism element (there are moments, particularly at the end, where this seems to be the case) or whether they’re just hallucinating.
At any rate, the novel is short and well-written but I can’t claim to have gotten much out of it in the end. Mostly a “huh?” followed by shaking my head at poor character decisions.
I found the story interesting, though the weird inconclusive ending mostly left me looking back on the book wondering “what was all that?” And frustrating throughout were the characters’ constant bad decisions, large and small. The biggest is Evelyn’s assuming responsibility for and finally taking off with her housemate’s kids rather than getting CPS involved—all right, she’s attached, but what’s the long-term plan here? How’s she going to enroll them in school without their birth certificates? She finds out that the oldest, whom she assumed to be 3, is actually more like 5 but suffering malnutrition, but never considers putting her in school. She’s had care of these kids for practically a year and knew them to be seriously neglected, but never took them to a doctor. Then she turns around and dumps most of their care on her now-79-year-old former foster mother (to be fair I never really believed Nan was 79 myself, she seems to have the body of a 60-something), and disappears without word for days at a time in order to fuck (without protection) and sleep alongside some dude whose last name and contact information she never bothers to learn. At one point she gets a concussion but claims she can’t go to the hospital because she lacks insurance, which first of all, she’s clearly living in the Obamacare era (she’s 32 and her bio mom was born in 1970) and in California and Washington, so why doesn’t she, and second, going to the ER is what uninsured people do, including for primary care. And there’s more. Nan also seems to be falling apart more than coping, but in her case that conclusion seems more the intended one, while I had the sense we were meant to think Evelyn had it more together.
Nan and Evelyn both also see visions of the women from whom they’ve taken children. It’s left unclear whether this is a magical realism element (there are moments, particularly at the end, where this seems to be the case) or whether they’re just hallucinating.
At any rate, the novel is short and well-written but I can’t claim to have gotten much out of it in the end. Mostly a “huh?” followed by shaking my head at poor character decisions.
September 8, 2020
Cormorant Lake has been called fantastical. But to me it reads as very real. It tells a story of generations of women who live without men. Parenting, husbanding, repairing their homes, caring for the sick and weak. Desiring. Women who haunt each other for what they’ve done and failed to do. Women who hurt their mothers, their children, their own minds and bodies, their friends. Women who try to hold their societies together by themselves. This darkly compelling debut mirrors a woman’s nightmares, and equally, her realities.
#SupportIndiePresses #ReadIndies
#SupportIndiePresses #ReadIndies
January 27, 2021
The best book I read all of 2020! I got an advanced copy and stayed up all night solo parenting to finish it. And I can't wait for you all to read it in 2021. Merino's writing blew me away. It's sparse but full of imagery and I could see everyone and every scene and feel the pain, betrayal, loneliness, and awkwardness to my core. As well as the love and connections and tenderness and interests too. This is a story of women, of daughters, of what connects us and binds us and what doesn't. You need to read Cormorant Lake.
February 9, 2021
I really enjoyed this one! It’s not my normal genre, but it really pulled me in. This would be a great book club read, lots of discussions to be had! How our ghosts haunt us, what motherhood really is, and how our childhood is never left behind.
A woman heads to her hometown with two little girls, in an attempt to escape their mother and her own past at the same time. As she tries to rebuild her life, she has to deal with people and ghosts haunting her. Her journey is rocky, but she also has someone to depend on. The ending may leave you with more questions than answers, but the ride is worth it!
A woman heads to her hometown with two little girls, in an attempt to escape their mother and her own past at the same time. As she tries to rebuild her life, she has to deal with people and ghosts haunting her. Her journey is rocky, but she also has someone to depend on. The ending may leave you with more questions than answers, but the ride is worth it!
November 21, 2020
Boy oh boy this is one impressive debut!
I obviously find it highly relatable being a mother myself which always makes books easier to read when you can relate. But the writing is gripping and humourous in parts (especially the Nan who is definitely my favourite character) which compels you to read on. I love the natural and mystical elements weaved into the book. I'll be waiting to get my hands on a hard copy when this is released! Thanks to NetGalley, Blackstone Publishers & Faith Merino for the ARC.
I obviously find it highly relatable being a mother myself which always makes books easier to read when you can relate. But the writing is gripping and humourous in parts (especially the Nan who is definitely my favourite character) which compels you to read on. I love the natural and mystical elements weaved into the book. I'll be waiting to get my hands on a hard copy when this is released! Thanks to NetGalley, Blackstone Publishers & Faith Merino for the ARC.
January 24, 2021
This book is brilliant. The story is perfectly paced, all of the secrets revealed slowly, as they are needed. I Iaughed, looked up words I didn’t know, read parts aloud to my spouse, and sat with white knuckles as I watched the characters make strange and wonderful and horrible choices. It was an absolute pleasure to read and I can’t stop thinking about it.
January 21, 2021
Evelyn steals her roommate's daughters one night and takes them to her hometown, Cormorant Lake. While she's acting like the mother of the two girls, she also manages to reconnect with her biological mother, Jubilee and her foster mother, Nan.
This book covers a lot of topics especially family, motherhood, and a mother/daughter relationship. We really got to know Nan, although I do wish we got to know Jubilee a little bit more. Overall, the relationships and the characters were pretty solid.
I didn't expect this book to be so mystical, but I enjoyed that aspect of the story. I personally didn't really like the ending, but I will say that it did go very well with the magical/mysterious atmosphere going on during the entire book. The author was really consistent with that!
I was surprised to find out that this was the author's debut novel. I will definitely be on the look out for the next book Faith Merino comes out with because I enjoyed the writing. If you're a fan of Brit Bennett's books, I recommend giving this one a shot as it gave me similar vibes! 3.5 stars!
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-arc!
This book covers a lot of topics especially family, motherhood, and a mother/daughter relationship. We really got to know Nan, although I do wish we got to know Jubilee a little bit more. Overall, the relationships and the characters were pretty solid.
I didn't expect this book to be so mystical, but I enjoyed that aspect of the story. I personally didn't really like the ending, but I will say that it did go very well with the magical/mysterious atmosphere going on during the entire book. The author was really consistent with that!
I was surprised to find out that this was the author's debut novel. I will definitely be on the look out for the next book Faith Merino comes out with because I enjoyed the writing. If you're a fan of Brit Bennett's books, I recommend giving this one a shot as it gave me similar vibes! 3.5 stars!
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-arc!
January 21, 2021
Wow! I wasn't sure what to expect of this book but it blew me away. The writing has such detail (which I love) but not so much that you get bogged down in too much detail. Interesting story with a few twists I didn't see coming ("Jamie", I'm looking at you). Definitely worth a read. I couldn't put it down!
I was given an ARC in exchange for my honest review. The opinion is mine.
I was given an ARC in exchange for my honest review. The opinion is mine.
February 20, 2021
ಠ_ಠ
WHAT KIND OF ENDING IS THAT?!
I was really enjoying this book, but seriously, what kind of ending is that?! It explained NOTHING!
I hate vague, non-endings where it feels like the author just lost interest and tied it together with the first nonsense they could think of. That's what this struck me as, and I really don't know what to feel about it.
That aside, the book got a little weird with the pregnant fetishism and whatnot, and I just... I don't know. I didn't walk away from it feeling fulfilled, just confused. About a week later, that's still how I feel about it. Confused.
WHAT KIND OF ENDING IS THAT?!
I was really enjoying this book, but seriously, what kind of ending is that?! It explained NOTHING!
I hate vague, non-endings where it feels like the author just lost interest and tied it together with the first nonsense they could think of. That's what this struck me as, and I really don't know what to feel about it.
That aside, the book got a little weird with the pregnant fetishism and whatnot, and I just... I don't know. I didn't walk away from it feeling fulfilled, just confused. About a week later, that's still how I feel about it. Confused.
February 24, 2021
This book was exceptional. Dark & twisty but discussed themes such as motherhood and community in such an interesting and unique way. I can’t believe this book was just over 200 pages because it was so rich in content. I loved that it had a “jigsaw puzzle” feel to the story and the author made you think and attempt to work a few of pieces out yourself. It was very literary in its themes but also had a well rounded storyline. Overall, highly recommend this one! Thank you @netgalley for my review copy :)
February 7, 2021
Unsettling! This book made me think about friendships, motherhood, womanhood, who is more important - the mother that gives you birth or the mother who brings you up and molds you into a full human being? It also mixes present and past and real times with magic. It´s left me flabbergasted, wanting to reach the end to learn how would everything mix and end. It´s a lovely reading, entertaining, full of mystery and food for thought.
I downloaded a free copy of this book through NetGalley and this is my honest review.
I downloaded a free copy of this book through NetGalley and this is my honest review.
January 24, 2021
Beautiful characters who captured the essence of the struggle that is motherhood.
January 17, 2021
When a friend shared this book with me, I thanked her and told her I'd get to it in a few weeks. Then I made the mistake of reading the first chapter - and literally couldn't put it down, pushing all other pressing life matters aside while I devoured it. This is a beautifully-written, gripping tale that made me think long and hard about how the world defines motherhood and family. I can't wait to read more by this talented writer!
January 24, 2021
I was drawn into the story instantly and didn't want it to end. The story is fascinating, intense, and reminded me of the small town drama seen in Agatha Christie and Louise Penny. It also made me think about how we truly help struggling parents and the cycle of poverty. The geology elements were an added bonus for my rock loving heart. I can't wait to read more from this author.
January 16, 2021
Wow! Can't review it right now, too awed to talk about it!
February 26, 2021
If it's one thing that came across throughout this book, it was how hard taking care of kids is and how terrifying it would be to someone whose kids they could never truly claim as theirs--a mother by choice and not blood. I read this book in a few day sitting, interested mainly in the backstories of characters who were just a little bit quirky (or a lot).
Faith spins a tale of intrigue, descriptive eloquence, mystical illusion, and keeps you wondering throughout the story what it could all mean. I enjoyed the way she described her characters, the idiosyncrasies and unique traits. I liked that she spent time really examining the underlayers of individuals who we may not give the time of day or immediately write off as too weird to be bothered with. She brought to life a story not many would tell, and I genuinely wondered about these characters and their fate when I closed the book.
Overall, a read that keeps you guessing and wondering long after it's finished.
Faith spins a tale of intrigue, descriptive eloquence, mystical illusion, and keeps you wondering throughout the story what it could all mean. I enjoyed the way she described her characters, the idiosyncrasies and unique traits. I liked that she spent time really examining the underlayers of individuals who we may not give the time of day or immediately write off as too weird to be bothered with. She brought to life a story not many would tell, and I genuinely wondered about these characters and their fate when I closed the book.
Overall, a read that keeps you guessing and wondering long after it's finished.
January 7, 2021
This book starts of with a bang when you first read that Evelyn loads up the two little girls in her car to drive back to Cormorant Lake and you find out she is not the girls biological mother and you are waiting to see what transpires , but we do want to give the story away so you will have to read it.
When Evelyn comes home you see that there is some dark history that all three of the main characters
Evelyn, Jube is Evelyns mother who did a poor job of taking care of Evelyn and Nan who was a teacher at the local high school who found a 15 year old runaway sleeping in the mop closet of the girls locker room of the school she is for all purposes like a stepmom. They all have demons that they are dealing with form the past and all seems to center around motherhood. This will not be one of those books that builds to a crescendo with revealing answers at the end. I believe it is more of a points to ponder kind of story. But that being said it is a good even paced book that draws you in to the end.
When Evelyn comes home you see that there is some dark history that all three of the main characters
Evelyn, Jube is Evelyns mother who did a poor job of taking care of Evelyn and Nan who was a teacher at the local high school who found a 15 year old runaway sleeping in the mop closet of the girls locker room of the school she is for all purposes like a stepmom. They all have demons that they are dealing with form the past and all seems to center around motherhood. This will not be one of those books that builds to a crescendo with revealing answers at the end. I believe it is more of a points to ponder kind of story. But that being said it is a good even paced book that draws you in to the end.
January 25, 2021
This was the story I needed to kick off 2021. I couldn't put this book down and was caught in its rhythmic spell. This book understood motherhood, families, and relationships in a way that speaks to my own experience and was so utterly relatable. We are all so deeply lovable, and also so deeply flawed, and carry that through every mundane and remarkable moment of life. The author did a stellar job of creating rich characters that jump off the page. I especially loved the ending and how the story is intentionally directionless. After a year of unexpected changes, the ending feels true and honest.
January 18, 2021
A friend once came to visit and brought me a trio of blondies from a famous bakery. I held each bite in my mouth, relishing the nuttiness of browned butter, the velvety richness of butterscotch and the hard flecks of toffee. I similarly savored the haunting prose Faith Merino’s “Cormorant Lake” promises. Last year, “History of Wolves” by Emily Friedlund was the debut novel that lingered for me; “Cormorant Lake” holds a similar spot in my literary lists.
A mystical realm and a stark reality commingle beautifully throughout the novel, cold despair seeping into the edges of the story uplifted by the generations of hardscrabble women and the tethers that join them. Merino deftly navigates the plot and prose with masterful precision.
A mystical realm and a stark reality commingle beautifully throughout the novel, cold despair seeping into the edges of the story uplifted by the generations of hardscrabble women and the tethers that join them. Merino deftly navigates the plot and prose with masterful precision.
February 16, 2021
Evelyn has repeatedly seen her housemate neglect and abuse her two small children - after one particularly traumatic event she decides to 'steal' the children and flee north to her home town of Cormorant Lake. Here she reunites with her biological mother, Jube, and with Nan, a woman who cared for her throughout her teenage years. The novel explores a number of inter-twining themes (family, motherhood, poverty, abandonment and grief) and incorporates fantastical elements (vengeful ghosts and witchcraft). A beautifully written story - I loved the vivid descriptions of the landscape and could really feel the cold during the Cormorant Lake winter. At times though the fantastical elements made the story a little difficult to follow.
March 18, 2021
Faith Merino can flat out write! I can't wait to read what she writes next. Will be recommending Cormorant Lake to every reader I know.
December 17, 2020
via my blog: https://bookstalkerblog.wordpress.com/
“𝙄 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙢𝙮 𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙬 𝙪𝙥 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩,” 𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙮𝙣 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙.
𝙉𝙖𝙣 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙧, 𝙖 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙥 𝙚𝙙𝙜𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙚, 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙚’𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙖𝙧.
𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙮𝙣 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙, “𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮’𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙚.”
When Evelyn Van Pelt decides to abduct her roommate’s little girls from California, it is a rescue mission and one that forces her to return to Cormorant Lake and Nan, a place she fled years ago. This time, she plans to hunker down in the mountain and protect the love starved children who will now be her own. “Nan liked stories about defiant women”, surely she would understand this fight for survival. It started with little girls’ neglectful mother and her vanishing acts. Evelyn knows all too well about bottomless hunger and unfit mothers, there is not a chance she can ignore the dangers Lila and Mora are drowning in even if it means giving up her freedom. Jube, Evelyn’s own mother, had raised her to wander and fend for herself, until Nan came along and fostered her. What is a mother really? Is mothering in the blood or the heart? This isn’t something Evelyn dreamed of, never having much experience with nurturing, a lonely child with little expectations until Nan came long, but in the girls’ she sees something of herself, a fierce love is born.
With winter settling in around Cormorant Lake, the protection of the mountains and the land could serve as the perfect place to hide and defend them, but against who or what? Unquestionably the little girls’ mother will come looking for them, all mother’s fight for what is their own don’t they? What if people start asking questions, prying into their business? Even Nan is aware of the threat, having been subject to meddling locals all her life. Too, Evelyn must confront Jubliee, with the way news travels. Evelyn’s mother Jubilee is the same as always despite years of wear and tear. Everyone has a history, is it possible Jube didn’t know better, that she herself wasn’t mothered either? Ever present is the lake itself and it’s peculiar tragedy involving a derailed train haunting the place still. Something seems to exist alongside the natural world, a sort of veil that Nan senses. All these things are merging, much bigger than Evelyn’s struggles, but the past is crackling to life with her return.
Nan is often between then and now, seeing things that remind her of the betrayal she is responsible for, a terrible thing that can never be undone, no matter how long she lives. It is about friendship and the heart’s poor choices. Her tale is full of sorrow and the pain of never being able to make amends. Atmospheric and haunting, Cormorant Lake is about the wreckage of mothers, shame and regrets that shadow our choices. It is the things that pulse in unseen places and what caring for others asks us to sacrifice. Yes, read it!
Publication Date: February 2, 2021
Blackstone Publishing
“𝙄 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙢𝙮 𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙬 𝙪𝙥 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩,” 𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙮𝙣 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙.
𝙉𝙖𝙣 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙧, 𝙖 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙥 𝙚𝙙𝙜𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙚, 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙚’𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙖𝙧.
𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙮𝙣 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙, “𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮’𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙚.”
When Evelyn Van Pelt decides to abduct her roommate’s little girls from California, it is a rescue mission and one that forces her to return to Cormorant Lake and Nan, a place she fled years ago. This time, she plans to hunker down in the mountain and protect the love starved children who will now be her own. “Nan liked stories about defiant women”, surely she would understand this fight for survival. It started with little girls’ neglectful mother and her vanishing acts. Evelyn knows all too well about bottomless hunger and unfit mothers, there is not a chance she can ignore the dangers Lila and Mora are drowning in even if it means giving up her freedom. Jube, Evelyn’s own mother, had raised her to wander and fend for herself, until Nan came along and fostered her. What is a mother really? Is mothering in the blood or the heart? This isn’t something Evelyn dreamed of, never having much experience with nurturing, a lonely child with little expectations until Nan came long, but in the girls’ she sees something of herself, a fierce love is born.
With winter settling in around Cormorant Lake, the protection of the mountains and the land could serve as the perfect place to hide and defend them, but against who or what? Unquestionably the little girls’ mother will come looking for them, all mother’s fight for what is their own don’t they? What if people start asking questions, prying into their business? Even Nan is aware of the threat, having been subject to meddling locals all her life. Too, Evelyn must confront Jubliee, with the way news travels. Evelyn’s mother Jubilee is the same as always despite years of wear and tear. Everyone has a history, is it possible Jube didn’t know better, that she herself wasn’t mothered either? Ever present is the lake itself and it’s peculiar tragedy involving a derailed train haunting the place still. Something seems to exist alongside the natural world, a sort of veil that Nan senses. All these things are merging, much bigger than Evelyn’s struggles, but the past is crackling to life with her return.
Nan is often between then and now, seeing things that remind her of the betrayal she is responsible for, a terrible thing that can never be undone, no matter how long she lives. It is about friendship and the heart’s poor choices. Her tale is full of sorrow and the pain of never being able to make amends. Atmospheric and haunting, Cormorant Lake is about the wreckage of mothers, shame and regrets that shadow our choices. It is the things that pulse in unseen places and what caring for others asks us to sacrifice. Yes, read it!
Publication Date: February 2, 2021
Blackstone Publishing
July 12, 2024
There are so many ways to be a mother that I don’t know how lexicographers managed to come up with a definition. I suppose one could be very bare bones about it, but limiting “mother” to someone who gives birth to a child doesn’t take into account adoption, fostering, or found families. Traditional definitions presume a lot about sex and gender. They also don’t account for all the ways that mothers can be good or bad. That’s where literature takes over, I suppose, because it can sometimes take a 300-page novel like Faith Merino’s heartbreaking Cormorant Lake to define what “mother” can mean...
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss, for review consideration.
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss, for review consideration.
September 28, 2020
This is a mesmerizing, enthralling novel laden with atmospheric sense of place and a location that will stay in your mind long after the last chapter is read.
I dived into this book and let the written word wash over my soul. This is a woman's book, filled with family, friendship, love, jealously and secrets as deep as the waters of Cormorant Lake. There is also a touch of magical realism and the lure of nature with all that it can offer and all that it can take. Resilient women, strong women and the choices they make for the good of those they love abound throughout the story.
This is a beautiful book. Please don't miss it..
I dived into this book and let the written word wash over my soul. This is a woman's book, filled with family, friendship, love, jealously and secrets as deep as the waters of Cormorant Lake. There is also a touch of magical realism and the lure of nature with all that it can offer and all that it can take. Resilient women, strong women and the choices they make for the good of those they love abound throughout the story.
This is a beautiful book. Please don't miss it..
March 4, 2021
Cormorant Lake was gifted to me by the publisher, Blackstone, and I am grateful to have received it. The review is my honest opinion.
I tend to go into books blind, so I was unaware that there would be so many mystical and fantastical elements. I am not a big fan of that in books, as I tend to enjoy realistic fiction with characters I care about and events that I find believable. The parts of the story that were about this one woman and the two children were beautifully developed and unfolded quietly, building tension slowly. I hated the ending and actually listened to it twice trying to figure out what I missed.
I tend to go into books blind, so I was unaware that there would be so many mystical and fantastical elements. I am not a big fan of that in books, as I tend to enjoy realistic fiction with characters I care about and events that I find believable. The parts of the story that were about this one woman and the two children were beautifully developed and unfolded quietly, building tension slowly. I hated the ending and actually listened to it twice trying to figure out what I missed.
January 27, 2021
Cormorant Lake was a gripping narrative with fascinating characters and thought-provoking themes. I loved the touch of witchcraft in modern motherhood; the frank acknowledgement of sexuality in motherhood; the look at motherhood through generations. The eldest character in this book, Nan, offers insight into the various generations, whose traumas and successes (often surprising!) complete the reader's picture of the past and its ties to the present.
I enjoyed being surprised by the character growth even from periphery characters. I especially enjoyed being made to hate a character and then getting to see that character's positive aspects. It reminded me in no small way of my own relationships, and brought a new appreciation of those things that do ultimately unite us.
Don't read this book if you dislike endings that make you think - you will be less than satisfied - but if you are gripped by the tale as I was, you may find the ending to be in the exact perfect spot--wanting more, but knowing that nothing further really needs to be said.
I enjoyed being surprised by the character growth even from periphery characters. I especially enjoyed being made to hate a character and then getting to see that character's positive aspects. It reminded me in no small way of my own relationships, and brought a new appreciation of those things that do ultimately unite us.
Don't read this book if you dislike endings that make you think - you will be less than satisfied - but if you are gripped by the tale as I was, you may find the ending to be in the exact perfect spot--wanting more, but knowing that nothing further really needs to be said.
January 24, 2021
This book was a quick read, but not because it’s light or “fluff.” It’s deep, and heavy, and weird, and left me invested in the characters and wanting more. I could feel and see each scene. It’s taken me a few days after finishing this book to put my thoughts about it into words, and yet I know I am still not able to do it justice here, but even days after finishing it, it is still very much on my mind. A brilliant novel by Faith Merino.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 83 reviews