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The Sea Between Two Shores
From the bestselling author of Above All Things and inspired by real events, this powerful novel follows two families brought together to reckon with what it means to make amends--for historic wrongs and the wrongs we commit against the ones we love.
In the early 1800s, a Nova Scotian couple arrives on the shores of an island in the Oceanic archipelago of what is now known as Vanuatu to convert the local Indigenous peoples. The arrival of these strangers leads to exchange and friction, cooperation and violence, culminating in a catastrophe the missionaries unwittingly unleash on the island.
Two hundred years later in Toronto, the Stewarts are a family locked in mourning after the accidental drowning of their youngest son. When Michelle Stewart receives an unexpected call from the island of Iparei inviting the Stewarts to participate in a reconciliation ceremony for their respective ancestors, she accepts in a desperate effort to save herself and her family.
On Iparei, we meet the Tab�s, a ni-Vanuatu family who are themselves mourning the death of a child in the aftermath of a devastating cyclone, while worrying over the looming departure of another. As the ceremony approaches, the Tab�s and the Stewarts will uncover their shared losses and failings, their fragile hopes for what a better future might hold, and the wounds that stand in the way of freeing themselves from the legacy of past betrayals.
Heart-wrenching, thought-provoking, and morally complex, The Sea Between Two Shores immerses us in the lives of two families connected as much by their desire for healing as by the actions of their ancestors. It is an extraordinary meditation on the complications of history, the possibilities for redemption, and the meaning of the stories we tell ourselves.
In the early 1800s, a Nova Scotian couple arrives on the shores of an island in the Oceanic archipelago of what is now known as Vanuatu to convert the local Indigenous peoples. The arrival of these strangers leads to exchange and friction, cooperation and violence, culminating in a catastrophe the missionaries unwittingly unleash on the island.
Two hundred years later in Toronto, the Stewarts are a family locked in mourning after the accidental drowning of their youngest son. When Michelle Stewart receives an unexpected call from the island of Iparei inviting the Stewarts to participate in a reconciliation ceremony for their respective ancestors, she accepts in a desperate effort to save herself and her family.
On Iparei, we meet the Tab�s, a ni-Vanuatu family who are themselves mourning the death of a child in the aftermath of a devastating cyclone, while worrying over the looming departure of another. As the ceremony approaches, the Tab�s and the Stewarts will uncover their shared losses and failings, their fragile hopes for what a better future might hold, and the wounds that stand in the way of freeing themselves from the legacy of past betrayals.
Heart-wrenching, thought-provoking, and morally complex, The Sea Between Two Shores immerses us in the lives of two families connected as much by their desire for healing as by the actions of their ancestors. It is an extraordinary meditation on the complications of history, the possibilities for redemption, and the meaning of the stories we tell ourselves.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published September 13, 2022
6 people are currently reading
532 people want to read
About the author
Tanis Rideout
5 books56 followersTanis Rideout is a poet and writer living and working in Toronto. In the fall of 2005 she released her first full-length book of poetry Delineation, exploring the lives and loves of comic book super-heroines, which was praised as a “tantalizing, harrowing read.” It has been featured on CBC Radio’s Bandwidth with Alan Neal and Definitely Not the Opera with Sook-Yin Lee.
In the spring of 2005 Rideout joined Sarah Harmer to read a commissioned poem on Harmer’s I Love the Escarpment Tour to draw attention to damage being done to the Niagara Escarpment by ongoing quarrying. Subsequently a performance of the poem appeared on the DVD of the tour - Escarpment Blues. In 2006 she was named the Poet Laureate of Lake Ontario by the Lake Ontario Waterkeeper and toured with the Tragically Hip’s Gord Downie to draw attention to environmental justice issues on the lake.
Her poetry and fiction have appeared in numerous quarterlies and magazines and received grants from local and national arts councils.
An excerpt from her new poems Arguments with the Lake received second prize in the CBC Literary Awards and was called Macewanesque in scope, [it] invokes in the reader a sense of timelessness and breathless wonder. The full collection will be released by Wolsak and Wynn, Spring 2013.
Her first novel, Above All Things will be released in Canada on June 19, 2012. It has already been praised widely – Joseph Boyden called it “simply breathtaking,” and Alison Pick said “Prepare to be dazzled.” Above All Things was named one of the five “Big Buzz” books at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2011 and will be published in the US and UK in early 2013.
In the spring of 2005 Rideout joined Sarah Harmer to read a commissioned poem on Harmer’s I Love the Escarpment Tour to draw attention to damage being done to the Niagara Escarpment by ongoing quarrying. Subsequently a performance of the poem appeared on the DVD of the tour - Escarpment Blues. In 2006 she was named the Poet Laureate of Lake Ontario by the Lake Ontario Waterkeeper and toured with the Tragically Hip’s Gord Downie to draw attention to environmental justice issues on the lake.
Her poetry and fiction have appeared in numerous quarterlies and magazines and received grants from local and national arts councils.
An excerpt from her new poems Arguments with the Lake received second prize in the CBC Literary Awards and was called Macewanesque in scope, [it] invokes in the reader a sense of timelessness and breathless wonder. The full collection will be released by Wolsak and Wynn, Spring 2013.
Her first novel, Above All Things will be released in Canada on June 19, 2012. It has already been praised widely – Joseph Boyden called it “simply breathtaking,” and Alison Pick said “Prepare to be dazzled.” Above All Things was named one of the five “Big Buzz” books at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2011 and will be published in the US and UK in early 2013.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
November 5, 2022
I had to shelve this book - despite numerous attempts I could not get into it.
September 21, 2022
I loved reading this. After a kick-ass set of openings, the novel settles into a slow-burn emotional journey — one that transports us not only to a fascinating world (an island in the country of Vanuatu) but also serves as a deeply felt meditation on grief, reconciliation and mercy. The author does a masterful job of engaging an array of characters/points-of-view, and builds the story to a powerful conclusion. Definitely recommended!
June 3, 2022
I struggled with parts of this book. Reading the modern story caused some anxiety and grief because of losing my nephew to drowning and many times I thought I'd have to leave the book unfinished. But I loved Rideout's previous book, Above All Things, too much to do that. The sections with William and Josephine were confusing and uninteresting so I ended up skimming their story. The novel would have been tighter with a prologue of William and Josephine and the main focus being on the two modern families. Not sure yet whether I'll staff pick this or not at work. The second half of the novel held me more than the first and I was torn between 3 and 4 stars.
Read
January 2, 2023I could put dnf but I did flip through all the pages. The voice of Faina was particularly troubling. Maybe it would have been okay to tell the story but the dialogue? Why is a white Canadian trying to tell this story? It seems like the cycle repeating again oh let’s come to the Island and take what we want including the story. I don’t get it. I don’t know how this gets published. Why we think it is okay. How you could possibly think it was okay to understand that voice when you don’t know the language and you assume that Faina would think like we think in English.
Read
September 26, 2022One of the strongest depictions of maternal grief I have ever read, intimate and vulnerable. Remarkably empathetic work. Brava, Tanis!
October 16, 2022
I loved Tanis Rideout’s previous novel, Above All Things, which I read in 2012. It made a real impression on me because I still remember it a decade later. I was anxious to read her sophomore novel, and I was not disappointed.
In the 1830s, William and Josephine Stewart left Nova Scotia and travelled to the island of Iparei in what is now known as Vanuatu in the South Pacific. Their intention was to convert the Indigenous Peoples to Christianity, but their arrival brought disease, caused friction, and led to violence. In 2013, Michelle Stewart, a descendant of these missionaries, lives in Toronto. Her family has been devastated by the death, the previous year, of the middle child Dylan. Michelle is invited to attend a reconciliation ceremony on the island for their ancestors. She accepts the invitation and brings her husband Scott, her mother Joyce, and her children, Zach and Astrid, with her. On the island, Michelle and her family are hosted by Rebecca and David Tabé and their children, Jacob and Anaei. The Tabé family is also in mourning because of the death of the youngest child Ouben after a cyclone six months earlier. In their time together, both families learn that they are connected by losses in the present and by the actions of ancestors in the past. David says, “’There are things that must be put to rest if we want to move forward,’” and his comment applies to both the present and the past, and to individuals and the community.
The perspectives of various characters are given: Michelle, Scott, Zach, Rebecca, David, and Jacob. This approach to point of view allows the reader to learn everyone’s thoughts and feelings which are often not expressed to others. William and Josephine are not given a voice, except through some fragmentary pages from Josephine’s diary. Instead, through interspersed sections, we are given the perspective of Faina, a girl living at the time of William and Josephine’s arrival. She sheds light on the reactions of the islanders to the missionaries.
Grief is a major theme. Though the circumstances are different, the death of a child is a loss experienced by both families. Though the sorrow of both mothers is described in heartbreaking terms, Michelle has much more difficulty moving on, though Ouben’s death was much more recent. Rebecca has rituals, such as wearing a fasting cord, and she goes to a cave sacred to women, a place that connects her to her ancestors: “There is comfort in this connection, less an erasure of her own suffering, her own fear and hope, than an embrace.”
Michelle, on the other hand, carries her grief in a “fragile, angry way.” She lashes out and so finds herself isolated from those closest to her. Rebecca notices that the members of Michelle’s family “are careful and distant with one another – a flicker of resentment, of frustration, sparks among them.” Michelle is so focused on her own grief, that she seems not to realize that others too have experienced loss. Jacob tells Zach, “’It wasn’t just your ancestors that were killed here. So many of our people got sick and died after the missionaries came, the traders. We need to remember them too. There are many sides to the story.’”
In many ways, Michelle illustrates the attitudes of the whites who came to the island. When Rebecca takes her to the special cave, Michelle “simply sees a cave, something empty and dark, that is only meaningful because of how her own people might have marked it. Initially, she doesn’t seem to understand that it is not just the islanders who have to “’honour [their] obligations. ‘’’ Just as Josephine seemed to say sorry often, Michelle does too. Rebecca comments, “The woman is always apologizing . . . The words come easy to her, but they’re hollow.”
One of the messages of the book is that reconciliation is not just apologizing and asking for forgiveness. Zach thinks of his mother’s “vague sorrys, and how useless a word it is on its own.” The point is that “’forgiveness is only part of the work. We must repair the road that was broken. Then we can begin to move forward, together.’” Michelle does admit to realizing something: “’I always thought what happened here was ancient history, but I know now that’s not true. Their ghosts are all around us.’” And she does offer something, “’I know it doesn’t change anything . . . but it’s something – a beginning.’” All of this reminded me so much of the situation of Canada’s First Nations peoples and the need for proper reconciliation.
I appreciated the references to climate change and its impact on the islanders. David explains that “’the storms that come now are so much worse, so much stronger than they used to be.’” Rebecca tells Michelle, “’We are not the ones causing these changes. And yet these storms grow worse every year, causing more and more damage, because you refuse to see what you are doing to the rest of the world. Our islands are going to be swallowed by the sea.’” And Jacob talks to Zach about the garbage that washes up on their beach: “’All this crap gets washed up from other places.’”
There is so much in this book to inspire thought. It certainly left me thinking more about both the actions of Canadians in the past and our behaviour in the present. This novel with its thematic depth is one I will be highly recommending to others.
Note: I received a digital galley from the publisher via NetGalley.
Anyone who has not read Above All Things is in for a treat. Here’s my review: https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/...
In the 1830s, William and Josephine Stewart left Nova Scotia and travelled to the island of Iparei in what is now known as Vanuatu in the South Pacific. Their intention was to convert the Indigenous Peoples to Christianity, but their arrival brought disease, caused friction, and led to violence. In 2013, Michelle Stewart, a descendant of these missionaries, lives in Toronto. Her family has been devastated by the death, the previous year, of the middle child Dylan. Michelle is invited to attend a reconciliation ceremony on the island for their ancestors. She accepts the invitation and brings her husband Scott, her mother Joyce, and her children, Zach and Astrid, with her. On the island, Michelle and her family are hosted by Rebecca and David Tabé and their children, Jacob and Anaei. The Tabé family is also in mourning because of the death of the youngest child Ouben after a cyclone six months earlier. In their time together, both families learn that they are connected by losses in the present and by the actions of ancestors in the past. David says, “’There are things that must be put to rest if we want to move forward,’” and his comment applies to both the present and the past, and to individuals and the community.
The perspectives of various characters are given: Michelle, Scott, Zach, Rebecca, David, and Jacob. This approach to point of view allows the reader to learn everyone’s thoughts and feelings which are often not expressed to others. William and Josephine are not given a voice, except through some fragmentary pages from Josephine’s diary. Instead, through interspersed sections, we are given the perspective of Faina, a girl living at the time of William and Josephine’s arrival. She sheds light on the reactions of the islanders to the missionaries.
Grief is a major theme. Though the circumstances are different, the death of a child is a loss experienced by both families. Though the sorrow of both mothers is described in heartbreaking terms, Michelle has much more difficulty moving on, though Ouben’s death was much more recent. Rebecca has rituals, such as wearing a fasting cord, and she goes to a cave sacred to women, a place that connects her to her ancestors: “There is comfort in this connection, less an erasure of her own suffering, her own fear and hope, than an embrace.”
Michelle, on the other hand, carries her grief in a “fragile, angry way.” She lashes out and so finds herself isolated from those closest to her. Rebecca notices that the members of Michelle’s family “are careful and distant with one another – a flicker of resentment, of frustration, sparks among them.” Michelle is so focused on her own grief, that she seems not to realize that others too have experienced loss. Jacob tells Zach, “’It wasn’t just your ancestors that were killed here. So many of our people got sick and died after the missionaries came, the traders. We need to remember them too. There are many sides to the story.’”
In many ways, Michelle illustrates the attitudes of the whites who came to the island. When Rebecca takes her to the special cave, Michelle “simply sees a cave, something empty and dark, that is only meaningful because of how her own people might have marked it. Initially, she doesn’t seem to understand that it is not just the islanders who have to “’honour [their] obligations. ‘’’ Just as Josephine seemed to say sorry often, Michelle does too. Rebecca comments, “The woman is always apologizing . . . The words come easy to her, but they’re hollow.”
One of the messages of the book is that reconciliation is not just apologizing and asking for forgiveness. Zach thinks of his mother’s “vague sorrys, and how useless a word it is on its own.” The point is that “’forgiveness is only part of the work. We must repair the road that was broken. Then we can begin to move forward, together.’” Michelle does admit to realizing something: “’I always thought what happened here was ancient history, but I know now that’s not true. Their ghosts are all around us.’” And she does offer something, “’I know it doesn’t change anything . . . but it’s something – a beginning.’” All of this reminded me so much of the situation of Canada’s First Nations peoples and the need for proper reconciliation.
I appreciated the references to climate change and its impact on the islanders. David explains that “’the storms that come now are so much worse, so much stronger than they used to be.’” Rebecca tells Michelle, “’We are not the ones causing these changes. And yet these storms grow worse every year, causing more and more damage, because you refuse to see what you are doing to the rest of the world. Our islands are going to be swallowed by the sea.’” And Jacob talks to Zach about the garbage that washes up on their beach: “’All this crap gets washed up from other places.’”
There is so much in this book to inspire thought. It certainly left me thinking more about both the actions of Canadians in the past and our behaviour in the present. This novel with its thematic depth is one I will be highly recommending to others.
Note: I received a digital galley from the publisher via NetGalley.
Anyone who has not read Above All Things is in for a treat. Here’s my review: https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/...
October 18, 2023
A series of delicate subjects so beautifully interwoven with one another.
When you recognise the dialogue, and know the landscape narrative, without the author telling you the location, that is great storytelling; especially when the location in question is a small archipelago in the Pacific Ocean!
This is a poignant story of family ties spanning generations, whilst dealing with the growing pains and grief.
Tanis has written with sensitivity and a deep knowing of the subjects that speak to either personal experiences, a lot of research and deep reflection, as well as a depth of empathy that is often lacking when it comes to the history of places in the world that are often unknown or ignored.
Having spent time with the locals on the islands of Vanuatu teaching some of the children, cooking with the women and exploring the various cultures within the archipelago, I learnt a lot about the history and cultural development of this region.
Taking time to learn how survival from the elements, economic poverty and relying on sailors passing by as a source of income to buy coconut milk, fruits and spend money in the casinos, yacht clubs and the exclusive resorts, opened my eyes to a different world; as well as showed me just how difficult it is to remove the plastic and other pollutants that easily get transferred around the world as we travel and explore remote islands.
This story may relate to events from two hundred years ago, and to the present medical issues of the locals on the islands, but in many ways, it also highlights the ignorance many of us in the 'developed' world still have when it comes to life around the world, and what is truly needed.
One of the things the people of Vanuatu asked me for when I was there was snorkel goggles so they could protect their eye sight and see the fish they needed to catch in order to eat. Not so they could see the corals, but so they could catch the fish. A request that made me stop and think about the real needs of people around the world.
Many of us travel to far flung places, but very rarely travel deep within ourselves, as so beautifully illustrated by the various characters in this powerful story.
How Tanis showcases the journey of grief from each of the family members' points of view was tender and real, and very rarely written about.
The dynamics of love and resentment, the push / /pull of relationship, the isolation and distances, the anchoring and dissolution of life as it unfolds, makes us question how we shut others out and handle grief, and how we move on from the devastating helplessness we feel when a loved one's life slips away.
So, yes, I highly recommend this book, and not just because it is beautifully told and wonderfully written, because it is a story that speaks to many different issues that many people avoid.
Enjoy, and I would love to hear your own views on this book once you have read it.
When you recognise the dialogue, and know the landscape narrative, without the author telling you the location, that is great storytelling; especially when the location in question is a small archipelago in the Pacific Ocean!
This is a poignant story of family ties spanning generations, whilst dealing with the growing pains and grief.
Tanis has written with sensitivity and a deep knowing of the subjects that speak to either personal experiences, a lot of research and deep reflection, as well as a depth of empathy that is often lacking when it comes to the history of places in the world that are often unknown or ignored.
Having spent time with the locals on the islands of Vanuatu teaching some of the children, cooking with the women and exploring the various cultures within the archipelago, I learnt a lot about the history and cultural development of this region.
Taking time to learn how survival from the elements, economic poverty and relying on sailors passing by as a source of income to buy coconut milk, fruits and spend money in the casinos, yacht clubs and the exclusive resorts, opened my eyes to a different world; as well as showed me just how difficult it is to remove the plastic and other pollutants that easily get transferred around the world as we travel and explore remote islands.
This story may relate to events from two hundred years ago, and to the present medical issues of the locals on the islands, but in many ways, it also highlights the ignorance many of us in the 'developed' world still have when it comes to life around the world, and what is truly needed.
One of the things the people of Vanuatu asked me for when I was there was snorkel goggles so they could protect their eye sight and see the fish they needed to catch in order to eat. Not so they could see the corals, but so they could catch the fish. A request that made me stop and think about the real needs of people around the world.
Many of us travel to far flung places, but very rarely travel deep within ourselves, as so beautifully illustrated by the various characters in this powerful story.
How Tanis showcases the journey of grief from each of the family members' points of view was tender and real, and very rarely written about.
The dynamics of love and resentment, the push / /pull of relationship, the isolation and distances, the anchoring and dissolution of life as it unfolds, makes us question how we shut others out and handle grief, and how we move on from the devastating helplessness we feel when a loved one's life slips away.
So, yes, I highly recommend this book, and not just because it is beautifully told and wonderfully written, because it is a story that speaks to many different issues that many people avoid.
Enjoy, and I would love to hear your own views on this book once you have read it.
October 6, 2022
The Sea Between Two Shores is a well-researched and ambitious novel that touches on a lot of issues: grief, guilt, colonial trauma and reconciliation, cultural divides, and climate change. The story centres around a reconciliation ceremony between Canadians (Michelle and Scott, and their children); and the indigenous people of Vanuatu (Rebecca and David, and their children, and their village).
Michelle’s ancestors arrived in 1800’s Vanuatu (formerly the Hebrides) with the goal of converting the indigenous peoples to Christianity. The historical scenes are told from the point of view of Faina, a young ni-vanuatu girl, demonstrating the pre-colonial culture and highlighting the cultural differences between the pre-colonial locals and the new arrivals, but also the differences and similarities between the pre-colonial locals and the current day ni-vanuatu. When white traders come looking for wood (protected and revered spiritually by the locals), and are denied it, they purposefully infect the locals with measles. Many die, and the missionary couple are killed in retaliation when they refuse to leave.
After a natural disaster destroys much of their village and leaves their infant son dead, David and Rebecca invite Michelle and Scott to Vanuatu for a reconciliation ceremony, to cleanse the guilt of the killing of the missionaries and heal the village. Grieving the loss of her own young son, Michelle accepts. The author’s expertly written theme of reconciliation between descendants of historical trauma parallels the current Canadian political climate surrounding residential schools and is a powerful comparison between those that feel helpless and unsure of how to move forward and repair (and those who don’t understand why they should have to), and those that live with the lasting impacts and strive to heal from it.
The juxtaposition of the two families, and the obvious parallels (death of a child, family structure, familial grief) serves to emphasize the theme of grief through the story, but also illustrates the differences in how grief is managed/healed from in different cultures: one family pulls away and inward, isolating themselves from each other, one family has support of culture and tradition and draws closer to each other.
The emotional connections and understanding between the two families builds slowly, as does the novel’s pace, like a tide pulling one out to sea, and then culminates quickly and then all at once the pieces fit and the waves crash down.
Excellently written, expertly researched, and powerful.
Michelle’s ancestors arrived in 1800’s Vanuatu (formerly the Hebrides) with the goal of converting the indigenous peoples to Christianity. The historical scenes are told from the point of view of Faina, a young ni-vanuatu girl, demonstrating the pre-colonial culture and highlighting the cultural differences between the pre-colonial locals and the new arrivals, but also the differences and similarities between the pre-colonial locals and the current day ni-vanuatu. When white traders come looking for wood (protected and revered spiritually by the locals), and are denied it, they purposefully infect the locals with measles. Many die, and the missionary couple are killed in retaliation when they refuse to leave.
After a natural disaster destroys much of their village and leaves their infant son dead, David and Rebecca invite Michelle and Scott to Vanuatu for a reconciliation ceremony, to cleanse the guilt of the killing of the missionaries and heal the village. Grieving the loss of her own young son, Michelle accepts. The author’s expertly written theme of reconciliation between descendants of historical trauma parallels the current Canadian political climate surrounding residential schools and is a powerful comparison between those that feel helpless and unsure of how to move forward and repair (and those who don’t understand why they should have to), and those that live with the lasting impacts and strive to heal from it.
The juxtaposition of the two families, and the obvious parallels (death of a child, family structure, familial grief) serves to emphasize the theme of grief through the story, but also illustrates the differences in how grief is managed/healed from in different cultures: one family pulls away and inward, isolating themselves from each other, one family has support of culture and tradition and draws closer to each other.
The emotional connections and understanding between the two families builds slowly, as does the novel’s pace, like a tide pulling one out to sea, and then culminates quickly and then all at once the pieces fit and the waves crash down.
Excellently written, expertly researched, and powerful.
January 7, 2023
I like how Tanis gives the perspectives of the characters throughout the book, it allows readers to fully grasp the emotions that they are feeling in the same situations. I particularly liked when the chapters were in Faina’s and Rebecca’s perspective. I personally have never lost someone close to me (death wise), but I believe this book gave me good insight on how there are a multitude of ways to deal with the plethora of emotions that come with someone’s passing.
SPOILERS‼️‼️:
I wish we would’ve gotten to have more details given to us on what happened after Middle Grove had demanded William and Josephine to leave, and what Faina did to deal with it. I also wish we would’ve gotten one last chapter from one the Stewart’s on how life had been going for them after they left Iparei, not just a text from Zach explaining it.
SPOILERS‼️‼️:
I wish we would’ve gotten to have more details given to us on what happened after Middle Grove had demanded William and Josephine to leave, and what Faina did to deal with it. I also wish we would’ve gotten one last chapter from one the Stewart’s on how life had been going for them after they left Iparei, not just a text from Zach explaining it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 30, 2025
Oh boy, did I love Tanis' first novel "Above All Things" so I was thrilled to see another one at the library. The physical book was a small hardcover, with a great cover and nice font; loved it!
The plot is mostly based on a historical missionary attempt in Vanuatu (before Survivor filmed there!) and recent reconciliation ceremony. Sounds like a great plot, but for some reason I had to discipline myself to finish the book like I used to have to trick myself to read a Western Civ. textbook. Mostly I found there to be too many named characters and a plot that should have been fired up, but was mostly dragging itself out to a weak climax. There is a very dramatic occurrence in this plot, but it was ignored mostly. Why?
So, I struggled. I also would not recommend this one to anyone who had lost a child, as family grief was a major theme in this book as well. Actually 3.5 stars.
The plot is mostly based on a historical missionary attempt in Vanuatu (before Survivor filmed there!) and recent reconciliation ceremony. Sounds like a great plot, but for some reason I had to discipline myself to finish the book like I used to have to trick myself to read a Western Civ. textbook. Mostly I found there to be too many named characters and a plot that should have been fired up, but was mostly dragging itself out to a weak climax. There is a very dramatic occurrence in this plot, but it was ignored mostly. Why?
So, I struggled. I also would not recommend this one to anyone who had lost a child, as family grief was a major theme in this book as well. Actually 3.5 stars.
February 6, 2025
Not sure how to feel about this novel. I was touched by the chapters where main characters talk about the death of their loved ones. I even cried while reading some of these parts. But overall I can’t say I loved this book. I felt that the author is trying too hard to not seem racist by putting words on the tongues of her Vanuatu characters that are too pretentious and don’t seem to be naturally expected of them. She was also so harsh on “ Michelle”, blaming her for being too sad for the death of her son(?) and for the following disintegration of her family. Most of the story happening in the past also seemed like random bits and pieces everywhere lacking deep conversations or analysis.
December 12, 2023
I found this a bit of a slow-burner, and couldn’t quite tell where the book was going in terms of plot at first. Then somewhere near the middle I found myself not wanting to put it down and to find out how the threads all came together. I do feel the characters could have been padded out a little more, but with so many threads/voices I can understand how that might make the reading too cumbersome.
Glad I stuck with it.
Glad I stuck with it.
September 2, 2023
I chose to read this as I loved the author's first book, Above All Things. This one did not pull me in in the same way though. In fact I put it down and restarted it because I couldn't get interested the first time. The second time, I became much more invested and by the end it was hard to put down. It touches on many timely issues such as colonization, reconciliation, and climate change, as well as grief and family. I liked the changing perspectives, and it's a solid 3.5 stars, but it just didn't live up to her first novel for me. I also dislike Michelle immensely, which affected my opinion throughout.
October 18, 2023
This was a lovely book about reconciliation, facilitated by two mothers who each lost a young son, motivated by the recognition of how the white, "missionary" ansestors of one disrupted and changed the lives of the ancestors of the other. It dragged a bit at the end and was somewhat melodramatic, but still a worthwhile read.
March 2, 2024
I had a bit of a tough time getting into this book. There were so many different characters, and past and present it was difficult to keep track of the timeline. Once I got it straight, I was able to see where the story was going. I find it to be very thought provoking and a deep story of how history shapes the future and how we can try to move forward more peacefully.
March 20, 2024
It took me a long time to get all the characters straight as it’s told from the perspective of at least 7 different characters. The writing was pretty good but the overall story fell a little flat for me. It felt a bit cliche and the resolution at the end seemed a bit forced and inorganic. I think there are some valuable themes and messages but overall this wasn’t my favorite.
June 5, 2024
This was a slow book for me to get in to and highly emotional because of the vast amount of grief. I liked all the different viewpoints, and wished we had more of an ending for some of the characters. It was written in such thoughtful detail, that I felt that the ending was rushed after spreading the story out for so long. Overall, I enjoyed it.
January 5, 2023
Ostensibly about a Canadian family going to a Vanuatu island their ancestors messed with. But really about a family’s grief over the accidental death of one of their children. There was no let up from that sorrow.
April 3, 2023
I loved this story but… the writing felt a bit immature. I felt there were a few gaps in the storyline as well. However this was such a well thought out novel - and an incredibly important story to tell.
November 8, 2022
I don't think this book is for me. It was kind of hard to follow because of all the different characters' perspectives involved and I couldn't follow who's character belongs to which story line.
May 14, 2023
Grief, history and colonialism. Some good themes. Writing at times jumped around in timeline. The lost sons and grief was hard to deal with. I like the island setting and the people.
October 29, 2023
I felt this book had so much potential but the connections between characters were not strong and thereby the story lost so much moment.
February 19, 2024
I couldn’t relate to anything in this book. Parts of it were engaging.
September 10, 2024
"To live is to be marked. To live is to change, to acquire the words of a story, and that is the only celebration we mortals really know. In perfect stillness, frankly, I've only found sorrow."
January 21, 2026
Eye opening in ways that you think your eyes are already wide. 3 stars due to the storyline not having many climactic moments, making it a longer read.
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