One of my favorite aspects of the story is that the beginning of the tale is so entertaining. This is filled with an enjoyable, detailed description of the two islands and their long history of conflict. It is quite involved, getting you well into the book before you meet the main charater, Ruth Thomas, but does not detract from the enjoyment of the novel. In fact, it intensified my interest in it.
Finally, when you know Ruth's history, you meet her growing up on the island of Fort Niles. She does not live in overwhelmingly desirable conditions on this island of working men and their families, but she never once makes you feel sorry for her. She has spunk mixed with cynicism, an occasional potty mouth, wacky friends and neighbors, and her whole life laying in front of her. You travel with her through her own inner conflict of what to do with herself on this island where fishing is the only source of income (low though it may be), and her outer conflict of wealthy relatives who strive to control her and her mother.
This book was a pleasurable read. I definitely recommend it.
It reminded me a little of "The Shipping News", but I enjoyed these characters better than those. The description of the landscape and the lobster fishing was interesting and added to the story.
The ending was a little weak. The story simply ends witnout resolution, then jumps to an epilogue where all the loose ends are tied up summarily. I would have enjoyed it if the book were a little longer and the plot was finished in the same narrative style as the bulk of the book.
Even though it is fiction, I found myself very envious of the relationship between Ruth and Mrs. Pommeroy. It is a type of relationship that every young girl should experience.
The concept of a young woman ending a generations-long feud seems ludicrous yet the author makes the storyline work so that the it does indeed seem plausible.
My only criticism is the description of the Isle of Shoals. Since this is where my son and daughter-in-law met and where my grandson was baptized, I have a special place in my heart for this unique part of America. Yes, I know that an author has poetic license yet I would hate for anyone to think ill of this throw-back to the 19th century. It is a place of breath-taking beauty and has a ambience that is all its own.
From the protagonist on down, I didn't know why these people were acting the way they did, nor did I get any sense that they knew why, either. Motivations were sorely lacking, and events sort of piled up, rushing towards a finale that just made me yawn. Stern Men read, to me, akin to a Danielle Steel work -- "and now this happened, and she felt like this...and then this happened, and she did this and that."
The author's style and facility with prose was actually quite nice; the book was easy to read and featured lovely language. Ultimately, I was just disappointed that I didn't care about what happened to any of these characters, because I was never properly introduced.
