The Shore

Author(s): Sara Taylor

Fiction.

The Shore. A collection of small islands sticking out from the coast of Virginia into the Atlantic Ocean takes the force of hurricanes. The Shore is clumps of evergreens, wild ponies, oyster-shell roads, tumble-down houses, and has been home to generations of fierce and resilient women. Sanctuary to some but nightmare to others, it's a place they've inhabited, fled, and returned to for hundreds of years. From a brave girl's determination to protect her younger sister as methamphetamine ravages their family, to a half-Shawnee Indian's bold choice to flee an abusive home only to find herself with a man who will one day try to kill her, to a lesson in summoning storm clouds to help end a drought, these women struggle against domestic violence, savage wilderness, and the corrosive effects of poverty and addiction to secure a sense of well-being for themselves and for those they love. Their interconnecting stories form a deeply affecting legacy of two island families, illuminating the small miracles and miseries of a community of outsiders, and the bonds of blood and fate that connect them all. Dreamlike and yet impossibly real, profound and playful, The Shore conjures a wisdom and beauty of its own. It is a richly unique, breathtakingly ambitious and accomplished debut novel by a young writer of astonishing gifts.


Product Information

Dreamlike and yet impossibly real, profound and playful, THE SHORE is a breathtakingly ambitious and accomplished debut by a young writer of astonishing gifts. THE SHORE recalls David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas, Jennifer Egan's A Visit from the Goon Squad and Ulverton by Adam Thorpe.

"I loved this book ... Epic in breadth but glittering in its detail, The Shore is utterly absorbing." -- Catherine O'Flynn "A vivid exploration of the struggle for autonomy and the many meanings of what we call home." -- Eimear McBride, author of A Girl is a Half-formed Thing "Sara Taylor has a completely natural, unforced feel for language and voice: a remarkable debut." -- Adam Thorpe "This is not a novel for the faint-hearted but dare to read it for the sinuous fluency of the writing." -- Maureen Duffy

Sara Taylor is herself a product of rural Virginia and home education. Between secondary school and college she painted houses, demonstrated open hearth cooking at museums and opened a cafe, but she prefers student life. She has just completed the MA in Creative Writing at UEA, and is about to embark on the PhD programme there. She is twenty-four years old and lives in Norwich, England.

General Fields

  • : 9780434023103
  • : Cornerstone
  • : William Heinemann Ltd
  • : August 2014
  • : United Kingdom
  • : April 2015
  • : books

Special Fields

  • : Sara Taylor
  • : Paperback
  • : Mar-15
  • : en
  • : 256