Editorial Content for The Cottage at Glass Beach
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Reviewer (text)
The cottage at Glass Beach has brought Nora Cunningham full circle --- from her birth in the cottage on Burke's Island to her return at age 34 to escape from the chaos that had become her life following the discovery of her politician husband's infidelity and the resulting media frenzy. Nora hopes to put the pieces of her life back together, as well as fill in some of the blanks that her father refused to talk about following the death of her mother. Nora hopes that Aunt Maire, who still lives on the island, will agree to help her.
"THE COTTAGE AT GLASS BEACH has an ethereal feel that is a result of the author's frequent poetic descriptions and insights. She creates a longing in the reader to find that quiet island that would provide a place to rest and regroup, to examine oneself and make good decisions."
Nora's daughters, Annie and Ella, are not at all enthusiastic about leaving their comfortable Boston home for a musty beach cottage in the middle of nowhere. Not only are they city girls, they did not want to be away from their father despite his unfaithfulness. Yet Nora hopes to spark some interest in their heritage and to ease some of their pain over being separated from their dad. She feels that there is something healing about the sea.
Between Nora's mystical Irish ancestry and myths surrounding the ocean and its creatures, Heather Barbieri has created a modern-day tale combining all three elements. And the more Nora discovers about her past, the more the myths and sea stories play into the plot. Are there hidden caves out on the island where shipwrecked sailors are rescued by seals? Are skelties really seals that shed their skin and take on human form in order to help people?
Where did the mysterious fisherman come from just at the time Nora and Maire needed help? Who is Ronan, the helpful young man who meets with Annie on the beach and swears her to secrecy?
THE COTTAGE AT GLASS BEACH has an ethereal feel that is a result of the author's frequent poetic descriptions and insights. She creates a longing in the reader to find that quiet island that would provide a place to rest and regroup, to examine oneself and make good decisions. But one soon realizes that even such idyllic places can become chaotic when people are present. Not all of the islanders welcome strangers. In fact, one demented woman is convinced that Nora is her mother come back to taunt her and screams curses at her whenever she sees her. Others think that Nora may be there to con Maire out of her home so that she can tear it down and build a hotel.
For the most part, the characters are well developed and accomplish the plot roles designed for them. However, unless the reader is familiar with some of the myths that are mentioned, it may be difficult to separate the real from the mythical. Of course, anyone with two daughters of the preteen variety will have no problem believing the antics of Annie and Ella --- from constant bickering over meaningless issues to secretly calling their father and asking him to come to the island. Yet one is left with some unanswered questions regarding Owen Kavanagh and Ronan. I'm thinking there may be a sequel in the making.
Teaser
Nora Keane’s carefully constructed life falls to pieces when she --- along with the rest of the world --- learns that her husband, a prominent Massachusetts attorney general, has been cheating on her. Heartbroken and humiliated, Nora takes refuge with her maternal aunt on Burke’s Island in Maine, a place where superstition and magic are carried on the ocean winds, and wishes and dreams wash ashore with the changing tides.
Promo
Nora Keane’s carefully constructed life falls to pieces when she --- along with the rest of the world --- learns that her husband, a prominent Massachusetts attorney general, has been cheating on her. Heartbroken and humiliated, Nora takes refuge with her maternal aunt on Burke’s Island in Maine, a place where superstition and magic are carried on the ocean winds, and wishes and dreams wash ashore with the changing tides.
About the Book
Forty-year-old Nora Cunningham has it all: a handsome husband, Malcolm --- the youngest attorney general in Massachusetts state history --- and two healthy, lively daughters, Annie, 7, and Ella, 11. That is, until she and the rest of the world learn of Malcolm’s affair, and his refusal to give up his lover turns their lives upside down.
At the height of the scandal, Nora receives an invitation to visit her maternal aunt on Burke’s Island, off the coast of Maine. To escape the growing political storm and gain perspective on her marriage, Nora packs up her daughters and heads to the remote community, originally settled by Irish immigrants. Nora hasn’t been there since she was three, the summer her mother disappeared and she and her father moved to Boston, never to speak of those months again.
One night, while sitting alone on Glass Beach, below the cottage where she spent her childhood, Nora breaks down at last. Her tears flow into the sea, where, according to local legend, they might invoke a selkie --- a mythic creature --- to console her. Not long afterward, Owen Kavanagh, a fisherman with a mysterious past, is shipwrecked on the rocks.
As the weeks pass, Nora uncovers more questions about her relationships, her mother’s fate, and her own identity. Then Ella undertakes a reckless journey, heading to Boston in a boat that once belonged to her grandmother, her younger sister in tow. Nearly drowning in a storm, the two girls wash up on Little Burke’s, an islet across the channel that plays a recurring role in Nora’s fragmented memories. As she frantically searches for her daughters, Nora finds the courage to chart her own course --- and the secrets surrounding that long ago summer --- finally come to light.
