I really enjoyed another book by this author, The Fifteen Wonders of Daniel Green mostly for the uniqueness of the storyline. I saw this coming out and was intrigued enough to pick it up!
This title is symbolic in some ways, there is the actual sea, and the metaphorical one as people contemplate their roles in daily life. The actual sea is the life and blood of the small town, and a lot of families who depend on it are struggling to stay afloat (here in terms of finding enough money to go around). I was not sure how invested I was going to be partway into the narrative, there were many voices and a lot of different angles that we are watching the unfolding of events from. I will not talk about them all because the way they are woven together is part of its charm. There are numerous mentions and in-depth conversations about addictions and enablers here so that might be something that people should be aware of as they go in, in case it acts as a trigger.
We have one girl whose mind is rebelling against her, and she ended up in a hole she is valiantly but almost unsuccessfully trying to dig herself out of. There is another who has been handed lousy news but does not want it to be true. There are four(ish) grown women who are essential to the story, and they all have had ripple effects on each other and especially the girls in various ways. It was a different type of account, one of struggle and only mildly tinged with hope. I might have liked it even more if it had some probably improbable twists to make it happier, but that’s just me and my need to stay upbeat.
I recommend this to those who like reading books with relationships under a microscope and the fascinating nuances in them all.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.
Superfluous Reading 