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The Cottage at Glass Beach
Married to the youngest attorney general in Massachusetts state history, Nora Cunningham is a picture-perfect political wife and a doting mother. But her carefully constructed life falls to pieces when she, along with the rest of the world, learns of the infidelity of her husband, Malcolm.
Humiliated and hounded by the press, Nora packs up her daughters—Annie, seven; and Ella, twelve—and takes refuge on Burke's Island, a craggy spit of land off the coast of Maine. Settled by Irish immigrants, the island is a place where superstition and magic are carried on the ocean winds, and wishes and dreams wash ashore with the changing tides.
Nora spent her first five years on the island but has not been back to the remote community for decades—not since that long ago summer when her mother disappeared at sea. One night while sitting alone on Glass Beach below the cottage where she spent her childhood, Nora succumbs to grief, her tears flowing into the ocean. Days later she finds an enigmatic fisherman named Owen Kavanagh shipwrecked on the rocks nearby. Is he, as her aunt's friend Polly suggests, a selkie—a mythical being of island legend—summoned by her heartbreak, or simply someone who, like Nora, is trying to find his way in the wake of his own personal struggles?
Just as she begins to regain her balance, her daughters embark on a reckless odyssey of their own—a journey that will force Nora to find the courage to chart her own course and finally face the truth about her marriage, her mother, and her long-buried past.
The author of two previous novels, The Lace Makers of Glenmara and Snow in July, Heather Barbieri has won international prizes for her short fiction. She lives in Seattle with her family.
As a small girl of five Nora’s life changed forever when her mother disappeared and her father took her away from the only home she ever knew on Burke’s Island and the Cottage at Glass Beach. Now she finds herself running back to avoid the publicity from the scandal that rocked her world and her marriage and to find sanctuary and refuge for her and her two daughters at least for the summer. As Nora reconnects with family and friends from her past she’s also aware that her mother’s ghost is never far away and her being here is stirring up memories long forgotten, she’s also aware the Island hasn’t changed much since those Irish immigrants, with her ancestors aboard first landed with their legends and myths and as she takes her sentimental journey of discovery she feels those myths and legends alive in her bones and on the Island as well. But Nora’s not alone on her Island and as she makes decisions and changed in her life her daughters are making discoveries of their own and some of them could be very costly indeed.
Heather Barbieri took me on a trip of a lifetime with this intuitive, imaginative and beautifully narrated novel. Not only did she give me a family drama but I felt I was in an adult fairy tale as well and in between the power plays of her characters and as her seals barked and her ghosts moaned and her seas crashed into the rocks I was taken away by her words to her world. Her characters were amazing and while some were real flesh and blood she made me wonder if others stepped out of the sea and out of an Irish legend.
The main thing the novel made me want was to see where else this talented storyteller could take me. Thank you Ms. Barbieri for a beautiful journey.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Nora has taken her daughters to Glass Beach, an island off the coast of Maine, to escape the publicity surrounding her husband’s infidelity, publicity due to his being the attorney general of Massachusetts. A mystery surrounds the disappearance of Nora’s mother from Glass Beach years before, a topic not discussed by her father. A strong female relative helps Nora and her daughters adjust to small-town life and answers questions about island secrets. But Nora herself seems weak and uninspiring—yes, she has been hurt by her husband but does she need to hide herself away on the island? Does she need to put up with the rude behavior of her teen daughter? The formula of a wronged woman who musters strength to save her family has been done before. The story was enjoyable but predictable.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted May 11, 2013
I love sex
Anonymous
Posted December 28, 2012
She sits bored.
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted November 25, 2012
Make nests. They talk to each other quietly then go to sleep.
0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted November 17, 2012
A large den created by sticks and reeds woven together. The protectors and warriors of HurricaneClan rest here.
0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged. This was, in a word - Amazing! A beautifully written story,
excellently developed characters, clearly painted scenes, a page turner
from beginning to end. This book did it for me - it had it all. A
dysfunctional family - a cheating husband, a rebellious mouthy teen, and
a family with a sordid past. It also had a little mystical, magical
quality to it that was very unexpected! I loved it. This story was
sweet in parts, sometimes made you mad, and was sad in others. I kept
tearing up in spots, not sobbing, but just little sad moments. I think
maybe this is the kind of book that you won't like as much if you can't
relate to it - if you don't have children, if you have never had a man
cheat on you, if you have never just wanted to run away and get away
from the situation. This book got a lot of negative reviews - I just
don't see it. I really liked it! There were a lot of things left unsaid,
but what the author doesn't say almost speaks louder than what she does
say, the things left unsaid are just as important. And I understand why
she did this. In a situation like this you don't know everything. You
aren't meant to. The character development was so good.One reviewer
said that the kids didn't seem their age. I totally disagree with this!
I thought the author got this spot on! They were smart kids, yes. But to
me they certainly seemed age appropriate. Seven year old Annie was
sweet, loving, and wanted so much to believe in something more - magic.
Mouthy 12 year old Ella was... a brat! Aren't most 12 year old girls?
They talk back to their mothers, think they know everything, try to rule
the world. And even though they act like they know better about every
situation than you do - they really don't have a clue. Nora, the mom, I
loved her. I thought she made very smart decisions, she did not act
quickly or on impulse, I think she had a plan, and I agree with what she
did. I also liked the way she handled her children. I was always saying,
in reference to my own daughter, you have to choose your battles. You
can't yell at them about everything. You have to let some things go, and
I thought she did this well. There were also a few minor characters
that were also excellently developed. Maire, Nora's Aunt, whom I loved -
she reminded me of Stockard Channing (in Practical Magic). And then
there was Owen, the mystery man. Yes, he was a mystery, and he was never
fully explained but I don't think he needed to be. I think it was better
left as a mystery. It was more fun that way. A lot of reviewers also
complained about the ending so I was prepared - again I strongly
disagree! I thought the ending was just right. I didn't feel left
hanging at all! You all know how much I hate a non-endings, but this one
definitely was tied up in the end, not everything, no, there some things
that you aren't meant to know. That's the whole mystical quality about
it. One of my favorite quotes - "Annie began waving.
"I'm waving at the waves. They always wave back." - LOL I
loved this line! All in all I thought this was a great book! I really
enjoyed reading it, every page of it. I loved the "magical
realism" and all the angst of it. I loved the beach and the way the
author describes everything so you feel like you are right there. Hmm
from what I remember, I don't think there was any swearing, there was
one sex scene but not graphic at all, you just know that it happened.
Anonymous
Posted August 15, 2012
I read this for a book club, but I did not enjoy it at all. The story seemed stuck in the sand, never really moved on. Characters seemed shallow and predictable. I am glad it only took me a few hours to read this, but I would not recommend it and will probably not read another by this author.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.KrittersRamblings
Posted June 29, 2012
Check out my full review at Kritters Ramblings
Centered around Nora, a woman who has just been devastated by her husband's affair that has gone public, she decides to go back to the last place where she felt safe. With the help of her aunt, she starts to put back the pieces and find a new direction to take for her life.
FrancescaFB
Posted June 9, 2012
Not on the top of the beach book list for this summer.
But an ok read. Characters were not developed enough for me. I was left with too many questions, Owen, Ronan, etc. The mystical connections were never developed enough either. I was left with too many loose ends. BUT, beautiful descriptive writing made this a little more likable.
BootsieMP
Posted June 7, 2012
Disappointed. I kept hoping the story would take off but it was boring and predictable. Characters lacked depth. Who was Ronan?
Nora, mother of two, has sex with guy who washed up on the beach. Never did find out who he really was! Daughters met three different guys on the beach, fixed and sailed a boat and mom never knew? Nora obviously needs to take some time before she makes more life altering choices. Sorry I bought the hardcover!
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.NahvilleReader
Posted June 6, 2012
Good "chick flick" type book. Overall, the story was well written and enjoyable. I liked the characters and felt it was easy to connect to them. However, I found the way the children were written tiresome and not totally true to their ages. The setting makes the story. Worth reading in paperback.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted November 18, 2012
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Anonymous
Posted May 22, 2012
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Overview
The Cottage at Glass Beach
Married to the youngest attorney general in Massachusetts state history, Nora Cunningham is a picture-perfect political wife and a doting mother. But her carefully constructed life falls to pieces when she, along with the rest of the world, learns of the infidelity of her husband, Malcolm.
Humiliated and hounded by the press, Nora packs up her daughters—Annie, seven; and Ella, twelve—and takes refuge on Burke's ...