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Readers' rating:
Published May 2015
320 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
The Shore: a group of small islands in the Chesapeake Bay, just off the coast of Virginia. The Shore is clumps of evergreens, wild ponies, oyster-shell roads, tumble-down houses, unwanted pregnancies, murder, and dark magic in the marshes. Sanctuary to some but nightmare to others, it's a place that generations of families both wealthy and destitute have inhabited, fled, and returned to for hundreds of years. From a half-Shawnee Indian's bold choice to escape an abusive home only to find herself with a man who will one day try to kill her, to a brave young girl's determination to protect her younger sister as methamphetamine ravages their family, the characters in this remarkable novel have deep connections to the land, and a resilience that only the place they call home could create.
Through a series of interconnecting narratives that recalls the work of David Mitchell and Jennifer Egan, Sara Taylor brings to life the small miracles and miseries of a community of outsiders, and the bonds of blood and fate that connect them all.
Spanning over a century, dreamlike and yet impossibly real, profound and playful, The Shore is a breathtakingly ambitious and accomplished work of fiction by a young writer of remarkable promise.
"[A] promising new voice. Taylor excels at imagining outsider identities, female strength, the connection of people to place, and a world so perilous that damage and healing, brutality and resourcefulness merge." - Publishers Weekly
"The closed ecosystem of The Shore provides Taylor with an ideal setting for illuminating the course of Life over Time. " - Kirkus Reviews
"[Taylor] can do dark realism as well as she can the magic kind – in fact, she seems able to do most things. This debut is a testament to an exuberant talent and an original, fearless sensibility. It's also enormous fun to read." - The Guardian (UK)
"[A] remarkable first novel…Taylor is a terrific storyteller with a flawless narrative voice and, as a portrait of the impoverished rural South, this novel is a real achievement. .. The Shore is a mesmerizing, powerful read." - The Times (UK)
"Reminiscent of David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas and just as ambitious." - Stylist
"A collection of interweaving stories set on the coast of Virginia…[The Shore] promises lyrical writing and quietly tragic storytelling." - Huffington Post (UK)
This information about The Shore was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Sara Taylor was born in rural Virginia where she was home-educated. Between secondary school and college, she painted houses, demonstrated open hearth cooking for museums, and opened a café. At 24 years old, she completed her MA at the University of East Anglia, and is currently working on a PhD. The Shore is her first novel.
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