What do readers think of The Edge of the Earth by Christina Schwarz? Write your own review.

The writing style of this author kept me wanting to read more. How can you really know someone until after you are married. What you see is not always what you get. This story feels haunting as you read it and the ending left me wanting to say, "wait, wait". Think it would make a great read for my book club here in Lufkin, TX.

I think people who will best like this book will be those who've read others by Christina Schwarz as they'll be familiar with the seemingly slow pace that gradually builds to an interesting conclusion. Those unfamiliar with her work might give up too soon, not realizing that Schwarz likes to build to an eventual surprise ending. Although those who have previously read Schwarz may wonder about the use of water and resultant drowning used again in this new book. I liked the book, I didn't love it. Like her prior works the female characters seemed more developed, more interesting than the men. My favorite of hers remains 'Drowning Ruth'. I would recommend sticking with the characters in TEOTE as the end has a nice surprise and a satisfying conclusion for the protagonist.

The Edge of the Earth is easy to read and moves along swiftly. It was interesting to read how people would live in such an out of the way place & to learn what goes into attending a lighthouse. I found myself liking Trudy for she was interested in learning about her new environment so different from her previous & the people there. I wasn't was particularly fond of her husband Oskar. Overall I enjoyed the book.

Don't judge a book by its back cover. Noted to be "gorgeously detailed, swiftly paced . . . magical", this novel is somewhat of a disappointment, little more than an isolated woman's journal of unfamiliar shore life and small family dramas. Secrets do come to life, and the pace picks up for the last quarter of the book, but you might find yourself hard pressed to justify Trudy's tolerance of her paternalistic, condescending husband, even in the historical context of a century past. The inaccessibility of the light station was well described, but the wild beauty of landscapes such as Big Sur was not captured.

This book will appeal to the reader that has patience, and is willing to meander along, quietly observing. Book clubs might consider the relationship of Trudy and Oskar, if it was consistent with the era and the locale, and if the story resonates or disappoints.

I instantly liked Trudy Swann. She is a woman born in Wisconsin at the end of the 1800s. Trudy marries a dreamer, moves to "the edge of the earth", a lighthouse on the wild Central California coast. This is a life she is unprepared for, but I loved how she adjusts to this new life. Her exposure to the marine life along the coast is an awakening of sorts, a discovery of the kind of person she wants to be. This is a book about women, the power of their friendships, their shared experiences and the strength and knowledge that women take from each other to make life more bearable under harsh conditions. That's what makes this a great book for discussion groups. Once again, Christina Schwarz gives her readers an unforgettable experience.

This was a quick read and, while parts were very interesting, I just wasn't quite vested in the characters or the story. Perhaps it was all of the "scientific research" of ocean life that was included, but I felt the author's research was over-arching to the story.

This novel taps into all sensory receptors. One can "feel" the sting of the ocean sprays and the driving rain. "Taste" the salt ever present in the air. The sweep of the powerful light searching the ocean for ships can be "seen" in the mind's eye. It also evokes emotions ranging from joy in the sense of adventure and early bonds formed from a fledgling relationship and anger unfairness felt from the dismissal of a woman's intelligence and her sense of right and wrong.
I can honestly say that this story resonated in me so powerfully that it will take a place in my "inner library" that few novels have found a permanent home within. I walked with the character "Trudy" as she sought to find a home physically, emotionally and intellectually among the rocks and ever present dangers in her Point Lucia lighthouse home. I felt apprehension so acute as the final pages approached that it became almost impossible to continue.
I now stand and offer my applause and admiration to Christina Schwarz for giving me this unforgettable opportunity within these pages to travel to "The Edge of the Earth".

When an old woman returns to the place of her birth, she reminisces about the past, about the delights of childhood and the challenges of living on a peninsula off the northern California Coast. in Christinia Schwarz' novel "THE EDGE OF THE EARTH", an inherited manuscript takes the reader to the 1890's through the eyes of Gertrude Swann, early marine biologist and lighthouse-keeper. When Trudy breaks ties with her family to marry young visionary Oskar, she cannot foresee her future. The difficulties of Mother Nature in the form of cold, wind, rain, ice, relentless waves, isolation and rocky cliffs parallel the challenges of human nature as Trudy and Oskar struggle to find balance in their marriage. The addition of an unexpected family on the premises when they arrive at Santa Lucia and a strange figure at a distance will keep the reader engaged in the well-detailed plot and enchanted by the beautiful imagery.