Search This Blog
December Reviews Link-Up
2024 Literary Escapes Challenge
- Alabama (1)
- Alaska (1)
- Arizona (1)
- Arkansas (1)
- California (11)
- Colorado (1)
- Connecticut (2)
- Delaware (1)
- Florida (3)
- Georgia (4)
- Hawaii (1)
- Idaho (3)
- Illinois (4)
- Indiana (4)
- Iowa (1)
- Kansas (1)
- Kentucky (2)
- Louisiana (1)
- Maine (1)
- Maryland (1)
- Massachusetts (4)
- Michigan (1)
- Minnesota (2)
- Mississippi (1)
- Missouri (1)
- Montana (1)
- Nebraska (1)
- Nevada (2)
- New Hampshire (1)
- New Jersey (1)
- New Mexico (1)
- New York (10)
- North Carolina (4)
- North Dakota (1)
- Ohio (3)
- Oklahoma (2)
- Oregon (2)
- Pennsylvania (2)
- Rhode Island (1)
- South Carolina (1)
- South Dakota (1)
- Tennessee (1)
- Texas (4)
- Utah (5)
- Vermont (2)
- Virginia (2)
- Washington (3)
- West Virginia (1)
- Wisconsin (1)
- Wyoming (2)
- Washington, D.C.* (2)
International:
- Argentina (1)
- Australia (6)
- Austria (1)
- Bolivia (1)
- Canada (4)
- China (2)
- England (27)
- France (2)
- Ghana (1)
- India (1)
- Indonesia (1)
- Ireland (4)
- Italy (1)
- Poland (2)
- Russia (2)
- Scotland (4)
- The Netherlands (1)
2024 Build Your Library Reading Challenge
Monday, February 13, 2017
Absorbing and Atmospheric, Historical Novel with Big Sur Setting Makes for a Compelling Read
7:09 AM
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
Gertrude "Trudy" Swann knows exactly what to expect from her future. After graduating from the Milwaukee College for Females, she'll marry sweet, straightforward Ernst, settle into a house not far from her parents', and rear a brood of well-tended children. It will be a pleasant life, placid and predictable. If only Trudy could settle for that! But, no, the 19-year-old longs for adventure, something more than mundane Midwestern married life.
When Trudy meets Ernst's cousin, Oskar, she's smitten with his charming, ambitious nature. Despite her family's misgivings, the couple marry and set out on what promises to be a thrilling endeavor in California's rugged, remote Big Sur. Point Lucia, the untamed island on which Oskar will be working as an assistant lighthouse keeper, is more primitive than the newlyweds ever could have imagined. The only other people on the island are the Crawleys, an enigmatic family with plenty of secrets. Immediately taken by the Crawley children, Trudy becomes their teacher, playmate, and co-explorer. As she and Oskar adjust to their hardscrabble island existence, trouble soon surfaces in paradise. Between Mrs. Crawley's constant disapproval, Oskar's increasingly unsettling behavior, and a shocking secret hiding in the rocks, Trudy's little adventure will turn into an extraordinary experience destined to change her life forever.
The Edge of the Earth by Christina Schwarz is a quiet, but compelling novel about finding oneself in the most unexpected of places. Big Sur makes for a vivid, exotic setting. Details about marine life and lighthouse keeping give the story authenticity without dragging it down. Trudy, Oskar, and the rest of the cast are complex, intriguing characters. I definitely wanted to know what was going to happen to them all. Although The Edge of the Earth tells a sad story, I enjoyed this absorbing novel about the nature of a marriage, the nature of an island, and the nature of a woman on the cusp of discovering the person she is truly meant to be.
(Readalikes: Reminded me a little of At the Water's Edge by Sara Gruen)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for language (no F-bombs), violence, and mild sexual content
To the FTC, with love: Another library fine find
Subscribe to:
Posts
(Atom)
Reading
Listening
Followin' with Bloglovin'
-
-
-
The Neighbor's Secret by L. Alison Heller3 hours ago
-
-
Sunday Post/Sunday Salon5 hours ago
-
-
-
Glimpses of the Savior17 hours ago
-
-
Goals for 2024 Final Check-In20 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
106. Little Christmas Carol3 days ago
-
Swordheart3 days ago
-
-
A Review of The Christmas Mourner3 days ago
-
-
-
-
I have been reading...1 week ago
-
-
-
Sunday Post 5583 weeks ago
-
-
I'm Still Reading - This Was My October5 weeks ago
-
Open for Murder by Mary Angela1 month ago
-
Reading Recap September 20242 months ago
-
-
Review: The Duke and I4 months ago
-
Girl Plus Books: On Hiatus4 months ago
-
-
-
What Happened to Summer?1 year ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
Are you looking for Pretty Books?2 years ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
Grab my Button!
Blog Archive
- ► 2021 (159)
- ► 2020 (205)
- ► 2019 (197)
- ► 2018 (223)
- ▼ 2017 (157)
- ► 2016 (157)
- ► 2015 (188)
- ► 2014 (133)
- ► 2013 (183)
- ► 2012 (193)
- ► 2011 (232)
- ► 2010 (257)
- ► 2009 (211)
- ► 2008 (192)