The Shore: a group of small islands in the Chespeake Bay, just off the coast of Virginia. Many generations of families live and have lived on these remote islands. There are the wealthy and the destitute.
We are introduced to many of those families and taken through many generations at the same time.

This was well written and although I found it a little confusing, the stories of these people was fascinating anyway. ( )

Fantastic! Review to come. :) ( )

DNFd at page 195. This book was just too bleak for me. While abuse in literature doesn't usually bother me, it was over-the-top in this book.

Brilliantly realized, with great writing and vivid characters. There's a lot of jumping around in time, but it's easy to figure out how all the characters relate to each other and I liked the way that Taylor demonstrated the themes of the book in vastly different time periods. One of my favorite books from this year's Bailey longlist. ( )

I’m not sure how to classify Sara Taylor’s debut novel, The Shore. It’s part contemporary fiction, part historical fiction, and part futuristic fiction. Maybe this is one of those times that literary fiction fits the bill. as I was reading, it did remind me of Sherwood Anderson’s classic Winesburg, Ohio.

Told in related vignettes, these are the stories of those who live on a remote group of three islands off the coast of Virginia. At times, the islands have a significant population and at times the population is so low it’s not worth counting. The population makes up three classes of people: the wealthy vacationers, those who work on the mainland, and those who are so poor that those who inhabit the Appalachian Mountains seem rich. However, Taylor focuses her stories on that lowest rung.

At the beginning, there is a complicated genealogy chart that became easier to decipher as I read. The first story is about Chloe and Renee. It’s a heartbreaking tale of abuse, poverty, and childhood. Chloe narrates this episode that has a shocking conclusion.

After the first narrative, I found it difficult to figure who exactly who was narrating, but usually by the time I read each chapter’s end, I could figure it out. However, (there’s that troublesome word again) in the chapters where the characters did not fit into the family tree, I had no idea who was talking.

I will admit that I only read about 10 pages of the last story. It takes place in 2143, and I couldn’t out how the characters fit in; they are not listed on the chart. I don’t feel like I missed anything by passing on the final few pages.

I have mixed feelings about this novel. At times at I LOVED it; at times I HATED it. That’s why I give The Shore 3 out of 5 stars.
I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review. ( )