Compass Rose

Casey's prose is lush and meaning-full, and his characters are so real as to feel as if he's only transcribing a world seen directly in front of him, except in that the interior thoughts are so true that he'd need to be a mind-reader, as well. As with Spartina, this book brings to life a whole cast of characters whose interconnected lives are as humorous as they are heartbreaking, and there's a certain romance brought to the depiction of the natural world here, especially.

Perhaps there were a few too many similar names and characters to keep track of, and perhaps it ended with less closure than I'd have liked, but all told, I really enjoyed this.

Recommended for readers of general/literary fiction, but you should start by reading Casey's show more Spartina. show less

If you are expecting Compass Rose to be the further adventures of Dick Pierce then you will be disappointed. What Compass Rose does, however, is take up the story from a whole other viewpoint, following the women in Dick Pierce's life. That is the beauty of this sequel - you hear the voices that were part of Dick's story have their own story, stories just as compelling and demanding to be heard. Spartina is about ambition and the recklessness that often comes with ambition. Compass Rose is about the daily business of living, whether ambition is alive or not. Casey is a marvelous writer.

I had to apply Nancy Pearl’s Rule of 50 to this book: “If you still don't like a book after slogging through the first 50 pages, set it aside. If you're more than 50 years old, subtract your age from 100 and only grant it that many pages.” Although I went beyond my Pearl-allotted pages, I did not make it to the end of this book. I was disappointed and surprised that it wasn’t better, because it’s a sequel to “Spartina,” Casey’s earlier novel about life in coastal Rhode Island, and a truly great book. Written more than 20 years ago, Spartina tells the story of Dick Pierce, a fisherman who, with what sometimes seems heroic effort, builds his own boat so that he can make something of himself by taking it deep-sea fishing. show more It’s a compelling account of an ordinary man who is searching for meaning in his life.

Pierce by no means a perfect man, and amongst his failings in “Spartina” is his infidelity to his wife May. “Compass Rose” is about the aftermath of that affair: it’s the story of Elsie, Pierce’s lover, and their daughter Rose, but it’s also the story of May and her interest in having Rose in her life. And it’s the story of the natural world in South County, Rhode Island: there are long stretches of (the first part of) the book that are descriptions of the nature reserve where Elsie works. But for me, anyway, the novel just didn’t work: it was an effort, rather than a pleasure, to read this book, and I felt, per Nancy Pearl, that it was just too much slogging. show less

Compass Rose is a novel about a small town in Rhode Island and centers around Rose. Rose is the daughter of Elsie, a free-spirited ranger, and Dick, a married and well respected local fisherman. Both are deeply entrenched in South County with ties binding them tightly on all sides. When Dick's wife unexpectedly decides to make Rose a part of her life, Rose quickly becomes the darling of their circle and the center around which everyone orbits.

Compass Rose is a quiet, contemplative character study of a book. Its all about the choices the women have and the choices they make to love and grow and to be at peace with their lives. I did like the characters and often thought Casey had hit the mark on their thoughts and feelings. I haven't show more read Spartina, so I can't make the obvious comparisons. I do wish more had happened in Compass Rose, in the end it didn't really feel like much had occurred. It seemed as if the book started in the middle of the story and then ended in the middle too. Nothing was really resolved and it felt more like a 356 page short story than a novel. Still, nice writing and very well drawn characters make me not sorry that I read the book. I am very tempted now to pick up Spartina. show less

Interesting study of personalities in a small New England town. Sequel to Spartina. The people are very well drawn, but in the end not as powerful as Spartina for me.

I loved this book. I loved SPARTINA too, and this follows those characters and that spectacular place. John Casey has the ability to get inside his characters' heads in an amazing way, and make them breathe. Highly recommend.

So disappointed in this sequel to Spartina. Every character was selfish and oversensitive. Dick Pierce was completely wooden. Made the people of South County RI (which I am a member of) sound like that can't exist without people of money to toss jobs their way and they rollover on their backs for a contract. Wish he never written it since I enjoyed Spartina so much. He won't be winning any prizes for this one.