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Marrow Island by Alexis M. Smith
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Marrow Island (edition 2016)

by Alexis M. Smith (Author)

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16914160,268 (3.42)16
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The award-winning novel that's "a foreboding, compelling story of humanity's uneasy relationship with nature and with each other . . . a gripping read" (St.Louis Post-Dispatch).

It has been twenty years since Lucie Bowen left the islands—when the May Day Quake shattered thousands of lives; when Lucie's father disappeared in an explosion at the Marrow Island oil refinery, a tragedy that destroyed the island's ecosystem; and when Lucie and her best friend, Katie, were just Puget Sound children hoping to survive. Now, Katie writes with strange and miraculous news. Marrow Island is no longer uninhabitable and no longer abandoned. She is part of a community that has managed to conjure life again from Marrow's soil. Lucie returns. Her journalist instincts tell her there's more to this mysterious "Colony" and their charismatic leader—a former nun with an all-consuming plan—than its members want her to know. As she uncovers their secrets, will Lucie endanger more than their mission? And what price will she pay for the truth?

"Eerie and intriguing . . . captivates in the first few pages and delivers a gripping, compelling story throughout."—Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

"Smith's excellent command of language gives life to arresting characters and their creepy surroundings, keeping the suspense in this dark environmental thriller running high."—Elle

"This alluring novel explores the darkness of love, how it can cajole you into danger or tip your actions toward cruelty. Clean but intoxicating writing . . . Ambitious."—The New York Times Book Review

"Transporting."—Vanity Fair

"Beautifully wrought."—O, The Oprah Magazine

"Engrossing and atmospheric, a thorny meditation on environmental responsibility with a big haunted heart."—Miami Herald

.… (more)
Member:kylenapoli
Title:Marrow Island
Authors:Alexis M. Smith (Author)
Info:Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (2016), 256 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:*****
Tags:From Wishlist, Library Book

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Marrow Island by Alexis M. Smith

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» See also 16 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 14 (next | show all)
Intriguing and complex enough so I'm still processing some of the events a day after closing the cover. I read it in an afternoon and one aspect I particularly liked was how easy it was to visualize what was happening at most moments. The end is a real puzzler for me. ( )
  sennebec | May 22, 2023 |
A week ago, I read and mini-reviewed Glaciers by Alexis M Smith. I loved the writing in the tiny book and the story was so great in its minimalism. I knew that Marrow Island was going to be up very quickly after Glaciers. Would her sophomore book be on par with her first one?

Marrow Island follows Lucie Bowen through a few time periods in her life. One takes place in the modern period, she is married to a character we will meet in another time period and is being asked by Sister J to return once again to her side as she is dying. Lucie has no plans to return, but is drawn back to see the results of a different time period in her life.

In the other time period Lucie is returning to Marrow Island for the first time in 10 years. Prior to her return 10 years earlier her father died in an industrial accident which is why she left in the first place. She returns due to a letter from her best friend growing up, Katie. Katie is now part of a semi ecologically religious commune on Marrow Island under the leadership of Sister J. They are on the island to help bring new life to the island through the use of mushrooms. There is something very odd about this commune and Sister J. Katie has bought into everything Sister J teaches, but Lucie cannot. She will explore the island, what they are doing, and why many of the sisters have problems reproducing. There is also a lot of cancer within the commune. The question is why.

There is also the story of Lucie's neighbor across the way from her old cabin across the water from Marrow Island. This story will seep into the background, but will be significant within the book. I am lifting this up because I sort of forgot about it and almost missed some significant events because I forgot about this side story.

Marrow Island is a very slow burn. Smith's writing once again drives the story forward with it's beauty and flow. This woman can write beautiful sentences and it is her writing that really brings this story to life.

It is a slow burn though. I am repeating this because it seems not a lot happens, but things are happening which will come into play much later in the book, such as the story of the neighbor. We will see this story in the very beginning of the book and the payoff will not come until about 200 pages in. This happens throughout the book. Things that seem insignificant will play a very large roll somewhere within the book. Smith doesn't waste story and that is important to know while reading. It does move slowly though.

You will also learn more about mushrooms than you ever wished to learn. If I had a criticism of the book, it is how much you will learn about mushrooms. They play a significant part in much of the book. In the dedications that Smith makes, she credits someone for teaching her about mushrooms, so it was a passion project. At one point, I swore I read 20 pages about mushrooms, but it was no where near that many, but combine a slow burn with some serious mushroom education and it will feel like a lot. This would be my sole criticism if it was a true criticism.

Lucie's relationships are low key, but they too will pay off later. Reveals will happen about her relationship with Katie, Sister J, her father, her husband, etc. It just takes time in this book and it is worth it.

Overall, I would say this is a book that if you are a Smith fan, you probably have already read. If you are getting to know her, start with Glaciers because it is a similar pacing to Marrow Island, but it is only 100 pages. Marrow Island is definitely worth your time.

I gave it 4 stars. ( )
  Nerdyrev1 | Nov 23, 2022 |
Sometimes I liked this book and sometimes I didn't. Too many jumps back and forth between present and the past. There were a lot of potentially interesting angles to investigate and I feel like we got a mediocre pass at all of them. I think the ending would have been better suited for a movie (gasp!) than a book. I was ready to walk away feeling satisfied and give this book 4 stars until the last chapter. ( )
  menassassin | Aug 28, 2021 |
A good novel, but I wanted something else from it. Which is not the author's fault. ( )
  amandrake | Jul 4, 2019 |
Marrow Island is a modern-day gothic tale, with a huge ecological backdrop. The imagery and descriptions of the island are just astounding. I could close my eyes and see the beauty and the destruction.
You follow the life of Lucie, and learn of her growing up on Marrow Island, the earthquake and disaster that destroyed her childhood, and why it has taken her so long to return. When she does, nothing is as it seems, even her close childhood friend, Katie.
The story is slow paced, taking it’s time to explore the pain and love. What happens almost seems natural, leaving a dread and eerie sensation that this could happen to anyone, anywhere.
My biggest (and only) complaint is the execution of Lucie’s time on the island and the aftermath. Both story lines are great, but the flashback technique did not do them justice. With only a year between the story lines, it was sometimes hard to follow what time you were in, and become very disjointed and confusing.
Even with the few negative points, this is still a brilliant novel and I would recommend this to anyone. ( )
  JPetersonReads | Dec 23, 2018 |
Showing 1-5 of 14 (next | show all)
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This was my last glimpse of Marrow Island before the boat pulled away: brown and green uniforms clustered on the beach, tramping up the hill to the chapel and through the trees to the cottages of Marrow Colony.
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Fiction. Literature. HTML:

The award-winning novel that's "a foreboding, compelling story of humanity's uneasy relationship with nature and with each other . . . a gripping read" (St.Louis Post-Dispatch).

It has been twenty years since Lucie Bowen left the islands—when the May Day Quake shattered thousands of lives; when Lucie's father disappeared in an explosion at the Marrow Island oil refinery, a tragedy that destroyed the island's ecosystem; and when Lucie and her best friend, Katie, were just Puget Sound children hoping to survive. Now, Katie writes with strange and miraculous news. Marrow Island is no longer uninhabitable and no longer abandoned. She is part of a community that has managed to conjure life again from Marrow's soil. Lucie returns. Her journalist instincts tell her there's more to this mysterious "Colony" and their charismatic leader—a former nun with an all-consuming plan—than its members want her to know. As she uncovers their secrets, will Lucie endanger more than their mission? And what price will she pay for the truth?

"Eerie and intriguing . . . captivates in the first few pages and delivers a gripping, compelling story throughout."—Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

"Smith's excellent command of language gives life to arresting characters and their creepy surroundings, keeping the suspense in this dark environmental thriller running high."—Elle

"This alluring novel explores the darkness of love, how it can cajole you into danger or tip your actions toward cruelty. Clean but intoxicating writing . . . Ambitious."—The New York Times Book Review

"Transporting."—Vanity Fair

"Beautifully wrought."—O, The Oprah Magazine

"Engrossing and atmospheric, a thorny meditation on environmental responsibility with a big haunted heart."—Miami Herald

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