Marine Life
by Linda Svendsen
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Description
In these seamlessly interwoven stories Linda Svendsen charts with tenderness and devastating accuracy the longings, pleasures, and terrors of belonging to a family. Through the watchful and sometimes astonished eyes of Adele Nordstrom, we see her chaotic working-class home in Vancouver: her mother, June, a cocktail pianist who never stops believing in the redemptive power of another marriage, and who soothes a frightened daughter by playing "Away in a Manger" on her back; and her brother show more Ray, the roving charmer. And there's Adele herself, who as a child will look unsparingly at the failures of her elders, and as a grownup will find herself helplessly repeating them show lessTags
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Member Reviews
Amazingly good. I bought this never having heard of the title or author, I do not remember where, because the graphic design was really excellent (which means someone loves it dearly) and I liked the title, which reminds me of myself. The chapters follow time in a haphazard way through the life of our narrator, Adele, as she grows up in Vancouver and moves around - including an interesting brief section living with the Inuit. Adele's intelligence shine through these stories of her relationships and those of her family members, but it doesn't help her avoid screwing up, sometimes in her mother's footsteps, sometimes all on her own. The climax is heartbreaking.
The novel asks 'what is success?' in love and relationships in a very tough but show more insightful way.
4.5 show less
The novel asks 'what is success?' in love and relationships in a very tough but show more insightful way.
4.5 show less
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3+ Works 83 Members
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- Members
- 44
- Popularity
- 672,509
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.25)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 6
- ASINs
- 1
