Sea Wife

Dass Trump die Spaltung der USA immer weiter vorantreibt, dürfte vermutlich den Meisten bekannt sein. Doch wer macht sich klar, wie viele (auch enge) Beziehungen davon betroffen sind? Gegensätze ziehen sich an und bereichern im positiven Fall das Miteinander. Doch was macht es mit Menschen, die in den aktuellen Zeiten für unterschiedliche politische Lager stehen?
Davon und von noch viel mehr handelt dieses Buch, das vordergründig einen Segeltörn beschreibt, zu dem ein junges Ehepaar mit seinen beiden kleinen Kindern aufbricht, um ein Jahr auf dem Meer zu verbringen. Michael träumt schon lange davon, seinen Traum von Freiheit in die Realität umzusetzen und hofft, damit auch die kriselnde Ehe mit Juliet in ruhigeres Fahrwasser zu show more führen. Doch Juliet ist alles andere als begeistert und willigt eher widerwillig in diese Reise ein.
Das Ganze beginnt wie ein Krimi, denn gleich zu Beginn ist klar, dass etwas Furchtbares geschehen sein muss ohne dass Juliet, die Icherzählerin, über Details berichtet. So ahnt man das Schlimmste und die Befürchtungen steigern sich noch, als der zweite Erzählstrang einsetzt. Michaels Eintragungen ins Logbuch werden von Beginn der Reise an wiedergegeben und wechseln sich im Fortlauf der Geschichte mit Juliets Erzählungen ab.
Die Autorin vermittelt überzeugend die Sichtweisen ihrer beiden Hauptfiguren, die so unterschiedlich sind, dass man immer wieder darüber staunt, wie sie zusammengefunden haben. Michael studierte BWL und ist ein überzeugter Republikaner und Trumpwähler (auch wenn dieser nicht namentlich genannt wird), wobei es Amity Gaige gelingt, den Lesenden seine Einstellung bis zu einem gewissen Grad sogar nachvollziehbar zu vermitteln. Juliet wiederum ist das Gegenteil: Sie absolvierte ein Lyrikstudium, ist Demokratin und kann den Beinahe-Hass ihres Mannes auf den Staat nicht nachvollziehen. Zudem leidet sie an Depressionen aufgrund eines Kindheitstraumas, was ihrem Mann bekannt ist. Allerdings fühlt er sich eher hilflos mit dieser Situation und weiss nicht, wie er damit umgehen soll.
Auf dem Boot sind sie gezwungen, gemeinsam mit ihren beiden Kindern auf engstem Raum zu leben, ohne sich aus dem Weg gehen zu können, was natürlich dazu führt, dass sie sich grundsätzlich miteinander auseinandersetzen müssen und wobei eine Menge zur Sprache kommt. Etwas, was im normalen Leben vielleicht viele Paare zu vermeiden versuchen ;-)
Es ist eine Menge, was in diese Geschichte hineingepackt wurde und im Großen und Ganzen auch nachvollziehbar und glaubhaft. Aber dass am Ende zusätzlich noch ein übler Verdacht im Raum steht, als wäre Alles noch nicht schlimm genug, hätte wirklich nicht sein müssen. Das Buch hat auch so schon eine Menge zu erzählen. show less

Juliet and Michael’s marriage was as turbulent and unpredictable as the sea when they took their two young children, Georgie and Sybil, to live on a sailboat for a year. For most of the book, Juliet tells her story alternately with Michael’s log entries while their family is sailing near Panama, Colombia, and several islands. It becomes evident while reading that neither parent recognized how their mediocre sailing skills would affect their ability to thrive on the open seas. Of course, their minimal planning, which included few safeguards, was questionable regarding their decision to take such a risky voyage. Despite all, they have some magical bonding moments while sailing and establish teamwork in unusual ways.

When we meet show more Juliet, she has returned from the sea and is hiding in a closet, reading Michael’s log, and her mother is taking care of the children. We wonder in the beginning what has happened to Michael as we learn that Juliet suffers from depression that probably stems from childhood trauma. Juliet gradually discloses details of her life and marriage as the plot of Sea Wife develops. We also find that Juliet had begun a dissertation on confessional poetry but discontinued it when she became a mother. She is experiencing unfulfillment on many fronts and weathering many metaphoric personal storms in addition to the observable storms at sea.

This novel delves into the power struggles of Juliet’s marriage and also her tenuous relationship with her mother. Through the power of her husband’s journaling, she discovers much about her relationships and herself. Her love of poetry could help her face her tyrants instead of only providing an escape. However, many personal lessons are not learned in time to escape life-changing events.

See my reviews at quipsandquotes.net show less

Non sono 5 stelle perché ci ho trovato qualche pecca (tipo le ultime pagine, quelle proprio non le ho capite!), però l'ho amato comunque tantissimo. Perché? Perché è una bella storia e perché è scritta proprio bene.
L'espediente narrativo è molto accattivante. Juliet rilegge il diario di bordo scritto dal marito durante il loro anno "sabbatico" in barca a vela, e rileggendolo ripercorre non solo gli eventi di quei giorni, ma anche il suo passato. E grazie a questo espediente, tutto emerge in maniera graduale ma non per questo confusionaria (ma alle volte con tratti avvincenti quasi da giallo).
Il fatto che Juliet legga il diario di bordo del marito, rende non-spoiler il fatto che Michael non abbia fatto una bella fine: ma anche su show more questa fine, niente è così scontato (view spoiler) .
Quella che viene tratteggiata è una storia di amore e di rinascita. E sono il mare e la barca (Juliet anche lei) a dettare il ritmo di rinascita e presa di coscienza di Juliet di se stessa, della propria vita e del proprio matrimonio.
Ed è proprio per questa presa di coscienza graduale e grazie alla modalità di sviluppo del racconto, che ho amato moltissimo anche il personaggio di Michael: attraverso le pagine del suo diario, le riflessioni di Juliet e quello che viene raccontato a contorno che si delinea un personaggio che cresce di spessore pagina dopo pagina: da classico uomo egoista che trascina la famiglia nell'esperienza che soddisfi tutte le sue frustrazioni, a uomo profondamente innamorato di sua moglie e della sua famiglia che in questa esperienza vuol proprio ricercare (e ritrovare) la donna di cui si era innamorato, la sua famiglia e soprattutto se stesso.
Tutta questa pappardella, e non ho neanche ricordato la bellezza di Sybil. la figlia maggiore. Sybil, personaggio bellissimo, ma anche "facile", perché un po' più stereotipata. La bambina che tutto capisce e che si muove da subito in maniera naturale in mare, che cresce, che tutto capisce, riuscendo però a rimanere bambina.

Credo di averlo amato molto anche per il rapporto particolare che ho con il mare. Sono però anche convinta che possa piacere anche a chi, su una barca a vela, non ci ha mai messo piede (e non ha idea di quanto possa portar male cambiare nome ad una barca). show less

I warmly recommend this delicious, rare combination of literary quality with enjoyable, relatable characters to my goodreads friends. OK, these characters and events are a couple notches beyond my experience, but she's an educated housewife who loves but also struggles with domestic life. A mystery drives the narrative, but not so fast that you can't enjoy the details along the way. I savored the story, and dreaded some terrible dark turn... (spoiler)

but it's not as dark as you might imagine, and in fact the resolution is fairly satisfying and hopeful.

A super-exciting story about a couple with two young children who go away to sea on a sailboat. You know from page 1 that things come to a bad end. The story is mainly told back-and-forth between Juliet's hindsight perspective and Michael's daily log entries. The bold print and indentation for Michael's entries makes it clear who's speaking; but even so, the switching could be very rapid, and it sometimes took a slight effort to reposition one's mind into the right character at the right time.

I don't know anything about boats and I do terrible at following action sequences under the best of circumstances; so in a lot of the most gripping moments, I could only skim helplessly in a "jib mainsail yada yada halyard keep yada yada" kind of show more way; and yet the book still delivered a 4-star experience for me.

The plot: with lots and lots of foreboding, we follow the family's story from the different perspectives, wondering exactly how things will go south. Not only do we know there's going to be a death: we soon have the possibility of foul play mixed in.

The conclusion: very satisfying.

The characters: While Juliet had many annoying traits - tendencies toward martyrdom, self-pity, self-absorption, and wanting to be a poet for Pete's sake - it was OK, because I didn't feel I was necessarily supposed to like her, not all the time. Michael in his personal log betrays an idealistic libertarian streak, but never goes off the nutso deep end - then again, he did take his whole young family away to Central America to live on a sailboat for a year, so what am I saying? Sybil, the 7-year-old is really charming - I don't think I've ever come across a more likeable child in a modern novel before, not one who gets this much screen time. She never seems to get bratty. In fact, towards the end, I started to wonder - why does this kid never get bratty; is that realistic? George, the 2-year-old - also well played.

Rhetorical question: why do female protagonists in modern novels always have to be gorgeous? Can't we have someone who's a little dumpy-looking after having two children? show less

This is an entertaining novel about a married couple that decides to ditch their suburban life, buy a boat, and sail for a year with their two young kids. They sail around the Caribbean, exploring empty islands, meeting some locals, and meeting some other sailing families. Of course, this couple is also trying to escape their shaky marriage, but they underestimate the stresses of sailing, and their marriage is clearly continuing to fail.

The novel is told through the husband's ship log and the wife's memories of the trip after she is clearly back home without him. It becomes clear about a third of the way through that things have not ended well for the husband, but it's a slow reveal as to what happened.

I liked this over all, but there show more are a few weak spots. The story is strong and the writing is good. There was a bit of a distraction where the 7 year old daughter talks to a therapist after returning home from the trip - felt unnecessary. And I didn't really need the final 10 pages or so that re-wraps things up.

I actually didn't realize until after I started this book that it's the same author who wrote Heartwood, which I read and enjoyed earlier this year. I'd be willing to read more by this author - entertaining plot ideas and overall good writing. show less

It's hard to know how to describe this one: it took me a while to understand the structure of the book (alternating narratives from the point of view of the wife, the husband, and the daughter. I read this on my Kindle, so maybe the formatting in the print version makes the structure more immediately obvious); the arc of the plot was satisfying; and personally, I don't have a lot of patience for poetry, so all the poetic references and ruminations didn't really resonate with me.

Ultimately, the unsettled state of the world right now in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic probably contributed a lot to my lukewarm feelings about the book. All of the uncertainty and lack of footing I feel in the world right now is echoed in the setting show more and storyline of this novel, and right now, I find that I need more secure and reassuring footing in my reading. show less