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Somewhere Off The Coast Of Maine (1987)

by Ann Hood(Favorite Author)

3.49 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

0393332357 (ISBN13: 9780393332353)

languge

English

genre

Fiction

publisher

W. W. Norton & Company

review 1: Beautifully written, even if it did leave me feeling a little disappointed, a little left out on a limb. I was so taken in, entranced by Claudia, Elizabeth, Suzanne and their families, following their hopes, dreams and tribulations from the 60's all the way through to the mid 80's. But then the book just seemed to end. And I suppose each of their stories was brought to a point of closure - Claudia leaves, Henry gets his girl, Rebekah realizes that her life is good, Elizabeth goes into remission, and Sparrow comes to understand all that her mother, Suzanne, has fought for. But I still wanted MORE. I was brought to what only felt like the middle of the story and then the characters just left me. Abandoned me. I wanted more.
review 2: "Brilliant....[The Vietnam er... morea] is vividly captured by Ann Hood."--New York Times Book ReviewIn 1969, as Peter, Paul and Mary croon on the radio and poster paints are splashing the latest antiwar slogans, three friends find love. Suzanne, a poet, lives in a Maine beach house awaiting the birth of a child she will call Sparrow. Claudia, who weds a farmer during college, plans to raise three strong sons. Elizabeth and her husband marry, organize protests, and try to rear two children with their hippy values. By 1985, things have changed: Suzanne, now with an MBA, calls Sparrow "Susan." Claudia spirals backward into her sixties world--and into madness. And Elizabeth, fatally ill, watches despairingly as her children yearn for a split-level house and a gleaming station wagon. Reading group guide included.We join the story from the point of view of Sparrow, who longs for a father she has never known...and who is curious about a vaguely recalled image of a house in Maine. She also has a photo of her father standing next to a green Day-Glo VW.Rebekah, child of Elizabeth, was born "frowning," according to those who share thoughts about her. But Rebekah feels ugly and wants to change how she looks...so she has a secret nose job. Her relationship with her mother is complex and troubled.Henry, child of Claudia, and secretly in love with Rebekah, recalls life before....and longs for his own special love story."Somewhere Off the Coast of Maine: A Novel" weaves the tales of these characters, sweeping back and forth, showing what life was like for old friends Suzanne, Claudia, and Elizabeth...and then revealing how life has played out for them.Suzanne, Sparrow's mother, obsessively tries to create an entirely different kind of life for herself...and wants to forget everything about that time in Maine, when she was in love and when she took risks and didn't follow the rules.Claudia lives in her own dream world, focused on a moment in time and wishing she could change things.Elizabeth feels life slipping away and watches those she loves moving on without her.And finally, Sparrow sees her father again....and realizes that illusions and reality are two different things.Poignant, sad, but with beautiful happy moments that can be brought out like treasures to remember and nourish, I could not help but feel connected to them and to the times in which their friendships and their first loves were born. The times, indeed, were a-changing. Five stars. less

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