Somewhere Off the Coast of Maine: A Novel

by Ann Hood

Overview

"Brilliant....[The Vietnam era] is vividly captured by Ann Hood."—New York Times Book Review

In 1969, as Peter, Paul and Mary croon on the radio and poster paints splash the latest antiwar slogans, three young 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 hippie values. By 1985, things have changed: Suzanne, now with an MBA, calls Sparrow "Susan." Claudia spirals backward into her sixties world—and madness. And Elizabeth, fatally ill, watches despairingly as her children yearn for a split-level house and a gleaming station wagon. Somewhere Off the Coast of Maine is Ann Hood's stunning debut novel about the choices we make when we are young, and the changes brought about by the passing of time.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393068740
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	05/17/2008
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	207,496
File size:	292 KB

About the Author

Ann Hood is the author of a dozen books of memoir and fiction, including the novels The Stolen Child, The Book That Matters Most, and The Knitting Circle, and editor of the anthologies Knitting Yarns and Knitting Pearls. She lives in Providence, Rhode Island, and New York.

Editorial Reviews

"Accomplished and emotionally affecting."

Chicago Tribune

"Deals with the intricacies of infidelity, cancer, insanity, marriage, growing old, accepting death, and just plain accepting yourself."

Seventeen - Elizabeth Wurtzel

"A lovely novel... Hood creates characters so arresting one wishes each of them were principals of longer novels."

Chicago Sun-Times - Peggy Constantine

"Memorably stirring and authentic."

Los Angeles Times Book Review

"Not just another 1960's novel... it is the story of life, of living, and of three unforgettable women as they struggle to find their way from one era to another."

Salisbury Post (N.C.) - Judy Isenhour

A lovely novel... Hood creates characters so arresting one wishes each of them were principals of longer novels.--Peggy Constantine "Chicago Sun-Times"

Accomplished and emotionally affecting.-- "Chicago Tribune"

Deals with the intricacies of infidelity, cancer, insanity, marriage, growing old, accepting death, and just plain accepting yourself.--Elizabeth Wurtzel "Seventeen"

Memorably stirring and authentic.-- "Los Angeles Times Book Review"

Not just another 1960's novel... it is the story of life, of living, and of three unforgettable women as they struggle to find their way from one era to another.--Judy Isenhour "Salisbury Post (N.C.)"

Provocative... an intriguing work.-- "Publishers Weekly"

From the Publisher