It's been a couple weeks since I've updated but I have finally finished my first Goodreads ARC giveaway! It took me two weeks to read this book, though I do admit I took a break and read another, more upbeat, one in the middle. Also, with my one year old I really only get to read a couple hours a night after she's asleep. Just a little background on this author:
The Story of Land and Sea is Katy Simpson Smith's debut novel. She is from Jackson, MS but received her PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (I'm assuming this may have influenced her novel as it is near Beaufort, NC) an currently resides in New Orleans. This novel will be available Aug. 26, 2014.
The Story of Land and Sea by
Katy Simpson Smith
My rating:
3 of 5 stars
**I received this book free from a Goodreads giveaway.
To start, I'm not big on stories about ships and the sea, especially in a historical context but I saw it was set on the North Carolina coast and I used to live there so I entered the giveaway and won! I am glad I gave it a chance, though I would not categorize it as the most amazing and profound book ever.
We are introduced to Tabitha, a 10 year old girl in the coastal town of Beaufort (pronounced Bow-fort, not Bu-fort if you talk to anyone from there), NC in the 1780's and 90's. She lives with her ex-pirate, ex-solider father, her mother, Helen, having died in childbirth. She spends her days enjoying the sea and little treasures she finds, visits with her grandfather who brings her to church, and attending school occasionally in a town where many have left since the war with the British ended the previous decade. When she falls ill, we see the struggles her father and grandfather go through, having already lost her mother, and in her grandfather's case, his daughter's mother as well. The trials and relationships between Tabitha and her father, as well as, her mother and grandfather are echoed with the story of Helen's slave Moll and her son.
The story is not simply about land and sea but the struggles of loss and loneliness, of finding, losing and questioning God, and moving forward. I gave it a rating a three stars because I did like the story but found it difficult to get through for a couple reasons. It is a very melancholy novel. Katy Simpson Smith uses present tense through the entire novel, which has three sections: Tabitha's time, her mother's time and back to Tabitha's time. By using it, the reader feels as if everything is happening right now and they are essentially transport to that time period and place and experience it first hand. This, for me, added to the sadness each character goes through. The other reason this was a tough read, was her adding in the story of Moll, the slave, and her son. It's not bad and I did like it by itself as it is very touching and presents its own struggles and it is, technically, historically accurate, but I felt it made the story drag in the third section and it didn't feel as connected as the other two father-daughter stories.
What I did like was the historical aspect because it takes place in an area I have visited. Normally, I'm not a fan of American history but I do like hearing about the way people lived in the past. I also liked her unique twist and retelling of the local lore. Without revealing too much, it includes an interesting use for a rum barrel, Blackbeard is mentioned, and an accurate description of the Battle of Beaufort that occurred in April 1782. Overall, this is a great book for those who love pre-Civil War American history, relationship studies between parent and child, or novels on love and loss.
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