Rating: 
Summary: Not too bad!
Review: I purchased the book and then read the reviews here. After that, I was expecting this to be so bad that I would quit halfway. But, I have to say that this was a pleasant surprise. I really enjoyed this book, esp the last 100 pages. It got off to a bit of a slow start, but then it picked up and I couldn't put it down. I think that if you have any inclination to read this, then you should. Had I read the reviews first, I may have never picked this book up and I am sure that I would be missing something great.
Rating: 
Summary: Not one of Shreve's best!!!!
Review: This novel was just okay to me. It not that I hated it, it just wasn't wonderful.I did read it quickly, but I wasn't excited with it. The theme & plot were well done, but I just don't think the theme was right for Ms. Shreve to write about--it just didn't work. I really like her work, but I just couldn't love this, like the others. I wouldn't recommend this, and if you have read this, and don't feel too enthiusiastic about Shreve, don't give up--read "Fortune's Rocks" or "The Pilot's Wife".
Rating:
Summary: Sea Glass sparkles
Review: With the time of war that we are in now, this novel takes you back to a time where people were struggling, during a different kind of a war. This was a war between the factories and the unions. This book was incredible! It tells a continuing story from the viewpoints of at least 6 different characted, but everything flows. Nothing gets repeated either. You just go from one person to the next and everything just ties in and fits together. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and hope everyone else out there does too.
Rating: 
Summary: One of Anita's best!
Review: I read Fortune's Rock and was thrilled to read that this book was based on Fortune's Rock too ~~ and with the same house as well! It felt like a trip down time reading this book ~~ only instead of the 1800s, it is now 1929-1930, where the Great Depression was starting, the unions being formed at the mills, people falling in and out of love ~~ people watching their fortunes soar then crash ~~ it was a time of unrest and change. It is a book on history as well as insights into human nature. The book focuses on Honora and her husband Sexton. They bought this old convent shortly after they married ~~ and this house became the focal gathering point in the story. There is Vivian, the rich friend who was bored with her life and struck up a friendship with Honora. There is Louis, the union organizer who used the house for covert meetings to organize an union at the mills in the nearby town. There are Alphonse and McDermott ~~ a boy and a man who struck up a friendship that spanned the generation gap and McDermott became the boy's father figure ~~ for the first time in Alphonse's life, he is actually fed. And there are other characters that enliven this deeply entertaining book. And throughout this book is Honora's reflections on life and the sea as she collects sea glass ~~ pieces of glass thrown into the sea and washed up on shore ~~ leaving no hints of the secrets they entail. This is a lyrical book ~~ bouncing back and forth between characters ~~ and it's a beautiful book that explores dreams, loves and friendships between people. It is a book that makes you think and dream of times past and of the future ~~ it's a book you really can't put down! This is only the third book I've read of Shreve's collection ~~ and so far, this is my favorite. 3-21-03
Rating: 
Summary: Lacks something
Review: The story was fragmented and her language is vulgar.
People simply did not use this constant profanity
in the late 1920's - I KNOW!!
I believe Miss Shreve needed to do far more research
before she attempted this novel.
This book is an utter disappointment, and I shall not finish
it.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointed
Review: I have loved all of Anita Shreve's books but I have been very disappointed with the last two - The Last Time They Met and Sea Glass. Sea Glass was published about a year ago and I see her next one is due out next month. Maybe the problem is she's trying to churn them out too quickly. I am starting to feel her novels are just a step above romance novels. The characters are too thinly drawn and and too little detail is given as to what motivates them or why they feel the way they do. The reader is just asked to believe that Vivian and Honora quickly become close friends, that McDermott is passionately in love with her, that Alphonse adores and worships Honora, without enough detail into how these relationships develop. I got the impression at the beginning that Honora was a shy, quiet, shrinking violet who married the first man who wanted her, then her personality seems to change as the story progresses until I realize I never really have a clear picture of who Honora really is. Vivian starts out as a stereotypical rich, pampered, bored society girl then you are suddenly asked to believe that she is writing a play. Then to top it all off, the way in which Honora gives her husband her news at the end of the novel (without wanting to give away what happens at the end) was absolutely ludicrous, like a bad scene in a soap opera. I feel you can't get emotionally involved in a love story when the characters never become real to the reader. Anita Shreve needs to take lessons from authors such as Sue Miller or Ann Tyler to learn how to create believable characters. I'm getting the impression that she's under pressure to write a novel in a short amount of time.
Rating:
Summary: Hmmmmm
Review: I started reading this book and about 100 pages in, I wasn't sure I liked it. Still I was gripped well enough to keep reading. I did not care how it went from character to character, and it seemed to have more of a screenplay feel than a novel. Still, I knew somehow all the characters would be tied together in some way, and sure enough by the middle they were. I did like the story, but I agree with a previous reviewer that it was lacking something. It was strange how the climax towards the end jumped from the eyes of each of the characters in chapter form. I think it may have worked better spread out more in the same chapter? Hope you understand what I mean if you read the book. Still, I found myself caring about some of the characters, esp. Honora, Alphonse and Vivian. I liked the book enough to recommend it for a good read, however, I have read better this year.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting, but was lacking something. . . .
Review: Upon finishing this book, I felt as if it had been written with the sole purpose to be turned into a "made for TV" movie. The main characters, Sexton and Honora, lacked the kind of depth that would have made me warm up to either of them and it seemed that the "real characterization" was being left for the television screenwriter and actors. And, honestly, we could have all done without Honora's little hissy fit with the stinky lobster bodies! Believable characters to me were (in order of believability) Vivian, Alphonse, and Honora's mother -- very believable for the Depression era and their individual situations. I also enjoyed the images of the beach community and the sea glass Honora collected. The ending was disappointing, but again, let's wait for a better one in that made-for-TV movie!
Rating:
Summary: A+!
Review: Very good book...a 'sleeper.' Very easy to read, something hooked me into it and I could not put it down. If you like quick surprise endings, this book is for you! I could not believe the ending, myself-the book had me so excited about...umm...the thing that was going on with 2 characters that I will not say for fear of spoiling it for those who have not yet read it, and then bang! I highly recommend this novel, it is a wonderfully detailed portrayal of the 1920s stock market crisis interweaved with 4 main characters that all have their own interesting personalities. a+!
Rating:
Summary: The ending disappoints.
Review: There are quite a few charcters presented in depth in the beginning of this book, each with their own section which makes the start of this story a little confusing. The very beginning of the book leaves you with a "where is this going?" kind of feeling. When the individual stories are finally woven together, it makes for an interesting book. The ending was disappointing only because it happened so abruptly. The characters and their story were so elaborate that it made the ending seem rushed.
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