Rating: 
Summary: ENTERTAINING
Review: If you like short books, then this one's for you. Set in the New Hampshire coast, it starts on a rather quiet note. Honara, a bank teller meets Sexton Beecher a typewriter salesman and in two twos they are "walking up the aisle." Renting an old beach house, Honora does her best to make it as clean and domesticated as possible, and a fine little place to call home; where she cooks delicious meals, all with Sexton in mind. When she is not doing these homely chores, she is walking the beach collect sea glass of all colours shapes and sizes. Sexton buys a Buick and they seem headed for a life of domestic and wedded bliss. But a turn of events due to the mill workers strike will shatter this safe repose, as the mill workers confront the authorities for more money and life now is different for all concerned.
Amongst the cast of characters you will meet Virginia who befriends Honora, Virginia's friend Dickie, Alphonse and of course McDermott a loom worker at the mill and develops a terrible crush on one of the ladies. I'm sure that most of Ms. Shreve's followers won't want to pass up on this one. It's a cool read and should delight all. Reviewed by Heather Marshall
Rating: 
Summary: Didn't grab me
Review: I've read all of Miss Shreve's work, and liked pretty much everything, especially Strange Fits of Passion, The weight of water, The Pilots Wife and Fortune's rocks. I thought this would be good also, however it just didn't capture me the way the others did...perhaps because there were too many characters and so little time. The plot and the historical impact of the book however was very well done and I applaud her for that!
Rating: 
Summary: Not her best work..
Review: I have read every other Anita Shreve out there, and this isn't one of her best. She goes the extra mile, explaining in great detail every aspect of the book, but the end is sorely disappointing. Try "The Last Time They Met" or "Where or When" instead - two of her best.
Rating: 
Summary: Beauty in the restraint
Review: Despite Anita Shreve's loyalty to the topic of sad and jilted love, her writing and approach to each novel never seems to run dry. Sea Glass brings the beauty of restraint combined with the eloquence of description to light in a historical manner. Meet Honora, a character who is at once understated and curious. Follow her life as a new wife at the mere at of 20. Along the way, meet characters who, seemingly unimportant at first, become a rich part of Honora's life. Often, it is in the things unsaid where Shreve's true talent lies. The book reads like a sigh, and every once in a while, you must pause to realize just how delicious Shreve's words are. While Sea Glass isn't as shocking or confrontational as Shreve's other works, it will satisfy a more intellectual reader who doesn't want overt and obvious themes thrown in her face. Those who appreciate classical writing, language and complexity of characters over "cleverness" of plot will surely find a winner in this novel.
Rating:
Summary: Sea Glass is wonderful
Review: This books is filled with wonderful writing, excellent characters and american history to pull it all together and I almost forgot, a beautiful beach house setting (who wouldn't want to read about this). There are 5 main characters in this story and each of them are given a chapter to tell us about themselves. Like sea glass, each character is unique and remarkle on its own but somehow their fates merge in a story about strikes at the mills in new england. This book would be a wonderfull read for a book club because it offers so many topics of discussion such as is it dishonorable to love a man other than your husband.
Rating: 
Summary: I was greatly disappointed
Review: Usually Anita Shreve does not disappoint. Sadly, SEA GLASS failed to hold my interest. Knowing the author, I finished the novel because I hoped something unusual would occur and it didn't. More of the same, a sad love story once again with nothing new. Ho Hum...I won't be running out to buy the next Anita Shreve in hardback like I usually do...
Rating:
Summary: Not a Good Experience
Review: Honora and Sexton marry and move into a beach house that needs lots of work to make it livable. They do the hard work of refurbishing the place and all seems well. Sexton sells typewriters and copy machines for a living. Honora makes a home for Sexton and herself. The depression years hit hard and heavy. Sexton is forced to take a job at a mill in the town where the couple lives. The mill workers form a group to start a labor union, which is not all pleasing to Honora. She finds out what is going on in the town and with her husband through other people because Sexton does not tell her anything. There are problems in Sexton and Honora's marriage that developed as a result of the times in which they were living and the activities of Sexton. Honora is tempted to stray outside the marriage and there are other forms of distrust that developed in the plot. I gave the book a rating of only 3 because I cannot truthfully say I enjoyed the book. It was too slow to develop and I became bored waiting for something to happen. I would consider it a short story because the plot and characters do not ever become real to the reader. I never felt I knew the characters completely.
Rating:
Summary: Rather let-down by this one....
Review: After reading The Pilot's Wife and being thoroughly enthralled, I found this book a much more tedious read. The characters were not very interesting, the plot seemed all over the place, and I just wasn't entertained. I guess it just wasn't my kind of story.
Rating:
Summary: Ambitious and well developed
Review: At first, Anita Shreve's latest novel had me shaking my head in frustration. I couldn't discern among the many short chapters and their main characters, all seemingly unrelated. I found myself flipping back and forth between chapters to remind myself of who was who. And then something miraculous began to happen: the characters began to cross paths, one by one, and their wildly different lives started to converge. The plot unexpectedly had structure and direction. By the time I reached the end, I was amazed by Shreve's fictive abilities to take a quiet group of character studies to such an explosive conclusion. Set in a New Hampshire mill town and the nearby coast just before and during the Great Depression, the novel follows several principals affected by the greed of the mill owners. This is typical Shreve territory described in her characteristic starkly beautiful prose. Impatient readers might give up on Shreve's painstaking preparation for the final half of the novel, but the rewards are worth the slow start. Men might find this title more hospitable than other Shreve titles; her male characters here are strongly drawn and interesting. Although the women tend to be the unbreakable sea glass, the men drive the plot. I recommend this book for readers of literary fiction and reading groups, the last because Shreve offers history, metaphor, and multidimensional issues - much to talk about. Pass on this if you are in the mood for a page-turner.
Rating:
Summary: A Very Touching Tale
Review: New Hampshire, 1929, just before the Great Depression, newlyweds, Honora and Sexton Beecher, have moved into an abandoned beach house to fix it up and save for a house of their own. Sexton, an ambitious typewriter salesman, finds a way to take a loan to buy the house. However, he "has risked everything he owned on the eve of the single biggest economic disaster in American History." Quillen McDermott, a loom fixer at the local mills, works hard to keep his younger brothers out of the mills. Alphonse, an 11-year-old mill worker, looks upon McDermott as a father-figure, following him around like a faithful puppy. McDermott and other workers are meeting secretly, talking of forming a union and planning a strike. All along, Honora has made a hobby of collecting sea glass on the beach. "It's the individual bits that interest her, the ability to pick them up and let them fall through her fingers and guess at the story behind each one." Boston socialite, Vivian Burton, summering nearby, meets Honora on the beach and becomes a loyal friend. Losing his job, car and bank loan, Sexton takes a mill job to hold onto the house. "Something inside him would be irretrievably lost if he failed to keep the house that he had ruined himself to buy." Honora's marriage has been completely altered and strained, but she remains hopeful. The strike brings everyone together for a common goal, but it will also change all of their lives forever. This is my first Anita Shreve read. I'm told the beach house in the center of the story is the same house that connects a trilogy of Shreve's stories, including "Fortune's Rocks" and "The Pilot's Wife," which I enjoyed the audio version. Sea Glass is such a touching tale of love, honor, heartship and friendship, among other things. A smooth and very enjoyable read.
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