These Granite Islands

Rating:
Summary: Rich Narrative
Review: "These Granite Islands"
is like a beautiful patched quilt...every piece unique, intricate, not sewn in a particular order, but displayed perfectly at the proper times.

Isobel is on her deathbed reflecting her long, sometimes tragic life. Fragmented memories of her husband, Victor, her children, Louisa and Thomas, and her dear friend Cathryn. This story is really about Isobel's relationship with Cathryn. Their friendship is extroidinary. But how far should a friend be willing to go?

Isobel finds out.

She becomes the "Sentinal" while Cathryn engages in an adulterous, lustful love affair. It was almost as if the three of them were making love/.

I still don't understand why Isobel was willing to be the scape-goat. Maybe unconciously she wasn't content in her marriage, needed excitement, something fresh, naughty.

Anyhow, she seems to live vicariously through Cathryn, who has introduced her to poetry, books, nature, and some sort of unknown fullfillment.

Sarah Stonich brings us directly to Isobel's bedside... but she doesn't just leave us sitting. She brings us into an unforgettable world of relationships and powerful human emotion.

She brought me into a place I wanted to stay, inspite of everything.

The stillness of water is felt everywhere, even in death. I feel it now... Still.

"What images return.
...This face, less clear and clearer.

The pulse in the arm
less strong and stronger-

What granite islands
towards my timbers.

And woodthrush calling
through fog...

---These Granite Islands---

Rating:
Summary: Magical Use Of Words
Review: "These Granite Islands" was a lovely departure from the ordinary. Sarah Stonich paints for us exquisite images with magical words. The story of Isobel and Catherine was mesmerizing. I often found myself stopping and thinking about what I had just read and how touching it was simply by the way it was written. Treat yourself with a piece of beautiful artistry. You'll be glad you did.

Rating:
Summary: Stellar debut!
Review:

I read this book in one sitting. The author's stunning use of the language grabbed me and simply would not let me go until I learned what really happened to Isobel Howard and her mysterious friend Cathryn in the summer of 1936.

It's been a long time since a new author has enjoyed such a command of the written word....she's a great storyteller and I look forward to reading her next work.

If you like a well told story, with flawed, but interesting characters, this is a book for you. Following Isobel's life through to its ultimate conclusion is a great ride.

Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: Very disappointing waste of time . . .
Review: After reading all of the glowing editorial and reader reviews of this novel, I had to ask my self, "Did I read the same book?" I found this novel to be nothing more than a poorly written, poorly edited, badly characterized melodrama masquerading as literature. I'm sorry I wasted my time with it when there are so many better books to enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: Very disappointing waste of time . . .
Review: After reading all of the glowing editorial and reader reviews of this novel, I had to ask my self, "Did I read the same book?" I found this novel to be nothing more than a poorly written, poorly edited, badly characterized melodrama masquerading as literature. I'm sorry I wasted my time with it when there are so many better books to enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: Best Fiction I Have Read in Years
Review: Don't think I am biased just because I am from Minnesota & so is the author AND the story is set there. IT TRULY IS GOOD! I am not understanding why there are so many poor reviews for this book listed here. Yes, you have to be A LITTLE on your toes while reading, as the plot DOES shift from past to present regularly, but it is soooooo interesting and offers so many insighful reflections into the human condition! I felt as if I were living the plot myself, or experiencing it visually, if nothing else. I loved the characters and I could not wait to see what they would do next! The ending somewhat disappointed me, as I expected soemthing else, but I forgave the author (*smile*) because she had to do what she had to do with her craft of writing. And I was fine with that. It is just the whole experience of the book: it is like a movie you don't want to walk out on even to get a snack or go potty! I read the whole thing in 2 days, which is AMAZING for me, since I live the world's busiest life & usually don't make time for books.
Try this out! It is worth it!!

Rating:
Summary: Storytelling With Style
Review: For me, Sarah Stonich succeeded at exhibiting her talents as a master storyteller, even though breaking a few rules to do so. Despite her obvious avoidance of the use of dialogue tags(he said/she said), resulting in sporadic "flurries" of adjectives and adverbs in her narrative, and the use of a few physically impossible action tags, I still found myself completely immersed in this wonderful story. Clearly, she was able to put these things over extremely well, which displayed her writing as boldly confident, enabling me, the reader to have every confidence in what she was saying.

A truly great first effort! I'm really looking forward to reading more from her in the future.

Rating:
Summary: Terrific
Review: Funny how some people dislike and others like the same book! This author writes so beautifully. The words flow nicely. I couldn't put it down. Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Exceptional - Ms. Stonich is a true wordsmith
Review: I met Ms. Stonich before I read the book. It was a thrill to hear her read and discuss her book before I actually bought it, only then to get lost in it. I read it through in one sitting, wishing it were longer. It was a wonderful read; getting intimately involved with the characters from Cypress. I want to meet them all, each for their own reason. And, if I could meet a man like Victor, I would gladly go to his island, without hesitation. Thanks, Sarah.

Rating:
Summary: These Granite Islands is badly overwritten
Review: I only needed to read a few pages of These Granite Islands, to realize that this book was going to be a chore to read. These Granite Islands purports to tell the story of Isobel, a ninety-nine year old woman who is reflecting back on her life and in particular, the events of 1936. Unfortunately, the book is written in such tortured prose and the characterizations are so unrealistic that I was often left scratching my head and wondering how such a poorly edited book ever got into print in the first place. Ms. Stonich never says anything in a simple way if she can find a fancy way to do it; I found myself rereading sentences like "the yellow stain of evening pulsed across the room..." until I realized that she was trying to say "it was getting dark". There is often a preposterous mismatch between the characters' educational levels and their choice of words-- as when Isobel's husband Victor, a tailor describes another character as "garrulous, I read it in a book once." With so few "literary" first novels published each year, it was astonishing to me that something this bad would get into print. It will be even more astonishing if readers are fool enough to buy it. Though I have seen this book compared to Anita Shreve and Susan Minot, those comparisons are unfair. Ms. Stonich should stop trying to wow us with how many ten-cent words she knows and try to breathe some life into characters that seem more like real people.