A Marsh Island
Staff Rec
Both a tender idyll and a delicate portrait of post-Civil War America, this is a classic that was out of print for far too long. A young, urban artist happens upon a family of settled ways, living in an unsettled place - New York's salt marshes, where tide and light and season render constant change. There's no disaster in this book, and yet it involved and moved me deeply. A must-read if you love nature, love language, or have any feelings at all about New England.
- Nora
Told through rich, naturalistic detail, the novel follows the intertwined lives of islanders who live in harmony with the rhythms of nature, exploring themes of queerness, friendship, tradition, and the quiet beauty of everyday life.
"A warm draft of kindness billows from A Marsh Island... Discerning, tender and pellucid in its beauty, this is the kind of small, perfect novel it is hard to imagine anybody not loving." --Sam Sacks, WSJ