Review: Sea Glass

Sometimes I just really need to read a book featuring one dimensional characters who don’t invoke any emotion in me at all, but I still care enough about to finish the book. I continually find these characters in Anita Shreve’s books.

I liked The Pilot’s Wife. I didn’t quite get why Oprah loved it so much, but whatever. I really, really liked Fortune’s Rocks, even though I was slightly dismayed I was rooting for a relationship between a 16-year-old girl and a 40-year-old man. Ew. And I thought The Weight of Water was a downright page turner, even though I can’t remember a single thing that happened.

So, my experience reading Anita Shreve books has been quite positive in the past. Sadly, this all came to a screeching halt with Sea Glass. This book could NOT BE more formulaic. Does this sound familiar? About 200 page of character development on six different people who all live near each other. Gee, I wonder if they are going to meet? Yep, they do. One character is trapped in a loveless relationship and another character just had his heart broken. I wonder if they are going to fall in love? Yep, they do. A selfish, very wealthy woman moves next door to a family left destitute by the Great Depression. I wonder if she is going be moved to philanthropy. Yep, she does. All characters in the book unite to fight the injustices to mill workers (the book is set in New Hampshire). Gee, I wonder if any of the main characters, maybe someone we hate and someone we really really love, will get hurt in the ensuing riots between mill owners and union workers? Yep, they do.

Here’s the nutshell: Honora and Bad Husband move to the beach. She collects a bunch of sea glass. He loses everything in the depression and has to start working at the mills. He gets involved (for purely selfish reasons) in the union movement and brings a bunch of union guys home to plan a strike. Hot Union Guy falls in love with Honora. She falls in love with him. There’s a strike. Bad husband and Hot Union Guy die. Oh, and the sea glass represents all the people she met and cared about during her time on the beach. Blah. The End.