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The Cliffs: Reese’s Book Club: A novel
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Original price was: $29.00.$14.99Current price is: $14.99.
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REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK • A novel of family, secrets, ghosts, and homecoming set on the seaside cliffs of Maine, by the New York Times best-selling author of Friends and Strangers
“A stunning achievement, and J. Courtney Sullivan’s best book yet. Sullivan weaves a narrative that’s fascinating and thought-provoking. I literally could not put this book down.”
—Ann Napolitano, New York Times best-selling author of Hello Beautiful
On a secluded bluff overlooking the ocean sits a Victorian house, lavender with gingerbread trim, a home that contains a century’s worth of secrets. By the time Jane Flanagan discovers the house as a teenager, it has long been abandoned. The place is an irresistible mystery to Jane. There are still clothes in the closets, marbles rolling across the floors, and dishes in the cupboards, even though no one has set foot there in decades. The house becomes a hideaway for Jane, a place to escape her volatile mother.
Twenty years later, now a Harvard archivist, she returns home to Maine following a terrible mistake that threatens both her career and her marriage. Jane is horrified to find the Victorian is now barely recognizable. The new owner, Genevieve, a summer person from Beacon Hill, has gutted it, transforming the house into a glossy white monstrosity straight out of a shelter magazine. Strangely, Genevieve is convinced that the house is haunted—perhaps the product of something troubling Genevieve herself has done. She hires Jane to research the history of the place and the women who lived there. The story Jane uncovers—of lovers lost at sea, romantic longing, shattering loss, artistic awakening, historical artifacts stolen and sold, and the long shadow of colonialism—is even older than Maine itself.
Enthralling, richly imagined, filled with psychic mediums and charlatans, spirits and past lives, mothers, marriage, and the legacy of alcoholism, this is a deeply moving novel about the land we inhabit, the women who came before us, and the ways in which none of us will ever truly leave this earth.
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Product name:
The Cliffs: Reese’s Book Club: A novel
Price:
Original price was: $29.00.$14.99Current price is: $14.99.
William de Rham –
For the most part, I enjoyed “The Cliffs,” a woman-centric novel set on the rocky Maine coast that includes more than a few haunting, but not scary, ghost stories.
Summaries of the plot can be found in the blurb and other customer reviews so I won’t duplicate their work here. Suffice it to say that the novel centers on an old Victorian house overlooking the ocean and the women who have lived there going as far back as pre-colonial times.
The story is interesting, if somewhat disjointed at times and meandering and digressive at others. There were times when I felt lost, thinking: Wait, where are we now? What does this new character or place or event have to do with what I’ve read before?
Nevertheless, I found the characters often compelling, especially main character Jane who has returned to the town she grew up in at a crisis point in her life and now must deal with the alcoholism that has run through her family for generations.
I’ve never before read any of J. Courtney Sullivan’s work. I found her prose and dialogue well-executed, her settings well-described, and her research extensive. While it’s clear the story is fictional, Ms. Sullivan’s knowledge and command of the subjects she tackled seemed first-rate.
Ms. Sullivan writes from a decidedly progressive point of view. Topics covered by this novel include feminism, alcoholism and recovery, mother-daughter-sister relationships, Native American history and culture, colonial history and genocide, cultural appropriation, spiritualism, mediums, reincarnation, past-lives regression, same-sex relationships, and life in a small town, to name just a few.
While this novel is not one I would normally gravitate towards, I enjoyed most of it and thought I learned something.
staugshopaholic –
I had high hopes for this book, and I liked it, but didn’t love it. It’s an interesting story and very well-researched from an American historical perspective. But the author worked so hard to fit in every social justice issue of our current era, it felt forced and sort of school bookish. Despite her obvious research skills, she also blundered by making an unnecessary and completely tone-deaf reference to the Holocaust. That pretty much blew it for me.
tags –
I didn’t like the main character in the story. She was self serving and whiney. The format of the novel wasn’t one I enjoyed. It bounced back and forth through several people and seemed as if characters were added to fill pages although they did add some info to the back story. She also added a short history lesson regarding the plight of native Americans which didn’t seem to fit in the setting of the novel overall even though there is reference to native Americans influence in Maine.
While the novel wasn’t what I expected, others may find it enjoyable. I lost interest half way through but finished the book as I wanted to reach a resolution regarding the main character.
FourthDaughter –
I loved this book amd highly recommend it. I will also suggest it as a selection for my book club!
Elizabeth Ann Wagar –
As a native New Englander, I have always been aware of how much Native Americans have influenced us, so many names here of towns and rivers and even states have names derived from native languages. The story was interesting, but it got bogged down with too much historical detail and also too many characters and narrative threads. This book lacked editng. She could have made her point without such long descriptions of past events. I found myself wanting to just finish the book and be done with it.
staugshopaholic –
This book is a brilliant historically-inspired story that I truthfully picked up because Reese’s Book Club never disappoints. The author is so skilled at character development, which I know some people find to be “boring” but this book delivers the perfect payoff. Once you begin chapter 7 it will allllll begin to make sense! Wow! You’ll find yourself craving more stories about the women who lived in the house for centuries before, stories more beautiful and often heartbreaking than most of the neatly woven “beach reads” I tend to pick up. Thank you, J. Courtney Sullivan, for introducing me to a genre I didn’t know I enjoyed so much! Bravo! 👏🏼
Sandra Fielder –
Jane goes home to a small town in Maine. Her mother has recently passed away. She has been given the job of cleaning out the family home so it can be sold. She recently went to a work party and she drank entirely too much. She blacked out, but she does remember kissing a younger male coworker. She has been placed on administrative leave. Her husband is just sick to find out about her indiscretions.
Jane is bored and decides to do some research on her hometown. Originally the town had been home to an indigenous people. Jane is an historian. She is fascinated with the history of the tribe.
Jane is also fascinated by the possibility that there are ghosts that live in some of the older homes. She and her friend go to a medium convention. They hear about past life regression and are intrigued by the stories.
This is an interesting book with fun and fascinating stories.
Donna Loring –
The story revolves around a Victorian house high on some cliffs in Maine. Jane, a woman cleaning out her mother’s small house after her death, is intrigued by the history of this house. Early owners of the house were from the days of long course shipping. A jumble of stories linked by families emerges as Jane uses her librarian skills to research its past. Eventually the experience helps Jane find solutions to her own personal life challenges. An easy-to-read tale for summer afternoons.
Corey –
The Cliffs by J.C. Sullivan is a captivating novel that seamlessly blends the rich history of an old deserted colonial mansion into a captivating story with characters who are thoughtfully crafted, their struggles and triumphs resonating deeply with readers. The narrative’s introspection and action keep the story engaging and thought-provoking. The Cliffs is an unforgettable read, showcasing Sullivan’s remarkable talent for storytelling weaving the characters and their space in time perfectly into the story like a master basket weaver.