Genre: Fiction
Synopsis from the publisher, Grand Central Publishing, first trade edition paperback March 2013:
"In the isolated Cape Cod village of Prospect, the Gilly sisters are as different as can be. Jo, a fierce and quiet loner, is devoted to the mysteries of her family's salt farm, while Claire is popular, pretty, and yearns to flee the salt at any cost. But the Gilly land hides a dark legacy that proves impossible to escape. Although the community half-suspects the Gilly sisters might be witches, it doesn't stop Whit Turner, the town's wealthiest bachelor, from forcing his way into their lives. It's Jo who first steals Whit's heart, but it is Claire-heartbroken over her high school sweetheart-who marries him.
Years later, estranged from her family, Claire finds herself thrust back onto the farm with the last person she would have chosen: her husband's pregnant mistress. Suddenly, alliances change, old loves return, and new battle lines are drawn. What the Gilly sisters learn about each other, the land around them, and the power of the salt, will not only change each of their lives forever, it will also alter Gilly history for good."
My thoughts:
I actually finished reading this novel last Thursday, after my IVsession, and between being preoccupied with mom coming home from the rehab facility after 5 weeks (it's not going well to say the least) and being left... not shattered, but affected and slightly haunted by this novel, I haven't had time to gather my thoughts and post my review until now.
The story itself isn't what I initially expected, and not the quick read I thought it would be, but that's not a bad thing on either point, and I'm glad I kept with it. It was much more of a family saga type story (for lack of a better way of explaining it without spoilers) than I was expecting, however, in this case that wasn't a bad thing either! A touch of magical realism perhaps, but not to the extent of the Alice Hoffman or Sarah Addison Allen comparison's I've heard, and again, not to sound like a broken record here, but in this case, that wasn't a bad thing either. Such an amazing sense of place, the New England setting as much a character in the novel as any of the human ones, and that's something I really enjoy in any novel I'm reading. (And can even make or break a read for me).
The Gilly Salt Sisters, and Salt Creek Farm, will be with me for some time to come. Recommended for an engrossing read!
(Opinions are my own, this is from my personal reading, and I am not required by the publisher to write a positive review, nor have I received compensation for this review).
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