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3.32 AVERAGE
3.32 AVERAGE
I'm still mad about this book. It started off so great with promises about an eco-cult dystopia. And then it dragged on and didn't deliver. The ending just killed me and I was left in my car screaming, "what the ^*%# did I just spend hours listening to?"
4.5/5 stars
Wonderful, creepy, atmospheric, environmental mystery, incandescent prose, vivid setting.
20 years ago, the May Day Quake hit Seattle and the surrounding area. Lucie's father, working in an oil refinery on Marrow Island, died when the refinery burned to the ground. She was 13.
When her childhood best friend, Katie, writes to Lucie to tell her that Marrow Island is inhabitable again, Lucie is drawn back to Marrow. Katie is living with a Colony, led by Sister J., whose mission is to detoxify the island through micoremediation (pro-tip: mushrooms). We know from the prologue, however, that Lucie nearly dies during her visit to the island. The story is split between 2014, when Lucie visits the Colony, and 2016, when she is living in a remote Oregon outpost with her park ranger boyfriend and searching for meaning in what happened on Marrow.
I don't want to say more about this here, but it was a tightly plotted and very thoughtful novel. Clearly the author did a great deal of research and the characters have several intelligent conversations about environment disasters, pollution, and human responsibility. I also really loved this book since it was set in the San Juan Islands (which are close to my heart). This book, like Jeff VanderMeer's "Annihilation," plays on human fear of toxicity and pollution in nature, and how that fear is bound up with our guilt.
Wonderful, creepy, atmospheric, environmental mystery, incandescent prose, vivid setting.
20 years ago, the May Day Quake hit Seattle and the surrounding area. Lucie's father, working in an oil refinery on Marrow Island, died when the refinery burned to the ground. She was 13.
When her childhood best friend, Katie, writes to Lucie to tell her that Marrow Island is inhabitable again, Lucie is drawn back to Marrow. Katie is living with a Colony, led by Sister J., whose mission is to detoxify the island through micoremediation (pro-tip: mushrooms). We know from the prologue, however, that Lucie nearly dies during her visit to the island. The story is split between 2014, when Lucie visits the Colony, and 2016, when she is living in a remote Oregon outpost with her park ranger boyfriend and searching for meaning in what happened on Marrow.
I don't want to say more about this here, but it was a tightly plotted and very thoughtful novel. Clearly the author did a great deal of research and the characters have several intelligent conversations about environment disasters, pollution, and human responsibility. I also really loved this book since it was set in the San Juan Islands (which are close to my heart). This book, like Jeff VanderMeer's "Annihilation," plays on human fear of toxicity and pollution in nature, and how that fear is bound up with our guilt.
My expectations for this book might have been the thing that killed it for me. Smith's first book remains one of my favorites, so I'm disappointed that this book didn't carry that same weight. The characters and events could have been so much more powerful and instead fell flat.
3.5 stars. The premise is good and the book could have been a lot better. The dialogue was pretty awkward but I might check out future books by the author.
A week ago, I read and mini-reviewed Glaciers by Alexis M Smith. I loved the writing in the tiny book and the story was so great in its minimalism. I knew that Marrow Island was going to be up very quickly after Glaciers. Would her sophomore book be on par with her first one?
Marrow Island follows Lucie Bowen through a few time periods in her life. One takes place in the modern period, she is married to a character we will meet in another time period and is being asked by Sister J to return once again to her side as she is dying. Lucie has no plans to return, but is drawn back to see the results of a different time period in her life.
In the other time period Lucie is returning to Marrow Island for the first time in 10 years. Prior to her return 10 years earlier her father died in an industrial accident which is why she left in the first place. She returns due to a letter from her best friend growing up, Katie. Katie is now part of a semi ecologically religious commune on Marrow Island under the leadership of Sister J. They are on the island to help bring new life to the island through the use of mushrooms. There is something very odd about this commune and Sister J. Katie has bought into everything Sister J teaches, but Lucie cannot. She will explore the island, what they are doing, and why many of the sisters have problems reproducing. There is also a lot of cancer within the commune. The question is why.
There is also the story of Lucie's neighbor across the way from her old cabin across the water from Marrow Island. This story will seep into the background, but will be significant within the book. I am lifting this up because I sort of forgot about it and almost missed some significant events because I forgot about this side story.
Marrow Island is a very slow burn. Smith's writing once again drives the story forward with it's beauty and flow. This woman can write beautiful sentences and it is her writing that really brings this story to life.
It is a slow burn though. I am repeating this because it seems not a lot happens, but things are happening which will come into play much later in the book, such as the story of the neighbor. We will see this story in the very beginning of the book and the payoff will not come until about 200 pages in. This happens throughout the book. Things that seem insignificant will play a very large roll somewhere within the book. Smith doesn't waste story and that is important to know while reading. It does move slowly though.
You will also learn more about mushrooms than you ever wished to learn. If I had a criticism of the book, it is how much you will learn about mushrooms. They play a significant part in much of the book. In the dedications that Smith makes, she credits someone for teaching her about mushrooms, so it was a passion project. At one point, I swore I read 20 pages about mushrooms, but it was no where near that many, but combine a slow burn with some serious mushroom education and it will feel like a lot. This would be my sole criticism if it was a true criticism.
Lucie's relationships are low key, but they too will pay off later. Reveals will happen about her relationship with Katie, Sister J, her father, her husband, etc. It just takes time in this book and it is worth it.
Overall, I would say this is a book that if you are a Smith fan, you probably have already read. If you are getting to know her, start with Glaciers because it is a similar pacing to Marrow Island, but it is only 100+ pages. Marrow Island is definitely worth your time.
I gave it 4 stars.
Marrow Island follows Lucie Bowen through a few time periods in her life. One takes place in the modern period, she is married to a character we will meet in another time period and is being asked by Sister J to return once again to her side as she is dying. Lucie has no plans to return, but is drawn back to see the results of a different time period in her life.
In the other time period Lucie is returning to Marrow Island for the first time in 10 years. Prior to her return 10 years earlier her father died in an industrial accident which is why she left in the first place. She returns due to a letter from her best friend growing up, Katie. Katie is now part of a semi ecologically religious commune on Marrow Island under the leadership of Sister J. They are on the island to help bring new life to the island through the use of mushrooms. There is something very odd about this commune and Sister J. Katie has bought into everything Sister J teaches, but Lucie cannot. She will explore the island, what they are doing, and why many of the sisters have problems reproducing. There is also a lot of cancer within the commune. The question is why.
There is also the story of Lucie's neighbor across the way from her old cabin across the water from Marrow Island. This story will seep into the background, but will be significant within the book. I am lifting this up because I sort of forgot about it and almost missed some significant events because I forgot about this side story.
Marrow Island is a very slow burn. Smith's writing once again drives the story forward with it's beauty and flow. This woman can write beautiful sentences and it is her writing that really brings this story to life.
It is a slow burn though. I am repeating this because it seems not a lot happens, but things are happening which will come into play much later in the book, such as the story of the neighbor. We will see this story in the very beginning of the book and the payoff will not come until about 200 pages in. This happens throughout the book. Things that seem insignificant will play a very large roll somewhere within the book. Smith doesn't waste story and that is important to know while reading. It does move slowly though.
You will also learn more about mushrooms than you ever wished to learn. If I had a criticism of the book, it is how much you will learn about mushrooms. They play a significant part in much of the book. In the dedications that Smith makes, she credits someone for teaching her about mushrooms, so it was a passion project. At one point, I swore I read 20 pages about mushrooms, but it was no where near that many, but combine a slow burn with some serious mushroom education and it will feel like a lot. This would be my sole criticism if it was a true criticism.
Lucie's relationships are low key, but they too will pay off later. Reveals will happen about her relationship with Katie, Sister J, her father, her husband, etc. It just takes time in this book and it is worth it.
Overall, I would say this is a book that if you are a Smith fan, you probably have already read. If you are getting to know her, start with Glaciers because it is a similar pacing to Marrow Island, but it is only 100+ pages. Marrow Island is definitely worth your time.
I gave it 4 stars.
While the story was well written, and the protagonist/narrator is exceptionally developed and engaging, I found some of the more Gothic themes and concepts to be less-developed than I had hoped for. There were moments where Smith could have fully developed a sense of the uncanny, or of the Id in terms of Lucie and Katie but failed to do so. Beautiful descriptions of the Pacific Northwest and a fantastic inner-dialogue made this story hard to put down, and easy to get through.
That was a dumb ending for a dumb book that BARELY makes the fantasy category and I’m mad I spent time on it the end.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated