Synopses & Reviews
Married to the youngest attorney general in Massachusetts state history, Nora Cunningham is a picture-perfect political wife and mother. But her carefully constructed life falls to pieces when she, along with the rest of the world, learns of her husband's infidelity.
Humiliated, Nora packs up her young daughters and takes refuge on Burke's Island, off the coast of Maine. Nora spent her first five years on the island but has not been back for decades—not since that long ago summer when her mother disappeared at sea. One night while sitting alone on Glass Beach below the cottage where she spent her childhood, Nora succumbs to grief, her tears flowing into the ocean. Days later she finds a fisherman, Owen Kavanagh, shipwrecked on the rocks nearby. Is he, as her aunt's friend Polly suggests, a selkie—a mythical being of island legend—summoned by her heartbreak, or simply someone who, like Nora, is trying to find his way in the wake of his own personal struggles?
Review
“The Cottage at Glass Beach, an enchanting novel about mothers and daughters on an isolated island, is a romantic, delicious read. Barbieris beautiful writing and beguiling world view revel in the realities and the mysteries of the sea and of life itself.” < b=""> N < k=""> ancy <> T < k=""> hayer <> <> , < i=""> New York Times <> bestselling author of < i=""> Heat Wave <>
Review
“Barbieris deft writing style is charmingly wry yet evocative, with details and descriptions both telling and vivid. . . . . A sweet summertime yarn [that] . . . provides a lovely, leisurely escape to the bucolic charms of the Emerald Isle.” < b=""> K < k=""> aren <> C < k=""> ampbell <> <> , < i=""> Boston Globe <> on < i=""> The Lace Makers of Glenmara <>
Review
“The Lace Makers of Glenmara is richly peopled and beguilingly charming but what ultimately makes it so moving is Heather Barbieris deep understanding that no life is immune from sorrow and difficulty. I read this wonderful novel with enormous pleasure.” < b=""> M < k=""> argot <> L < k=""> ivesey <> <> , author of < i=""> The House on Fortune Street <> on < i=""> The Lace Makers of Glenmara <>
Review
“The Lace Makers of Glenmara is a charming, moving story, written with a delicate touch.” < b=""> J < k=""> oanne <> H < k=""> arris <> <> , author of < i=""> Chocolat <> and < i=""> The Girl with No Shadow <> , on < i=""> The Lace Makers of Glenmara <>
Review
“Part seaside fairytale, part exploration of real-world tensions....Let yourself be transported to Burkes Island, a salt-tinged place steeped in legends of selkies and shipwrecks, but also full of bruised and hopeful people making their wayward, human ways toward happiness.” < b=""> M < k=""> arisa de los <> S < k=""> antos <> <> , author of < i=""> Falling Together <> and < i=""> Belong to Me <>
Review
“Barbieri does such a wonderful job setting up the beauty and mystery of the island and its rich Gaelic roots that it is not a stretch to ask the reader to imagine that the place is also magical. A wonderful, subtle, transporting story.” < b=""> S < k=""> usan <> M < k=""> aguire <> <> , < i=""> Booklist, starred review <>
Review
“Heather Barbieris The Cottage at Glass Beach is a moving, heartfelt story told with vivid description. Open the book and listenyoull hear the waves crashing onto the shore.” < b=""> S < k=""> arah <> J < k=""> io <> <> , author of < i=""> The Bungalow <> and < i=""> The Violets of March <>
Review
“In the enchanting world of Maines Burkes Island, fanciful stories - of captured selkies becoming dutiful wives and tears cried in the sea beckoning lovers to shore - are gracefully woven into modern reality.” < i=""> Publishers Weekly <>
Review
“Strikes the perfect balance between high lit and mainstream womens fiction, infusing a potent and unforgettable love story with unforgettable characters that will remain with you long after the final chapter....[Barbieris narrative] will call out to readers of Joanne Harris, Alice Hoffman, and other modern masters of drama.” < i=""> Bookreporter.com <>
Review
“Threads of magical realism throughout the book are quite appealing, and the seaside setting is enchanting.” < b=""> M < k=""> elissa <> P < k=""> arcel <> <> , < i=""> Romantic Times Book Review <>
Review
“Where Barbieri shines is in her depiction of the microcosm of the island and in the strong links between the generations. Nora discover that ‘Everything is connected. The geography of the island, of the soul, and Barbieri makes that connection real.” < b=""> M < k=""> elinda <> B < k=""> argreen <> <> , < i=""> Seattle Times <>
Review
“Barbieris mix of fairy tale and family drama in a picturesque seaside resort makes her third novel a terrific beach read.” < i=""> Library Journal <>
Review
“A must read for fans of Sarah Addison Allens Garden Spells.” < b=""> T < k=""> ara <> Q < k=""> uinn <> <> , < i=""> Cleveland Plain Dealer <>
Review
“Ms. Barbieris writerly sense of whimsy and retrospection implies that anyone can work through adversity to happiness - if only the volition is present.” < b=""> N < k=""> ancy <> C < k=""> arty <> L < k=""> epri <> <> , < i=""> New York Journal of Books <>
Review
"This mystical new novel is a must read for fans of Sarah Addison Allen's 'Garden Spells.'" < b=""> T < k=""> ara <> Q < k=""> uinn <> <> , < i=""> Cleveland Plain Dealer <>
Review
“Reminiscent of Maeve Binchys stories of romance and family in tight-knit Irish communities, The Cottage at Glass Beach is full of warmth and sympathy.” < b=""> Katie Schneider, < i=""> The Oregonian <> <>
Review
“A must read for fans of Sarah Addison Allens Garden Spells.” < b=""> T < k=""> ara <> Q < k=""> uinn <> <> , < i=""> Cleveland Plain Dealer <>
Synopsis
Heather Barbieri follows her acclaimed Gaelic-tinged drama
The Lace Makers of Glenmara with the resonant tale of a woman who, in the wake of scandal, flees to a remote Maine island to reconnect with her past—and to come to terms with the childhood tragedy that has haunted her for a lifetime.
Set on the rugged New England coast, Barbieris The Cottage at Glass Beach strikes the perfect balance between high lit and mainstream womens fiction, infusing a potent and unforgettable love story with unforgettable characters that will remain with you long after the final chapter. Richly evocative, Barbieris narrative of intimacy, struggle, and redemption will call out to readers of Joanne Harris, Alice Hoffman, and other modern masters of drama.
About the Author
The author of two previous novels, The Lace Makers of Glenmara and Snow in July, Heather Barbieri has won international prizes for her short fiction. She lives in Seattle with her family.