Book Review The Vineyard

Title: The Vineyard

Author: Michael Hurley

Genre: Literary Fiction

From Michael Hurley, winner of the Somerset Prize for his debut novel, THE PRODIGAL, comes a complex and ambitious, allegorical tale of old money, young passion and ancient mystery in a classic New England seaside village.

Ten years after their college days together, three wounded and very different women reunite for a summer on the island of Martha’s Vineyard. As they come to grips with the challenges and crises in their lives, their encounter with a reclusive poacher known only as “the fisherman” threatens to change everything they believe about their world–and each other.

“Hurley writes beautifully,” says Kirkus Reviews, “especially when describing island and nautical life.” Publishers Weekly praises “his well-crafted prose.”

Three college friends reunite for the summer. All of them come from different backgrounds, and they're all quite different. They reunite on the island of Martha's Vineyard. They each have their own demons they're truggling with and trying to overcome. Once on the island, they're faced with the demons of their past, and offered a chance to change everything they believe in.

This is an inspiring, thought-provoking story told in beautiful lyrical prose. Sometimes, the book goes quite deep. When we meet "the fisherman", a strange and mysterious figure, each of the women sees him differently. The book is heavily inspired by religion, and searching for what one can truly believe in, but I didn't mind that.

Character-driven, it relies heavily on character development and on its excellent prose.

Categories: book reviews, literary fiction