Book Review: The Sea House

In 1860, Alexander Ferguson, a newly ordained vicar and amateur evolutionary scientist, takes up his new parish, a poor, isolated patch on the remote Scottish island of Harris. He hopes to uncover the truth behind the legend of the selkies—mermaids or seal people who have been sighted off the north of Scotland for centuries. He has a more personal motive, too; family legend states that Alexander is descended from seal men. As he struggles to be the good pastor he was called to be, his maid Moira faces the terrible eviction of her family by Lord Marstone, whose family owns the island. Their time on the island will irrevocably change the course of both their lives, but the white house on the edge of the dunes keeps its silence long after they are gone.

It will be more than a century before the Sea House reluctantly gives up its secrets. Ruth and Michael buy the grand but dilapidated building and begin to turn it into a home for the family they hope to have. Their dreams are marred by a shocking discovery. The tiny bones of a baby are buried beneath the house; the child's fragile legs are fused together—a mermaid child. Who buried the bones? And why? To heal her own demons, Ruth feels she must discover the secrets of her new home—but the answers to her questions may lie in her own traumatic past. The Sea House by Elisabeth Gifford is a sweeping tale of hope and redemption and a study of how we heal ourselves by discovering our histories.
---------------------------

Don't miss The Sea House, a stunning fiction debut from the UK. Set in a house on the windswept coast of the Outer Hebrides, Elisabeth Gifford's haunting tale effortlessly bridges a gap of more than a century. Adeptly interweaving two tales involving residents of the titular house, Gifford sets up an absorbing mystery revolving around local lore and myths about mermaids, selkies, and sealmen. Stretching seamlessly back and forth through time, layers upon layers of secrets are slowly and effectively peeled away in this evocative debut (Booklist).

Celebrate with Elisabeth by entering her Kindle giveaway!

One grand prize winner will receive:

• A Kindle Fire
• The Sea House by Elisabeth Gifford

Enter today by clicking the icon below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on October 19th. Winner will be announced October 20th at Elisabeth's Blog.

Watch the trailer:

===================================

Dual storylines either work beautifully or they can totally destroy a book. In this case, they really worked. Weaving Ruth's story in and out with that of Rev Ferguson's, you really get a feel for both eras and the house that they've both lived in. I did hear, through the grapevine, that some readers had a problem with some of the language used within this book. Let me tell you that I didn't feel it was an issue at all. If anything, it added to the realism of this story. As someone with PTSD, I understood Ruth in a way that maybe not every reader will. I also understand that in different parts of the world, certain words hold more strength than they do in others. I loved this book. I loved the history. I loved the realism. I loved the descriptions that made me want to  go there. This is one book that won't be leaving my shelf any time soon and I hope that it will be joining other books on some of my readers' shelves.


I received a copy of this book for the purpose of this review. All thoughts, comments and opinions are my own.
If you like what you've read here, please share it with others using these buttons: