Margreete's Harbor: not the family story I was expecting

Margreete’s Harbor by Eleanor Morse is a story set on the coast of Maine during the 1950s and 1960s, following the life of a family and its matriarch as they share a home during the changing times. Margreete Bright is a fiercely-independent, thrice-widowed woman who is determined to live on her own in her home near the Maine coast. Until one day, she forgets a hot pan on the stove and nearly burns her house down. Her daughter, Liddie, realizes that her mother can no longer live alone. She and her husband, Harry, and their children Eva and Bernie, pack up their lives in Michigan and move across the country to Margreete’s coastal home and begin a new life. Liddie is a professional cellist who struggles with her marriage as she feels increasingly confined. Harry is a high school history teacher whose political views threatened his job. Bernie and Eva begin to come into their own identities as young adults. 

Margreete’s Harbor is the story of life in America as it leaves the idyllic 1950s to the turbulent 1960s. I was excited to read this book and the opening chapter sounded promising for the rest of the book. Enter Liddie and her family and the book goes downhill from there. None of the characters were likable or sympathetic. I found Liddie to be grating and whining. Harry was a stereotypical man with a wandering eye. Although he barely puts up a fight when Liddie wants to uproot their family to “take care” of her mother, who becomes a secondary character. The book describes itself as perfect for fans of Elizabeth Strout, Alice Munro, and Anne Tyler. If you are fans of these authors, you may enjoy Margreete’s Harbor. Unfortunately, for me, it was a difficult book to finish. It dragged on and on that it was hard to remain focused and care about the characters and the events. I do not recommend it. 

Margreete’s Harbor is available in hardcover, eBook, and audiobook