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

Save My Place: a touching love story

Save My Place by Oliva deBelle Byrd is a heartwarming and heart wrenching love story set in 1960s and 1970s. It was recently honored with two Gold Medals in Florida Fiction for Adults and Cover Design by the Florida Presidents Book Awards. It is the story of love through various stages of courtship, marriage, war, and personal tragedy.

The story opens with Elisabeth Belle Sterling, a young college student who is “creative, independent but not rebellious.” She begins to enter the dating scene and after a lot of misses, she feel she’s doomed to be an old maid. Until she meets Kincaid Patterson, an Army buddy of her roommate’s boyfriend. The two immediately hit it off and before they know it, they are married and settling into life together. He is stationed at Fort Banning and she becomes a second grade teacher. Soon their wonderful life is halted as Kincaid is deployed to Vietnam. Before he leaves, Kincaid tells Elisabeth to “save his place.” She ends her letters to him with “your place is saved.” Will Kincaid return home? Will Elisabeth be able to learn to live without him?

I loved this book. It was sweet and tender. It had shocking moments when you gasped and hoped for a positive outcome. I can’t give more without ruining the entire book but there are moments when you cry and your heart aches for the characters as they deal with different tragedies. I especially loved the ending. It showed a great loved between these characters and I can imagine them living today still hand-in-hand. I highly recommend Save My Place. It definitely has a place on my keeper shelf.