The Sea

by John Banville

Recently a widower, Max Morden has returned to a seaside town he visited as a child. The holiday by the sea, so long ago, was punctuated by Max’s interactions with the Grace family: father Carlos, mother Connie, and twins Chloe and Miles.

By the sea, Max contemplates his wife’s last days, the holiday spent with the Graces, and his current life situation.

Though under two hundred pages, this is one long and meandering novel. Short on plot and long on big words and exquisite phrasing, this is a novel that readers will either love or hate. Not until the last quarter of the novel, did I feel any love for The Sea.

1/22/12