Marrow Island

by Alexis M. Smith

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171	13	169,201	(3.44)	16
Fiction. Literature. HTML: *The award-winning novel that's "a foreboding, compelling story of humanity's uneasy relationship with nature and with each other . . . a gripping read" (St.Louis Post-Dispatch). It has been twenty years since Lucie Bowen left the islands�when the May Day Quake shattered thousands of lives; when Lucie's father disappeared in an explosion at the Marrow Island oil refinery, a tragedy that destroyed the island's ecosystem; and when Lucie and her best friend, Katie, were just Puget Sound children hoping to survive. Now, Katie writes with strange and miraculous news. Marrow Island is no longer uninhabitable and no longer abandoned. She is part of a community that has managed to conjure life again from Marrow's soil. Lucie returns. Her journalist instincts tell her there's more to this mysterious "Colony" and their charismatic leader�a former nun with an all-consuming plan�than its members want her to know. As she uncovers their secrets, will Lucie endanger more than their mission? And what price will she pay for the truth? "Eerie and intriguing . . . captivates in the first few pages and delivers a gripping, compelling story throughout."�Milwaukee Journal Sentinel* "Smith's excellent command of language gives life to arresting characters and their creepy surroundings, keeping the suspense in this dark environmental thriller running high."�Elle "This alluring novel explores the darkness of love, how it can cajole you into danger or tip your actions toward cruelty. Clean but intoxicating writing . . . Ambitious."�The New York Times Book Review "Transporting."�Vanity Fair "Beautifully wrought."�O, The Oprah Magazine "Engrossing and atmospheric, a thorny meditation on environmental responsibility with a big haunted heart."�Miami Herald .… (more)

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Showing 1-5 of 13 (next | show all)

Intriguing and complex enough so I'm still processing some of the events a day after closing the cover. I read it in an afternoon and one aspect I particularly liked was how easy it was to visualize what was happening at most moments. The end is a real puzzler for me. (

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sennebec | May 22, 2023 |

Sometimes I liked this book and sometimes I didn't. Too many jumps back and forth between present and the past. There were a lot of potentially interesting angles to investigate and I feel like we got a mediocre pass at all of them. I think the ending would have been better suited for a movie (gasp!) than a book. I was ready to walk away feeling satisfied and give this book 4 stars until the last chapter. (

)

menassassin | Aug 28, 2021 |

A good novel, but I wanted something else from it. Which is not the author's fault. (

)

amandrake | Jul 4, 2019 |

Marrow Island is a modern-day gothic tale, with a huge ecological backdrop. The imagery and descriptions of the island are just astounding. I could close my eyes and see the beauty and the destruction.
You follow the life of Lucie, and learn of her growing up on Marrow Island, the earthquake and disaster that destroyed her childhood, and why it has taken her so long to return. When she does, nothing is as it seems, even her close childhood friend, Katie.
The story is slow paced, taking it’s time to explore the pain and love. What happens almost seems natural, leaving a dread and eerie sensation that this could happen to anyone, anywhere.
My biggest (and only) complaint is the execution of Lucie’s time on the island and the aftermath. Both story lines are great, but the flashback technique did not do them justice. With only a year between the story lines, it was sometimes hard to follow what time you were in, and become very disjointed and confusing.
Even with the few negative points, this is still a brilliant novel and I would recommend this to anyone. (

)

JPetersonReads | Dec 23, 2018 |

A story that floats on memory and water, on hallucinations and seismic waves. It will not satisfy all readers and might defy classification, yet what seems insubstantial will gently follow you into your dreams. Smith has become a confident writer from whom we can expect more hypnotizing books. (

)

Lemeritus | May 24, 2018 |

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▾Awards and Honors

Awards

Lambda Literary Award (Winner – Bisexual Fiction – 2017)

Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award (Winner – 2017)

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Canonical title

Original title

Alternative titles

Original publication date

People/Characters

Important places

San Juan Islands, Washington, USA

Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon, USA

Important events

Spring Break earthquake, 1993

Related movies

Epigraph

Dedication

First words

This was my last glimpse of Marrow Island before the boat pulled away: brown and green uniforms clustered on the beach, tramping up the hill to the chapel and through the trees to the cottages of Marrow Colony.

Quotations

Last words

(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

Disambiguation notice

Publisher's editors

Blurbers

Original language

English US

Canonical DDC/MDS

813.6

Canonical LCC

PS3619.M538

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▾Book descriptions

Fiction. Literature. HTML:

The award-winning novel that's "a foreboding, compelling story of humanity's uneasy relationship with nature and with each other . . . a gripping read" (St.Louis Post-Dispatch).

It has been twenty years since Lucie Bowen left the islands�when the May Day Quake shattered thousands of lives; when Lucie's father disappeared in an explosion at the Marrow Island oil refinery, a tragedy that destroyed the island's ecosystem; and when Lucie and her best friend, Katie, were just Puget Sound children hoping to survive. Now, Katie writes with strange and miraculous news. Marrow Island is no longer uninhabitable and no longer abandoned. She is part of a community that has managed to conjure life again from Marrow's soil. Lucie returns. Her journalist instincts tell her there's more to this mysterious "Colony" and their charismatic leader�a former nun with an all-consuming plan�than its members want her to know. As she uncovers their secrets, will Lucie endanger more than their mission? And what price will she pay for the truth?

"Eerie and intriguing . . . captivates in the first few pages and delivers a gripping, compelling story throughout."�Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

"Smith's excellent command of language gives life to arresting characters and their creepy surroundings, keeping the suspense in this dark environmental thriller running high."�Elle

"This alluring novel explores the darkness of love, how it can cajole you into danger or tip your actions toward cruelty. Clean but intoxicating writing . . . Ambitious."�The New York Times Book Review

"Transporting."�Vanity Fair

"Beautifully wrought."�O, The Oprah Magazine

"Engrossing and atmospheric, a thorny meditation on environmental responsibility with a big haunted heart."�Miami Herald