NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER âĸÂ A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK âĸÂ A lyrical and intimate novel following two families as they struggle to heal, from the awardâwinning author of The Tortilla Curtain
âBoyle portrays the heartbreaking toll San Miguel takes on these couples in a novel as beguiling as the island itself.ââO, The Oprah Magazine
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Just off the coast of Southern California, two familiesâone in the late 1880s and one in the 1930sâcome to desolate, windswept San Miguel Island in search of self-reliance, freedom, and a new start in their lives.
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In failing health, Marantha Waters arrives with her husband, a stubborn Civil War veteran who plans to take over the islandâs sheep ranch. Some forty years later, Elise Lester settles the island with her husband, a World War I veteran full of manic energy. Both Marantha and Elise strive to help their husbands pursue their dreams but must themselves grapple with the more nebulous hardships of raising a family in brutal isolation.