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Pocketful of names
Coomer, Joe.
Adult Fiction COOMER
From Publishers' Weekly:
Coomer (One Vacant Chair) weighs solitude against companionship and explores how "people can interfere with the smooth running of your life" in this artfully crafted but long-winded novel. Hannah Bryant, 34, is a successful artist living and painting on a rocky Maine isle. With her parents dead and her younger half-sister, Emily, in a strict religious order, her closest relative had been her great-uncle Arno, with whom she'd spent several summers on Ten Acres No Nine Island, hers when he died. Hannah relishes her seclusion and has "kept the island inviolable," with the exception of someone who's been mysteriously digging holes and a dog, Driftwood, who has washed ashore. When Emily writes to her about a boy in trouble who needs a place to hide, Hannah's staunchly guarded privacy begins to crumble. When more people arrive, they open closets to reveal all sorts of skeletons-about Arno's drug business and Hannah's art sales in particular-but, mired in detail and stretched across too many pages, the surprises may not be enough to sustain the reader interest. Coomer is a graceful writer, though, conveying natural beauty and emotional turmoil with equal polish. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
From Library Journal:
The stark, rocky landscape of a small island off the Maine coast provides the backdrop for Coomer's latest novel (after One Vacant Chair). Hannah, an artist, is the only resident of the island, which she inherited from her great uncle, a former lobster fisherman. Her solitary life is interrupted by a half-drowned dog that washes up with the tide and a teenager named Will on the run from his abusive father in Texas. Hannah and Will develop a friendship with the local delivery-boat driver, a teenage girl, and her father, as an empty house starts to get lively and crowded. Along the way, Hannah learns the truth about her great uncle, who led a secret life on the dark side of Maine's maritime society. She also discovers who has been supporting her artistic life and purchasing her work from a gallery in New York. As the year winds down, Will heads off to college, others drift away, and Hannah is left to herself once again, only now in need of rediscovering her artistic energy. The rhythms of coastal life weave in and out of the family relationships and personal dramas in this enjoyable tale. Recommended for all collections.-Jim Coan, SUNY at Oneonta Lib. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Coomer, Joe.
Adult Fiction COOMER
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From Publishers' Weekly:
Coomer (One Vacant Chair) weighs solitude against companionship and explores how "people can interfere with the smooth running of your life" in this artfully crafted but long-winded novel. Hannah Bryant, 34, is a successful artist living and painting on a rocky Maine isle. With her parents dead and her younger half-sister, Emily, in a strict religious order, her closest relative had been her great-uncle Arno, with whom she'd spent several summers on Ten Acres No Nine Island, hers when he died. Hannah relishes her seclusion and has "kept the island inviolable," with the exception of someone who's been mysteriously digging holes and a dog, Driftwood, who has washed ashore. When Emily writes to her about a boy in trouble who needs a place to hide, Hannah's staunchly guarded privacy begins to crumble. When more people arrive, they open closets to reveal all sorts of skeletons-about Arno's drug business and Hannah's art sales in particular-but, mired in detail and stretched across too many pages, the surprises may not be enough to sustain the reader interest. Coomer is a graceful writer, though, conveying natural beauty and emotional turmoil with equal polish. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
From Library Journal:
The stark, rocky landscape of a small island off the Maine coast provides the backdrop for Coomer's latest novel (after One Vacant Chair). Hannah, an artist, is the only resident of the island, which she inherited from her great uncle, a former lobster fisherman. Her solitary life is interrupted by a half-drowned dog that washes up with the tide and a teenager named Will on the run from his abusive father in Texas. Hannah and Will develop a friendship with the local delivery-boat driver, a teenage girl, and her father, as an empty house starts to get lively and crowded. Along the way, Hannah learns the truth about her great uncle, who led a secret life on the dark side of Maine's maritime society. She also discovers who has been supporting her artistic life and purchasing her work from a gallery in New York. As the year winds down, Will heads off to college, others drift away, and Hannah is left to herself once again, only now in need of rediscovering her artistic energy. The rhythms of coastal life weave in and out of the family relationships and personal dramas in this enjoyable tale. Recommended for all collections.-Jim Coan, SUNY at Oneonta Lib. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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