Sea Wife

A novel

De: Amity Gaige

Narrado por: Cassandra Campbell, Will Damron, Emily Eiden

A New York Times Notable Book

"Sea Wife is a gripping tale of survival at sea—but that’s just the beginning. Amity Gaige also manages, before she’s done, to probe the underpinnings of romantic love, marriage, literary ambition, political inclinations in the Trump age, parenthood, and finally, the nature of survival itself in our broken world. Gaige is thrillingly talented, and her novel enchants."
—Jennifer Egan

“Sea Wife brilliantly breathes life not only into the perils of living at sea, but also into the fraught and hidden dangers of domesticity, motherhood, and marriage. What a smart, swift, and thrilling novel.”
—Lauren Groff

From the highly acclaimed author of Schroder, a smart, sophisticated literary page-turner about a young family who escape suburbia for a yearlong sailing trip that upends all of their lives.

Juliet is failing to juggle motherhood and her stalled-out dissertation on confessional poetry when her husband, Michael, informs her that he wants to leave his job and buy a sailboat. With their two kids—Sybil, age seven, and George, age two—Juliet and Michael set off for Panama, where their forty-four foot sailboat awaits them.

The initial result is transformative; the marriage is given a gust of energy, Juliet emerges from her depression, and the children quickly embrace the joys of being feral children at sea. Despite the stresses of being novice sailors, the family learns to crew the boat together on the ever-changing sea. The vast horizons and isolated islands offer Juliet and Michael reprieve – until they are tested by the unforeseen.

Sea Wife is told in gripping dual perspectives: Juliet’s first person narration, after the journey, as she struggles to come to terms with the life-changing events that unfolded at sea, and Michael’s captain’s log, which provides a riveting, slow-motion account of these same inexorable events, a dialogue that reveals the fault lines created by personal history and political divisions.

Sea Wife is a transporting novel about marriage, family and love in a time of unprecedented turmoil. It is unforgettable in its power and astonishingly perceptive in its portrayal of optimism, disillusionment, and survival.

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Stunning... Amity [tows] you to tragedy with the graceful crawl of a poet and the motorboat intensity of a suspense author.”
—New York Times Book Review

"Profound and universal... “Sea Wife” achieves a lovely balance between the real and the metaphoric"
—The Wall Street Journal

"Gaige's razor-sharp novel is wise to marital and broader politics. But it's also such gripping escapism that it feels like a lifeboat."
—People

"Cuts to the heart of mundane marital strife and the legacy of trauma."
—Elle

"Gaige is a superb writer."
—The Boston Globe

"Gripping... A powerful take on a marriage on the rocks."
—Kirkus Reviews

"[A] splendid, wrenching novel...Every element of this impressive novel clicks into a dazzling, heartbreaking whole."
—Publishers Weekly [starred review]

"Sea Wife is a gripping tale of survival at sea—but that’s just the beginning. Amity Gaige also manages, before she’s done, to probe the underpinnings of romantic love, marriage, literary ambition, political inclinations in the Trump age, parenthood, and finally, the nature of survival itself in our broken world. Gaige is thrillingly talented, and her novel enchants."
—Jennifer Egan

“Taut as a thriller, emotionally precise yet threaded with lyricism, Sea Wife is at once the compelling story of a family's glorious, misbegotten seafaring adventure and an allegory for life itself. This is an unforgettable novel.”
—Claire Messud

“Sea Wife is an immersive pleasure. Amity Gaige captivates us, tricks us, and transports us. She understands the inner and the outer world—from quiet misery to murderous seas—and there is no world she cannot explore and illuminate.”
—Amy Bloom

“Sea Wife brilliantly breathes life not only into the perils of living at sea, but also into the fraught and hidden dangers of domesticity, motherhood, and marriage. What a smart, swift, and thrilling novel.”
—Lauren Groff

“Few writers have portrayed marriage and parenthood with more fierce intelligence than Amity Gaige, but in Sea Wife, she has outdone herself. This is an unforgettable portrait of a family that ventures out to sea, only to be riven by the weight of the past, and the politics of the present. Piercingly written and compelling from beginning to end, Sea Wife is a major accomplishment.”
—Adam Haslett

Great listen!

There is a great tension in her writing. I like how the book went back and forth not only between the wife's voice and the husband's journal but between past and present. She clearly understands a real marriage as well as trauma and depression and I couldn't stop listening.

Really enjoyed.

the story line is really good. the story was
performed nicely. I enjoy different voices reading.

Realistic inter personal relationships. Beautiful depictions of sea voyage lifestyles.

Realistic interpersonal interactions. Heartbreaking and buoying. Beautiful depictions of the sea and living upon it.

many layers

loved it. identified with it. kept it's mystery. almost made me want to sail.

amazing!

a truly marvelous book - the cast of narrators clears up confusions I had when reading the text, absolutely worth a listen for anyone interested in life, love, and humanity (and the wonderful, beautiful, ever changing ocean!)

Took me right back to my sailing days

What a great story. I used to sail, and this took me right back to those days. Great descriptions of going in and out of ports and setting the anchor and taking trips on the dinghy and scrounging together food when you’re running low. Also great character development, with each of them evolving overtime aboard the boat.

Wow- what a delightful surprise!

This book is so much more than the story of a sea voyage. Brilliant characters, complex relationships, and several reveals elevate this tale. So good!

Lots of narrator shifting.

The book benefits from audio in that the change in readers is an easy signal of change in narrators. Unfortunately, there's an obnoxious voice whenever the children are speaking- but that's rare. I found that rather distracting at times. But the story was interesting and the author did a good job of building two separate and full characters.

Strange ending

I enjoyed the story most of the way through, but it deteriorated at the end

Disappointing ending

The story started quite well, and I was really invested in the story while the Bartlow family was at sea. Then the author started to go off-track, and the narrative lost its flow and dynamics. It ended in a hot mess. Too bad, it could have been better.