The Cliffs: Reese's Book Club

A novel

De: J. Courtney Sullivan

Narrado por: Kimberly Farr, Tanis Parenteau, Emily Lawrence, Brittany Pressley, Cassandra Campbell

REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK • A novel of family, secrets, ghosts, and homecoming set on the seaside cliffs of Maine, by the New York Times best-selling author of Friends and Strangers

“A stunning achievement, and J. Courtney Sullivan’s best book yet. Sullivan weaves a narrative that’s fascinating and thought-provoking. I literally could not put this book down.”
—Ann Napolitano, New York Times best-selling author of Hello Beautiful

On a secluded bluff overlooking the ocean sits a Victorian house, lavender with gingerbread trim, a home that contains a century’s worth of secrets. By the time Jane Flanagan discovers the house as a teenager, it has long been abandoned. The place is an irresistible mystery to Jane. There are still clothes in the closets, marbles rolling across the floors, and dishes in the cupboards, even though no one has set foot there in decades. The house becomes a hideaway for Jane, a place to escape her volatile mother.

Twenty years later, now a Harvard archivist, she returns home to Maine following a terrible mistake that threatens both her career and her marriage. Jane is horrified to find the Victorian is now barely recognizable. The new owner, Genevieve, a summer person from Beacon Hill, has gutted it, transforming the house into a glossy white monstrosity straight out of a shelter magazine. Strangely, Genevieve is convinced that the house is haunted—perhaps the product of something troubling Genevieve herself has done. She hires Jane to research the history of the place and the women who lived there. The story Jane uncovers—of lovers lost at sea, romantic longing, shattering loss, artistic awakening, historical artifacts stolen and sold, and the long shadow of colonialism—is even older than Maine itself.

Enthralling, richly imagined, filled with psychic mediums and charlatans, spirits and past lives, mothers, marriage, and the legacy of alcoholism, this is a deeply moving novel about the land we inhabit, the women who came before us, and the ways in which none of us will ever truly leave this earth.

Great main story with a lot of unnecessary depressing fluff about the indigenous.

I loved the main story about Jane, Daisy and all the intertwining stories of various women. All the details of the horrors the indigenous faced could have been left out. It wasn’t necessary to the larger more prominent story. It was as if she just wanted to tell people about those horror stories and how the indigenous had been wronged by the white men and she decided to add it to a book she happened to be writing at the same time. Took up an entire chapter having nothing to do with the rest of the story.I felt like I was held captive and had to listen to those parts in order to get the rest of the story. It was completely unnecessary to push her agenda for cultural reparations.
SPOILER ALERT!!!
Why did they not go find the bones from the graves that had been dug up? That was a main part of the story. The ghost of Daisy wanted her mom to know and Jane never told her. She lied to her. So they were never buried together. That was so disappointing.

Hard to keep up with.

I listen to half the book before I really started to enjoy it. Too many life stories to follow.

A lot of positives

There was a lot good about this story, but it could have been wonderful. To me, it felt disjointed. There were several prominent themes that were each singularly focused on for an extended time. It felt like little history lessons. The information was important and relevant but I wish it would have been integrated more smoothly. I still recommend reading it.

Best book of the year

I can’t say enough good things about this book. It’s amazing. I loved every second.

How destructive alcohol addiction can be.

Too long and drawn out.
I loved the historical aspect but not necessarily the way/length in which it was delivered.