The Silver Boat-Luanne Rice

The Silver Boat
Luanne Rice
Viking, Apr 5 2011, $25.95
ISBN: 9780670022502

Each of the sisters looks back at the family beach house on Martha's Vineyard with fond memories. They can track their roots to the Massachusetts colony as their ancestors were one of the first families to settle here. However, with mom’s death and the trio living far away and unable to keep the place as a vacation site, they know they must sell.

Thus the McCarthy siblings (Dar, Delia and Rory) come to Daggett's Way with sadness in their hearts. Adding to the despondency is the only offer comes from insufferable boors who plan to tear Dagget’s Way down and replace it with a despicable reproduction of a French chateau. Dar the manga graphic novelist wishes she had the power of her comic book heroine. Delia has other issues as she struggles with her son’s meth addiction that is also killing her relationship with her husband; reminding her of her Irish father Michael who vanished at sea years ago while insisting King Charles I gave his ancestors land within the Daggett acres.

This is an entertaining family drama as readers see the sadness of the three sisters who must give up their long time family heritage. The story line is insightful when the tale remains anchored on Martha’s Vineyard profoundly studying the impact of the loss of something sacred (not just the sisters as another character has confronted the same loss). When the siblings chase after an inane dream that even if they succeed accomplishes nothing, the plot loses its plausibility though one could argue this is a coping defense mechanism. Overall readers will enjoy the McCarthy sisters learning you truly cannot go home no matter how much you wish otherwise.

Harriet Klausner