NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK • A lyrical and intimate novel following two families as they struggle to heal, from the award–winning author of The Tortilla Curtain
“Boyle portrays the heartbreaking toll San Miguel takes on these couples in a novel as beguiling as the island itself.”—O, The Oprah Magazine
Just off the coast of Southern California, two families—one in the late 1880s and one in the 1930s—come to desolate, windswept San Miguel Island in search of self-reliance, freedom, and a new start in their lives.
In failing health, Marantha Waters arrives with her husband, a stubborn Civil War veteran who plans to take over the island’s 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.
