Working Waterfront

Another look at the midwife’s story

She asserts that “roughly 75 percent of what happens on these pages closely follows the historical record.” But she emphatically reminds us the book is “inspired by real events as opposed to being based on them.” SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Mystery hidden in island fog

Suspicions fall on Jon, who has an uneasy relationship with his father, not to mention a serious drinking problem. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Writing prompts personal revelations

It's impossible to not be moved by someone opening up this way, and the only way it can fail is when it is overwrought, pretentious, or over-written. There are a few pieces that slide into these sins, but the bulk are honest in their aim. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Climbing class cliffs is complicated

The Cliffs starts out with a gothic feel, then steadily shifts its footing to a fairly typical contemporary depiction of the main character’s chaotic emotional life. The plot moves along pretty well overall, the characters are mainly well-drawn... SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Beware of explaining islands to islanders

A central conflict of the novel is Mari’s desire to farm a few acres of Harry’s family's land, something his lawyer sister dismisses as not right for the island. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Susan Webster and Stuart Kestenbaum harmonize

Kestenbaum has noted a sense of mortality in some of these poems. Two pieces titled “Eternity” address the end of life, “some pa/rt of me adrift/gone floating o/ver this sweet/and sad world." SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Digging deep into Maine’s recipe pantry

Both books feature Oliver’s homespun stories about recipes, contributors, and history, and offer real insight into authentic Downeast cooking, from both the past and the present. And you don’t need to feel you’ve embarked on scholarly research while perusing recipes here SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Political refugee lands in Portugal

Bailey dives into the details on everything, from how to order a cup of coffee to banking, from how to buy food at a street market to why the roofs are all red. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Stephen King likes it darker

King has never shied away from commenting on politics, especially when it comes to 45 (“Since I write horror novels for a living, I feel I have some authority when I say that four more years of Donald Trump in the White House would be an absolute nightmare”). SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Minot’s latest airs unhealthy yearnings

She worries all the time about the quality of her parenting. After experiencing the early loss of her own parents and her divorce after having a child, Ivy feels guilty for her son’s equivalent loss of a mother-father dyad. SEE MORE