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aurigae's review against another edition
4.0
This panoramic yet tightly plotted novel follows the intersecting paths of half a dozen residents of the eponymous coastal town. We read about the events of their daily lives, their grocery shopping and their children's art projects, and about the traumas large and small that have shaped them - and, in the second half of the book, something larger - in the words of one character, an intersection of their lives with history.
The story is set in a near future - about ten years from now - that is highly recognizable but very different from our present. The children of Covid-19 have grown up. Environmental degradation has become a fact of life, and responses range from activism to despair, end-of-days fanaticism to terrorism. The scope of humanity's outlook has narrowed, but people haven't changed. They still marry and divorce, bring children into the world and hope breathlessly for their future.
Vigil Harbor is at its best when it focuses on its characters and their humanity. The writing is beautiful, the characterization both subtle and profound. If it had been a novel only about these interwoven lives in this small town, I would have given it five stars.
But too often the politics of the novel intrude: climate change and deforestation and ocean acidification, and the characters' denialist or extremist responses. Although these are, of course, critical issues, I found myself distracted by the details. Really, I would wonder, will there be no fish left in ten years, and no legal immigration?
Of course it doesn't matter if the world of the story is our actual future - but when I was reading, it felt like it did. It felt like Vigil Harbor had things to say - things about love and loyalty, language and self-delusion, humanity and its place among the species. Most of the time, the book and its message felt like it belonged in our world, or a version of it, but sometimes - when I read that plums had simply stopped existing several years previously, meaning a few years from now, because of climate change - I had a hard time suspending my disbelief.
[I received a complimentary ARC from NetGalley and am leaving this review voluntarily.]
The story is set in a near future - about ten years from now - that is highly recognizable but very different from our present. The children of Covid-19 have grown up. Environmental degradation has become a fact of life, and responses range from activism to despair, end-of-days fanaticism to terrorism. The scope of humanity's outlook has narrowed, but people haven't changed. They still marry and divorce, bring children into the world and hope breathlessly for their future.
Vigil Harbor is at its best when it focuses on its characters and their humanity. The writing is beautiful, the characterization both subtle and profound. If it had been a novel only about these interwoven lives in this small town, I would have given it five stars.
But too often the politics of the novel intrude: climate change and deforestation and ocean acidification, and the characters' denialist or extremist responses. Although these are, of course, critical issues, I found myself distracted by the details. Really, I would wonder, will there be no fish left in ten years, and no legal immigration?
Of course it doesn't matter if the world of the story is our actual future - but when I was reading, it felt like it did. It felt like Vigil Harbor had things to say - things about love and loyalty, language and self-delusion, humanity and its place among the species. Most of the time, the book and its message felt like it belonged in our world, or a version of it, but sometimes - when I read that plums had simply stopped existing several years previously, meaning a few years from now, because of climate change - I had a hard time suspending my disbelief.
[I received a complimentary ARC from NetGalley and am leaving this review voluntarily.]
ohlittleowl's review against another edition
3.0
I think what was masterful about this book was the quiet details of an apocalyptic world. There were bombs and explosions in the plot, yes, but the aspects of a 10-years-later world where COVID lockdowns are a previous chapter in everyone's lives, where furnaces are rusty in basements and almonds are a luxury food, are so simply stated and perfectly (scarily?) logical extrapolations of the issues we see today. Also, the author's prose is wonderfully lush, and I loved a lot of the lyrical descriptions.
The plot follows a multitude of characters and I think I benefitted greatly from listening to the audiobook in that regard because there were distinct voices. The weakest points to me were some of the interweaving plots, the interpersonal dramas, and especially the mythical creature aspect (that might just be me, I really wanted that plot line to not be so on-the-nose). The characters, however, were well drawn with interesting backstories and ties to this quaint town.
3.5 from me!
The plot follows a multitude of characters and I think I benefitted greatly from listening to the audiobook in that regard because there were distinct voices. The weakest points to me were some of the interweaving plots, the interpersonal dramas, and especially the mythical creature aspect (that might just be me, I really wanted that plot line to not be so on-the-nose). The characters, however, were well drawn with interesting backstories and ties to this quaint town.
3.5 from me!
melissakuzma's review against another edition
3.0
I really liked this up until about the 70% mark when all of the disparate storylines started to come together in a very predictable and boring way. It was slow I barely got through it. Very unsatisfying.
ashreec's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.0
whatsbookinjenni's review against another edition
reflective
tense
medium-paced
3.5
Julia Glass knows how to develop a character, but the comfortable politics of this whole book kind of became a major drag by the end
readers_block's review against another edition
4.0
In the near future, a motley group of residents in a quaint Massachusetts beach town ride out the world’s environmental cataclysms and subsequent ecoterrorist attacks. The community’s members are interconnected in myriad ways, and mysteries surface when two outsiders come to town.
A literary feat that defies easy categorization, Vigil Harbor is both a devastating look at an imminent future made increasingly precarious by man, and an homage to the indomitable spirit of humankind. Finely crafted characters, like a marine biologist whose wife leaves him to join an end times cult with a neighbor, and a thoughtful arborist whose tenderness for trees is palpable, make this bewitching novel worth reading.
A literary feat that defies easy categorization, Vigil Harbor is both a devastating look at an imminent future made increasingly precarious by man, and an homage to the indomitable spirit of humankind. Finely crafted characters, like a marine biologist whose wife leaves him to join an end times cult with a neighbor, and a thoughtful arborist whose tenderness for trees is palpable, make this bewitching novel worth reading.
valmai's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
maia_cat's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
rglossner's review against another edition
5.0
Set in the near future, where climate change has wreaked havoc with weather and water levels, Vigil Harbor explores the lives of people living in an affluent and mostly sheltered coastal community in Massachusetts. The architect Austin who builds homes designed to withstand the fury of intense storms; his stepson, Brecht, who has returned to Vigil Harbor after an encounter with eco-terrorism leaves him unable to continue living in New York; the divorced marine biologist who observes and despairs about the changing ocean; the landscaper who creates beauty that can withstand the elements, and more, all find their lives woven together by an act of terrorism and its repercussions. Absorbing characters and story.
dabraham's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75