A review by kitnotmarlowe
Out Front the Following Sea by Leah Angstman
adventurous
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
rating this 5 stars is not enough i need to live in leah angstman's brain!!!!
honestly i respect leah angstman so much because she knows exactly who her audience is: washed up history/english majors who audibly cheer upon the discovery that their book has a map in the front. several maps, in fact, including one of a ship! plus a dictionary in the back! wow my french is really not what it used to be! anyway i love this book because i am a special sort of freak who savours the minute details of someone making bread by hand, or moving stones across a field. i love history and felt that not only could i see and feel the history that angstman reproduced, but i could hear, smell, and taste it as well. no detail is too small or unworthy of attention. the writing shifts between period evocation and dialect and modern banter pacing between ruth and owen, showing not only how modern ruth is in comparison to the repressive religious communities of shrewsbury and stonington, but also reflecting the easy chemistry the two have with each other.
i find it difficult to discuss things i like rather than things i don't, because sometimes when you like something so much it nestles inside you and is impossible to extract. so i will say that the next time i'm asked for a 'weird' or 'offbeat' book recommendation, i'm recommending out front the following sea.
honestly i respect leah angstman so much because she knows exactly who her audience is: washed up history/english majors who audibly cheer upon the discovery that their book has a map in the front. several maps, in fact, including one of a ship! plus a dictionary in the back! wow my french is really not what it used to be! anyway i love this book because i am a special sort of freak who savours the minute details of someone making bread by hand, or moving stones across a field. i love history and felt that not only could i see and feel the history that angstman reproduced, but i could hear, smell, and taste it as well. no detail is too small or unworthy of attention. the writing shifts between period evocation and dialect and modern banter pacing between ruth and owen, showing not only how modern ruth is in comparison to the repressive religious communities of shrewsbury and stonington, but also reflecting the easy chemistry the two have with each other.
i find it difficult to discuss things i like rather than things i don't, because sometimes when you like something so much it nestles inside you and is impossible to extract. so i will say that the next time i'm asked for a 'weird' or 'offbeat' book recommendation, i'm recommending out front the following sea.