Margreete’s Harbor

I thought this was an incandescent novel. It shown with inner light from several directions at once. At its core, it’s about a bunch of people just really really trying to be decent to each other, sort of like Ted Lasso. Except it’s about something utterly mundane: a family struggling to come into their own personhoods, despite each being handicapped in some way: by being temporarily inconvenienced by childhood, or motherhood, or dementia, or hating your job. It was set against some very serious challenges: racism and unjust wars and homophobia and sometimes the small challenges of rural life: unplowed roads and cows that cry for their separated calves. It was a small novel about really big things. The writing was lyrical, the people were likable, the situations were *almost* believable. I had two or three quibbles: I’m having trouble believing that teenagers in Maine were avid fans of Martin Luther King in his lifetime. Maybe? But it needed a bit more backup than it got: where did they hear him? What woke them? I also wanted them to do a tiny bit more with what it was like to be gay in that era: there was a gay uncle who needed to step up and give some guidance and that just never happened. It was sort of Chekhov’s gun sitting there on a table but it never went off. (Is there going to be a sequel?) How did the male protagonist become a guy who both worked in a shitty job he didn’t like to feed his family AND cook dinner and change the baby? I wondered if the author actually LIVED in the 60’s. (I think she’s older than I am, but maybe she didn’t know any of the men?) I felt like the whole thing was *trying* to be set in 2016 but they needed to get rid of cellphones to make some of the plot devices work, so it got shoved into the 1960’s. Anyway, I quibble. I loved the book. I am super picky about books and frequently don’t bother to finish them. This one was worth reading. I loved her earlier book “White Dog Fell From the Sky”, which came as a delightful surprise that reminded me of Viktor Frankl’s “Man’s Search for Meaning”. After that, I slogged a bit through Chopin’s Garden, one of her earlier works that just wasn’t at the same level. This one, though, is my reward for going back for more.

An immensely moving tour de force. In elegant prose and with wit and wisdom, Eleanor Morse shows us the connective tissue that binds this indelible family together; imbuing each character’s point of view with deep psychological nuance. With tremendous humanity, Morse focuses on the small quotidian details of ordinary life. And in so doing, she illuminates the larger picture of what it takes to simply be alive: how we navigate childhood, siblings, marriage, parenthood, old age. I am writing this review through a blur of tears, profoundly touched by this big-hearted family saga. After a pandemic year of endless electronic scrolling, Margreete’s Harbor reminded me of the immersive pleasure of reading an engrossing, beautifully written novel again. Highly recommended.

Characterization was accomplished with delicate touches; setting evoked by vivid description and exquisite imagery. Multiple points of view enrich the complexity of the plot. This novel offers an altogether enthralling reading experience. I highly recommend it

One rich thread throughout this beautiful novel is music. As a piano teacher, I happily recommend this book to other music lovers. Ms Morse can elicit in words the thrill of a haunting melody or the “rightness” of a composer’s choices. Not only music, though. Her words reassure me that there is beauty in this world, whether composed by humans, found in nature, or sought and attained by regular folk.

This is really a beautiful story. I took my time savoring every page and it definitely was worth the time. Highly recommend.

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