The Cape Ann: A Novel [Paperback]

Faith Sullivan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2, 2010

Lark Erhardt, the six-year-old narrator of The Cape Ann, and her fiercely independent mother dream of owning their own house; they have their hearts set on the Cape Ann, chosen from a house catalog. But when Lark’s father’s gambling threatens the down payment her mother has worked so hard to save, Lark’s mother takes matters into her own indomitable hands. A disarmingly involving portrait of a family struggling to stay together through the Great Depression, The Cape Ann is an unforgettable story of life from a child’s-eye view. 

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"This is the kind of old-fashioned novel whose period flavor is as enjoyable as the story it tells," remarked PW . Set in the small town of Harvester, Minn., during the Depression, the tale features a six-year-old narrator, Lark Ann Erhardt, who recounts a pivotal year in her life.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From School Library Journal

YA The Cape Ann is the name on the plans of the house that Lark Ann Ehrhart and her mother plan to build some day. It is the place to which six-year-old Lark escapes in daydreams when her parents begin to argue, the home that her mother dreams offar from the rooms in the train depot where they live and Lark's father works. Ultimately it symbolizes escape from Harvester, Minn., and independence from the husband and father whose gambling repeatedly sabotages their dream. Lark narrates the adult events of Harvester's Catholic culture without always understanding them. Her point of view adds depth to the story, though occasionally it is more adult than a six year old's would be. Characters are fully colored; historical references firmly set the story in the Depression and beyond. Lark's perceptions, her changes and those of the characters around her will relate to those YAs, who will enjoy Sullivan's flowing and well-crafted story. Sally Bates, Houston Pub . Lib .
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Broadway (February 2, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307716953
• ISBN-13: 978-0307716958
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.8 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #802,858 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Masterpiece, June 3, 2000

By 

Roz Levine - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Cape Ann (Contemporary American Fiction) (Paperback)

The Cape Ann is the story of a mid-west, depression era family's life, told through the eyes of their daughter, Lark Erhardt. As the book opens, Lark is only six years old and already starting to understand how complicated life can be for the people around her. Faith Sullivan draws you into the daily lives of the citizens of Harvester, Minnesota so completely, that you become part of the novel, observing life's happiness and sorrows and the power struggle between Lark's parents. This book is beautifully written and the characters are so well drawn and developed, they come alive on the page. A wonderful, poignant, touching story of a loss of innocence, that will stay with you for a long, long time.

42 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL! A Real Treat., December 1, 1999

By 

Becky Taylor - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Cape Ann (Contemporary American Fiction) (Paperback)

This is a beautiful, haunting book. Lark is a child who grows up with all the questions and interests that most children have in adults. Why is my mother this way? My father - what does he mean? Just trying to figure out life is much too difficult and this book will make you remember your own childhood and smile. Lark realizes she is never told everything and she and her two best friends are enchanting and real enough to make you laugh and cry at once! Pretty little Sally with the "strange" mother, poor sassy Beverly who grows up fast and learns the ways of the world from her struggling single mom.

Lark's mother is a woman "ahead of her time" and it causes her no end of trouble, but she thrives on life and living it to the fullest!

You must meet these characters. You will never forget them.

The second book (in what I hope is an ongoing series) is THE EMPRESS OF ONE. It particularly carries on with Sally and Beverly and not enough of Lark. At the end, we catch up with Lark, but the book ends leaving us waiting eagerly for the next installment! Not enough stars for this one. Please, Ms. Sullivan ENCORE!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I couldn't put this book down!, June 4, 2001

By 

Julie Lovisa (Indiana USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Cape Ann (Contemporary American Fiction) (Paperback)

Faith Sullivan has the ability to write about her characters in such a way that everything they feel is transferred to you, the reader. I'm not one to show a lot of emotion while reading a book, but this one had me both laughing and on the brink of tears.

The story is told from eyes of 6-year old Lark, who lives in a train depot with her strong mother and semi-abusive, gambling addict father, during the depression. The book has several storylines, with the main one being between Lark and her mother who long for a house of their own, the Cape Ann model in particular. Her father's continual gambling debts threaten to sabotage their plans until her mother starts a typing service from their home in the depot.

Lark has to deal with learning catechism for her first confession and communion, her bed-ridden, pregnant Aunt Betty, befriending a WWI hero who has lost his sanity because of the war, and her two best friends, Beverly, who lives in poverty, and Sally, whose mother suffers from depression.

This novel is a humorous, poignant look at a child's world where everything is changing quickly beyond her control and causing her to call on reserves of strength that only growing up can bring.