The Opposite Shore [Mass Market Paperback]

Maryanne Stahl (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 5, 2003

Which would be worse: losing your husband or your only sister? Rose, a forty-something wife and mother, has never asked herself this question. But one Saturday afternoon, she comes upon her husband, William, and her sister, Anna, locked in a fiery kiss. And the answer to this question rings in her ears: worse still would be to lose one to the other.

Devastated by the betrayal, Rose moves with her teenage daughter to Shelter Island for the summer. As she struggles to build a new life as an artist, Rose grows ever more isolated from her sister and her husband. Until an unexpected storm brings her face to face with the two people she loves and hates the most...

Editorial Reviews

Review

Stahl reminds us that life-and what one makes of it-is in the details. (Jodi Picoult) Stahl doesn't allow her protagonists to slip into an easy happy ending. (Publishers Weekly) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Maryanne Stahl, a former college English teacher and native New Yorker, lives with her husband and son near Atlanta, where she is an artist.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: NAL Trade (August 5, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451208668
• ISBN-13: 978-0451208668
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,171,726 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent read -- engrossing and vibrant, July 28, 2004

By 

susan_d - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Opposite Shore (Mass Market Paperback)

Out for a sail aboard the family boat, the Ariel, on Memorial Day, one family's life is about to take a disastrous turn.

Rose, an aspiring painter, and William are the proud and happy parents of sixteen year old Miranda. Anna is Rose's sister and best friend, a pal to Miranda, an avid sailor herself, and close to William. They seem content.

However, when Rose goes home early, leaving William and Anna to close up the boat for the evening, she gets life-altering news. A painting of hers has been accepted in an upcoming gallery showing - her first big break. Flushed with excitement, she races back to the boat to share her exciting news. There, she finds her husband and her sister kissing. Immediately, everyone's world explodes. Betrayed and angry, Rose throws William out, cuts Anna from her life, and moves with her daughter for the rest of the summer to Shelter Island.

Stahl's writing is evocative and vivid. She brings Shelter Island to sparkling life while delving deeply into all four of these richly complex characters. This could be simple, it could devolve into melodrama. But instead Stahl mines this material in an honest and realistic way. Everyone has their flaws, and as they each struggle with their decisions and actions, the summer unwinds with rising tension and uncertainty. These relationships and people are so well rendered, along with the setting, that the reader is sucked into their world and understands, and often sympathizes, with their current situation.

Stahl apparently got the spark of inspiration for this book from Shakespeare's The Tempest. But this isn't a re-write. And though the jumping point for the plot is a betrayal, these characters sing with life, hopes, and frustrations. They are unique voices, though wholly understandable. And Stahl illuminates this world, unafraid to peek into the darker corners, all the way through to the satisfying conclusion.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Beautiful, Tough Look at Love Gone Astray, December 4, 2003

By 

Daniel Olivas (West Hills, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Opposite Shore (Mass Market Paperback)

In her second novel, "The Opposite Shore," Maryanne Stahl sets up a truly calamitous scenario: Rose discovers her husband and her sister in a romantic embrace. Thrown into the mix is Rose's teenage daughter who falls in love for the first time. Though such a set up could easily lead to soap opera cliche, Stahl's great skill never allows this to happen. Her characters are real and their reactions authentic. Stahl also has a great gift for description particularly of Shelter Island where much of the novel takes place. Indeed, at times I felt as though I were watching a movie: the characters, their actions and surroundings all felt so true and without contrivance. This is a beautiful, powerful novel that raises as many questions about love and forgiveness as it answers.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Exploration of Relationships, November 29, 2003

By 

Michelle Flye (United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Opposite Shore (Mass Market Paperback)

Maryanne Stahl uses the betrayal of husband and sister to launch Rose on a journey of self discovery that causes her to confront past pain as well as her relationships with her teen-age daughter and her sister. Stahl's breathtaking descriptions of Shelter Island form an excellent background for Rose's budding artistic career. Forming an effective counterpoint to Rose's journey is the stalled life of William and Anna, the husband and sister who must come to terms with the painful betrayal they've inflicted on Rose. The Opposite Shore is an excellent choice for anyone who wants to explore the relationships between men and women, sisters, or mothers and daughters.