Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Atria (2006), 416 pages
Description
A beautifully written novel with great emotional appeal, of family secrets and wartime heritage, sweeping across Cornwall, London and Warsaw. When Lucy Tremain goes to stay with her grandparents in their house in Cornwall overlooking the sea,she finds family papers hidden in the old cottage. The papers hint at wartime secrets. From them emerges her grandmother's story - a hidden story of wartime courage and terrible deprivation. And for three generations of the Tremain family the papers turn their lives upside down: her grandfather Fred, the country doctor who married Martha; Anna, the difficult, determined older child who is Lucy's mother; and Barnaby, her benevolent, indulgent uncle.
User reviews
LibraryThing member cloedoris
Having read one of Sara Macdonalds books I had expectations and was astonished at how deep it was. Previously, I've read "Come away with me" and that was deep but not on the same level. Anyway, perhaps I should talk about Sea music now and not the other book.
I'll introduce the characters:
Martha -
Fred - The other half of Martha, having rescued her from the war they've spent their whole adult lives together
Barnaby - Him and Lucy are my favourite characters (Uncle & Niece) yet what they share is beautiful, they help each through everything.
Lucy - So genuine and friendly, helping her grandparents & practically putting her life on hold to see that they're ok
Kate - Thought she was FAB
Anna - Cold & it wasn't until the end that I felt sorry for her
Kurt - felt nothing for this man, this man that threatened to destory Martha
It's told by 3 different view points and based on various times within them years, it delves into secrets from the war, secrets that nobody has ever known about, in which remain a secret from the children. Martha begins to lose her memory, but in the story she has regular flash backs of her time in Poland and the camps during the war, she regularly has nightmares but doesn't confide in anyone, she may not remember what was said a minute ago but she remembers everything about her past.
Barnaby, I loved him; a vicar, youngest son but a lovely character, he was genuine, he admitted his faults yet he was more of a parent to Lucy than Anna ever was. Anna strived towards success, had to have everything in the correct order (this makes sense when the book ends)
Fred, before he dies he tries to tell Barnaby the truth, he was suppose to get rid of the secrets; Martha told him to burn them but he never did, he dies with that guilt.
It is a fab book, it takes time to realise what is happening; but the way it was told was remarkable. It brings home the reality of the war & the effect it had on the people.
I must admit that because I've read Sara's other books this was totally different to what I'd imagined (but in a good way)
I'll introduce the characters:
Martha -
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can't help but feel sorry for her, she is new to the country, coming from Poland as a young girl yet she is so lovely & kind with her family.Fred - The other half of Martha, having rescued her from the war they've spent their whole adult lives together
Barnaby - Him and Lucy are my favourite characters (Uncle & Niece) yet what they share is beautiful, they help each through everything.
Lucy - So genuine and friendly, helping her grandparents & practically putting her life on hold to see that they're ok
Kate - Thought she was FAB
Anna - Cold & it wasn't until the end that I felt sorry for her
Kurt - felt nothing for this man, this man that threatened to destory Martha
It's told by 3 different view points and based on various times within them years, it delves into secrets from the war, secrets that nobody has ever known about, in which remain a secret from the children. Martha begins to lose her memory, but in the story she has regular flash backs of her time in Poland and the camps during the war, she regularly has nightmares but doesn't confide in anyone, she may not remember what was said a minute ago but she remembers everything about her past.
Barnaby, I loved him; a vicar, youngest son but a lovely character, he was genuine, he admitted his faults yet he was more of a parent to Lucy than Anna ever was. Anna strived towards success, had to have everything in the correct order (this makes sense when the book ends)
Fred, before he dies he tries to tell Barnaby the truth, he was suppose to get rid of the secrets; Martha told him to burn them but he never did, he dies with that guilt.
It is a fab book, it takes time to realise what is happening; but the way it was told was remarkable. It brings home the reality of the war & the effect it had on the people.
I must admit that because I've read Sara's other books this was totally different to what I'd imagined (but in a good way)
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LibraryThing member CatieN
Fred and Martha Tremain are an elderly couple coming to the end of a seemingly placid life on the Cornish coast. They are lovingly cared for by their son Barnaby, who is a vicar at the church across the road from their house, and their granddaughter Lucy, who lives in the cottage on their property
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that they lived in while their house was being built. Lucy's mother is their daughter Anna, but she is a high-powered barrister in London who rarely visits, and Lucy and Barnaby like it that way because of Anna's highly critical and ice-cold demeanor. Then Lucy finds a secret hiding place in the attic and in it an old suitcase with diaries and a birth certificate that turns all of their lives upside down. This is a slow starter but worth hanging in there. Once the story really got going, I couldn't put it down. There were a few implausible coincidences, but the author made up for it with good writing and excellent character development. Show Less
LibraryThing member PamelaBarrett
Sea music is a book you’ll want to read when you have time to savor the descriptive flow of the words and unravel the heart of this mystery. It starts in the beautiful landscape of current day Cornwall where the mother and father are both in their twilight years and slowly succumbing to memory
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loss. They look back on their earlier lives and how WW2 changed them; while their adult son, daughter and granddaughter deal with making sense of their past and present circumstances. There are so many secrets and so much miscommunication or non-communication that they need to deal with after some hidden documents are found. A mysterious man is following the daughter, and new young caretaker enters their life and adds more dimension to the story. Highly recommend. Show Less
Language
Original language
English
Physical description
416 p.; 8.5 inches
ISBN
0743482131 / 9780743482134