Following the tale of an overworked single mother of two, Tess, and her relationship with her daughter, Eva, Anne Marie Bennett’s FEATHERS IN THE SAND is the first in what is to become a series of lighthearted reads around relationships and circumstance. The style is loosely based around hit TV show Gilmore Girls (in fact, the lead characters even take the surname Gilmore); an easy-reading, summer-holiday style book that hooks into dreams and frustrations, but in the most part sits firmly within the realms of normal family challenges.
Eva is growing up, a slightly tempestuous pre-teen who feels neglected by her over-pressured single mother. When her brother moves away unexpectedly and mother and daughter move to picturesque seaside town Seahaven, the almost mystical Aunt Kit become central to their lives, alongside a number of colorful neighbors. In their new home, Eva starts to find mysterious feathers–the titular reference– around a town lent texture by its charismatic residents, theater scene, wonderful sounding events and niche stores. But do the feathers have significance, and what impact will Eva’s brother Micah, and departed best friend Charli have from afar?
The pace of FEATHERS IN THE SAND is decidedly plodding: it’s a gentle, easy-going read centered heavily on the substance and emotion of some generally fairly everyday changes, and their life impacts. The effect is one of relaxation: the kind of book that perfectly suit sun lounging weather, without ever approaching a straining of the synapses. The characters are likeable, conventional types living a life that’s described in subtle tones and through the lens of both mother and daughter’s various stresses and strains. It is, overwhelmingly, soulful, slightly melodic in tone, and fluently easy going.
What it isn’t, particularly, is exciting. What the text does, in essence, is turn a thoughtful but conventionally lived life and lightly suggest there can be something better if we explore our options, a little bit of magic, and a little bit… more. Throw in elements of ‘coming of age’ and vibrant characters, and this is a very pleasant, small-town ‘vibe’ of a read, but perhaps not an overly memorable one. It’s a book for a certain type of reader: a slow, gentle piece of writing with a light air of mystery and a real sense of place. FEATHERS IN THE SAND feels like a delicate break with many novels’ pacier side, a kind of ‘easy listening’ of the literary world.
Anne Marie Bennett’s FEATHERS IN THE SAND is a subtle and mood-driven book that thrives on the beauty with which it describes the everyday.
~James Hendicott for IndieReader