One summer Jim Sterba, veteran war correspondent, accepts an invitation for a weekend visit from a woman he barely knows, author Frances FitzGerald. He arrives and discovers a secluded little house on the Maine coast, with evergreens and blackberry bushes all around, views of forested mountains, and a fjord full of seabirds and sailboats.
He visits again and gradually falls in love with his host as much as her place. The two couldn’t have had more disparate childhoods, but their intelligence, ambition, and independence propelled them both into writing careers and kept them single, until now.
In this Tracy-Hepburn-style romance, the down-to-earth newspaperman charms the sophisticated New Yorker. Their long path to real love has us cheering them on, as well as itching for a visit to idyllic Mount Desert Island.
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"I loved this, the way the small things (mushroom hunting) and the great things (Tienemann Square) are woven together in this story of two people's "real" (smaller) life and their greater life outside ... "
— Abbie (5 out of 5 stars)
“This is a work suffused with love of every stripe…Sterba’s journalistic edge keeps the prose far from mushy…A beautiful memoir, giving a glimpse not just of a person but of a time and a place worth noting.”
— Publishers Weekly“A nice selection for public libraries whose clientele are looking for that good, solid, old-fashioned, real-life love story.”
— Library Journal“The author’s prose is lovely, his self-deprecating humor endearing. Eventually, the summer and the book wind to a close; back to the real world, but not without a sigh of satisfaction. The perfect summer read about an exceptional summer destination.”
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)“A love story with recipes celebrating the delectable dishes life offers—culinary and otherwise—if we’re conscious enough to notice.”
— AudioFile“Serba expresses a lively tenderness about all of this...very enjoyable to read.”
— Booklist" I loved this, the way the small things (mushroom hunting) and the great things (Tienemann Square) are woven together in this story of two people's "real" (smaller) life and their greater life outside ... "
— Abbie, 9/24/2013" Such a peaceful book. Nice story about summers in Maine. "
— Jessica, 1/7/2011" Eh, it was okay. Travel type book based in Maine. Decent recipes included! "
— Patty, 12/17/2010" interesting memoir, a bit loggy "
— Paulah, 9/4/2010" I randomly picked up this book at the library. It was pretty good. It had a lot of recipies mixed into the story which made it much more worth the read. "
— Amanda, 7/12/2010" Sterba's memoir of one summer in Maine with Frankie Fitzgerald. Sterba and Fitzgerald, both writers, live and work together in a summer cottage on Some Sound. Slow, boring, yet satisfying. "
— Kathleen, 12/24/2009" interesting memoir, a bit loggy "
— Paulah, 11/2/2009" Eh, it was okay. Travel type book based in Maine. Decent recipes included! "
— Patty, 9/9/2009" Such a peaceful book. Nice story about summers in Maine. "
— Jessica, 7/31/2008" I randomly picked up this book at the library. It was pretty good. It had a lot of recipies mixed into the story which made it much more worth the read. "
— Amanda, 3/31/2008Jim Sterba was raised in rural Michigan. He became a foreign correspondent covering the Vietnam War for the New York Times. He has written about Asia and America for more than three decades, for both the Times and the Wall Street Journal.
Christopher Lane is an award-winning actor, director, and narrator. He has been awarded the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration several times and has won numerous AudioFile Earphones Awards.