Wild Dark Shore

✮✮✮✮✮

Apr 22

Wild Dark Shore - Charlotte McConaghy

my review : ✮✮✮✮✮

I still have an emotional hangover from this book, and I know with absolute certainty I will think of this story for years to come.

Dominic Salt is the caretaker of Shearwater, an island not far from Antarctica, housing the world’s largest seed bank. He lives on the secluded island with his three children, and it doesn’t offer much in terms of company outside of the handful of researchers who come for extended stays and the seals. When we meet the family, they’re nearing the end of their time on the island due to rising sea levels and climate change, and they’re waiting for a Navy ship to bring them home. What they weren’t expecting, amid the planning and preparation for their departure, was for a woman to wash up on shore during a wild storm, alive. This book has a thriller edge to it, but it’s not a thriller. There are notes of romance, but I wouldn’t consider it that either. I do think it’s a story of profound love. This book is told in such a vivid way that you will feel you spent time on Shearwater Island, among the seals and penguins, breathing the cold, salty air. Learning about the seed vault (based on the Svalbard Global Seed Vault) and the island (based on Macquarie Island, located halfway between Tasmania and Antarctica) was utterly fascinating.

A lot of incredibly heavy subject matter is handled well in this book. Be prepared for your heart to break (and potentially check trigger warnings). This would make an excellent book club book.

I’ve paired this book with a dark & stormy cocktail. Also, I’ve heard the audiobook is very well done.