The Salt House: A Summer on the Dunes of Cape Cod | 
|  | | | Title: | The Salt House: A Summer on the Dunes of Cape Cod | | Author: | Cynthia Huntington | | Publisher: | Dartmouth | | Type: | Book / Paperback | | Publication Date: | 01 February, 2003 | | ISBN / ISBN-13: | 1584652942 / 9781584652946 | | List Price: | $17.95 | | You Save: | $3.59 | | Amazon Price: | $14.36 | |
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| Editorial Review / Publisher's Information:
Product Description
The Salt House is a beautifully observed and written memoir of a long summer's stay on the back shore of Cape Cod. Each chapter is like a prose poem, shedding increasing light on the challenge of finding "home" without the illusion of permanence, a quest based not on ownership but on affinity and familiarity with an area and its people. Cynthia Huntington expands her theme through images of the landscape, the shack, the new marriage.
The shack, named "Euphoria," is built as a house set on stilts above the sand, to take the wind under it. Only a partial shelter, it is inhabited for only one season a year, yet it endures. The outer cape has the feel of a place for migrants and drifters -- for birds and other wildlife, and for people such as artists, fishermen, and coast guardsmen. A place where "year-round" often means several addresses. Similarly, her narrative describes improvised, fragile beginnings: a new marriage, learning to be at home in the world, becoming intimate with the natural world, without the necessity of settling down. The Salt House shares a world that is less natural history or memoir than it is neighborhood exploration -- the process of learning a place and becoming native to it.
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Customer Reviews:
• This Is A Classic. 13 September, 2002
This book is destined to become a classic not only in the rich field of Cape Cod writing but in nature and memoir in general. Huntington's prose is simple and pure, evoking not only the outer landscape, but the inner landscape of a woman's mind. What a pleasure it is to be in a mind so generous, open, and curious about the world! This is a book I will read over and over.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A1CHM200OEN65X
• Very Lush And Detailed Writing 29 June, 2008
I have never been to Cape Cod and would like to someday. I picked this book up since I won't be traveling anywhere this summer, so I thought I'd read up on a vacation spot and dream my way through this book. This book is beautifully written, very lush and descriptive writing. But it dragged in so many places for me because she tended to repeat herself over and over again, as if she's trying to rewrite a scene from memory using different words. While I appreciate that, it tends to get old after awhile. I ended up putting the book aside half way through and never went back to it. I just finished skimming the rest of the book and decided that perhaps when I am not busy chasing after two kids, I might appreciate it better when I actually have the time to savor the words and lush descriptions of the Salt House.
However, I do appreciate her writing and I can actually visualize the sea, the birds that occupy the sand dunes and I can almost hear the roaring of the seas coming to shore as well as visualizing the endless sky where it meets the ocean at the horizon. I can imagine spending a summer in a tiny box of a place, alone with my spouse and right now, that sounds like heaven on earth.
It is a beautiful book but needed to be shortened somewhat so it's not so wordy as it is. But that's just a mom's opinion. This is a book I would like to revisit in ten years or so to see if I can glean more understanding from the lyrical writing. If you have the time in the world to read this book, I would recommend it. If you are like me and are busy chasing after kids, appointments and whatnots, this book may not be for you because it really is a book that needs to be savored and enjoyed, not to rush through.
6/29/08
- Reviewed by customer ID: A1BI8PUEHA5CHW
• I Was Inspired! 25 February, 2001
This is one of the best books I have read in a while. I have been on a nonfiction kick for a few months. As a college student I don't often have much time to devote to "reading for pleasure" but since I'm on vacation I've had a little time. Reading this book in February brought me right back to June and July. It's descriptions were wonderful and reminded me why I love the beach. The author's reflections on her relationships seem to echo my own feelings that I can't express. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves the beach and enjoys being there by themself or with a loved one!
- Reviewed by customer ID: A29AU8K7BG948A
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