I really liked this one. It takes a while to get going, but eventually, the pieces the author has been setting up start coming together, and a nice little story about family and hardship develops. I was not a fan of the way the story jumped back and forth in time. I feel as though the novel would have been stronger with a linear story. One of the central lessons in the book also strikes me as odd, or perhaps unfortunately and needlessly pessimistic. Still, minor quibbles. I tend to read books in seaside settings with a bit of a negative bias (not sure exactly why that is), and this book overcame that handily.

As all good books that involve family and home and loss and water, I finished it in tears and hopeful. Highly recommend.

I can’t even describe how much this book irritated me.

I went into it really wanting to enjoy the book, but the whole thing fell completely flat for me.

Played out stereotypes, on top of played out stereotypes.

Lovely book, with a fairy-tale-esque quality to the writing. The audiobook was excellent - narrator had a great accent and a gorgeous singing voice.

Beautifully written. Fantastic narration.

Big fan of this lady's books.

This is a beautifully told multi-generational tale of a slice of life in Newfoundland.

It covers the impact of the loss of the cod fisheries, which devastated communities and livelihoods. Parents leave for jobs in the oil patch of Alberta, jetting back and forth across the country as they deal with the shift work. Communities in Newfoundland are decimated and desolate. Families cope with extended absences of family members and traditions die hard among those left behind.

This is a magical, evocative tale of the life of one family sest among those in their tight-knit community.

I highly recommend it.

Our Homesick Songs is a poetic story of how time and space change our lives. The tale moves slowly, switching back and forth between the 1970s and the 1990s. At its core, the book is focusing on the Connor family, who are torn between leaving their home for more stability and job opportunities, or staying behind on their beloved island.

The writing and format of this book are unique. There are long page breaks, meant to leave you contemplating the previous passage. There is also no quotations, though at some points there is dialogue. I found the story moving and heartbreaking at times, but also sometimes struggled to connect with the characters. Regardless, this book stands out to me as different from many I have read recently, and I think I will often think back on it in the future. I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.