East Hope

by Katharine Davis

A ?captivating novel of loss and recovery?(Katheleen Maloy, author of Every Last Cuckoo ) and new beginnings, set in a small town in Maine.

Several months after her husband?s sudden death, and troubled by one night?s indiscretion, Caroline Waverly seeks refuge in the house she?s inherited in East Hope, Maine. There she finds the courage to face the consequences of her choices?her precarious finances, her alienated college-age son, and the man she left behind.

Will Harmon also puts his old life behind him, arriving in East Hope to run the local used bookshop. As he questions his desires and struggles with his failing marriage, Will yearns for the wisdom to do what is right.

Then Caroline walks into Will?s bookstore, and they establish a tentative friendship?with the promise of something more. As they seek to rescue what is most important in their lives, they cling to a distant hope?for understanding, for family, and for love.

Genres: Novels, Fiction, Romance

323 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

KATHARINE DAVIS

Katharine Davis began writing fiction in 1999. Capturing Paris (St. Martin’s Press, 2006) was her first novel. Recommended in Real Simple Spring Travel 2007, the novel was also included in the New York Times suggestions for fiction set in Paris. Her second novel, East Hope, published by New American Library in 2009, won the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance 2010 Award for Fiction. A Slender Thread, her third novel, will be published by New American Library in August, 2010. She is an Associate Editor at The Potomac Review. Her website is www.katharinedavis.com. and she can be reached at Katharine@katharinedavis.com

Reviews

[Annie · Rating 1 out of 5]

You know a book is bad when, in the middle of reading, you shout out, "This character is so fuckin' dumb!" Seriously, I don't know when I've ever read more one-dimensional characters as the two who make up what little action there is in this groaner.

The main character, Caroline, is a widow who falls into bed one evening with her husband's former partner, who is married. Dumb move #1: she sleeps with a married man. Dumb move #2: she doesn't use protection and gets knocked up. Dumb move #3: she has a job that makes little money, and from what I can tell, she only has health insurance through May (and her baby is due in November), oh, and did I mention that dead husband left her penniless? Because she was too stupid to ever look at their income statement and signed anything he put in front of her before his dumb ass went and died.

I'm not going to go on much more, except to say that she moves to Maine, meets a guy who can't decide if HE'S married or not, and basically, cooks and grows a baby.

The author says she expanded this book from a short story. She should have left it that way.

[Laura Ponticello · Rating 4 out of 5]

Katharine Davis, in East Hope, pens an extraordinary page turning read with descriptive characters, intrinsic scene details and transports the reader, to a locale that invites conversation. This book is a must read, fiction and non fiction lover's - it's exceptional.

The two primary characters, Caroline and Will invoke emotion for the reader and their story lines connect and weave a web with ebb and flow. As a Jodi Picoult fan, I found Davis' writing style refreshing, engaging and believable.

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely, well written "quiet" story about marriages, crossroads, and the intricate details of everyday life. It opens in Chevy Chase, MD but quickly moves to Maine.

[Mandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Predictable. Elementary. Meh.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book that is until the ending. I felt a) it was rushed and b) it kind of leaves you hanging. I feel like nothing was completely wrapped up. Did Rob and Caroline mend their relationship? Did Will get everything straightened out from the incident at the college? What sex was the baby? Was it healthy or born like Grace was and passed? Did Caroline and Will end up together? And finally did she stay in Maine? I think it left way to many questions at the end. IF they would’ve been answered this would’ve been a 5 Star book for me. But I just didn’t enjoy the ending. :(

[Kendra Chubbuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading for fun. So far so good. I really liked this book. It was a quick read. It was a cliff-hanger and there should be a sequel but so far there is not. I have several questions as to what happens.

I loved that the story was set in Maine, it has two story lines, and the characters are real and it's real-life stuff - not world shattering. But it's about dealing with families, death, depression, financial difficulties, and the courage to face the consequences of your choices.

It's also about not lying to your family and being truthful. I find that in my family some members are definitely not truthful and it hurts worse when not being truthful.

[Bev Hitchins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book to be a compelling read. Katharine Davis created a story line that showed the complexity of individual's situations. I liked especially how she portrays two people getting to know one another--how they come together, pull away from each other and come together. It's realistic and made me want to keep reading to see what would happen. I tip my hat to Ms. Davis!

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed the book till the very disappointing ending. I won't look for this author in the future.

[Amber Page]

Buzzwords 2022-May directions

[Shawn Uleske · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun beach read

[Stephanie Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the book, but I thought the relationship between Caroline and Will is weakly developed. I also thought the book ended abruptly.

[Suezq · Rating 2 out of 5]

None of the characters were even likeable, with the possible exception of Hollis Moody.

[Mike Cuthbert · Rating 1 out of 5]

I should have given up on this book earlier than I did—like when I read the title. “East Hope” reeks of Maine and all that implies in modern literature. It implies lots of flowers and clear water and hardy folks surviving blizzards and homey comforts that outweigh more weighty concerns. But Davis, in this novel, goes beyond the clichés of Maine to not only include them but to have her characters live isolated lives beyond the physical. Her main male protagonist, Will, is a well-educated English teacher who cares not a whit about current affairs or anything much but the book store he inherits. He doesn’t even approach the store and books with anything resembling curiosity or skill. Davis makes it seems like the used book business is nothing but dollars and spreadsheets. Most of the used book dealers I know are in the business for the books; they enjoy collecting and researching them and pricing them according to value, including their readability. Not so our Will. Will, of course, has a pseudo-sophisticated wife living in New York, who mentions “Drew” too much. We know what happens there, don’t we, dear readers? Then there is Caroline. Red-headed and widowed, she inherits (how handy!) a lovely old house in Maine and begins to renovate it while assembling her own collection of cookbooks. She also yields to loneliness long enough to have a toss in the hay with her dead husband’s best friend, Pete, who turns out to be the only possible father to the resulting baby. At 44, she decides to have the baby on her own. Brave lass, indeed. Meanwhile, Will is embroiled in a phony sexual harassment scandal at his small college that results in his firing (without an adequate hearing because the girl’s father is on the board of trustees!) and resultant move to Maine and the bookstore. Caroline and Will are two objects clearly meant to collide, which they do after yet another harassment charge. (Davis runs out of space and patience with this one and it is never resolved.) The total lack of creative spark in this novel is discouraging, to say the least, and that extends to internal scenes as well. All tea is either hot or cold, all blizzards are “the worst in years,” all recipes successful, all flowers vibrant and aromatic, her relationship with her son, Rob, is stressful for Caroline because he is in late adolescence and sulky, (imagine that!) Pete tries to get back into her life and yet she faces all, including the world’s worst blizzards and failed furnace thermostats, with courage and resolve. Every page seemed to come off a master computer plan and Davis checked the boxes as she went along. There is very little that happens without expected reactions and the result is boring reading that, as I said, I should have given up on. I didn’t because I wanted to see how far she would carry the expected images and plotting. Pretty damn far, as it turns out, like from first page to last. In a postscript interview Davis carries on about the joy of the creative moment. Too bad she had none in this book that could be called “creative.” A thorough waste of time unless you want to read a clumsily thought out repeat of old plots and old styles.

[(Lonestarlibrarian) Keddy Ann Outlaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the cover art by Tom Curry (abit Hopperesque)!

This novel of widowhood takes us to Maine, a place I have a fictional weakness for... Besides the widow/cookbook writer, Caroline, the other main character is Will, a college professor wrongly dismissed on a false sexual harrassment charge. He retreats to Maine to manage a small used bookstore (what book nut hasn't had that fantasy?). We have the sense that these two characters will get together, and yes, of course they do -- but will their friendship turn into anything more? Will is seperated from his wife and (SPOILER ALERT) Caroline is pregnant after the one and only one night stand she has ever had in her life. So, plenty of conflict. Though a bit predictable, this was a book I enjoyed reading because it gave me two vulnerable characters to worry over.

[Pauline]

I enjoyed this novel set in Maine about a woman who stars a new life after her husband dies at a relatively young age. Nice descriptions of the setting, the charectors felt all to real.

Several months after her husband’s sudden death, and troubled by one night’s indiscretion, Caroline Waverly seeks refuge in the house she’s inherited in East Hope, Maine. There she finds the courage to face the consequences of her choice

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The topics presented were believable... the struggles Caroline faced could have been faced by any number of people. But the book was a slow read - took me a bit of time to get into it. The narrator changes from Will to Caroline, and while that wasn't terribly difficult to follow, I would have liked the book that focused more on her thought processes, and how she dealt with the hand life dealt.

[Betty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book; didn't always go along with the main character's choices, but like how it all tied itself up in the end. Loved the descriptive narratives about the Maine environment and loving an old house back to its deserving state.

[Elysabeth]

Such a "blah" book, I just couldn't do it. :( I really wanted a light read after the Hunger Games, and this was not it. I could not get through more than a page or two without finding myself distracted by other things.

[Brandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book however I was often annoyed with Caroline, the main character. She was selfish on more than one occasion and the way she treated the baby's father was just plain wrong. The book ended quite abruptly.

[Lesley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good Maine read. Paints a good picture of a small coast town in Maine to which two people have fled to escape various stresses in their respective, otherwise urban, lives (New York and Washington, D.C.) Romance ensues. Simple but interesting read.

[Vicki Lanzendorf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the plot - love, loss, poor decisions, change, struggles, finding happiness. But, I HATED the ending of this book. It just left you hanging with sooooo many questions. Leaves room for a sequel, I guess!

[Crubano410comcast.comnone · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great story with a thoughtful ending. Hope she continues to write.

[Daryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the book. I learned to trust that what you know in your heart is what is best for you.

[Nora · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a quick read but has some interesting parts. Don't really understand the motivations of the main characters and that is no so clearly explored.

[Janice · Rating 3 out of 5]

I should modify that to...liked it until the abrupt ending!

[Becky Schulman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A touching story about a woman trying to recover from the death of her husband and a man trying to recover from the death of his marriage.

[Krista · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another excellent book by Katharine Davis. I discovered her last summer at the Books in Bloom festival in Boothbay, Maine. Lovely Lady. Lovely book.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was an ok read but the abrupt ending was a disappointment.

[April · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book, but the ending was very disappointing. It was like the author got tired of writing and just ended the book. Too many questions left unanswered.

[Lindamac · Rating 3 out of 5]

good story hated the ending