The Siege of Salt Cove

by Anthony Weller

Book Overview

Angry with the local government's meddling in local affairs, the small New England town of Salt Cove decides to secede from the United States, in a tale recounted by septuagenarian Jessica, who harbors a passion for a much younger man. 17,500 first printing.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393058867
• ISBN13: 9780393058864
• Release Date: January 2004
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 380 Pages
• Weight: 1.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.5" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

My Kinda Town

What a great read - meet all the characters of Salt Cove and have a wonderful time....

A Simple Bridge - With Intricate Underpinnings

You would not think a simple story about an old bridge and a big city bent on tearing it down would make for compelling drama. But then, there's nothing predictable about The Siege of Salt Cove. The characters come alive, and the story draws you in, and pretty soon you can't put the book down. It's both a comical and poignant tale. But it's the distinct voices of the characters that really stay with you. You feel you know them, and as you turn the final page, it's awfully hard to see them go.

Annisquam unveiled

This is a wonderful fictional study of a lovely real district of Gloucester, MA, where you can visit the wooden bridge and hike around the rocky shoreline and the quaint village. The characters are singular and their viewpoints are represented with a wonderful mix of humor and pathos. Particularly moving is Jessica's internal struggle to supress her longings for a man who is not in her age range but turns out to be quite suitable for her on many levels. Suspense is well maintained throughout and the ending is very satisfying. I just loved it!

An incredible read!

This was one of the most delightful and well written novels I have read in a long time. Usually novels written in the format of a different person's perspective for every chapter are disjointed; this novel is magnified by it. Some of the best writing I've discovered in a long time (best to sip this one slowly as every page is special!) along with an incredible plot. Kudos to Weller for nearly a perfect novel. Also recommended: The Last Convertible - A Man in Full - Boy's Life - Mila 18 - Plum Island - The Charm School - Rookery Blues - Shipping News - Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood - Pillars of the Earth - Ladder of Years - Summer of Night - Salem Falls

"If all else fails, we should be ready to secede."

When the Massachusetts Department of Public Works decides that the picturesque, wooden footbridge linking the village of Salt Cove to the mainland of Leicester is unsafe and will be summarily torn down, the three hundred full-time residents are outraged. And when they see the proposal for the new bridge, a concrete monstrosity strong enough for fire trucks and wide enough for two-way vehicular traffic, they vote for all-out rebellion. Stalwart, unbending Yankees with family histories rooted in the rocky soil of Salt Cove, they are not about to let outsiders tell them that they will benefit from this concrete assault on their aesthetic sensibilities. The idea of two-way vehicular traffic is even less appealing, as it will bring outsiders into the village. With New England determination and some hard-headedness, they decide to take on the state and wage a mini-war in an attempt to break a state-imposed siege of the village. Recording the events is Jessica Stoddard, a 73-year-old spinster and life-long resident of Salt Cove. Fiesty and independent, Jessica fears no one and tolerates no nonsense. Directing the rebellion is a quiet man in his early forties named Toby Auberon, a relative newcomer to the village, regarded as a hippie, who has leased the now-automated lighthouse and, until now, has kept his legal background a secret. Jessica, Toby, and an additional thirty (or more) characters narrate their own versions of the events in Salt Cove, each of these beautifully realized voices unique and easily recognizable, and many of them hilarious. Quirky imagery combines with these singlar voices to create especially memorable pictures of people and events. Told with tongue in cheek and a good deal of mild satire, this is a loving picture of village life by an author who respects his characters and sees them in the context of a wider world. And however implausible the developing love story may seem between Jessica and the much younger Toby, Weller makes us understand and appreciate its sweetness, especially in contrast to the outside events. As the government escalates the siege to include Humvees, National Guard tanks, underwater demolition experts, the FBI, and SWAT teams, Salt Cove counters with its tireless citizens, a crazy militia unit from Missouri, a missile found in a fishing net, and plastique explosives. The inevitable bloodshed is a jarring event, a harsh blow which comes just when the reader is loving the characters and smiling at their actions. Full of New England eccentrics who willingly risk all, the novel realistically depicts governmental insensitivity to locally important landmarks but ultimately leaves the reader smiling. (4.5 stars) Mary Whipple