This is a debut novel by the author and I think she did a great job!
The story goes back and forth between the current day in Long Island Sound and a traveling circus in the 1700's. Simon, in the current day, is about to lose his house, literally. It is falling into the ocean and he can't afford to repair it. He is dealing with some dramatic family history where the women in the family seem to all drown themselves. He receives a book in the mail which turns out to be a circus log. From there we are introduced to the circus and his ancestors. The women can hold their breath for long periods of time and do a mermaid act.
The stories each have drama and take you along for the ride. I actually liked both stories which is unusual because typically I love one or the other. Simon's sister comes into the scene and he is worried that she will follow in her mothers footsteps of drowning. But Simon can also hold his breath for up to 10 minutes. Without giving too much away, I'd say that I enjoyed the circus scenes and also kept wondering what was going to happen to Simon. In the book, horseshoe crabs play a major role. They are absolutely weird fascinating animals. They also kind of freak me out. We use to find the empty shells on the beach when i was a kid. I read that they date back 450 million years ago. They are considered to be living fossils.
The author has a food blog :)
ieatbutter.tumblr.com.
I finished the book and decided to make crab cakes. I love crab cakes and kind of just made up a recipe.
I went to Trader Joe's and found a can of Lump Crab meat.
I drained the crab
added an egg
2 Tbsp Mayo
3 green onions chopped up
1/2 cup of Italian seasoned bread crumbs
Parsley flakes
Garlic salt
I fried them in a skillet with just a little bit of vegetable oil.
I took some Mayonnaise and added lemon juice (1 full lemon)
and a tiny shake of Cayenne pepper.
They taste delicious! I added a spinach salad with some orange peppers and mushrooms and feta cheese. YUM!
