The Sparrow Sisters
The Sparrow Sisters by Ellen Herrick
Kindle/Paperback, 384 pages
Publisher: William Morrow
Genre: Magical Realism/Fantasy
With echoes of the alchemy of Practical Magic, the lushness of Saving CeeCee Honeycutt, and the darkly joyful wickedness of the Witches of East End, Ellen Herrick’s debut novel spins an enchanting love story about a place where magic whispers just beneath the surface and almost anything is possible, if you aren’t afraid to listen.
The Sparrow sisters are as tightly woven into the seaside New England town of Granite Point as the wild sweet peas that climb the stone walls along the harbor. Sorrel, Nettie and Patience are as colorful as the beach plums on the dunes and as mysterious as the fog that rolls into town at dusk.
Patience is the town healer and when a new doctor settles into Granite Point he brings with him a mystery so compelling that Patience is drawn to love him, even as she struggles to mend him. But when Patience Sparrow’s herbs and tinctures are believed to be implicated in a local tragedy, Granite Point is consumed by a long-buried fear—and its three hundred year old history resurfaces as a modern day witch-hunt threatens. The plants and flowers, fruit trees and high hedges begin to wither and die, and the entire town begins to fail; fishermen return to the harbor empty-handed, and blight descends on the old elms that line the lanes.
It seems as if Patience and her town are lost until the women of Granite Point band together to save the Sparrow. As they gather, drawing strength from each other, will they be able to turn the tide and return life to Granite Point?
The Sparrow Sisters is a beautiful, haunting, and thoroughly mesmerizing novel that will capture your imagination.
My thoughts about The Sparrow Sisters ~~
Oh my, what a wonderful, magical, mysterious story. I so loved my visit with the Sparrow sisters. The Sparrow sisters are three complicated, yet simple sisters who are pretty much set in their ways. They just want to live their simple lives and help those around them, when and if they can.
'My sisters will tell you, the Sparrows are meant to be alone. People are random, messy. We don't like needing anyone because when we do, it never turns out well.'
Patience is the healer and uses her nurturing and green thumb abilities to take care of any number of ailments that befall the community of Granite Point. She manages a wonderful, luscious nursery which far exceeds any other in the area. There is magic in their gardens.
'I do have a gift, it seems. I can read what people need, somehow. I feel exactly how to make them better.'
Tragedy strikes this wonderful community and the Sparrow sisters, Patience in particular, come under scrutiny as people question their methods of treating certain members of the community. Things start taking a bad turn in the community as the town watches everything they have taken for granted start to die and fade away.
'"Funny thing about Patience Sparrow," Pete said. "It's like she's part of that Nursery, she smells of it and when her moods change, so does her smell. Once she gives you a remedy, she's connected to you so"—he sniffed again—"sometimes we guess at how she's feeling."'
I loved reading The Sparrow Sisters and loved visiting Granite Point. As I have said before, and if you have been around awhile, you know this, I love reading stories about women, friends or sisters, who are there for each other and survive what has been thrown at them. I also love reading stories with a magical feel to them, somethings that just can't be explained but are wonderful to think about happening for real. So when I can find both of these things together in one story, then I have a great reading experience.
And.... the way the author ended the book, it seems like it is very possible that there could be another book about the sisters. Now that would be awesome!
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About the author
Ellen Herrick was a publishing executive in New York until she moved to London for a brief stint; she returned nearly twenty years later with three grown children (her own, it must be said). She now divides her time between Cambridge, Massachusetts and a small Cape Cod town very much like Granite Point.
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