Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Sea Glass  By  cover art

Sea Glass

By: Anita Shreve
Narrated by: Judith Ann Gantly
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $21.83

Buy for $21.83

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

It is a house on the beach. Honora doesn't mind renting - despite its age and all its flaws, the old house is the perfect place for a new marriage. She and Sexton throw themselves into fixing it up, just as they throw themselves into their new life together. Each morning, Honora collects sea glass washed up on the shore, each piece carrying a different story in its muted tones.

Sexton finds a way to buy the house, but his timing is perfectly wrong. The economy takes a sickening plunge, and as financial pressures mount, Honora begins to see how little she knows this man she has married.

Like those translucent shards that Honora finds on the beach, Sea Glass is layered with the textures, colors, and voices of another time. There is Vivian, an irreverent Boston socialite who becomes Honora's closest friend even as she rejects every form of convention. McDermott, a man who works in a nearby mill, presses Honora's deepest notions of trust - even as he embroils her in a dangerous dispute. And there's Alphonse, a boy whose openness becomes the bond that holds these people together as their world is flying apart.

©2002 Anita Shreve, All Rights Reserved (P)2002 Time Warner AudioBooks, a Division of the AOL Time Warner Book Group

Critic reviews

"A literary novel of the caliber and craft of Edith Wharton or Henry James." (Baltimore Sun)

More from the same

What listeners say about Sea Glass

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    51
  • 4 Stars
    59
  • 3 Stars
    38
  • 2 Stars
    15
  • 1 Stars
    7
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    31
  • 4 Stars
    23
  • 3 Stars
    14
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    28
  • 4 Stars
    22
  • 3 Stars
    14
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    2

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

surprising -

a love story, set in the depression - yet beautiful - friends helping each other - inspite of beliefs - or maybe because of them - you'll enjoy the listen - absolutely

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Not as captivating as her other's

There are some audio books I sit in the car just to finish (Poisonwood Bible was one) - this is not one of them. There are some I never finish (Salmon Rushdie). Sea Glass falls in the middle. The characters are rich and the historical context of the mill life and depression informative and heartbreaking. The plot is interesting enough but it lacked the dramatic tension and excitement of many of her earlier books (e.g. Pilot's Wife and Fortunes Rock). I never really cared about the main characters; I thought the secondary characters from the Mill were the most interesting.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A pleasant surprise!

This was the first book by Shreve that I had ever encountered. I was very surprised with how much I enjoyed the book. The characters were colorful and developed so that I felt I knew each and every one of them. I did not want the book to end. These characters struggling through the depression to save their home, ultimately testing the strength of their short marriage. I can't wait to read other books by Shreve.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Quiet story

This is a good book and I have to call it a "quiet story" because it is mostly a gentle tale that spins out to have a bit of conflict in it. It was good in that it wasn't overly predictable, and I think it is pretty realistic. Overall, a good listen and definitely not a waste of time.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

I Enjoyed It

This was not my first listen of a book by Anita Shreve. But I probably enjoyed it the most of those I have listened to.

The story is rich with life, love, and love longed for. It is set in a time when the rug was pulled out from underneath the world. It did not have a totally happy ending, but the ending fit and was needed to have happen that way.

The narrator presented each character with good definition. The joys, sadness, and experiences in general were portrayed well.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Tiring

This story will tire you out with the third person narrative and the hunderds of "he said" and "she said." Not a fun listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Not her best

This book is beyond predictable and while I love Fortune's Rock this lacks the intensity that is necessary to truly relate to the characters. The narration is good but it ends and feels a little trite. Perhaps its just that the story is not as relatable and seems a bit dated. It does not transcend time. Its a bit cliche.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Boring!

You have to be on the mood to listen to this book. If you are driving, you might get confused at the beginning with all the details. I guess it needs someone patient.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

The sea glass metaphor carried through the book.

I liked the voice of the author that I heard in the main character as she met the challenges in her life.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

No happy ending

Don’t read if you like happy endings! Least likable character gets away with murder and favorite character dies.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!