There was a problem loading your book clubs. and God said unto him,” Cheyenne threw her arms wide and boomed, “Stop being such a dick! She was just the cheapest person Cheyenne had ever known. Or maybe it's because I've been manshamed by far better writers (see also "Trust Exercise" by Susan Choi). When I say "The Great Offshore Grounds" is a superior book, I'm not being hyperbolic . He would have,” said Livy.“So why are we even going?”“I have a day off work and it’s cheaper than a movie. Even on days when there is no rain, mist filters through the evergreens until it pulls apart like threadbare cloth and burns off. The road, in a sense, made me feel alive. This is another of the 10 books on the 2020 National Book Award Fiction long list. I was lost in the pleasure of the language, the characters, and their real but transformative journeys. ok this is a very compassionate novel with well drawn characters but it's chocked full of whimsy/pointless magical realism that became grating. . Cheyenne took one look at her and knew that her mother was totally prepared to make an awkward situation more awkward. A magnificent beast of a novel. I’ll bet it’s the bride’s.” Livy smiled. The Great Offshore Grounds. This author understands that in every moment there are layers, facets, of meaning--history, geography, myth, nature/weather, astronomy, personal sensation (what you see today stacked on what you saw yesterday, and the day before). “Cyril didn’t come to my wedding,” Cheyenne said. In 1915, the lighthouse with its state-of-the-art, fifth-order Fresnel lens was built. The road story and interpersonal relationships are very moving but I felt a bit lost without a real ending. Essex, a teenage runaway the family took in, drives a cab part-time and moons after Cheyenne. They are half sisters--same dad, different moms, raised by one mother with no idea of who the other mother might be. “Now,” said Cheyenne. Her work has appeared in Bust, Bitch, Maxmum Rock ’n’ Roll, Yeti Magazine and Tin House. Her characters are intent on discovering what it means to be alive and how to locate themselves and each other in the world. This is a real window into America. Reviewed in the United States on December 25, 2020. For the curious, you can find a … Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. Utterly engrossing. Livy didn’t care about pesticides or permaculture. Utterly engrossing. She lived off past-date groceries. (Change my mind?). “We should at least get drunk before we go.”“I’d rather do it on his dime,” said Livy.“I bet inviting us isn’t even his idea. They are half sisters--same dad, different moms, raised by one mother with no idea of who the other mother might be. once again, I mean victims . Each character - the two sisters, their adopted brother, the mother who raised them - goes through an odyssey of sorts. August 25th 2020 Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free. And no way is anyone rolling their own tampons out of toilet paper. "Vanessa Veselka spins a tale with boundless verve, linguistic vitality, and undeniable tenderness" (from the publisher). Along the way, you will learn the shipwright’s way of life and receive a humbling, visceral education on the workings and working on a skiff, vessel, boat, while Livy labors toward her dream of fishing in Alaska—to pursue her desired occupation. Tiny zircon studs pierced the indigo blue sun and the crescent moon tattooed on her earlobes. Or do you locate yourself in relation to the shore, memory, and landmarks?" . . I was stunned by the writing again and again—beautiful sentences, perspectives elevated to truths, and history told with insightful clarity. Bomb threats and terrorist attacks are part of daily life in her scary and yet humorous dystopian novel, Zazen. Veselka digs deep into the psyche of the human condition. She could pass in the crowd they’d be in today. Jets turn around overhead on their final approach to the airport. They struggle with how fast life comes back. The one on my thumb is a diamond and the pinkie is a spade. . Her characters . On the day of their estranged… National Book Award for Fiction Longlist 2020. On the day of their estranged… Jets turn around overhead on their final approach to the airport. “No.” She held up her hand. Yet the writer’s story of two sisters on the road (and sea) amounts to an aimless journey, meandering like an interstate stricken by detours. “I’m turning on the space heater.” “Turn on the oven. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Their initial instinct had been to ignore it and the invitation was repurposed as a coaster for days before it was seriously considered. —Nathan Hill, author of The Nix "Vanessa Veselka writes with the power of the ocean tides, and The Great Offshore Grounds teems with life as beguiling and beautiful as any undersea grotto. But in the end they could not ignore it. That’s a phrase I often roll my eyes at. trudge through the detritus of consumer society, doing stupid things because the spiritual void that is American capitalism leaves them no other choice. The lives of the characters at the core of this novel are lives lived under the financial realities and pressures of contemporary America. Offered by Amazon.com. From the NBA long list, a big, messy novel whose strength is its depiction of modern-day, New Agey American poverty. well, her victims . It's been years since the two have seen each other. Roxane Gay’s review made me want to read this and so glad she did! The Great Offshore Grounds, Vanessa Veselka’s National Book Award longlisted novel, is constantly searching for its own definition of freedom. . A brilliant and fearless book." She has been, at various times, a teenage runaway, a sex-worker, a union organizer, a student of paleontology, an expatriate, an independent record label owner, a train-hopper, a waitress, and a mother. “A full-blown voodoo narcissist like him.”“He couldn’t take the competition. A brilliant and fearless book." When I say "The Great Offshore Grounds" is a superior book, I'm not being hyperbolic . I liked not knowing “where this is going,” but arrived at the finale feeling gratified. I can’t say that all of its threads come together in a completely satisfying manner, but there is so very much about this book that I love: its intimate, compassionate portrait of the novel’s complicated, problematic, stubborn, and very much alive cast of characters; and its willingness to burrow into the scary, maddening realities of what living hand-to-mouth in our inequitable country can be like for so many. [Veselka] is a remarkable writer, able to break through the surfaces of her narrative to reveal the animal chaos underneath . The Great Offshore Grounds is an unforgettable journey through a country full of malice and greed and beauty and grace. By: Vanessa Veselka. They charge us for electricity,” Livy said. Reviewed in the United States on November 9, 2020. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. Wow, this book was good. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Open “The Great Offshore Grounds”, by Vanessa Veselka, and fall in love with unconventional characters, a wonderfully Byzantine origin story, and a plot that will sweep you away like a tidal wave for over 400 pages. . After viewing product detail pages, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. The Fresnel lens had a theoretically infinite capacity to capture diffuse light and, by way of internal reflection, cast it like a spear through darkness. Cheyenne, the oldest, is fleeing a failed marriage and several subsequent bad decisions. Not enough magic for magical realism, too outlandish for realism. Veselka’s writing is at turns glib, emotional, poetic, surreal, and incisive, and her voice has a bracing confidence that is entirely compelling. This is a twisty, chunky yarn of a novel engineered for total absorption." It had all turned out to be plumage. I wasn’t going to write anything on here, since I don’t use goodreads much anymore—but since I just noticed that there are hardly any reviews, I figured better to say something in case it encouraged more people to pick this up. yeah, not revisiting these Grounds anytime soon. Was it Justine or Kristen that birthed the girls? The Great Offshore Grounds Longlist, National Book Awards 2020 for Fiction. A car honked outside. Author/Creator: Veselka, Vanessa, author. “Get in or we’ll miss the ferry,” said Kirsten.The dashboard of Kirsten’s car rattled with the engine.“Keep the window rolled down,” she said. Ms. Veselka sets sail for "The Great Offshore Grounds" propelled by the trade winds of righteousness, borne upon waves of moral certitude and guided by constellations of condescension. The Great Offshore Grounds is an unforgettable journey through a country full of malice and greed and beauty and grace. “You’re a mystic by nature,” Kirsten said as they drove onto the ferry. They discover it is the name and address of one of their mothers. I look forward to seeking out more of her work. Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. Shaped like an arrowhead aimed at the mainland, green as the inner fold of a grass blade, it can be seen from the air cradled in the crook of an elbow of water. Returning to the car, she knocked on the window to rouse Cheyenne. It’s called The Great Offshore Grounds and it’s coming August 25 from Knopf. Well, this one swept me up and deposited me somewhere else entirely. Interior Chinatown (Vintage Contemporaries), “Deeply moving . These are the hard lives of the working class, the service class, the poor. This book moves for the most part at a breakneck pace, the plot of it is fairly flying at your face, but the characters are sort of circling the drain much of the time, trapped in centrifugal forces. It is filled with personal tragedy and only the smallest of triumph, and it feels mythic and personal all at once. It will be her second published novel. beneath an avalanche of misfortune so the reader will feel guilty for hating the book (see also Jake Wolff's "The History of Living Forever"). “I’m freezing,” said Cheyenne. A brilliant and fearless book." The Great Offshore Grounds A Novel (Book) : Veselka, Vanessa : On the day of their estranged father's wedding, half-sisters Cheyenne and Livy set off to claim their inheritance. Or an education.”He turned to the water. More By and About This Author. This, it would seem, is the question animating “The Great Offshore Grounds,” the second novel by Vanessa Veselka. Recently, Livy had become convinced she could feed herself off three square yards of land. “Wait,” she said, “I have it. Recommended By Doug C., Powells.com Shaped like an arrowhead aimed at the mainland, green as the inner fold of a grass blade, it can be seen from the air cradled in the crook of an elbow of water. The Great Offshore Grounds is an unforgettable journey through a country full of malice and greed and beauty and grace. The cargo had to be kept from the rocks, but who can halt the lumbering desires of the world? He has specially requested that they attend his wedding which has them hoping; but at the very least, they will get something to eat besides Ramen and have brought along storage containers to make the most of the buffet. Livy is trying to climb out of a financial hole by crewing on an Alaskan fishing boat. I loved the mix of politics, history and not-so-subtle social commentary on the failure of American social safety nets we see as the protagonists navigate their lives as best they can. She wasn’t sure. I was sad when I reached the end of the book because I wanted to continue getting to know the central characters and follow their lives. Jets turn around overhead on their final approach to the airport. Meanwhile, there are departures—the narrative voice pulls back to a deep, wide, even ancient knowing, that renders historical time and, beyond that, natural time/geologic time in strata that are much deeper, wider, moving with oozy thickness. also just wildly uneven and did not come together for me. I will miss Cheyenne and Livy and Essex and Kirsten so much. It's been years since the two have seen each other. Even on days when there is no rain, mist filters through the evergreens until it pulls apart like threadbare cloth and bu, “Fifteen miles south of Seattle and halfway across Puget Sound to the west is Maury Island. Cyril magnanimously gives. Along the way, you will learn the shipwright’s way of life and receive a humbling, visceral education on the workings and working on a skiff, vessel, boat, while Livy labors toward her dream of fishing in Alaska—to pursue her desired occupation. Would you stay or would you go? I can’t say that all of its threads come together in a completely satisfying manner, but there is so very much about this book that I love: its intimate, compassionate portrait of the novel’s complicated, problematic, stubborn, and very much alive cast of characters; and its willingness to burrow into the scary, maddening realities of what living hand-to-mouth in our inequitable country can be like for so many. Let me give you away. Please try again. Epic. Lots of things happened and only occasionally were they profound. For the four family members at the center of Vanessa Veselka’s superb new novel: messy, solipsistic, self-indulgent, painful, deep. It was ridiculous, but since Cheyenne had appeared out of nowhere and moved in on her without warning or rent, she didn’t have much of a say. Original. A wildly original, cross-country novel that subverts a long tradition of family narratives and casts new light on the mythologies–national, individual, and collective–that drive and define us. There is Kirsten, his ex-partner who is also a witch and belongs to a coven; their daughters Cheyenne and Livy, who were born the same day, but only one of them to Kirsten; and Essex, who was semi-adopted when he was 11 years old and living on the streets. She washed her clothes once a month with a teaspoon of dish soap in a tub. I’m tired of ramen and hot dogs and there’ll be rich-people food so I’m taking Tupperware.” “Please don’t make it obvious,” said Cheyenne. Cheyenne was pretty sure she would have rinsed and reused dental dams if she thought it would work. Hooks you in steadily, veers off-balance, it’s edgy, but the rewards are many and you’ll experience an influx of emotions. Along the way, you will learn the shipwright’s way of life and receive a humbling, visceral education on the workings and working on a skiff, vessel, boat. Her characters are intent on discovering what it means to be alive and how to locate themselves and each other in the world. Zazen is her first novel. It’s not the view through the window but the frame around it, and the glass is gone.”, “I’m going to say something else and you can save it for after all this. “You’re drawn to shadowlands.” Cheyenne rolled over and fell into a deep fake nap. Her father was getting married that afternoon, and though it was already late April, a cold, wet breeze still whistled through the gaps in the caulking turning her skin to goose-flesh. . “I have a white shirt. Shh . Such a fucking Leo. It wasn’t political. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of, Published A bit Frozen, but take away the figure of the evil prince and substitute with an archetypal Mother. The minute Cheyenne got into the car, though, she regretted it. We’d love your help. The Great Offshore Grounds A Novel (eBook) : Veselka, Vanessa : A wildly original, cross-country novel that subverts a long tradition of family narratives and casts new light on the mythologies--national, individual, and collective--that drive and define us.