The Right-Hand Shore - Hardcover

Tilghman, Christopher

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1410452441 ISBN 13: 9781410452443

Publisher: Thorndike Pr, 2012

Synopsis

While visiting the dying owner of the family's estate in order to secure his inheritance, Edward hears stories about his family and land.

About this title

Review:

Praise for "Roads of the Heart" "American literary fiction now offers far fewer pleasures than it did a few decades ago, but the novels and short stories of Christopher Tilghman go a long way toward making up for the failures of other writers." "--"Jonathan Yardley, "The Washington Post"

Praise for "The Right-Hand Shore"

""

"Tilghman's exquisite third novel returns to the eastern shore of Maryland to prefigure the events of his first, "Mason's Retreat." It's 1920, and recently married Edward Mason has arrived at the Retreat--a former planation and peach orchard, and now a dairy--to meet his distant cousin, Mary Bayly, the current owner. Mary's cancer has put the fate of the property in jeopardy--and Edward in line to receive the gift and burden of the land. After an unsettling interview with the formidable Mary, Edward sits with the longtime property manager, Oral French, and his wife, who recount the Retreat's secrets, from miscegenation to slavery to murder. Listening to the pain caused by pride, selfishness, and the desire for love, Edward feels 'mauled by the pull of the past, still so fresh for these people.' The tale's descent into tragedy is nevertheless beautiful; 'creamy yellow' sunlight and the perfume of peach blossoms pervade Mason's Retreat alongside its ghosts and horrors. Tilghman maneuvers through the misery of three generations, following each elegant plot turn inevitably back to its source: this living, breathing land on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay." --"Publishers Weekly" (starred review)

"A rare achievement. Christopher Tilghman's vision of the American past--and particularly of individuals caught in the tidal sweep of history--is dazzling in its precision and clarity." --Charles Frazier, winner of the National Book Award for "Cold Mountain"

"Christopher Tilghman is a novelist's novelist in that he can hold the years in his head and then deal them out in a layered story so achingly gracious and incisive that it becomes for a week in a reader's house the very reason for the chair, the lamp. Offered in Tilghman's astonishing prose, the story of this place--focusing on two families, two races, the history of a peach orchard, and a love that is both natural and forbidden--is a reader's deep pleasure. The story

Praise for "The Right-Hand Shore"

"Constructed, "Wuthering Heights" style, . . . "The Right-Hand Shore" represents an outing of some of America's most troubled ghosts . . . Tilghman unfolds his harsh lesson with precision, delicacy and startling humor . . . 'The Right-Hand Shore' is the dark, magisterial creation of a writer with an uncanny feel for the intersections of place and character in American history. His readers will want to hear more stories from the Eastern Shore estate. Let's just hope he doesn't keep us waiting for another 16 years." --Fernanda Eberstadt, "New York Times Book Review"

"Tilghman's exquisite third novel returns to the eastern shore of Maryland to prefigure the events of his first, "Mason's Retreat." It's 1920, and recently married Edward Mason has arrived at the Retreat--a former planation and peach orchard, and now a dairy--to meet his distant cousin, Mary Bayly, the current owner. Mary's cancer has put the fate of the property in jeopardy--and Edward in line to receive the gift and burden of the land. After an unsettling interview with the formidable Mary, Edward sits with the longtime property manager, Oral French, and his wife, who recount the Retreat's secrets, from miscegenation to slavery to murder. Listening to the pain caused by pride, selfishness, and the desire for love, Edward feels 'mauled by the pull of the past, still so fresh for these people.' The tale's descent into tragedy is nevertheless beautiful; 'creamy yellow' sunlight and the perfume of peach blossoms pervade Mason's Retreat alongside its ghosts and horrors. Tilghman maneuvers through the misery of three generations, following each elegant plot turn inevitably back to its source: this living, breathing land on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay." --"Publishers Weekly" (starred review)

"[Tilghman] writes so beautifully . . . His long paragraphs and the susurrus of Maryland landscape--'water grasses with tufts of white blossoms, wild privet, and scraggly wat

""The Right-Hand Shore" is the dark, magisterial creation of a writer with an uncanny feel for the intersections of place and character in American history....Tilghman unfolds his harsh lesson with precision, delicacy, and startling humor."--"The New York Times Book Review

""I just kept rereading isolated sentences--like lines of poetry--to savor his descriptions....With "The Right-Hand Shore", Tilghman remains 'the real deal.'"--Maureen Corrigan, NPR's" Fresh Air

""Elegant and engrossing...Tilghman writes so beautifully...[weaving] an intoxicating spell."--John Freeman, "The Boston Globe"

"Tilghman maneuvers through the misery of three generations, following each elegant plot turn inevitably back to its source: this living breathing land on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay....The tale's descent into tragedy is nevertheless beautiful...Exquisite."--"Publishers Weekly "(starred review)

"Rich in narrative and vision, this is an absorbing and poignant tale of family, race, and love of land."--"Booklist

""Christopher Tilghman is a novelist's novelist in that he can hold the years in his head and then deal them out in a layered story so achingly gracious and incisive that it becomes for a week in a reader's house the very reason for the chair, the lamp. The story of these families, race, a love that is ultimately natural and forbidden, the history of peaches, offered in Tilghman's astonishing prose is a reader's deep pleasure...This is a big, wonderful novel."--Ron Carlson, author of "The Signal and Five Skies"

"The Right-Hand Shore" is the dark, magisterial creation of a writer with an uncanny feel for the intersections of place and character in American history....Tilghman unfolds his harsh lesson with precision, delicacy, and startling humor. "The New York Times Book Review"

I just kept rereading isolated sentences--like lines of poetry--to savor his descriptions....With "The Right-Hand Shore," Tilghman remains the real deal.' "Maureen Corrigan, NPR's Fresh Air"

Elegant and engrossing...Tilghman writes so beautifully...[weaving] an intoxicating spell. "John Freeman, The Boston Globe"

Tilghman maneuvers through the misery of three generations, following each elegant plot turn inevitably back to its source: this living breathing land on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay .The tale's descent into tragedy is nevertheless beautiful Exquisite. "Publishers Weekly (starred review)"

Rich in narrative and vision, this is an absorbing and poignant tale of family, race, and love of land. "Booklist"

Christopher Tilghman is a novelist's novelist in that he can hold the years in his head and then deal them out in a layered story so achingly gracious and incisive that it becomes for a week in a reader's house the very reason for the chair, the lamp. The story of these families, race, a love that is ultimately natural and forbidden, the history of peaches, offered in Tilghman's astonishing prose is a reader's deep pleasure This is a big, wonderful novel. "Ron Carlson, author of The Signal and Five Skies""

The Right-Hand Shore is the dark, magisterial creation of a writer with an uncanny feel for the intersections of place and character in American history....Tilghman unfolds his harsh lesson with precision, delicacy, and startling humor. The New York Times Book Review

I just kept rereading isolated sentences--like lines of poetry--to savor his descriptions....With The Right-Hand Shore, Tilghman remains the real deal.' Maureen Corrigan, NPR's Fresh Air

Elegant and engrossing...Tilghman writes so beautifully...[weaving] an intoxicating spell. John Freeman, The Boston Globe

Tilghman maneuvers through the misery of three generations, following each elegant plot turn inevitably back to its source: this living breathing land on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay .The tale's descent into tragedy is nevertheless beautiful Exquisite. Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Rich in narrative and vision, this is an absorbing and poignant tale of family, race, and love of land. Booklist

Christopher Tilghman is a novelist's novelist in that he can hold the years in his head and then deal them out in a layered story so achingly gracious and incisive that it becomes for a week in a reader's house the very reason for the chair, the lamp. The story of these families, race, a love that is ultimately natural and forbidden, the history of peaches, offered in Tilghman's astonishing prose is a reader's deep pleasure This is a big, wonderful novel. Ron Carlson, author of The Signal and Five Skies

"

"The Right-Hand Shore is the dark, magisterial creation of a writer with an uncanny feel for the intersections of place and character in American history....Tilghman unfolds his harsh lesson with precision, delicacy, and startling humor." --The New York Times Book Review

"I just kept rereading isolated sentences--like lines of poetry--to savor his descriptions....With The Right-Hand Shore, Tilghman remains 'the real deal.'" --Maureen Corrigan, NPR's Fresh Air

"Elegant and engrossing...Tilghman writes so beautifully...[weaving] an intoxicating spell." --John Freeman, The Boston Globe

"Tilghman maneuvers through the misery of three generations, following each elegant plot turn inevitably back to its source: this living breathing land on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay....The tale's descent into tragedy is nevertheless beautiful...Exquisite." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Rich in narrative and vision, this is an absorbing and poignant tale of family, race, and love of land." --Booklist

"Christopher Tilghman is a novelist's novelist in that he can hold the years in his head and then deal them out in a layered story so achingly gracious and incisive that it becomes for a week in a reader's house the very reason for the chair, the lamp. The story of these families, race, a love that is ultimately natural and forbidden, the history of peaches, offered in Tilghman's astonishing prose is a reader's deep pleasure...This is a big, wonderful novel." --Ron Carlson, author of The Signal and Five Skies

About the Author:

Christopher Tilghman is the author of two short story collections, In a Father's Place and The Way People Run, and two previous novels, Mason's Retreat and Roads of the Heart.

About this edition

• Publisher: Thorndike Pr
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1410452441
• ISBN 13: 9781410452443
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 663