I enjoyed this book. The writing is lucid and descriptive, the characters introspective and complicated, with a mystery at the heart of the relationships. It is very much a character-driven book as we watch Jessie struggle with her lack of contentment in a seemingly perfect life - loving husband, successful daughter, artistic outlets. Her mother suffers a breakdown which triggers a crisis in Jessie's life as she seeks renewal for herself and her marriage. The action takes place in 1988 before the ubiquity of cell phones and the internet and is primarily set on a fictional barrier island in South Carolina. Kidd does a phenomenal job of bringing the setting to life - not just the natural world, but the beach houses, monastery and tourist town. My only nit is that the feminist themes seem to be from an earlier generation. These felt like my mother's issues, not mine.