A Gift Upon the Shore
M. K. Wren
I first read A Gift Upon the Shore when it was first published in 1990 and
continue to re-read it every 5 years or so.
Set in the near future, A Gift traces the first generations to survive nuclear
war and its aftermath. Writer Mary Hope and painter Rachel Morrow
scratch out a meager existence on a farm on the Oregon coast. They are
determined to collect and preserve for a new civilization all the great books
of western culture. Farther down the coast lives the Arkites, a
fundamentalist group that denies all knowledge not found in the Bible. After
a plague strikes the Arkites Mary agrees to take in a few survivors on the
condition that she be allowed to educate the children as she sees fit.
This rare science fiction story written by a woman about women characters
is a refreshing perspective which forgoes the usual male survivalist-style
details to reveal the actual story underneath. A fine, fast read, A Gift Upon
the Shore nevertheless provides much food for thought.
/tdw/
M. K. Wren
I first read A Gift Upon the Shore when it was first published in 1990 and
continue to re-read it every 5 years or so.
Set in the near future, A Gift traces the first generations to survive nuclear
war and its aftermath. Writer Mary Hope and painter Rachel Morrow
scratch out a meager existence on a farm on the Oregon coast. They are
determined to collect and preserve for a new civilization all the great books
of western culture. Farther down the coast lives the Arkites, a
fundamentalist group that denies all knowledge not found in the Bible. After
a plague strikes the Arkites Mary agrees to take in a few survivors on the
condition that she be allowed to educate the children as she sees fit.
This rare science fiction story written by a woman about women characters
is a refreshing perspective which forgoes the usual male survivalist-style
details to reveal the actual story underneath. A fine, fast read, A Gift Upon
the Shore nevertheless provides much food for thought.
/tdw/
| Thom's Review A Gift Upon the Shore |
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