Antony Innis Travers' The Lee Shore was published by Alfresco Press in June 2012. Alfresco Press is an independent publisher.
Antony Innis Travers is a debut author. His official website can be found here.
Here's a description of The Lee Shore:
The Lee Shore: A Parable of Apocalypse, Carnal Knowledge & Quantum Theory; a Sailing Primer... & a Love Story
It's a common enough occurrence for a sailor to become romantically involved with a responsive vessel - though seldom so intimately. And many a mariner, becalmed, might have dreamt of a lover who could raise the wind - but few find such creatures in the local pub. With both in the same port, however... it's just a matter of time before his sailboat invites his new girlfriend over for tea and a chat regarding polygamous marriage customs.
When charting a coastline that's still a squalling infant is the family business, where you go from here is always the tricky part.
A REVIEW OF ANTONY INNIS TRAVERS' THE LEE SHORE
Before I write anything else, I'll mention that I'm not sure if The Lee Shore is to everybody's liking, but I enjoyed it, because it was different kind of speculative fiction and it was a refreshing reading experience. The Lee Shore is one of those books which will most likely divide the readers into two groups - to those who like it and to those who dislike it - depending on the readers' taste in books.
I'll also mention that I think it's good to know as little about the plot as possible when you begin to read this book, so I'll try avoid spoilers in my review. If you know too much about what's going to happen in the book, the story will probably be ruined, because you have to let the magical atmosphere grow on you in order to fully enjoy the story and its fantastical weirdness.
The story tells about the protagonist and his relationship to Carina and Neona. This relationship isn't your normal kind of a relationship, because in this book things are totally different than in normal life. If you've read the description of this book, you may know what to expect, but I'm sure that you'll be surprised by the story when you begin to read the book. The protagonist, Carina and Neona form a kind of a family which defies normal conventions about marriage and living arrangements. That's all I'll write about the plot, because otherwise I might reveal too much information.
Categorizing The Lee Shore isn't as easy as one might think, because it contains several different elements. In my opinion The Lee Shore is speculative fiction, but it isn't your normal kind of speculative fiction. The Lee Shore can be best categorized as high literature, which has been tranformed into speculative fiction format. This book is a bit like a combination of science fiction and magical realism seasoned with high literature and spirituality.
I think that Gabriel García Márquez and other authors of magical realism have had a big influence on the author's writing style. This may not be the best possible comparison, because it's difficult to find a good and appropriate comparison, but in my opinion The Lee Shore reads almost like a weird and uninhibited love child between Ian McEwan and Gabriel García Márquez.
It took a while for me to get into The Lee Shore, but it was worth it, because the story was original and fascinating. The Lee Shore is an interesting book, because it contains elements of magical realism and speculative fiction. It's actually quite amazing how fluently the author combines speculative fiction and magical realism to create beautiful and thought-provoking prose. The dream-like atmosphere in this book felt wonderfully weird and captivating. At first it felt a bit strange to read this kind of a book, but once I got used to the author's writing style I couldn't stop reading.
I was pleasantly surprised by the author's way of writing about the happenings and small details. The author clearly loves or has a fascination with sailing, because he writes fluently about all things related to sailing. The prose is beautiful and nuanced in every possible way, which is very nice, because the prose enhances the weird story.
The characters are interesting and the relationships are fascinating, because the author writes about a different kind of a love story. The protagonist has an interesting relationship with the boat and a new girlfriend. The relationships are extraordinarily fascinating in their weirdness and difference, because there aren't many authors who write about relationships in this way.
Antony Innis Travers has an interesting way of writing about the protagonist's life, love life and childhood. He writes almost poetically about the protagonist and what happens to him - he writes about the protagonist's happiness, sadness and other feelings engagingly. Feelings of yearning, love and loss are explored satisfyingly without preaching. Things related to sex and sexuality are also handled nicely - certain scenes are beautifully erotic and touching.
Carina and Neona are interesting characters, because differences and similarities exist between them and the author explores them evocatively. Both women are brought to life with vivid prose. I especially enjoyed how the author wrote about Carina and her presence in the boat, and how she commented about different things and situations. It was a pleasure to read about Carina's thoughts and feelings.
The Lee Shore is "something different" and it will be of interest to readers who are tuned to the nuances and stylistic wonders of speculative fiction. Readers who are familiar with the works of Gabriel García Márquez will probably like this book very much.
I think that The Lee Shore will be an ideal book for readers who aren't used to reading speculative fiction, because it offers plenty of food for the brains. I'm sure that intelligent readers will love the weirdness of the story and be fascinated by the elements of magical realism.