Fellowship Point

Fellowship Point by Alice Elliott Dark

This is one of those wonderful books that when I finished I wished I could read again for the first time. I will read it again, as an old friend then, but there won't be that sense of discovery, of surprise at finding a treasure. I loved the two main characters and narrators Agnes and Polly, in their eighties and friends for years, and the beautiful location, an unspoiled point of land on the coast of Maine.

Agnes, an unmarried author of children's books, and Polly, wife to a demanding husband and mother of 3, grew up spending their summers at family 'cottages' on The Point. They worry about development ruining the natural beauty of the place, especially the large sanctuary of land, "the Sank", that sits between the houses and the sea. Home to various bird species, including a colony of eagles, and varieties of flowers and trees, it is the heart of Fellowship Point and they want to protect it for future generations. Leaving it to a land trust is one possibility, but because of by-laws set when the houses were first built, nothing can be done without the agreement of all the homeowners together. That's going to be a problem.

A third narrator enters the picture when Maud, assistant to Agnes' editor, asks Agnes to write a memoir, an idea Agnes won't even consider. Maud's story - she has a 3 yr old daughter and a mother who suffers from bouts of mania/depression - adds another layer to the story as she becomes an integral part Fellowship Point life.

This beautifully written story, it's engaging characters and stunning location are a gift. By the time I'd finished I could say with Agnes "I feel so saturated with Maine...". The trees, the wind, the eagles, the water, the characters - I felt saturated with all of it and was truly sad to come to the last page. This one is going on my Favourites list.

A few quotes:

"They were too old not to be friends. Fallings-out were for those who had time to meet new people."

"People had no manners anymore, or even a notion of their utility - how good manners evened out the imbalances between personalities, how they bolstered the shy by making it clear what to do, and how they held the aggressive in check."

"...she still loved the sound of eagle wings beating the air. They cleaved the atmosphere and created temporary yet provocative blank spaces that drew the imagination upward to explore their wake."