Brief Description
Inspired by two small moments in 1813, Parker's vast and involving novel about pirates and slaves, treason and treasures, madness and devotion, takes place on a tiny island battered by storms and cut off from the world.
Learn More about the Book
Michael Parker s vast and involving novel about pirates and slaves, treason and treasures, madness and devotion, takes place on a tiny island battered by storms and cut off from the world. Inspired by two little-known moments in history, it begins in 1813, when Theodosia Burr, en route to New York by ship to meet her father, Aaron Burr, disappears off the coast of North Carolina. It ends a hundred and fifty years later, when the last three inhabitants of a remote island two elderly white women and the black man who takes care of them are forced to leave their beloved spot of land. Parker tells an enduring story about what we ll sacrifice for love, and what we won t."
About the Author
Michael Parker is the author of seven works of fiction, most recently the critically acclaimed novel The Watery Part of the World. His work has been published in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Oxford American, and many other magazines. He is a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, an O. Henry Award, a Pushcart Prize, and three lifetime achievement awards, including the North Carolina Award for Literature. He teaches in the MFA writing program at UNC Greensboro and lives in North Carolina and Texas.
Review Quotes
1. "I found "The Watery Part of the World "all but impossible to put down . . . This elegantly written tale reflects on the nature of race, love, regret, dependence, fear, sorrow, honor and envy--the eternal challenges of being human. The characters, even the minor ones, are fully formed, the setting is so vividly described that you feel you know it intimately, and Parker's writing is purely wonderful." --Nancy Pearl, NPR.org
2. "A remarkable story . . . The entire novel has a blue-green, underwater feel, a timeless forgetfulness." --"Los Angeles Times"
3. "A lush feat of historical speculation . . . Disparate parts--pirates and aristocrats in one century; elderly ladies and their handyman in another . . . But Parker has managed to stir them together in a vivid tale about the tenacity of habit and the odd relationships that form in very small, difficult places." --"The Washington Post"""
4. "Parker slices open each isolated life with humor and gentleness, and the familiar battles with loss and loneliness he chronicles make even this remotest of locations feel close to home." --"People," 4-star review
5. I found "The Watery Part of the World "all but impossible to put down . . . This elegantly written tale reflects on the nature of race, love, regret, dependence, fear, sorrow, honor and envy the eternal challenges of being human. The characters, even the minor ones, are fully formed, the setting is so vividly described that you feel you know it intimately, and Parker s writing is purely wonderful. Nancy Pearl, NPR.org"
6. A remarkable story . . . The entire novel has a blue-green, underwater feel, a timeless forgetfulness.
Los Angeles Times"
7. A remarkable story The entire novel has a blue-green, underwater feel, a timeless forgetfulness. Los Angeles Times
"
8. I found The Watery Part of the World all but impossible to put down . . . This elegantly written tale reflects on the nature of race, love, regret, dependence, fear, sorrow, honor and envy the eternal challenges of being human. The characters, even the minor ones, are fully formed, the setting is so vividly described that you feel you know it intimately, and Parker s writing is purely wonderful. Nancy Pearl, NPR.org
"
9. A lush feat of historical speculation . . . Disparate parts pirates and aristocrats in one century; elderly ladies and their handyman in another . . . But Parker has managed to stir them together in a vivid tale about the tenacity of habit and the odd relationships that form in very small, difficult places.
The Washington Post
"
10. Parker slices open each isolated life with humor and gentleness, and the familiar battles with loss and loneliness he chronicles make even this remotest of locations feel close to home.
People, 4-star review"
