I was instantly hooked by Sullivan’s latest novel, The Cliffs which is set on the isolated coast in Maine. Harvard archivist, Jane Flanagan returns to her childhood home to escape a job crisis and her troubled marriage. Jane meets Genevieve, a new homeowner with a cliff side mansion who offers Jane a job researching the new house. Jane welcomes the distraction and digs into the information behind this haunted Victorian home. Clues quickly unravel as stories from the Indigenous people of the area shed light on a childhood mystery.

The Cliffs is a fast moving and suspenseful read full of creepy, supernatural elements. With themes of colonialism, grief and alcoholism, this is the perfect story for fans of New England locations, history and a bit of the supernatural. Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for the advanced reader’s copy.

I had high hopes for this book after seeing so many great reviews. Sadly it didnt hold my attention and i struggled with this book.

Glad that I got to read this early. I really like 'house' books. This had a lot going on. Very interesting. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

It’s rare for me not to finish an ARC, but I just could not get into this book despite picking it up several times over the course of a few weeks. It moved so slowly for me that I stopped at about 38%. Maybe it wasn’t the right book for the mood/moment? I know lots of readers who enjoyed it, but the pacing was just off for me. I think the premise is interesting but it just didn’t work for me.

I liked The Cliffs, by J Courtney Sullivan. It is about a piece of land on the coast of Maine, and the stories of the women who lived there from the earliest indigenous people to a 21st century second home resident, and the ghosts of some of the former. The narrative does jump around a bit, and the main character never lived in the Victorian house on the cliffs, but every woman whose story is told is somehow connected to that spot. Even though the book is a bit ambitious, following so many different storylines, I enjoyed how they related to each other. I think the core story is about love and family throughout generations. It did feel a bit like a history lesson when it started to describe America's treatment of American Indians and then I felt like the book just sort of ended abruptly, and I wasn't really sure if the ghosts of the former residents were ever laid to rest. The writing, as always, was compelling. Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, and Vintage Publishing for an advance reader ebook copy to review.

The Cliffs (2024)
By J. Courtney Sullivan
Alfred A. Knopf, 384 pages.
★★★

Novelists and editors routinely remind readers that the work before our eyes is a work of fiction in which locations, situations, and people are imaginary. But if you know southern Maine you will recognize in a nanosecond that the place J. Courtney Sullivan calls Awadapquit is Ogunquit with a small splatter of York thrown in. (Sullivan credits a history of Ogunquit in her afterward.)

The Cliffs is Sullivan's sprawling tale of secrets, lies, self-deception, tragedy, and redemption in a small coastal village. (Ogunquit has 1,500 residents.) Although most of the story takes place in 2005 and again in 2015-17, the roots of recent trauma grew from seedlings planted in the Colonial era. The modern day protagonist is Jane Flanagan, who grew up in Maine, couldn't wait to escape, went away to college, and landed at Radcliffe’s Schlesinger Library. Jane loves archives and her boss Melissa values Jane. Melissa even introduces Jane to David, a wounded divorcee who eventually marries her. If only Jane didn't love booze more than she loves her work or her husband!

Various circumstances, including her mother's death, lead Jane back to Awadapquit, where her sister Holly still resides. Holly is Jane's opposite–content to be a blue-collar gal, non-intellectual, and a collector close to the edge of becoming a hoarder. She is as comfortable with chaos as Jane is obsessed with being fastidious and pragmatic. Jane plans to go back to the city as soon as she and Holly sort through their mother’s effects and sell the house that belonged to her beloved grandmother before her mother moved in. Jane is, however, glad to be near her closest friend Allison who runs an Awadapquit inn with her husband Chris. With two children as well as high-season visitors, Allison is also at home with chaos.

As you might imagine, any novel whose protagonist wants to leave ASAP is a setup for circumstances that don't allow that to happen. It is these that both drive and occasionally bog down Sullivan's novel. Among the complications are Paul and Genevieve. They are the kind of people that long-time coastal residents love to hate. They are filthy rich, haughty, high questionable taste, and are unaware of local customs, but they dump lots of money into the local economy. That too is a mixed blessing; it brings opportunity but also leads to soaring home prices. They purchase a rundown but once-grand property on a promontory with a spectacular ocean view. It just happens to be a purplish Victorian where Jane and Ellison used to hang out in high school when it was a boarded up wreck. It is said that it once belonged to a seafaring man responsible for white settlement in Awadapquit.

In architectural theories of Mies van der Rohe, “less is more.” I'm not a fan of austere modern architecture and like a bit of flash and gingerbread, but some readers are likely to find The Cliffs overstuffed. It is to Sullivan's credit that she expertly connects most of the dots, but allow me to be unorthodox in this review and bullet-point some of the ingredients that go into her novel.

• Several generations of Genevieve-like insensitivity to those with diminished resources
• The Wabanaki peoples who settled long before the English
• A mysterious cemetery with a stone burying a single initial
• Real and metaphorical ghosts
• A modern medium
• The Shakers
• The U.S. Civil War
• Spiritualism
• A lake that isn't a lake

All of this is in addition to alcoholism, various tales of marital strain, a crooked antiquities dealer, unexpected children, job loss, the internal truth behind romantic exteriors, dementia patients, reinvention, and taking small steps to correct inherited harm. The Cliffs is, at heart, a deep dive into shifting from arrogance to humility and from fast-track living to dialed back contentment.

Again, though, The Cliffs takes a circuitous route to get there. I liked the novel, but I also wondered if Sullivan could have pared her novel to arrive by the main road rather than so many unpaved ones. It would not surprise me if some readers get lost and never arrive at the destination. Less isn’t more, but more can be too much.

Rob Weir

“Most lives will be lost to time.” This book is heart-wrenching and complex, a woven tale of women across generations, whose stories might otherwise have been lost to time.

Jane is at a personal crossroads, following the death of her mother with whom she had a complicated relationship. She has always loved the abandoned Lake Grove home in her small Maine town. This land, where the cliffs reach out into the ocean, has been an important one for many, and each of these women are connected to this place.

I deeply enjoyed getting to know these women and their struggles. They are flawed people striving to navigate this world as best they can. What they learn about the past informs their future, which is one of my favorite lessons of life. A truly beautiful book.

The Cliffs delivers in an atmospheric beach read with knockout Maine scenery. The premise hooked me, but unfortunately, for me, the writing didn't deliver what I was hoping for. Thanks to Net Galley and Knopf for the opportunity to read an advanced copy. 3/5 stars.

Wonderful book. I think this is her best yet. I loved how it wove all the history with stories of generational trauma and disfunction

Sullivan's atmospheric historical gothic novel gives life to a purple Victorian house and its inhabitants (and ghosts!) spanning centuries. The home is nestled on a cliff overlooking the Atlantic ocean and a small town in Maine. Themes of 'honoring our predecessors' and questions of, 'who carries history?' are flecked throughout this book in meaningful character actions and conversations, both positively and negatively.

The novel fleshes out and personalizes the lives of many women who have inhabited the land, "where the beautiful cliffs meet the sea", going back to the time of the Abenaki people. I am not always a fan of multiple times lines and multiple points of view, I found it worked brilliantly in this book because the women are tied to the same land and house. I appreciate the historical connections our main POV character in present day, Jane, slowly uncovers throughout the book in her work as a Harvard archivist.

I could have spent more time with a few of the historical characters, and focused less on Jane's contemporary issues, making this book 4.5 stars for me. I had a great reading experience and found myself reaching for my kindle daily.

I recommend this book for fans of New England setting, historical context, lives of women, and a bit of early 20th century spiritualism. Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for an EARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

This story has everything— old house,, ghosts, mistreatment of native Americans, a smart alcoholic main character. The heart of the story is multiple searches for the lives of people long dead. Interesting read

I WANT to love Sullivan books...but they are so full of non-plot side themes. I made it 50% through Maine and 50% through The Cliffs before I just couldn't go any farther.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

Long Island is a story of a woman originally from Ireland that marries an Italian American. They live on Long Island in a compound with his mother and brothers. This story is a continuation of the book Brooklyn but Long Island is a stand alone story. Having never read Brooklyn I was still able to follow the back story.
Eilis finds out that her husband has fathered another child and once that baby is born he plans to bring that child to the “compound” to be raised. Eilis is not happy about that; returns to Ireland to visit her mother and has her two teenage children join her there. While in Ireland, Eilis gets reacquainted with an old boyfriend. The story continues from there.
There are many complicated feelings and relationships in this story. Never sure what is going to happen. My one disappointment is that the story had an abrupt ending which was very unsatisfying. This may be due to the author writing a sequel.

Stopped at 37%
Although the premise sounded intriguing, the history lessons within left me bored. Although I do enjoy historical fiction, this book was not that. I don't know how to classify this book and in reality, I don't care enough to finish it to try to classify it.

Jane Flanagan was drawn to a secluded house on the cliffs in May in high school. There, she found solitude and respite from her difficult mother. Fast forward twenty years and Jane finds herself in Main once again amidst marriage and job issues. She meets Genevieve, the current owner of her beloved house. Sadly, Genevieve does not appreciate the history of the home, and her renovations leave the house whitewashed with charm. Genevieve hires Jane to find out the history of the house and the women who lived there. The story unfolds as Jane finds out information about the lives of the previous inhabitants, the native Americans who once owned the land, and even better understands her own family's history.

This novel is a family drama, addiction, marriage, and friendships. Once again, J. Courtney Sullivan draws a rich portrait of life in Maine. I highly recommend it! Thank you for the advanced reader copy!

Courtney J Sullivan writes the kind of summer reads that I absolutely love. They're not cheesy or over the top, but easy to get absolutely lost in. It also helps that I'm from Maine, and she nails the setting time after time. This is at the top of my list for meatier beach reads to recommend to friends this summer!

I loved this book! There was a well-developed main character that was an archivist (be still my heart!), a novel steeped in that character's great love of history, especially women's history. I was surprised how much I learned from and appreciated about this novel and would recommend it to so many people.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read and review The Cliffs. This is a new author for me. I’m sorry but this book as not for me. It wasn’t a horrible story but I’m just not in to ghost type stories. It seemed very long and to meander and didn’t flow well in my opinion. There was a lot going on in this book from alcoholism, ghosts, loss p, mystery and a whole lot more. It was very hard to hold my interest and was a struggle for me to finish.

Old houses have always fascinated me so I absolutely loved the concept of this book! The interwoven narratives across time clearly made it a huge undertaking, and one that was masterfully and respectfully done. The amount of care and research that went into writing this book is apparent, especially when juggling sensitive topics like the indigenous people of Maine and their place in history.

Some reviews have said the book was a bit long and meandering. I'd agree that it did take longer for me to read than I expected for a book that I was excited to pick up, but that's a minor nit and doesn't take away much from the book for me.

Very excited to add a third from J. Courtney Sullivan to my favorites shelf!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

J. Courtney Sullivan is an instant pick author for me so I dove into this story not knowing the synopsis. What I thought was going to be story about a haunted house and a singular family delved into the rich history of the home, spiritualism, Maine's Native American population, and female relationships. Living in NH, I was fascinated by the history of Native Americans living in the Northeast. I have also read The In-Betweens and seeing Camp Mira (Etna) in another book made me sequel with delight. While long and meandering at times, this story does neatly come back to the connecting piece of the home.