First published 2011
Jane Barlow Schwartz finds herself face to face with Martha, her cousin and former best friend, among the exotic creatures of the Galapagos Islands. Years have passed since a mysterious family conflict drove them apart, severing what had once been an unbreakable bond. Now, watching blue-footed boobies perform their elaborate mating dances and red-lipped batfish navigate the waters, Jane becomes determined to understand what happened between them. She begins tracing back through their shared family history, searching for the precise moment when Martha stopped being the person she thought she knew. As Jane investigates the roots of their estrangement, she finds herself contemplating the forces that shape us all: instinct, natural selection, and the strange ways we adapt and change over time. Her journey through family secrets becomes a meditation on how relationships evolve and why some survive while others don't.
Genres: literary-fiction, contemporary, relationships, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: estrangement, family-drama, second-chance
Setting: Galapagos Islands
224 pages · Kindle Edition · Mariner Books