Flatiron Books
Wild Dark Shore
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INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
An ENTHRALLING new novel from the NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING author of Migrations and Once There Were Wolves
"A WILDLY TALENTED writer." ―Emily St. John Mandel
“SPELLBINDING...Exceptionally imagined, thoroughly humane.” ―Washington Post
“Abounds with EVOCATIVE nature writing.” ―The New York Times Book Review
A family on a remote island. A mysterious woman washed ashore. A rising storm on the horizon.
Dominic Salt and his three children are caretakers of Shearwater, a tiny island not far from Antarctica. Home to the world’s largest seed bank, Shearwater was once full of researchers, but with sea levels rising, the Salts are now its final inhabitants. Until, during the worst storm the island has ever seen, a woman mysteriously washes ashore.
Isolation has taken its toll on the Salts, but as they nurse the woman, Rowan, back to strength, it begins to feel like she might just be what they need. Rowan, long accustomed to protecting herself, starts imagining a future where she could belong to someone again.
But Rowan isn’t telling the whole truth about why she set out for Shearwater. And when she discovers sabotaged radios and a freshly dug grave, she realizes Dominic is keeping his own secrets. As the storms on Shearwater gather force, they all must decide if they can trust each other enough to protect the precious seeds in their care before it’s too late―and if they can finally put the tragedies of the past behind them to create something new, together.
A novel of breathtaking twists, dizzying beauty, and ferocious love, Wild Dark Shore is about the impossible choices we make to protect the people we love, even as the world around us disappears.
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Book Details
ISBN:
9781250827951
EAN:
1250827957
Binding:
Hardcover
Pages:
320
Authors:
Charlotte McConaghy
Publisher:
Flatiron Books
Published Date: 2025-04-03
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I read mostly fantasy and needed a break after a long series. This book was perfect. It is beautifully written and heartfelt story. A must read!
After a violent storm, a woman washes ashore on a remote island, home to the planet’s last seed vault and the family who protect it. As they take her in and begin to uncover the motivations she carries, their world is disrupted and tensions rise between past grief and present danger. On the edge of an environmental collapse, survival becomes both deeply personal and heartbreaking.I had this book on hold at the library the minute it came out, but after watching the buzz build, I got impatient and used my Amazon points to grab it on Kindle. Damn, I’m so glad I did.This book is hard to classify. It’s part climate fiction, part speculative fiction, part mystery, and part literary fiction. There’s an old saying about doing one thing and doing it well. That doesn’t apply here. All of those pieces come together seamlessly.McConaghy doesn’t just write about nature, she writes with it in a way that makes every page feel alive. The setting pulled me in immediately. You can feel the wildness of the island, the weight of the wind, the constant hum of tension in both the landscape and the characters. The story touches on loss, survival, parenthood, and our relationship with the natural world, but it never feels heavy-handed. It just feels real.Not once did I try to guess what was coming next, because I didn’t want to get pulled out of the experience. I was fully in it, right to the last gut punch of an ending. The emotional weight of it hit me like a tsunami.Charlotte McConaghy has this rare ability to pour emotion onto the page in a way that doesn’t just move you, it transfers into you. Her love for the ocean, for the creatures within it, and for the fierce bonds between people and place, came through so clearly I felt it settle into my bones.For me, this is what a God-tier book looks like.
Well written story about a remote island where a woman washes ashore after a shipwreck in a storm. Dom and his children save her and then we find out about all of the mysteries of the family and island. The fictional island and the wildlife are truly one of the characters. I don't quite understand the hype.
This is a very unusual book and I read it one day. I learned a lot about Antarctic tundra and about seeds in addition to enjoying the plot and romance. I highly recommend it.
This book is definitely in my top 10. So well written. It is such a page turner with beautiful writing. Everything I have read from this author has been great. This book will stay with me.
