Fellowship Point by Alice Elliot Dark

“What I have learned is that grace and love are offered all the time, in every new moment, at every glimpse of the sky, or dawn of a day that has never before existed,...or the sense of time suspended when reading a good book. We are free, always, to accept what is offered...”

I don't know that I can adequately review Fellowship Point because, to quote Whitman, it “contains multitudes.” Dark wove so many intricate layers into the storyline that as paragraphs became pages and pages became chapters, I was in awe at how perfectly this novel unfolded.

Do NOT underestimate this book. It may look like a simple, summer saga about two aging women and their lifelong friendship, but it is SO much more.

Reading Fellowship Point was like falling into another world. These 600 pages contain so many moving plot lines: the love of land and place, the stories of generations of families, the depths of female friendship, the ties of community, the importance of history and the acceptance of aging. To top it off, we are even given a publishing plotline and a mystery to solve. And it's all done exquisitely.

Dark added multiple timelines, allowing the story to build without feeling rushed (and never bored) and she managed to do all of this without book bloat - a true feat. I hit a point where all I wanted to do was sit with these characters. I would love to meet Agnes in real life and won’t forget this vegetarian feminist! She’s a kindred spirit.

FP is one of the most satisfying books I've read in many years and the Maine setting was a bonus, it felt authentic and took me to a place I love. And yes, I took this photo there while visiting my parents. Bookish serendipity.

We still have a month of summer left...grab this now and savor it. And I hold out hope that Dark writes a book to celebrate winter, because I already miss knowing I have this on my nightstand.