Habits of the Sea: A Novel follows two characters, Clay Lockhart and Ellie Mills. In the 1950s, Clay Lockhart's wife dies during a terrible storm. Witnesses claimed they could hear his cries in the night over the sound of the rain but come morning, the house and the land it stood on has been cleaved away. The story goes that it floats out in the water, with sightings being reported about it for years. Ellie Mills finds the island one night and manages to set foot there, meeting the fabled Clay Lockhart not looking a day older than he did the night his home tore away from the coast. Haunted by the memory of what she found, Ellie grows up doubting what she remembers until she hears that the island has been sighted again. Deciding once and for all to find it again, Ellie manages to return to the island and to Clay Lockhart, where she has to learn that some impossible things are possible and the things worth living for are sometimes not what you expect to find.
I'll start off by saying that while the overall effect of this book is beautiful, it was undoubtedly, utterly heartbreaking. I started this a few days ago and managed to finish it last night and good grief, I'm still kind of reeling from it. I loved the writing, the whimsical way of invoking the feeling of living a fabled life, and at the same time, oh wow, not what I expected once I reached that ending. I kept thinking of things like, don't put off for tomorrow what you can do today. Live the life you want to live. Carpe diem. The future is not guaranteed. All of these thoughts have been swirling in my head since finishing this book and my dreams were filled with crashing waves and bottomless waters that made me feel unmoored by the time I climbed out of bed. This book feels like a tragic fairytale, the kind with sharp edges. I loved it and yet, it's difficult to put into words the whys behind the feeling. The parting sentiment from this book could almost be called depressing and yet, I think the reasoning behind it is because this book shows not just one choice, Ellie returning to the island, but then shows each and every single choice she makes from there on out. It shows an entire lifetime of choices almost and when you put that all together in a book, the effect is both incredible and tragic to behold. Especially when you get to the ending.
Ellie Mills was an interesting character, a woman who tried so hard to want the things that are expected for her and yet comes to realize that yearning for something else is not necessarily a bad thing. Trying to find something more, understanding that you can deserve a different kind of life, something you only dreamed of, is a kind of quiet strength not often seen in books. Ellie has to come to terms with the fact that wanting something more is okay, making the decision to be happy for herself is just as important as anything else. I loved that journey for her, knowing that each day she was making the choices to try for something different, to be something other, and her transformation over the course of the story was the driving force of the book. Her connection to Clay Lockhart was the kind of love that builds from nothing, becoming a force that ties two souls together for not just this lifetime but EVERY lifetime. I thought Clay was tragic because of what had happened to him and how he's been living for so many decades but it takes resilience to live alone on a floating island for as long as he has managed. The life he built and the things he learned while being adrift, it was all breathtaking, the idea of being at the whim of the water and the wind and still getting up everyday to live his life. Ellie and Clay together made me feel like I was taking deep breaths and holding them, waiting for them to come together and then watching each day as they made the choices again and again to work together to keep their livelihood going all the while choosing each other. It was heartwarming to witness.
The pacing had a flow to it, a rhythm that was careful with it's reveals, slowly building up to the final images of the book. I'm still not over that ending, the ideas it left behind in my head and my heart. I might not remember every individual detail of this book but I think this ache in my chest is going to stay with me for a while. This is like a story you heard once upon a time, a legend that has been passed down for generations, the exact meaning or lesson you are meant to learn different for each person that hears it. I want to delve into the specifics but I feel like the effect of the book will be lost if I give anything more of it away. What I found in the synopsis was enough to get me to read this book but the experience of reading the book itself was more than I thought I would find and it will stay with me for a long time to come.
Rating on my Scale: 10 Stars. I have a couple of Ernshaw books left to read, which is good because I feel a little bereft after this book experience. If you are a fan of Shea Ernshaw, this is one of her BEST stories. Read this book if you want something that feels a dream you once had or a story you want to remember and be prepared to sit with the feelings it leaves behind once it is done.
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