The Language of the Sea

In MacManus's compelling debut, marine biologist Leo Kemp is fired from Coldharbor Institute for proselytizing his personal beliefs about the scientific establishment. Leo's long-suffering wife, Margot, continues to blame Leo for the death of their son, Julian, and to worry about her husband's rocky career. Despite being fired, Leo takes his class on an excursion to Monomoy Island, but encounters a ferocious storm and is thrown overboard. A multifaceted view of Leo emerges in the weeks that follow, with him at sea in a dream-like state and everyone else assuming he's dead. This lyrical tale is infused with the sea and its legends ("You ask those fishermen, and they'll tell you there are mermaids out there") and toys with the human need to make sense of the senseless. When Leo walks out of the sea, weeks after his own funeral, but remains doggedly silent about what he's endured, two things become clear: something profound has occurred, and Leo's wife has had enough of this laconic seafaring man. MacManus wonderfully captures our fascination with the underwater world, our awe in the face of discovery, and man's unknowable nature. (May)