Cove

In this genre-bending novel, Jones (The Long Dry) presents a harrowing tale of resilience. An unnamed man kayaks out into a bay one morning to spread his dead father’s ashes. When a sudden storm rolls in, he is struck by lightning. He awakes with amnesia and severe injuries. Possessing only a limited amount of supplies and the fleeting memory of a woman and child waiting for him to return, he forms a plan to get back to land. Though brief, the book is immersive in its rich, poetic descriptions of nature (“The lightning is not the strike. It is the local effect of the strike. The air around it explodes.”) and cleverly shifts between second and third person. At times the lyricism hurts comprehension with mixed metaphors and awkward similes, but the quick, sharp sentences and use of white space heighten narrative tension. As the protagonist fights the urge to drift away, collides with wildlife, and loses all sense of time, Jones’s narrative becomes increasingly momentous. This is a gripping story with a unique style that reflects the remarkable limits of the human spirit. (Apr.)