Between Tides

Khoury debuts with a mesmerizing account of a restless man from Cape Cod who starts a new life on the Outer Banks at Cape Hatteras with a new family. In 1890s Chatham, Mass., Gilead Lodge opens a seaside hotel and abruptly leaves his first wife, Blythe, to strike out for Cape Hatteras. His story is delivered mainly via Blythe in 1942, when Gil’s daughter Gillian, from his second marriage, mysteriously turns up on her porch, eager to hear tales of her late father. Blythe regales Gillian with stories of Gil’s adventures, such as a failed attempt to save a capsized ship (he was also keeper of Chatham’s Life-Saving Station) just before he left for North Carolina, and the origins of Gil’s relationship to Gillian’s mother, who was 12 when they met. While Blythe’s limited perspective on Gil makes the plot feel a bit too simplistic, Khoury describes Gil’s relationship to the Outer Banks with lyrical precision: “For Gil was wed not to us, but to a place, and to that place he was the most faithful of men.” This should do the trick as elevated beach reading. Agent: Madison Smartt Bell, Ayesha Pande Literary. (Aug.)