Sweet Salt Air

Set on the fictional Maine island of Quinnipeague, Delinksy’s novel centers on two childhood friends, Charlotte and Nicole, who reunite to coauthor a cookbook about the local cuisine. (Warning: there are tantalizing food descriptions in this book. Don’t listen to it while hungry.) Narrator Marguerite Gavin’s voice is low and sensuous. This serves her well in narrating the story and in voicing Charlotte, the more worldly and assertive of the two friends. But it fails to adequately capture Nicole’s childlike nature. Early in the novel, Nicole’s voice is described as being close to that of a 10-year-old girl, but Gavin sometimes provides her with almost the same resonant, wry tone she gives Charlotte. Also, Gavin’s down east accent is on-again, off-again, with some local characters having no discernible accent, and others sounding almost like caricatures. However, Gavin’s rendition of Leo, the surly bad-boy neighbor up the road, is spot-on and quite entertaining. A St. Martin’s hardcover. (June)