The Orphan of Salt Winds

In her hauntingly gothic debut, Brooks beautifully mixes bittersweet youthfulness with the stinging pain of past memories. Told from the perspective of the 10-year-old orphan Virginia on the eve of WWII in the English countryside, the story begins when Virginia is adopted by a young couple and brought to Salt Winds, a large estate at the edge of a marsh. Virginia finds herself in the middle of tensions with her adoptive parents’ marriage, worried that they’ll want to send her back to the orphanage. Also, unbeknownst to her new father, Clem, a man has been dropping by to see his wife. Virginia feels most at home with Clem, who teaches her about marshland birds. The marsh also serves as a metaphor for Virginia’s precarious situation—the tides turn quickly, shifting the landscape and opening quicksand pits. When a man parachutes from the sky into the marsh, Clem tries to rescue him even though he could be a German soldier. In alternating chapters, the far-reaching aftershocks of Clem’s decision are slowly unveiled as Virginia, now an old woman wandering the halls of Salt Winds, contemplates her past. This quietly unsettling tale holds its secrets close, making for a powerful story of loss and longing. (Jan.)