America’s old scars and the fresh wounds of emotional turmoil are on full display in Sorrow Ledge, a visceral and beautifully penned novel by author Kenneth Arbogast. Set more than a century ago, in those fragile decades following the Civil War, this character-driven drama centers on an eclectic and unexpected collision of worlds – old enemies with persistent grudges, new allies, and a bleak landscape at a far edge of the world.
Ben and his wife Rebecca live on an isolated island off the coast of Maine, satisfied in their insular world after Ben’s bloody descent into the Southern Rebellion 15 years earlier. A slow-burning tale of family legacy and the nation’s trajectory, these oceanic guardians are forced to face the real world when a shipwreck disturbs their quiet peace. This event slowly spins Ben’s life out of control, dragging him from Sorrow Ledge to New York and back again, faced with the prospect of once more defending his home, and his own life, from the savage reality of America.
The story is riveting and patiently told, with just the right amount of historical exposition to situate the reader and immerse us in Ben’s isolated world. The language itself, however, is where this narrative shines, as Arbogast writes with a deft and descriptive pen, stringing together themes that criss-cross the prose, creating a web of emotions and intentions that feel deeply authentic.
There is an unusual dependence on passive voice that makes some of the writing feel weaker than necessary, but as a whole, Sorrow Ledge is an original Civil War story in an unexpected setting that is a dramatic and engaging delight.
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