Member Reviews

When Clancy agreed to go to a party out on Montauk Island, he never expected that the decision would change his life. Once he gets there, he realizes that this is where Otto, his Big Brother, would take him fishing as a child. Clancy lost his parents when he was young and with no other family, grew up in foster homes and institutions. He meets Julianne, a local innkeeper at the party and she tells him Otto is still alive and still living there.

Clancy goes the next day to look up Otto. Otto is overjoyed to see Clancy but tells him that he is dying. He asks Clancy if he would meet with his daughter, Therese, and see if Clancy can bring about a reconciliation. Otto and Therese have been estranged since Otto's second marriage and not speaking. Clancy tries but to no avail.

Clancy has come to Montauk at a critical time. The island is changing from a blue collar fishing harbor to a rich person's playground and local residents are being priced out of the housing market. Climate change and overbuilding is ruining the environment and for every environmentalist, there is another person who wants to cash in on their home and move elsewhere. When Otto dies, he leaves Clancy as his executor of his estate and one of the biggest decisions is what to do with a several acre parcel of land Otto has held for decades with some other local families. Some of them want to leave it as a natural area, others want to sell it to the highest offer. What would Otto want?

This novel hits several themes. It highlights the inevitability of change as new people discover undeveloped areas and want some of the untouched beauty for themselves. It discusses the lives of the existing residents and how their livelihoods are being affected. It also delves into family relationships and the need for a feeling of belonging that everyone has. This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction.

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Celine Keating's book The Stark Beauty of Last Things is literally about that. . .the loss of the natural ground at Montauk, New York - that teensy-tip of Long Island slowly being swallowed back by the Atlantic Ocean. At the center of the story is a parcel of land (Moorlands) being pulled five different ways.

The story of Clancy and Otto nests within the larger tale, as do a number of other side stories, all interesting and all tied to the land, waves and history that is the Moorlands, Montauk, New York, USA, North American Continent. Otto's daughter Theresa becomes key when he dies, and all the threads pull tight and tensions rise. Add to that the wild weather of seasons and the sea at every window, human decisions notwithstanding. The story kept me to the very end. . .with the delivery of what remains providing nothing easy or snap-sealed complete. . .and a whispered reminder that if we want to have a hope in hell to change things the natural world remaining to us must be carefully considered as it is disappearing by degrees under our deep and indifferent choices.

*A sincere thank you to Celine Keating, She Writes Press, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review independently.* #TheStarkBeautyofLastThings #NetGalley

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Wow wow wow!!! I hadn't read anything by Celine Keating or even heard of her before this book, but boy am I' excited that I've come across it. I would recommend this book to fans of Claire Keegan or Anne Patchett, and I'm surprised that Keating hasn't become as popular as these other writers already!

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It has become too difficult to fight through this as my ARC is a giant mess. I’ll just get the book now that it’s published so I can focus on reading and not deciphering random hieroglyphics

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I really enjoyed The Stark Beauty of Last Things. Keating's love of Montauk shines through the pages, and she does a fantastic job of describing Montauk - from the former sleepy fishing village along the Atlantic with its iconic lighthouse to the people who call Montauk home. The characters were well-developed and I cared what happened to them. I also appreciated the author's dive into important environmental issues, bringing awareness to a topic and area we might be unfamiliar with. Thanks to #NetGalley and #shewritespress for the advanced copy of this wonderful read.

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Keating writes about Montauk with deep love and amazing skill. The prose is intricate and lovely, and nature is as much a character as people. At the beginning of the book, it was difficult for me to determine the timeline in which the story is set. I felt it could be the 1980s or earlier until a few modern details popped up.
To me, the story had a timeless feel to it.
The connections and relationships between the people, both locals and “outsiders” - those who came to Montauk from elsewhere - are complicated enough, but to me, it seemed the only villain of the story is money and greed that take over people.
I spent some time in coastal Massachusetts, and some passages about enormous homes taking over the beaches and the developers destroying nature and endangering dunes to make a buck reminded me of what I saw there. What came before the luxury houses? What was lost so they could be built? Change is not always a good thing.
I truly enjoyed the book. It was a lovely read - through and through. And now I want to go to Montauk.

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An interesting story. Atmospheric at times, or at least an interesting setting. The author writes well and created a good plot that kept me engaged and realistic characters. Recommended.

Thanks very much for the free copy for review!!

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Sometimes I just take a chance and read a book by an unfamiliar author because the plot somehow lures me. So glad that was the case with Celine Keatings’s new novel that will be published on October 24, 2023.
As a Long Island resident, I live not to far from Montauk, the end of the line for Long isladers, and New Yorkers as well. The ecological ramifications of climate change are felt everywhere nowadays, but narrow island beach areas have everything to lose if no action is forthcoming to change conditions. In this exquisitely written fictional account of a present day real issue , three particular Montauk full timers are beset with personal and geographic worry, when developers seek to buy the one remaining parcel of land that is undedevoped. Theresa, whose estranged dad has just passed away, fears that her trailer park home may be gobbled up by either the sea or by crafty financiers. Julienne owns a no frills motel that may not make it through a business deal or even a fierce storm. Molly and Bill face the financial struggle of their lives just to maintain and hold onto their property.
Enter Clancy, a NYC businessman, who happens upon the scene and finds that his only childhood savior is a Montauk resident. Clancy becomes the center of gossip and negative attention when there is a damaging fire and when his long lost mentor makes a choice to trust him with a monumental
decision.
There are themes skillfully interwoven into the plot that are thought provoking and lend themselves to book discussion group. Is the environment more important than financial gain? What happens when we hold a lifetime grudge? Are long past secrets likely to cause future pain? Why do parents need to listen carefully to what children say? And so much more.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book although I would have preferred an ending with that didn’t tie everything up so tidily. Ultimately, this was clearly an important, engaging and well written read. Four shining stars for a book I highly recommend. Thank you NetGalley and She Writes Press for and ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

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I have been to Montauk and know people that live there so I was interested in reading a book about that setting and the people there. Keating did a really good job with uncovering a story and the characters woven throughout. It was enjoyable and intriguing to read her book. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. Four stars.

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