as a non-reader of historical fiction I never would've picked this one up if I had known it would veer in that direction - but I did end up enjoying those parts of the book. wrapped up a little too quickly/nicely and i wish there had been a more coherent thread through all the many parts of the story, but I did like the book and feel glad to have read it.

An eye opening novel that can’t help but make you think about the past and how awful the English were upon their arrival. Jane has a whole lot of flaws but her desire to honor the past is not one of them. Sullivan covers a lot of ground in The Cliffs and made sure unanswered questions were answered.

Interesting plot involving current and past inhabitants of a cliff-side house. Twist and turns takes the reader through time and relationships.

This book was beautiful and mysterious at times. Not a perfect novel but thought provoking.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/200634672

As a fan of J. Courtney Sullivan I appreciate Net Galley providing me with this advance copy. Unfortunately, the book did not live up to my expectations. It seemed to be two different research papers uncomfortably rolled into a book. One “paper” is a very informative, well researched history of the indigenous peoples of the Maine coast and beyond. That part of the book is definitely interesting. These stories were woven into the woes of the main character, Jane, in a way that felt forced. The second “paper” in the book is a discussion of alcoholism, its effects on the person suffering from it and on those around him/ her. I found this part, although realistic, very predictable.
In an effort to avoid spoilers I will finish by saying that the conclusion was a bit too neat and tidy to be believable.
I would like to give 3.5 stars but that isn't an option so I rounded up to 4.

This book was DNF. It simply wasn’t for me. The story moved slowly and it felt more like a non fiction history which I’m not into.

Enjoyable novel but the multiple story lines was a bit much for me. I loved the main parts of the story and the history of a small part of Maine. From the notes at the end, it seems the author did extensive research on many aspects of the novel. I think I felt at times that the "researcher" in the novel took over from the story in the novel. I loved the idea that one small area can be part of so many people's lives over the centuries.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the digital ARC.

4.5⭐️ A sprawling & enthralling saga of family, community & history.
Powerful & immersive.
So many intertwined stories which only get more beautiful & captivating.
Definite book hangover now.

With great thanks to NetGalley & Knopf for this e-ARC!

Maine. The happiest place on earth for me. I love visiting and reading about the state. The setting was fabulous but after a couple of chapters; I lost interest. This happened to me before with Sullivan's work. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. Three stars.

Thank you for the ARC! I rarely DNF these books, but this time I did. I was excited to read a story that took place in Maine but unfortunately it was not for me. It read like a non-fiction book, but a non-fiction book where one was just lecturing me. It was history wrapped up in a very slow story.

I loved everything about this beautiful book. It’s a quiet meditation on life choices, mistakes and how we are often haunted and helped by those who have passed. This isn’t the first novel I’ve read by this author, and each time I pick up her books I’m blown away. Love this, read it now.

i enjoyed all the books by this author but this one was not one of my favorites. Set in New England, the book's main character seems to have it all. Escaping from her dysfunctional family, she becomes famous in her field working at a prestigious museum. Returning home to clean out her mother's home, her recent life is revealed and things esculate from there. Alcoholism, past and new friendships threatned her ways of coping with everything and everybody. I did appreciate the history of the Shakers and the Indigenous People in that area, much research was done for this part of the book. However, I thought that the novel had too many things going on, it was hard for me to keep track. That said, I look forward to reading more from this author.

There’s a lot to like about Cliffs by J. Courtney Sullivan. And thank you Random House for the ARC copy. We’re all taking another look at history and how we’ve portrayed our indigenous people. The Denver Museum of Nature and Science has closed their Native American Hall while they determine a more accurate historical rendering. Chip Colwell, author of “Plundered Skulls and Stolen Spirits: Inside the Fight to Reclaim Native America’s Culture”, who’s mentioned in Cliffs, is an anthropologist at the museum. Sullivan has done a good job discussing so many aspects of the Indigenous colonization versus decolonization issue. The book also portrays the Shaker Movement and Sullivan has done impeccable research in developing the novel. I love the intriguing way Sullivan wove the history of the Victorian mansion and its inhabitants into the storyline. So the history was the most enjoyable part of the book for me. Jane’s character, alcoholism and relationships were hard for me to handle. They seemed to muddy the waters and complicate the story. 2 stars

Thanks to NetGalley, J. Courtney .Sullivan and the publisher for chance to read this novel. I have read all of this author’s books and enjoy her writing tremendously
This novel starts seemingly as a story about a woman struggling with her family, her marriage, her work and possibly an alcohol substance issue.
It quickly pivots to cover many historical incidents in Maine including the sufferings of the Indigenous people of the area, the Shaker community and the life of the family of a seafaring captain.
I learned quite a bit in this novel and am thankful I read it.

An interesting book about the history of Native Americans and the Shakers in New England. There is a lot of history in this novel but the disparate storylines did not flow as well as the could have. Much of the story felt forced and the ending fell flat. It was as if the author was trying to fit too many things and characters into the novel

I have always enjoyed Sullivan’s novels, but this was a disappointment. It is all over the place, a hodgepodge of various topics glued together by the main character, Jane.
Jane struggles with alcoholism, her destroyed marriage, her job loss and with all this, she then explores, Native American history, Spiritualism and the influence of the Shakers. OMG, just all over the place. Of course, to go with these topics are many, many, many names. As a reader, I had no idea of who would return, and who would just be dropped.

Oh, there’s also a house that becomes central to all these stories. The author also goes through the history of the house, more crowds of characters and names. Then there is the added lesbian love story tossed in.
I have no idea of what this was about except a stew of dozens of unfinished ideas and explorations which all are left hanging. Somehow, at the end. Sullivan attempts to give the reader a very unlikely closure, which left me unsatisfied.

If the editor wrote a list of every character/name in this novel, it would be obvious that a great author has written something barely readable.

Thank you Netgalley for sharing this book, which doesn’t exhibit the talent of the author.

I loved this book. Learning about the history of Maine was so fascinating. The Abenaki and the Shakers were so interesting.

J. Courtney Sullivan has written movingly about Irish Catholics in. New England and their struggles with alcohol, family, and religion. "The Cliffs" has all of this and much, much more. In this novel she takes on slews of other topics. Too many? Let's see.

Jane Flanagan is a lonely girl who escapes her hard-drinking mother and sister by hanging out at an old lavender house on the edge of a cliff near her Maine home. The house looks as if the people just walked out one day and never returned. It's irresistible to a teen, and turns out to be irresistible to Jane twenty years later when she returns to clean out her mother's house. She's now a Harvard archivist, but her behavior at a gala opening--blackout drunk--has endanged he career and her marriage. The lavender Victorian has been purchased by a wealthy couple and the wife hires Jane to research the house's history. Genevieve is spurred to do this because she believes her son is seeing a ghost.

Jane's research will expose her to spiritualism, Native American history, centuries of colonialism, the Shakers, one-percenters, murder and more. Some of these sidebars are fascinating and the others are lectures. It would have been wonderful if discussion of colonialism did not have a finger-shaking delivery that stops the narrative short. Sullivan is taking on some important issues and it's a shame that they are not better integrated into the story.

What works is that you really do want to find out what went on in the lavender house. You care about Jane, and although you won't know what she did at that gala for quite some time (It's pretty cringy,) her brilliance, loneliness, drive, and prickly humanity made me root for her.

3.5 stars rounded up. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital review copy of "The Cliffs" In exchange for an honest review.

Yikes. This book was not for me. It started out great. An abandoned house, a little boy seeing a ghost, secrets, & house with history that has been forgotten. However, for a lot of it I felt like I was being lectured. A history lesson of the Shakers & Indigenous people. Indians being mistreated. A woman dealing with alcoholism & a contentious relationship with her family. The chapters were incredibly long. One was over an hour long. When you feel like you’re being lectured, well, my eyes were getting glazed over. This felt all over the place. I enjoyed the house & wanted more from that & the ghost angle. Unfortunately, by 80% I was ready for it to be done. I personally felt like this story didn’t have the flow that made me want to keep reading.