About The End of the Point
• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Harper (March 5, 2013)
A place out of time, Ashaunt Point—a tiny finger of land jutting into Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts—has provided sanctuary and anchored life for generations of the Porter family, who summer along its remote, rocky shore. But in 1942, the U.S. Army arrives on the Point, bringing havoc and change. That summer, the two older Porter girls—teenagers Helen and Dossie—run wild. The children’s Scottish nurse, Bea, falls in love. And youngest daughter Janie is entangled in an incident that cuts the season short and haunts the family for years to come.
As the decades pass, Helen and then her son Charlie return to the Point, seeking refuge from the chaos of rapidly changing times. But Ashaunt is not entirely removed from events unfolding beyond its borders. Neither Charlie nor his mother can escape the long shadow of history—Vietnam, the bitterly disputed real estate development of the Point, economic misfortune, illness, and tragedy.
An unforgettable portrait of one family’s journey through the second half of the twentieth century, The End of the Point artfully probes the hairline fractures hidden beneath the surface of our lives and traces the fragile and enduring bonds that connect us. With subtlety and grace, Elizabeth Graver illuminates the powerful legacy of family and place, exploring what we are born into, what we pass down, preserve, cast off or willingly set free.
About Elizabeth Graver
Elizabeth Graver is the author of The End of the Point, a novel set in a summer community on Buzzard’s Bay from 1942 to 1999. She has also written three other novels: Awake, The Honey Thief, andUnravelling.
Her short story collection, Have You Seen Me?, won the 1991 Drue Heinz Literature Prize. Her work has been anthologized in Best American Short Stories (1991, 2001); Prize Stories: The O. Henry Awards (1994, 1996, 2001), The Pushcart Prize Anthology (2001), and Best American Essays (1998). Graver’s story “The Mourning Door” was award the Cohen Prize from Ploughshares magazine. The mother of two daughters, Elizabeth Graver teaches English and Creative Writing at Boston College.
Visit Elizabeth at her website, follow her on Twitter, and connect with her on Facebook.
Elizabeth’s Tour Stops
Tuesday, March 5th: Caribousmom
Monday, March 11th: nomadreader
Tuesday, March 12th: Tiffany’s Bookshelf
Thursday, March 14th: she treads softly
Monday, March 18th: Cold Read
Tuesday, March 19th: Book Chatter
Wednesday, March 20th: 5 Minutes For Books
Thursday, March 21st: Books in the City
Monday, March 25th: Book Addict Katie
Tuesday, March 26th: BookNAround
Wednesday, March 27th: Jenn’s Bookshelves
Thursday, March 28th: Bloggin’ ‘Bout Books
Tuesday, April 2nd: missris
Friday, April 5th: Speaking of Books