Rating: 
Summary: Don't give up on this book....
Review: "Remembering Blue" is a well-written book with a good story, but the only problem is that it was difficult for me to get in to. I thought about stopping, but luckily I didn't. The book becomes much better towards the middle and all the way up until the end. For anyone who becomes bored, don't stop reading: the second half of the book makes the read very worthwhile.
Rating:
Summary: Don't give up on this book....
Review: "Remembering Blue" is a well-written book with a good story, but the only problem is that it was difficult for me to get in to. I thought about stopping, but luckily I didn't. The book becomes much better towards the middle and all the way up until the end. For anyone who becomes bored, don't stop reading: the second half of the book makes the read very worthwhile.
Rating:
Summary: Poignant storytelling
Review: As a few reviewers have noted, the book gains momentum with each chapter. Did Fowler plan that? or was it more a matter of the flow of the story grabbing her at about page 100? One wonders.
Stay with this book. It is a gem of a story, and it will prompt you to remember that we are meant to live passionately; we are meant to surrender to ourselves and our yearnings; and that we are meant to care about and for others.
The book gives us an experience that teems with life -- of the sea, of the island, of the forgotten coast along the Big Bend (Carrabelle, Eastpoint, Appalachicola), where most still struggle to make ends meet by fishing for oysters and shrimp.
You will fall in love with all of the characters, and you will fall in love with the setting. This is fine writing and even finer storytelling. Fowler is a treat.
Rating: 
Summary: A BEAUTIFUL SONG OF THE SEA!
Review: Connie M. Fowler is one of my favorite writers. She writes about human nature with knowledge and humor.....This story starts with the grief stricken widow, Mattie Blue, telling the story of her husband, Nick Blue's birth, life and his attachment to and his love of the sea.... Mattie was a young girl who was abandoned by her father when she was only a toddler, her mother was unable to show her love, therefore she grew up very insecure...Then she met Nick who had left his island home off the coast of Florida because he feared the same end that many of his ancestors met(dying at sea). After one winter away from home he longed for the sea and his family so much that he and Mattie went back to his island where Mattie felt like an outsider amidst his large extended Greek family, but they loved her from day one.... Nick returned to what he loved most:shrimping.....Mattie came to grip with her unhappy past and learned all sorts of things about nature, cooking, and gardening with the help of her loving mother-in-law. Mattie evolved into a happy, self confident, loving person......Mattie and Nick are the center of this magical story, but it is as much a story of the mysterious island as it is about its people.....Please read it, you won't be sorry.
Rating:
Summary: HURRY and buy this book!
Review: Connie May Fowler is one of the foremost story tellers of my generation - I have been so anxiously anticipating her 4th novel. Having had the pleasure of attending a reading by Ms. Fowler, it was easy for me to hear her gentle, lyrical voice creating and sharing a tale made of pure gold. Every word evoked images that created emotion in me and called forth memories of my own. I laughed, sighed and cried through the entire novel. It's a book of awakening and discovery for the heroine Mattie as she tells us about Nick Blue. Ms. Fowler allows the reader to become part of Mattie's journey of self discovery by closing the past and welcoming the future. She evokes strong images of courage and strength and leaves us all recognizing that part of ourselves that is Mattie. This is a book that everyone will love. The love story is woven around wonderful stories about tough shrimpers living on the coast of Florida - it will appeal to men and women alike. Everyone will close the book with a smile on their face. And if you have found this book without reading any of Ms. Fowler's other books I would highly recommend that you read all 3 of them. There is clearly a reason why Oprah made a book out of Before Women Had Wings - she recognizes top notch talent when she sees it.
Rating:
Summary: Unforgettable
Review: From the very first page this love story touched my heart. Not only is this a story of finding that one true love but one of triumph of the spirit. Mattie and Nick are the ultimate love story of struggle and sorrow, love and laughter. Mattie has never known a normal family life and her view of marriage is evident in the fear she has of letting love into her heart. Nick has his own fears to deal with as he comes to terms with his own personal battle, his love of his Island and the fear of death. With Mattie's trust and encouragement they make the decision that ultimately changed their lives, moving back to the Island of Lethe. The strength of the women in Nick's family becomes the strength that Mattie finds within herself. She had lived most of her life trying to disappear into the background and remain unnoticed. What she discovers is self-confidence and a belief in herself. Beautifully written this story flows, bringing the reader onto the shores surrounding the isolated community of Lethe. I could see and feel the crashing waves, the frolicking dolphins and the violence of a nature at it's worse. This is one of those books I savoured page by page and would recommend to everyone.
Rating:
Summary: An enjoyable, sad and triumphant story
Review: I was afraid that Ms. Fowler would not write again after "Before Women Had Wings," because it was her own life story. "Remembering Blue" is a very nice addition to her writing credits. I found the beginning a little tedious, because Mattie Blue launches often into paragraphs of lists: all the things of her mother's that she has away after the funeral, all the things she remembers about Nick, etc. But I knew if I just read on, I would become accustomed to Mattie Blue's style. It is important for an author who speaks in the voice of her character to give that character a unique voice. We learn early on the fate of Nick Blue, so we know this story is really about Mattie growing up, accepting a new and challenging life, truly finding herself and how she has learned to love. Finishing the book, I found myself sorry to see the story end. I eagerly await Ms. Fowler's next story.
Rating:
Summary: A Different Kind of Florida
Review: This book has a beautiful cover, not that I "judge a book by its' cover", but it is a good start. This area of Florida is rarely known by outsiders and Connie May Fowler has captured the essence of the land, the ocean and the people. I could almost taste the salt on my lips and see the beauty of the ocean. People who live near and grow up near the ocean have a love for it that is hard to explain. It is well written, the story is believable and moves along at a good pace. I will suggest it to other readers for a change in the type of story they generally read.
Rating:
Summary: An enjoyable, sad and triumphant story
Review: This book is certainly filled with beautiful prose that rings out with a mythical quality. It is written as a memoir of Mattie Blue and her life on a small island off the coast of Florida. Her husband Nick and his family have always worked the sea and he brings his bride Mattie home to be a part of it. What follows is a beautiful tale of idyllic love that simply rolls like waves across the page. There are many enjoyable characters and the book is a pleasant one to read. There is a theme of dolphins and how they intermingle with the humans that live amongst them. Many of the Blue family members have succumbed to the sea with tragic endings. I enjoyed this book. It got a bit slow in the middle but I hung in and was not disappointed with the heartfelt ending. Kelsana 4/27/01
Rating: 
Summary: Remembering what it's like to skim pages, is more like it.
Review: This book was not what I expected. I was a little dissapointed, to be honest. I just kept waiting to get into it, and it never happened. All of a sudden, I had finished the book, and I still hadn't thought that there was anything that spectacular about it. Fowler writes beautifully. There is no question about that. But her descriptions tended to lag on and on, and I found myself skimming paragraphs. I hate skimming paragraphs. Mattie and Blue are two amazing characters with a great love between them, but there is nothing that unique about the actual story. I was expecting a well written love story. What I found was a rather boring romance with lyrical writing about the ocean. Which there is nothing wrong with, I was just expecting something else. Overall, it just didn't grab me like I was hoping it would. The use of mythology was interesting, but I felt it was either misplaced or underdeveloped in it's relevance. Nothing about the book was unforgettable, which to me, separates a good book from a simply mediocre one. If you are looking for beautiful, lyrical writing that reads like poetry, and don't really care about the actual story, this book is for you. But if you are like me, and just want a well written story that touches you personally, I'd pass.
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