Katherine Towler Book order

Katherine Towler crafts narratives that deeply explore the intricate relationships between place, solitude, and friendship. Her novels, set on a fictional New England island, trace the impact of war on a community and chronicle the lives of two generations over five decades. Towler's work is characterized by a poetic sensibility and a profound insight into the human condition, focusing on the delicate interplay of relationships and the internal landscapes of her characters. She has a particular talent for evoking the atmosphere of setting, making the environment a crucial element in her storytelling.

2017
The Penny Poet of Portsmouth
A Memoir of Place, Solitude, and Friendship
275 pages
10 hours of reading
Focusing on the author's deep friendship with poet Robert Dunn, this memoir reflects on life in early 1990s Portsmouth, New Hampshire, a city now transformed by development. It serves as both an elegy for a lost era and an exploration of solitude amidst contemporary chaos. Through Dunn's off-the-grid existence, the narrative delves into the demands of writing and the essence of creativity, offering a poignant look at a unique friendship and the changing landscape of a once-rough coastal community.
2012
Island Light
328 pages
12 hours of reading
4.0(3)Add rating
Set against the backdrop of impending war in the fall of 1990, the story intertwines the lives of three distinct characters: Nick Daggett, a Vietnam veteran running a pirate radio station; Nora Venable, a septuagenarian lesbian returning to her ancestral home; and Ruth Lambert, a New York photographer visiting her inherited property. Their lives become interconnected after a fire devastates the mansion, leading to themes of love, perseverance, and the complexities of community in this final volume of the Snow Island trilogy.

The Penny Poet of Portsmouth

Island Light