The Stark Beauty of Last Things: A Novel

(Paperback)

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Description

The Stark Beauty of Last Things is set in Montauk, the far reaches of the famed Hamptons, an area under looming threat from a warming climate and overdevelopment. Now outsider Clancy, a thirty-six-year-old claims adjuster scarred by his orphan childhood, has inherited an unexpected legacy: the power to decide the fate of Montauks last parcel of undeveloped land.

Everyone in town has a stake in the outcome, among them Julienne, an environmentalist and painter fighting to save the landscape that inspires her art; Theresa, a bartender whose trailer park home is jeopardized by coastal erosion; and Molly and Billy, who are struggling to hold onto their property against pressure to sell. When a forest fire breaks out, Clancy comes under suspicion for arson, complicating his efforts to navigate competing agendas for the best uses of the land and to find the healing and home he has always longed for.

Told from multiple points of view, The Stark Beauty of Last Things explores our connection to natureand what we stand to lose when that connection is severed.

Reviews

I can't say enough about how much I enjoyed this book. The characters, the twisty plot, the detailed descriptions, andthe setting of Montauk, a place of great natural beauty, alldrew me in completely. When I miss being by the oceanall the timeI will from now on haveThe Stark Beauty of Last Thingsto turn to for passages that take me there.This is a rare and special book to keep on the bedside table.

Alice Elliott Dark, author ofFellowship PointandIn the Gloaming

Readers will be packing their bags for the Long Island shorelinein this atmospheric tale of love and healing. Keatings characters prove to be as formidable as the threats to their historic Montauk coastline.

SuzanneSimonetti, author of USA Today best-sellingThe Sound of Wings

Keating tells an intricately woven tale of the people of a small fishing town beset by land developers and reckoning with its future. Keating tells the story of multiple characters with great sympathy and insight, as they struggle not only with the towns future but with their own places in the world.A finely written, highly readable bookthat is vivid and real.

Edward J. Delaney, author ofThe Acrobat

Cline Keatings deft storytelling, keen ear for dialogue, and evocative descriptions of landscape come together in thissuspenseful novel about a fishing village on the brink of irreversible change. Keating has woven together a vibrant tapestry of characters including Montauk itself with sensitivity and insight, informed by local history and real concerns about what seems to be in store for this still-magical place.

Mia Certic, Executive Director of the Montauk Historical Society

This novel embraces Montauk is many ways, especially its fragile physical beauty. The characters have to negotiate their relationship to that endangered beauty as well as their own relationships. The author's love for Montauk is evident on the pages readers will turn quickly.

Tom Clavin, author ofDark Noon: The Final Voyage of the Fishing Boat Pelican

The Stark Beauty of Last Thingsbrilliantly explores the symbiotic relationship between nature, the community, and characters driven to exploit or co-exist with each other and the environment. Keating writes about Montaukthe last spit of wild land on Long Islandwith great depth of observation and feeling, delivering a cast of characters who spring from the page as vibrant and complex as anyone you might meet in the village itself. In the conflict between land developers and community environmentalists, the novel shows how nature itselfand a little luckcan become the deciding factor. This is a wise and often astonishing debut novel.

Robert Eversz, author of the Nina Zero novels

With lush and sensory prose, this incandescent novel offers a glimpse into a wild place in turmoil. Residents of Keatings Montauk, both locals and outsiders, face seemingly impossible choices between financial survival and environmental stability of their fragile community. The natural worldits palate, its odors, the rhythms of sunset and daybreak, of storm destruction and delicate growthis the scaffolding and the heart of this unforgettable story.

Ellen Meeropol, author ofThe Lost Women of Azalea Court

The Stark Beauty of Last Things is suspenseful and satisfying. Cline Keating is a wonderful storyteller, with a keen sense of place and compassion for the people who inhabit it.
Hilma Wolitzer, author of Today a Woman Went Mad in the Supermarket

Past Praise for Author:

For Play For Me:

With a background as a music reviewer, Keating combines the soul-searching of Eat, Pray, Love with the rock n roll fable of Almost Famous to create a novel of midlife crisis with music at its core.
Booklist

I was so moved by Play For Me. Lily is thrown off kilter by loss when her son goes off to college, and seeks a remedy by reliving her own youth when she becomes involved with a touring rock band. Though the story revolves around issues of morality and fidelitywhat do we owe ourselves versus what do we owe our loved onesI cared about each character and hoped he or she would find happiness. The two men, JJ and Stephen, represent different paths, both appealing, and the twists and turns that Lily goes through in her attraction to each of them had me wondering right up until the end what she was going to decide. This is a page turner in the best sense. Cline Keating is a wonderful wise author who offers her readers the deep satisfaction of a smart story told beautifully.
Alice Elliott Dark, author of Think of England and In the Gloaming

Evocative, philosophical, and downright entertaining, Play for Me had me turning pages as if to discover the fate not only of its winning heroine, but of myself.
AliceAlethea Black, author of I Knew You'd Be Lovely

Music pours out of this wonderful novel. Play for Me exquisitely captures the lure of the songs that define usand of those who sing themand how they posit the dubious possibility of endlessly transforming and transcending routine existence. In Lily, Keating has created an unforgettable character whose depth, wit, and passion sparkle on every page, and whose quest to redefine herself in the second half of her life is at once painfully and joyously familiar.
Susan Segal, author of Aria

For Layla:

A Huffington Post Featured Title: On Our Radar: Best Books Just Out Or Coming Soon We Thought You Should Know About: Layla, a debut novel by Cline Keating

A Poets & Writers Magazine More Great Summer Fiction Debuts selection: Layla, by Celine Keating

Layla is a poignant read about making sense of it all and the weight of reality.

Midwest Book Review

A wrenching look at the human costs of activism and the resiliency of love.
Helen Schulman, author of A Day at the Beach

Cline Keating's deftly plotted novel takes readers on a gripping journey along the underground railroad of post-'60s radicalism. . . . Every adult has to reinterpret the story of her childhood. Keating beautifully demonstrates the courage it takes for each of us to face that bittersweet truth.
Larry Dark, Director of The Story Prize

A beautiful book--at once nostalgic and freshthat will go straight to your heart and lodge there.
Alethea Black, author of I Knew You'd Be Lovely

"[An] emotional page-turner. Layla's coming to terms with her parents' dangerous activism is heart wrenching due to Keating's delightfully drawn characters. This novel also serves as a compelling lesson in our values and how drastically they've changed. It serves as a better history than any essay or screed.
Susan Braudy, author of Family Circle

As Layla James drives cross-country, following the cryptic directions of her late mother, she meets a wide and sharply drawn group of veteran radicals who all play a part in the search for her mysterious father. . . . Keating keeps the pace fast and the suspense high . . . Youll want to ride with her every mile of the way!
Robert Hershon, editor of Hanging Loose Press

A fast-moving story of family secrets, political intrigue, and a young woman's coming of age. Layla is a rare combination of a novel that is both suspenseful and insightful, narrated by a character who is charming, intelligent, appealing, and most importantly, honest. . . . a gripping tale and a memorable read.
Con Lehane, author of Death at the Old Hotel

A triumph of political literature . . . as informative as it is impossible to put down." Marnie Mueller, author of My Mother's Island

Evoked in beautiful prose and telling details . . . [Layla] brings to life the complexity of family dynamics, with all its conflicts, dangers and rewards.
Nahid Rachlin, author of Persian Girls: A Memoir

Unfolds like a finely calibrated psychological mystery. . . . In Layla, Cline Keating has created an unforgettable character who is by turns exasperating, funny, courageous and fiercely loyal. Layla's journey toward understanding of her past and present evokes both the idealism and danger of the '60s, which resonate to this day.
Susan Segal, author of Aria

Author Bio

Cline Keating is an award-winning writer and author of two novels: Layla (2011), a Huffington Post featured title, and Play for Me (2015), a finalist in the International Book Awards, the Indie Excellence Awards, and the USA Book Awards. Her short fiction and articles have been published in many literary journals and magazines. For many years a resident of Montauk, NY, Cline continues to serve on the board of environmental organization Concerned Citizens of Montauk. She is the coeditor of the anthology On Montauk: A Literary Celebration. She lives in Bristol, Rhode Island, and New York City.