The Salt House: A Summer on the Dunes of Cape Cod

By Cynthia Huntington

Book Overview

The Salt House is a beautifully observed and written memoir of a long summer's stay on the back shore of Cape Cod. Each chapter is like a prose poem, shedding increasing light on the challenge of finding home without the illusion of permanence, a quest based not on ownership but on affinity and familiarity with an area and its people. Cynthia Huntington expands her theme through images of the landscape, the shack, the new marriage. The shack, named Euphoria, is built as a house set on stilts above the sand, to take the wind under it. Only a partial shelter, it is inhabited for only one season a year, yet it endures. The outer cape has the feel of a place for migrants and drifters -- for birds and other wildlife, and for people such as artists, fishermen, and coast guardsmen. A place where year-round often means several addresses. Similarly, her narrative describes improvised, fragile beginnings: a new marriage, learning to be at home in the world, becoming intimate with the natural world, without the necessity of settling down. The Salt House shares a world that is less natural history or memoir than it is neighborhood exploration -- the process of learning a place and becoming native to it.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1584652942
• ISBN13: 9781584652946
• Release Date: February 2003
• Publisher: University Press of New England
• Length: 199 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.9" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

This is a classic.

This book is destined to become a classic not only in the rich field of Cape Cod writing but in nature and memoir in general. Huntington's prose is simple and pure, evoking not only the outer landscape, but the inner landscape of a woman's mind. What a pleasure it is to be in a mind so generous, open, and curious about the world! This is a book I will read over and over.

Breathtaking. Profound.

I cannot believe how wonderful this book is. I've read it twice, and it's even more amazing the second time around. This is one of those books you'll want to revisit again and again. I look forward to reading more of Ms. Huntington's work.

Best book I've read in years

You must read this book! It's poetic and profound and full of energy. Huntington writes honestly and intimately, and her words will take you to a world of great beauty--she left me longing for this world. If you like nature writing or memoir writing you will not find a better book.

A book I will cherish forever.

When I closed the last page of this book, I wanted to start at page one again. The Salt House is a beautiful, meditative work. Huntington has a true ability to distill life into its poetic essences. The semi-philosophical nature of the book makes it timeless, and therefore good for re-reading. If you like reading journals and letters, or if you are a lover of nature, this will be right up your alley.

The Provincetown You Probably Didn't Know

Having lived in Provincetown year-round, I thought I knew the place pretty well, but 'The Salt House' opened my eyes to another side of life on the Outer Cape. I lived in town; Cynthia Huntington lived in a dune shack. In the book, Huntington gets to know not only the flora and fauna of the place, but also the history and people who have been there for generations. She also lucidly portrays two kinds of solitude: being alone with oneself, and being alone with another person in a remote place. Huntington's prose is clean, clear, and driven by the forces of real life. So is her poetry, which you should check out if you haven't already ('We Have Gone to the Beach,' 'The Fish-Wife').