"The Hollow Sea" by Annie Kirby

"The Hollow Sea" by Annie Kirby is the July pick for the Nomo Book Club within the Childless Collective private online community  The book was published in the U.K. two years ago;  it's finally become more widely available, including here in North America. (I even found a paperback copy in my local bookstore!)  

Kirby is childless-not-by-choice, and a member of the CC community, and infertility, loss, grief and childlessness (as well as adoption) are central themes in this book. 

"The Hollow Sea" tells the story(ies) of three women (actually four). The main character, who narrates her parts of the story, is Scottie, who is trying to come to terms with childlessness after one fertility treatment after another fails. She's haunted by the photo of a remote island in the North Atlantic that she spots on a website.  When the opportunity arises to do some volunteer work in the area, she jumps at the chance, abandoning her bewildered husband, their three remaining embryos and their life together. 

There's also Charlotte, adopted as a child by an infertile couple, Helen and Phil.  And finally, there is Thora (Thordis), who lives in a cottage on a remote island in the North Atlantic with the child she calls "Fairy" but whose name, we eventually learn, is Susan. Gradually, these three storylines begin to connect, secrets are revealed and longstanding mysteries are (eventually) resolved.  

This book reminded me in some ways of "The Metal Heart" by Caroline Lea, which our group read and discussed in January 2023 (reviewed here).  It contains elements of mythology/fairy tales, which are generally not my thing. Timelines shift back and forth between the present and the past in all three storylines, which can sometimes make the overall story a little difficult to follow.  I will admit I found the ending just slightly dissatisfying (for reasons I don't want to outline here, because, spoilers!).  

But the writing is beautiful, the story is compelling and kept me turning the pages -- and every word related to infertility, loss and childlessness is bang-on accurate. 

A solid 4 stars.  

Content warning:  Along with the triggers you might expect when adoption/loss/infertility/childlessness is part of the story, there's also a blackfish/whale hunt that may be difficult reading for some. There is also some domestic abuse in the story. 

This was Book #18 read to date in 2024 (and Book #1 finished in June), bringing me to 40%  of my 2024 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 45 books. I am (for the moment, anyway...!) 1 book behind schedule to meet my goal. :)  You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2024 tagged as "2024 books."