A Haunting Homecoming on the Maine Coast
There’s something irresistible about an old abandoned house perched on a rugged cliff overlooking the sea. The crumbling Victorian in J Courtney Sullivan’s latest novel “The Cliffs” is just such a place—a lavender confection with gingerbread trim that has stood empty for decades, frozen in time with clothes still hanging in the closets and dishes in the cupboards. For teenage Jane Flanagan, this mysterious mansion becomes a refuge from her troubled home life. But when she returns 20 years later as an adult, she finds the house transformed into something unrecognizable, kicking off a journey into its hidden history and the lives of the women who lived there before her.
Sullivan has a gift for crafting richly layered stories about family, secrets, and the complicated bonds between women across generations. In “The Cliffs,” J Courtney Sullivan weaves together multiple timelines and perspectives to create a spellbinding tale of romance, loss, artistic awakening, and confronting the ghosts of the past—both literal and figurative. At its heart, this is a story about feeling untethered and seeking connection—to a place, to our ancestors, to ourselves.
A House Full of History
The novel opens with Jane returning to her coastal Maine hometown after a career-threatening mistake at her job as a Harvard archivist. She’s shocked to find the beloved Victorian of her youth gutted and transformed into a sleek white monstrosity by its new owner, Genevieve. But Genevieve is convinced the house is haunted and hires Jane to research its history, setting her on a quest to uncover the stories of the women who lived there over the past century.
Sullivan excels at bringing the house to life as a character in its own right. We feel the creak of its floorboards, smell the musty air, and sense the lingering presence of all who have passed through its rooms. The author vividly evokes the rugged beauty of the Maine coast, with its rocky cliffs, crashing waves, and salty air. You can practically taste the lobster rolls and hear the foghorns in the distance.
Echoes of the Past
As Jane delves into the house’s history, we’re transported back in time to meet a colorful cast of characters whose lives intersected with the Victorian:
- Alma, a young bride in the 1890s waiting for her sea captain husband to return
- Hazel, an aspiring artist in the 1920s yearning for independence
- Dot, a bored 1950s housewife drawn into spiritualism and séances
Sullivan deftly shifts between past and present, gradually revealing how these women’s stories connect to Jane’s own journey of self-discovery. There are lovers lost at sea, stolen historical artifacts, psychic mediums, and past life regressions. The author weaves in fascinating historical details about Maine’s past, from its maritime heritage to its summer “rusticator” culture.
Haunted by History
While there are some genuinely spooky moments that will please fans of gothic fiction, the real ghosts in this novel are metaphorical—the ways trauma and loss echo through generations, the shadows cast by colonialism and exploitation of indigenous peoples, the specters of alcoholism and mental illness that haunt families.
Sullivan sensitively explores how we all carry the weight of history—both personal and societal. Jane must confront painful memories from her own past, including her volatile relationship with her mother. Genevieve is running from something in her own life that she can’t face. Even the house itself seems to be crying out for resolution of past injustices.
Complex Female Characters
As in her previous works like “Saints for All Occasions” and “Friends and Strangers,” Sullivan shines in creating nuanced, relatable female characters grappling with identity, ambition, and societal expectations. Jane is a prickly but compelling protagonist—brilliant but self-sabotaging, longing for connection but pushing people away.
We see her wrestle with imposter syndrome in her academic career and ambivalence about her marriage. Her reluctant friendship with the very different Genevieve allows both women to gain new perspectives. The historical characters are equally well-drawn, each products of their time but chafing against its limitations.
Mother-Daughter Dynamics
A recurring theme is the complexity of mother-daughter relationships. Jane’s fraught dynamic with her alcoholic mother casts a long shadow over her life. We see echoes of this difficult bond in the historical storylines as well. Sullivan captures how we can simultaneously long for our mother’s approval and resent her influence, how we absorb both strengths and wounds from the women who came before us.
Elegant, Evocative Prose
Sullivan’s writing is luminous and lyrical, with moments of startling insight and beauty. She has a keen eye for telling details that bring scenes and characters vividly to life. Her descriptions of the natural world are particularly lovely.
The pacing is measured and meditative, allowing space for the characters’ inner lives to unfold. Sullivan takes her time building atmosphere and exploring emotional nuances. While some readers may find this slow at times, others will appreciate the rich, immersive quality of her storytelling.
Blending Genre Elements
The Cliffs by J Courtney Sullivan skillfully blends elements of historical fiction, domestic drama, and supernatural mystery. Sullivan keeps us guessing about the true nature of the house’s haunting—are there really ghosts, or is it all in Genevieve’s mind? The gradual revelation of secrets from the past creates suspense that builds to a satisfying conclusion.
Fans of Kate Morton’s multi-generational mysteries or Alice Hoffman’s touch of magical realism will find much to enjoy here. Sullivan puts her own unique stamp on these familiar elements, grounding the story in authentic emotion and psychological insight.
Themes of Home and Belonging
At its core, this is a novel about the idea of home – what it means, how we create it, how it shapes us. Jane has never felt truly at home anywhere, always searching for a sense of rootedness. The Victorian represents different things to different characters – sanctuary, prison, fresh start, repository of memory.
Sullivan explores how a place can hold the imprint of all who have passed through it. She asks us to consider: What does it mean to truly inhabit a space? How do we reconcile a place’s past with its present? Her characters must grapple with what to preserve and what to let go of, both literally and metaphorically.
Finding Our Place
There’s a bittersweet quality to the novel’s resolution. Not every mystery is neatly solved, not every wound fully healed. But the characters find a measure of peace and self-knowledge. Sullivan suggests that perhaps “home” is not so much a physical place as a state of being—a sense of groundedness in ourselves and connection to others.
A Worthy Addition to Sullivan’s Oeuvre
“The Cliffs” showcases J Courtney Sullivan’s strengths as a novelist – her gift for creating complex female characters, her nuanced exploration of family dynamics, her evocative sense of place. While it may not reach the heights of her best work (in my opinion, that’s still “Maine”), it’s a solid and absorbing read that will satisfy her existing fans and likely win her new ones.
Sullivan continues to mature as a writer, taking on weightier themes here than in some of her earlier novels. She deftly balances multiple storylines and voices, bringing everything together in a way that feels organic rather than contrived. Her prose is more assured than ever, with moments of real beauty and insight.
Comparisons and Context
Readers who enjoyed Sullivan’s previous novels like “Saints for All Occasions” or “Maine” will find familiar themes here—Irish-American families, summer communities, the long-term impact of secrets. “The Cliffs” feels like a natural evolution of her work, diving deeper into issues of inheritance (both literal and metaphorical) and the weight of the past.
In its multi-generational scope and New England setting, the novel invites comparison to works by Alice Hoffman or Elin Hilderbrand. Sullivan brings her own distinct voice to this milieu, with a greater emphasis on historical detail and psychological realism.
Final Thoughts
The Cliffs by J Courtney Sullivan is a thoughtful, atmospheric novel that lingers in the mind long after the final page. Sullivan has crafted a meditation on home, history, and healing that is by turns haunting, hopeful, and deeply human. While it may move too slowly for some readers, those who appreciate richly textured literary fiction will find much to savor here.
The novel’s exploration of how the past echoes into the present feels particularly relevant in our current moment of national reckoning with history. Sullivan reminds us that we all carry the stories of those who came before us, for better or worse. But she also offers hope that through understanding our history—personal and collective—we can begin to heal old wounds and forge new connections.
Curl up with this book on a foggy day by the sea (or just pretend you’re there), and let Sullivan’s lyrical prose and keen insights wash over you like the tide. You may find yourself looking at your own home—and history—with new eyes.