When you're reading a book by James Michener, there's one detail that you can't help but notice: there are a huge number of characters. In case you're not familiar with Michener's work, I can briefly summarize how they typically go. A book will begin several hundred (or thousand) years in the past and gradually work its way to the present, telling the stories of many families in one area. Chesapeake is no different. This particular tale centers around the Chesapeake Bay and, as in his other works, characters come and go as the years pass. However, there is an exception to this rule. Within the bay, there is an island that is large and beautiful. In the first "voyage" (as sections are called in Chesapeake) a Native American named Pentaquod comes across this island after fleeing his village. Upon inspecting the island, Pentaquod decides to move on, knowing that at some point, the island will be torn apart. This observation never left me and hung over me like a specter. Soon after, Pentaquod leaves and another takes his place: Edmund Steed. The Steeds live on this island and in the surrounding area for the centuries to come.
The island takes on a personality of its own. Michener describes the island in great detail, speaking about its trees, animals, and the stream that runs through it. The island is transformed from and uninhabited paradise to a cultivated home. Weddings, funerals, and scandals all occur here. Midway through Chesapeake, the Steeds are attacked by pirates and the matriarch, Rosalind, takes matters into her own hands and tracks down the men responsible. It is from this section that the island gets its name: Rosalind's Revenge. The naming of the island endears it even more to the reader. Near the end of the book, the Steeds realize that their beloved home is literally falling to pieces. The Steeds spend a great deal of time and money trying to save Rosalind's Revenge and I could feel their panic through the pages. In the final pages of the book, the bay is assaulted by a monstrous hurricane. The Steeds evacuate their home and watch with their friends as the bay reclaims its dirt and sand. The loss of the island is felt as strongly as the death of a beloved character. Through the Michener's writing, I looked on alongside the Steeds as Pentaquod's prophecy came to pass.
