Tides

A Novel

By: Sara Freeman

Narrated by: Amy Rutherford

A TIME Magazine Best Book of 2022

“I loved it.” —Miranda Cowley Heller, author of The Paper Palace

"Brilliant, elegant, and unsparing." —Emma Cline

"Irresistible... I read it in an afternoon but I'll be thinking about it for a long time." —Douglas Stuart, author of Young Mungo

From an astounding new voice in Canadian literature comes an intoxicating, compact novel about a woman who walks out of her life and washes up in a seaside town

After a sudden, devastating loss, Mara flees her family and ends up adrift in a wealthy seaside town with a dead cellphone and barely any money. Mired in her grief, Mara detaches from the outside world and spends her days of self-imposed exile scrounging for food and swimming in the night ocean. In her state of emotional extremis, the sea at the town's edge is rendered bleak, luminous, implacable.

As her money runs out and tourist season comes to a close, Mara finds a job at the local wine store. There, she meets Simon, the shop's soft-spoken, lonely owner. Confronted with the possibility of connection with Simon and the slow return of her desires and appetites, the reasons for her flight begin to emerge.

Reminiscent of works by Rachel Cusk, Jenny Offill, and Sheila Heti, Tides is a spare, visceral debut novel about the nature of selfhood, intimacy, and the private narratives that shape our lives. A shattering and unforgettable debut.

©2022 Sara Freeman (P)2022 Hamish Hamilton

Critic reviews

One of:

The Globe and Mail's "Three short new books to escape with in a day"

The Globe and Mail's "Canadian books we’re most excited about in 2022"

Chatelaine's "5 Riveting New Books To Read This Winter"

Lit Hub's "Most Anticipated Books of 2022"

Apple's "Best Books of the Month"

Book Mark's "Best Reviewed Books of the Week"

Telegraph's “Four best debut novels to read in 2022”

“If you love the experience of reading a novel, falling for a character, cheering them on and, continuing to do so, even once their flaws are revealed. . . . you’ll immediately connect with Sara Freeman’s stunning debut novel, Tides. . . . [A] universal story, told here beautifully.” —The Globe and Mail

“Tides is a perfect jewel of a novel. Haunting, moving, powerful yet spare. It sticks to your guts in ways you never expected. I loved it.” —Miranda Cowley Heller, author of The Paper Palace

"Brilliant, elegant, and unsparing. Tides is a lyrical meditation on selfhood: Sara Freeman illuminates, with a poet's eye, the shifting interior landscape of a woman adrift." —Emma Cline