"magisterial work"

Ocean Stirrings reads beautifully, especially in its almost supernatural appreciation of the nearness of the ocean and descriptions of the luxurious flowering of many kinds of plants. Collins is a poet and writes like one. [...] Collins invents letters that Louise might have written, explaining or exploring herself—she never stops "speaking" to her dead grandmother—abd at the end of the book, Collins includes sixty-odd pages of poetry about Louise's life and perceptions, as well as an explanation of what she, the author, knows or could have known about Louise. The result is complete and magisterial work, one that effectively conveys how Malcolm's family's experiences set the stage for his life.