Passage to Yarmouth – Anthony Caine

Set in contemporary northeast USA and Nova Scotia, Canada, Passage to Yarmouth follows the chronicles and tribulations of an affluent family’s reunion trip in honor of the family’s 90 year old matriarch. The family’s incomplete history – an allegorical story of Scottish origins, fearfully suspect and possibly Irish – resonates within family relations. Unforeseen travel events take over the course of this uneasy journey, lending greater importance to the family story and its impact on each member’s self-image. While on the road trip and sea crossing, the diversity of the family members’ lives and characters confront one another. Generational stories, intimate feelings, siblings’ conflicts and personal confessions intertwine with matriarchal memories. Deep rooted beliefs re-surface, haunting most of them, and causing each to face the meaning of family history.

Educated as an architect and engineer, Anthony Caine is an American living in Prague, Czech Republic. From 1979 to 1989 his architectural firm in New York City, Proposition Architecture, PC was an active participant in the development of lower Manhattan’s loft conversions. In 1991 he accepted an invitation from the Chief Architect of Prague to assist in that city’s transformation to a market economy. He has lived in Prague ever since, holding dual citizenship, developing properties, teaching university students, and consulting on matters of urban development.

Passage to Yarmouth is Anthony’s second book, after the dystopic debut of his award-winning novel Fog Bound. He began writing fiction shortly after moving to the Czech Republic, initially as a way to bring his own personal perspective to the dramatic changes accompanying his new life in Central Europe. Thirty years later, his serious focus on creative writing crystallized with the arrival of the Covid pandemic. Since then, he has authored a number of short stories, twenty of which have been assembled in a sequential anthology entitled Dragonflies. When not working or writing, Anthony enjoys caring for his horses, riding, and sometimes playing a little polo.