Kathleen Dean Moore Counterpoint Press, Catapult, Curtis Brown Ltd. Does PIANO TIDE by Kathleen Dean Moore Infringe the Copyright of THE FISHER KING by Hayley Kelsey? Corvallis Oregon

Does PIANO TIDE by Kathleen Dean Moore Infringe the Copyright of THE FISHER KING by Hayley Kelsey? Read on to Decide for Yourself (and see more at https://medium.com/@hayleykelseyauthor) 

History:

On October 3, 2012, I submitted a query letter, synopsis, and first 50 pages of my novel to Counterpoint Press.

On October 21, 2013, I queried agent Mitchell Waters at Curtis Brown Ltd., which represents alleged infringer Kathleen Dean Moore

On January 19, 2014, I submitted a query letter, synopsis, and first 50 pages of my novel to agent Laura Blake Peterson at Curtis Brown Ltd., who represents Moore.

On December 13, 2016, Piano Tide was published by Counterpoint Press and Catapult.

Does PIANO TIDE Have Striking and Substantial Similarities to THE FISHER KING?

• Similar setting: In FISHER: small fishing village on Chesapeake Bay island. In PIANO: small fishing village on Alaska coastal river.
• In FISHER, greed pushed big business (commercial farming and fishing) to over-farm and overfish, damaging the island and bay, depleting them of natural resources. Over-farming polluted the land with chemicals, putting residents out of work, and finally forcing them to abandon the island. In PIANO, greed pushed big business (commercial fishing and logging) to overfish, damaging the coast and river, depleting them of natural resources, putting residents out of work, and forcing some to abandon the area.
• In FISHER, generations of Kingsley family have lived and worked on the island for over 200 years, making fish endangered; King was successful businessmen who kept island employed in cannery; now in the red, he’s searching for ways to turn fishery into profitable business. In PIANO, Axel has lived and worked in village for years, making salmon endangered. Axel was successful businessman who kept coast employed in cannery and logging; now he’s searching for ways to turn river and forest into profitable business.
• In FISHER , a venture capitalist wants to turn island into theme park to rake in tourist dollars and fish-exporting business. In PIANO, Axel wants to turn area into theme park to rake in tourist dollars and water-exporting business. 
• In FISHER, King is tyrannical, controlling patriarch who exerts power over family. In PIANO, Axel is tyrannical, controlling patriarch who exerts power over family.
• In FISHER, King’s passive wife Gina gains independence through work. In PIANO, Axel’s passive wife Rebecca gains independence through work.
• In FISHER, older sibling Gail raised dreamy, artistic younger brother Wes. In PIANO, older brother Davy raises dreamy younger brother Tommy.
• In FISHER, King tried to send Sonny to college on mainland in part to break up his teen romance with Gail. In PIANO, Axel wants send daughter Meredith to private school on mainland in part to break up her teen romance with Davy. 
• In FISHER, Gail struggles against patriarch King, who “traps” her in shed. In PIANO, Meredith struggles against patriarch Axel, who “traps” her in house; Kenny is “trapped” by painful memories of being caged in Vietnam.
• In FISHER, Gail blames self for her role in younger brother Wes’s accidental death; guilt-stricken, she attempts to atone for it by saving Sonny from King. In PIANO, Nora blames self for her role in Kenny’s accidental death; guilt-stricken, she attempts to atone for it by saving salmon river from Axel. 
• In FISHER, mother Arlene may have had affairs to begat son Wes. Daughter Gail perpetuates generational illegitimacy by having affairs and become pregnant at end, all of which they keep secret from the men involved. In PIANO, Lily Shaddy had affairs to begat son Axel. Granddaughter Meredith perpetuates generational illegitimacy by having affair, becomes pregnant at end, all of which they keep secret from the men involved.
• In FISHER, newcomer, world-weary environmental activist Peter tries to rally islanders by awakening their eco-consciousness to save the bay, struggles against patriarch King. In PIANO, newcomer, world-weary environmental activist Nora tries to rally locals by awakening their eco-consciousness to save the salmon river, struggles against patriarch Axel.
• In FISHER, Gail is a tall, 35-year-old with long brown hair. In PIANO, Nora is a tall, 35-year-old with long brown hair.
• In FISHER, surveyors arrive to map the island. The venture capitalist is surrounded by yes-men. In PIANO, surveyor Howard Fowler arrives to map the coast, is hired as Axel’s yes-man. 
• In FISHER, Gail’s brother died suddenly in farming accident due to neglect In PIANO, Lily’s husband died suddenly in log-rolling accident. Kenny dies suddenly in accident due to neglect.  
• In FISHER, Sonny takes Gail to his private place, a submerged cemetery. Later, he gets beat up testing manhood, suffers broken ribs. In PIANO, Davy takes Meredith to  his private place, an abandoned water platform, gets injured testing manhood, suffers broken collarbone.
• In FISHER, love interests are passive male characters: Sonny, Don, Peter. In PIANO, love interests are passive male characters: Kenny, Tick, Davy.
• In FISHER, tourists circle the harbor snapping pix of locals. Islanders complain wealthy tourists overrun island, see it as quaint theme park. In PIANO, tourists circle the harbor snapping pix of locals. Locals complain wealthy tourists overrun village, see it as quaint theme park.
• The symbols and motifs are nearly identical: In FISHER, trapped islanders; burning landfill (compared to fireworks, volcano); lying and shame. In PIANO, caged bears; dump, cremation, and fireworks display; emphasis on lying and shame.
• The denouements are identical: In FISHER, Sonny finds courage to leave home to gain maturity. Gail finally comes to terms with her guilt. In PIANO, Nora finds courage to leave her piano and area to gain maturity. She finally comes to terms with her guilt.
• The themes are identical: In FISHER, big business (cannery, logging) greed exploits the river and forestland, depleting them of natural resources (salmon, trees), damaging the environment, and putting residents out of work; conservation and importance of preserving river from environmental damage for salmon; importance of community to feeling of belonging and sense of purpose; identity is strongly tied to being remote rural dwellers; characters are trapped by circumstances of their own making but beyond their control; importance of inheriting and passing on: river, land, vanishing way of life, genes; generational illegitimacy; lying, shame. In PIANO, big business (cannery, logging) greed exploits the river and forestland, depleting them of natural resources (salmon, trees), damaging the environment, and putting residents out of work; conservation and importance of preserving river from environmental damage for salmon; importance of community to feeling of belonging and sense of purpose; identity is strongly tied to being remote rural dwellers; characters are trapped by circumstances of their own making but beyond their control; importance of inheriting and passing on: river, land, vanishing way of life, genes; generational illegitimacy; lying, shame.

Does PIANO TIDE Have Plot and Theme Similarities to THE FISHER KING?

There are the eight main elements that comprise the “heart” on which FISHER turns, and PIANO takes six of them:

1. Business—Greed caused big business (cannery, logging) to exploit the land & sea (river, forest), depleting them of natural resources (salmon, trees), damaging the environment, dividing the community, and putting residents out of work.

2. Conservation—The importance of preserving the river from environmental damage for salmon.

3. Community—The importance of community to a feeling of belonging, sense of purpose.

4. Setting—The importance of place, specifically watershed, & family connection to it, to identity.

5. Inheritance—The importance of inheriting & passing on: river, land, vanishing way of life, genes.

6. Generational Illegitimacy—Main female character had affair and illegitimate pregnancy; her granddaughter has affair and illegitimate pregnancy.

Does PIANO TIDE Have Line-by-Line Similarities to THE FISHER KING?

XI—Setting: Good River Harbor on distressed salmon river  SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 5—Trappe Island on distressed fish estuary

XI—From the distance, Good River Harbor looked like a string of gulls flying across the water below the mountain range, or a rim of barnacles just uncovered by the tide...built houses on pilings...built on a rickety thicket of stilts and piers STRIKINGLY SIMILAR TO 5—From the air...Trappe Island appears as...a school of stationary fish or a sunken wreck at the bottom of the sea. 153—their [houses] cinder block stilts. 94—All the houses were...propped up on skirts of cinder blocks. 146—The shed was only accessible by...an old rickety pier.  

XII—The only structures...were the remains of an old cannery site on one end of town, the dump on the other...There were no cars, but there were plenty of wheelbarrows and bikes...the intertidal muck. The town was named after Basil Everett Good...The town grew and shrank like the tides, as it sold and then exhausted the abundance...The cannery closed when the fish could not be counted on. Only forty to fifty people lived in Good River Harbor when the ferry pulled in. SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 147—The landfill...refuse outsourcing corporation that handled the overflow from municipal trash companies. 94—there were few cars...People got around on...bicycles, and golf carts. 98—the squishy bottom muck. 274—glutinous black bottom muck. 316—thick black bottom muck. 317—the black bottom muck. 94—Kingston, the only town to speak of. 274—the island noticeably shrink and expand. 419—[Processing plant closes when watermen empty bay of fish]. 202—the island is home to two hundred residents. 91—wait for the ferry to come into port 

XII-5—A tourist would be...taking pictures. 32—”Guides do this in Seattle. Put rich tourists on a boat and tour the town.” 42—Kenny could do without tourists, because he didn’t like being a tourist attraction himself.  243—Tourists...held up their cameras. SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 201—Tourists descended on the area...kept the recreational boat companies in business...They circled the island on tour boats that chugged over from Annapolis harbor, snapping pictures as if our home were a curiosity. 202—As though we were creatures whose knuckles dragged on the ground or something they might find in a zoo

XII—gunkholers. 39—Gunkholers. 42—gunkholer-tourists. 44—gunk-holers IDENTICAL TO 430—I spent my childhood summers “gunkholing” 

XII—a little empty cabin at Green Cove. 58—he lowered himself into his cot. 76—Kenny lived in one room on pilings over the water...He slept on a cot raised two feet off the floor...he rigged up a string that directed water from the leak into a plastic bucket...propane. 93—she climbed into a cold cot. 135—this broken-down shack 121—It was dark in the cabin. 182—The whole place was submerged in darkness. 56—black box of a cabin. SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 146—Against the solid back wall was an aluminum-frame cot where I would sleep...propane. 154—narrow aluminum cot. 307—I was deeply asleep on the cot. 145—Tepid creek water circulated through a dozen double-decker tiers of molded plastic trays. 266—the tiny space. 146—The interior was shrouded in darkness for much of the day...Inside the shed it was always night. 136—The shed...materials had been salvaged from older structures and the wooden planking didn’t match: a strip of yellow pine lay next to a two-by-four of knotty spruce with the paint peeling off. 

5—not expecting an answer. 28-29—he answered, although Nora hadn’t asked the question...But what came out of Davy’s mouth was not a question 153—Was that a question or a statement? STRIKINGLY SIMILAR TO 204—He didn’t really expect an answer. 389—But he didn’t really expect an answer. 106—It wasn’t a question. 251—It wasn’t a question. 350—It wasn’t a question. 356—It wasn’t a question. 330—It was a statement of fact neutrally delivered.

6—she was tall…Maybe thirty, maybe thirty-five. 11—He could see she was tall. 222-223—”I’d say five-foot ten or eleven...She’s...Thirty? Thirty-five.” STRIKINGLY SIMILAR TO 6—I was nearly as tall as he. 81—my tall, strong frame. 125—I was as tall as he was. 18—She was…in her mid-thirties, around my age.

6—”Whatcha got there?” he asked. IDENTICAL TO 139—“Whatcha got going here, King?”

6—she blinked reflexively. NEARLY IDENTICAL TO 21—Reflexively, my eyes blinked 

6—him so tall. 8—Tick was strong, and easy around water. 11—Tick was a big man...powerful shoulders, meaty hands...he was big...His shoulders were broad and his hands were huge and capable. 92—that tall, beautiful man...A big man with huge hands. 140—muscles so big. SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 6—He was tall. 12—I thought of how they [hands] looked while they worked—hauling crab pots—so assured and competent. 113—his outsized hands. 116—his big hands with their strong, capable fingers. 125—nearly as strong [as his]. 165—my strong, stalwart husband. 304—Sonny was broad and muscular. 333—Sonny is young and strong. 311—broad shoulders like twisted rope. 343—Sonny’s big hands. 312—his arms...so shapely and full.

6— he would rummage his fingers through the fur [hair] and get it all arranged. 27—flicked his hair out of his face. 28—pulled the hair out of his eyes. 32—He tossed his hair out of his face. 32—His head drooped behind a screen of black hair. 47—to hide his face behind a screen of hair. 104—black hair sticking out in tufts. SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 203—He raked his hands through his hair. 389—His hands raked his hair. 386—His...dark hair. 393—Don’s hair stuck up in places. 369—made my hair stick out wildly. 120—His hair stuck up crazily around his head. 259—His hair stood up where he’d been obsessively running his hands through it. 266—I dipped my head to hide my face behind a curtain of hair.

7—splitting her face with a grin. 32—face split by a great big grin. STRIKINGLY SIMILAR TO 346—a grin split his face. 382—A broad grin split Don’s cheeks.

8—the Annie K. SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 261—the Regina K. 338—the Regina K.

9—he was a careful man with a boat and not one to be taking chances. SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 175—He was the careful one, the one who cautiously planned ahead, played it safe. 

10—His speech ended in a mutter and he bent over the wheel, his neck flushing. STRIKINGLY SIMILAR TO 226—King muttered in a small voice. 76—I felt a hot flush creep up my neck. 331—I felt a hot flush creep up my neck.  

12—”What’s the harm?” IDENTICAL TO 296—“Where’s the harm?”

13—Her voice was calm, like a friendly old professor encouraging a stupid student. STRIKINGLY SIMILAR TO 128—he said in a gently reprimanding tone as though to a slow-witted child. 375—the indulgent air of a seasoned elder humoring a young whippersnapper. 

16—he didn’t dare take sides. 224—Which side are you guys on?” “People taking sides.” SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 224—everyone seemed to take sides. 296—“Just whose side are you on, anyway?” 296—everyone...had chosen up sides.

20—carrying them in the line of white foam at the slip lip of the wave. STRIKINGLY SIMILAR TO 99—soft susurrus of the tide as it lapped rhythmically at the beach, leaving behind an ardent lip of foam. 

20—window...a tumble of pebbles, down, a flight of pebbles up. SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 106—Don crouched outside my window and pinged pebbles off the glass.

21—as if they had been slapped. IDENTICAL TO 50—as if she’d been slapped 

24—Davy was born and bred in Good River Harbor SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 193—He’s a waterman, born and bred. 

24—Whether he was walking...he was always on the water, or at least the water was always underneath him, as much as if he were in a boat. 92—He must be a seaman, to be that graceful. STRIKINGLY SIMILAR TO 6—his hips, which rotated in a slow, rhythmic, wave-like rolling motion with each step. He seemed to be constantly adjusting his weight, as though continually seeking balance amid the dips and swells of the sea. He moved over land with the same fluid grace, as though with a heightened awareness of the rotation of the earth. 270—Sonny was graceful in bed, too

30—Davy looked around wildly. 55— Howard looked around wildly. 189—Tick looked wildly around  NEARLY IDENTICAL TO 113—I cast wildly about.

31—He was carrying...surveyor’s tape STRIKINGLY SIMILAR TO 345—surveyor carrying a big wooden spool

31—The guy…had on a long diagonally striped tie. Davy stared. It’s the first tie he had ever seen in real life. 48—Howard rolled up the sleeves on his surveyor’s shirt and loosened his tie. 63—He held on to his tie for dear life. 150—his tie neatly knotted. 156—Howard loosened his tie. 253—He...smoothed down his tie SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 68—Although Sonny could sling together a dozen sailor’s knots blindfolded, he wore a tie so infrequently that he’d forgotten how. 202—He had removed his jacket and rolled up his shirtsleeves...loosened his tie. 249—The knot of his tie was loosened 292—loosened his tie; it remained firmly anchored in place with a gold tie clip. 40—holding on for dear life

32—”Tide’s high, flooding up under the houses.” SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 364—the water table until the bay overspilled our shores, then our streets, then seeped under our doors.

33—That’s where the old cannery used to be, but the site had been abandoned for years. Nothing remained of the cannery...”that cistern isn’t going to be empty for long.” 61—the old cistern. STRIKINGLY SIMILAR TO 419—[Regina sells old, empty fish processing factory]. 364—bone-dry wells and cisterns filled up.

35—“I’ve been here all my life,” Davy told Nora...”I wonder what it’s like to be away from home, or even not to know where home is.” But why would you? Where else would you go?” STRIKINGLY SIMILAR TO 13—He had lived on the island and worked on the water his whole life. 114—He shook his head. “Why would anyone want off the water? I just don’t get it.”

35—she talked over him, kind of absent-minded. IDENTICAL TO 106—talking over me. 359—I mumbled, absently. 418—she said, absently. 

38—just the weight of it, so Tommy would know he wasn’t adrift. SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 178—the weight of his body, just the solidity of him, was a welcome fact. I saw myself...adrift. 115—I felt adrift.

42—Just because they [tourists] own a fancy sailboat doesn’t mean they own the place. IDENTICAL TO 189—Just because they [tourists] have money doesn’t mean they own the place. 

43—“How far above sea level are we here?” “Two feet at high tide.” STRIKINGLY SIMILAR TO 5—The island stands only three feet above sea level at its highest point

44—”Is that a noose around that guy’s neck?” STRIKINGLY SIMILAR TO 69—the twisted knot seemed to have a stranglehold on him.

44—she always said this fast, as if she were trying to get all their questions over with, so she could ask her own. STRIKINGLY SIMILAR TO 324—It crossed my mind to broach my question tonight if only to get it over with.

51—“Hard to find halibut anymore.” “They mined ‘em out, that’s what. Fished ‘em til they caught them all. Then what? Then what.” SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 191—“We used to eat sturgeon, shad, herring, even flounder, but they’ve been fished out” 191—“With their huge factory trawlers, they can strip-mine waters. 403-404—“You took it [fish] all,” Sonny said...“Why’d you take it all?” 17—What then? 299—“Well...well, what then?”

53—Howard knew he shouldn’t have said it before he even got done saying it. The words sailed out...He cast around desperately for a way to take it back STRIKINGLY SIMILAR TO 327—Now that they were out of my mouth, the words sounded so bald that I had an impulse to take them back 113—I cast wildly about.

57—He would see people coming before they saw him. STRIKINGLY SIMILAR TO 185—I heard the sailboat before I saw it.

57—The tide was coming in under the planks, striped with light. 121—It was dark in the cabin, except for stripes of morning light that slotted in...The light threw stripes. SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 146—the floorboards until they were replaced by vitreous gold stripes wavering on the walls from the setting sun glancing off the bay. 146—The interior was shrouded in darkness for much of the day...fell heavily across the floorboards until they were replaced by vitreous gold stripes wavering on the walls. 44—The wavering light seeping through the cracks crept up along the boards as the sun fell lower in the sky.

59—walking as if his shoulders were tied to his knees SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 23—Sonny had his father’s height but around him he carried it apologetically. Now his shoulders drooped.

61—”First rule of human resource management...Then you own them.” 218—”Put a guy on your payroll, you own him.” SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 134—“He’ll end up owning you.”

62—”‘you can’t squeeze blood out of a turnip,’” NEARLY IDENTICAL TO 69—“You can’t get blood from a stone...” 

65—Axel trying to make Rebecca glad and Rebecca being glad in fact. STRIKINGLY SIMILAR TO 308—his brothers had learned how to satisfy me and, in turn, I had learned how to be satisfied by them.

65-67—“I had to tell her it doesn’t pencil out...learn which side her bread is buttered on.”...his bread and butter. SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 132—“We ran the numbers, too, and we came up with different figures, didn’t we, son?” 72—his bread and butter

66—Axel...looked to Howard for an understanding nod, got it, and plowed on...”Nobody wants to tell a guy there’s no job left, nothing left to catch or cut or can. SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 247—He glanced at the yes-men on either side of him for confirmation, who nodded decisively. 392—all watermen are locked out because there aren’t enough fish left to catch?”

66—This town owes me, and I collect my debts. STRIKINGLY SIMILAR TO 118—I rarely had an exchange with King when I didn’t feel that he was totaling up my debt in his head. 321—Who knew when he might call in my debt

68—“my plan to dump some construction site debris...around the dump” STRIKINGLY SIMILAR TO 147—The landfill was the brainchild of King and a refuse outsourcing corporation that handled the overflow from municipal trash companies...proposal to situate a waste processing site on Delmarva’s western shore

68—Fish and Game will love us. Tourists on the eco-tours will love us. Eco-freaks will love us. Maybe Rebecca—I don’t know.” SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 293—“Everyone would be celebrating. Watermen, suppliers, vendors, sport fishermen. Even the greens!” he paused. “Okay, maybe not the greens.”

74—Kenny saw Nora looking at him when she thought he wasn’t watching...She was looking at him. Kenny watched her looking. SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 81—I’d often catch him staring at my...Invariably, when I found him watching me 119—I occasionally caught him watching me. 346—when I looked around he was watching me.

75—he’d...curse himself for being so goddam stupid to walk into a trap. SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 127—I’d walked straight into his trap. 133—“Did you see how he trapped me?”

78—A fossil trilobite IDENTICAL TO 44—a rare trilobite.

80—“my dad says...he’ll be very disappointed in me.” Meredith...said it again in her dad’s steel-shiny voice, “Very dis-appoin-ted. STRIKINGLY SIMILAR TO 24—King’s negative feelings always came cloaked in disappointment instead. And King’s disappointment was a terrible thing. It pressed on him...like the weight of the world, torturing him for weeks on end with the crushing magnitude of his unmet expectations.

83—She seemed sort of surprised, which surprised him STRIKINGLY SIMILAR TO 269—His surprise surprised me. 

83—Meredith...shot him a look through lowered lids. SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 49—She rewarded him...gaze from under lowered lids 

89—Her breasts pressed hard into his back. He could sense the warm, slow rise and whistle of her breathing. He breathed out when she breathed out, breathed in when she breathed in. STRIKINGLY SIMILAR TO 295—My breasts flattened against his starched shirt. 65 His slow, even breathing grew shallow by degrees. 136—His breath warmed my skin. 312—A sigh escaped him, and my mouth filled with a current of warm air. I breathed his breath, life-giving oxygen, and exhaled for him in turn

90—no horizons...Night clouds are indistinguishable from night ocean. STRIKINGLY SIMILAR TO 267—all was blackness. No horizon line separated the inky water from the night sky. 

91—He struggled to start the engine, pulling out the choke, grinding the starter. SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 174—He...reached for the ignition...The gears screeched as the truck stalled...He bent to start it again, but it refused to catch. He tried a few more times and the grinding of the engine as it struggled to turn over.

93—He’s listening to marine forecasts...re-solders the wires in the electric plug for the radio. 98—fumbled with his hand-held radio, and raised it to his mouth. 112—Radio waves...rattled into green seas, green seas, green seas. 234—called Tick on the marine radio...Since everyone in town eavesdrops on radio chatter. 170—”High pressure in the gulf will linger through tomorrow. Tonight, winds calm. Light winds becoming south ten point zero knots by morning. Seas two feet or less, mainly west swell. Pressure thirty three and steady. Tomorrow, light winds becoming west ten point zero knots in the afternoon. Seas two feet or less. Visibility ten miles.”...The low steady voice on the marine radio was so precise, so sure...But the radio told a comforting story...”This is NOAA Weather Service.” SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 183—Now King relied on the two-way [radio] for everything—NOAA weather reports, chatting with other watermen. 154—A bent wire coat hanger served as a makeshift [radio] antenna. 183—King bent over the receiver. 184—unbroken ribbon of invisible radio waves skimming the surface of the water. 155—the steady stream of chatter [watermen eavesdrop marine radio. 207—their voices crowded out all others on the airwaves. 155—Always the talk was of the weather. 323—the flat drone of the farm report on the radio. 49—The radio announcer’s monotonous drone. 125—the NOAA weather report. 153—glued to the NOAA forecast, hoping for a break in the weather

94—The E-flat whistle of wind in the rigging of trawlers at anchor. 124—There was enough wind to...jangle their halyards against the masts. 125—Wires in the rigging singing. STRIKINGLY SIMILAR TO 244—the halyards lightly knocking against the hollow aluminum sailboat masts echoed up and down the docks like a lilting musical accompaniment...when the wind died down to a soft, sibilant breeze the halyards lightly knocking against the hollow aluminum sailboat masts.  

94—the Green Point buoy, its moan hushed by fog. 192—The Green Point Buoy moaned again and again and moaned again. 249—Green Point buoy moaned. SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 280—the long, low, lonely moan of the Bloody Point Lighthouse foghorn.

102—Annie Klawon turned and stumbled into the kitchen...These are my people, she thought. This is my family...She sat down at the table to keep from falling...Is this how families fall apart? SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 13—I stumbled into the kitchen. 269—“I’m family,” I protested. 189—The whole family will be together again since I don’t know when.” 224—the family ripped apart. 284—the family splitting apart. 231—Lightheaded, I lurched unsteadily for the door. 390—I sank back down

 109—water falling down. But this water didn’t just fall. Some force angrier than gravity drove it down. Rain came down so hard, it slammed right back up again. SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 364—Big fat round drops splashed heavily onto the baked ground, kicking up dust, and into the bay, shooting up spray. 153—Torrential rains beat down 

109-110—the end of the dump road, at the edge of the dump...He couldn’t see the edge of the dump, but he could smell it now and then. STRIKINGLY SIMILAR TO 147—The landfill...handled the overflow from municipal trash companies...the air was permeated by the overly sweetish smell of rotting garbage

114—d**n Axel to hell. 203—d**n him to hell” IDENTICAL TO 404—“Goddam you to hell!”

114—Trees. Fish. Water...Just gone. It is all unbearably gone. 194—”What’s it like when it all disappears? Just, suck, gone?” SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 330—“Gone,” I mumbled. 295—“And there’ll be nothing left. All this”—he gestured wide—“all this will be gone.”

121—”We gotta obey the law...Law’s the law.” NEARLY IDENTICAL TO 142—“Got to,” [obey the law] he muttered over his shoulder. “It’s the law” 140—“But I’m afraid it’s the law.” 

125—permits. 186—Nora already called around to get the permits. SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 139-140—“look at your permit?” “Your building permit.”…“send Gail to Annapolis to apply for the permit tomorrow.”...“a plumbing permit”...“all those permits”...“What’s the wait on all these permits?” 145—to...get the necessary permits...applying for permits. 424—Nailed to the front door was a building permit

126—while she pretended to be asleep...Axel propped himself on one elbow and looked at Rebecca... Twenty years married, and she still had those soft freckled shoulders and slender back. He ran his hand around her neck and nuzzled her hair. Smooth and damp...Axel rolled her onto her back...He started unbuttoning her nightgown. SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 106—while I pretended to be asleep. 143-144—I propped myself up on an elbow and looked down at him...[married for eighteen years] From my vantage point, gazing down at him, he looked like he did when we first met—as innocent as a boy. 136—He hiked up energetically on one elbow. 136—He started kissing my neck, burying his face in my hair. 238—letting his fingers lace through my damp hair. 236—He...rolled me onto my back. He pulled up the hem of my nightgown

131—the sudden silence IDENTICAL TO 55—the sudden silence

132—Nora went on as if he hadn’t said a word. SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 247—the man continued, as if Pruitt hadn’t spoken. 294—he continued as if I hadn’t spoken. 327—he continued as though I hadn’t spoken.

133—his mouth was working like he couldn’t shape words. SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 173—My mind completely emptied of...all words, even the ability to form words. 

132—when she figures out she’s only traded a little trap for a bigger one. 133—What will it feel like, trapped in that moldy pit? SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 53—She was trapped in an impossible position. 127—I’d walked straight into his trap. 239—I was caught, trapped in a web of my own making. 242—and been trapped by it. 9—“we’ll be trapped forever.” 12—“We wouldn’t be trapped” 18—to avoid being trapped inside. 23—“We were trapped here for nine hours!” 58—he’d continue to feel trapped. 71—trapped alone at desks. 88—I’d felt trapped in my loathed body. 106—I was trapped.  129—I felt trapped. 133—“Did you see how he trapped me?”...“You trapped yourself, honey,” 145—I felt every bit as as trapped as I had then. 148—the belief that I’d trapped his son into marriage. 159—mere trappings acquired 209—the one that had trapped Sonny and me. 235—felt as trapped as I did. 265—I knew what it was like to be trapped by circumstances...could leave the thing trapping her. 308—I felt caught, trapped. 320—felt every bit as trapped as I did?...he was trapped by his allegiance to both his father and to me. 346—My arms, trapped by his. 350—feeling trapped. 356—I felt trapped. 383—Trapped, I slowly descended the staircase. 393—Just as when I’d been trapped in the shed the previous summer, now, trapped by my pregnancy. 396—I felt trapped. 397—I felt trapped. 403—I pictured King trapped in his chair. 416—he’d trapped her for life.

133—”I can imagine.” ”No,” he said flatly. “You can’t.” NEARLY IDENTICAL TO 296—“I know how you feel.” “No, you don’t,” he said.

140—John went whistling off to work. NEARLY IDENTICAL TO 370—Sonny...went to work each evening whistling.

140—he called out to God STRIKINGLY SIMILAR TO 239—he cried out “Oh, God”

142—Townsfolk salvaged the timbers of Lillian’s shack, SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 136—The shed...materials had been salvaged 

148—waved her hands...as if she were brushing away flies. 212—to wave away blackflies SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 49—He brushed my hand away as if it were one of the flies circling through the air. 47—A battalion of newly hatched black flies...My mother swatted at them with a dishtowel.

148—Ravens...It might have been a warning. 149—A jay cried an alarm call NEARLY IDENTICAL TO 319—gulls...a call or perhaps a warning 

149—Tick was stumped...shook his head again, as if to clear it  SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 333—I said, momentarily stumped. 128—I shook my head to clear my thoughts.

155—“to about here.” Howard put his hand up under his chin to show the depth, only realizing from their stares that his gesture looked a lot like he was slitting his own throat STRIKINGLY SIMILAR TO 260—“up to here with them.” Don’s hand jackknifed to his throat, made a slicing motion

162—”Pray for rain.” IDENTICAL TO 344—praying for rain

168—Their reflections rose and fell, stretched and sank on the swell. STRIKINGLY SIMILAR TO 267—the stars...swelled and shrank, merged and dissolved as their reflections were carried along on the current

172—Not too. Late. Slam the door. 250—”What. Is. Going. On!” STRIKINGLY SIMILAR TO 398—“I. Am. Home.” 

172—He couldn’t hear anything but blood in his ears. NEARLY IDENTICAL TO 120—listening to my blood beat in my ears

173—he felt the bats more than he saw them. STRIKINGLY SIMILAR TO 185—I heard the sailboat before I saw it. 

175—She...trapped him in her arms. SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 346—My arms, trapped by his

181—No dishes or silverware...people were...eating from paper plates. NEARLY IDENTICAL TO 297—forced us to rely on disposable plastic plates, utensils, and cups

185—”not going to be intimidated by a gang of eco-terrorists.” 224—eco-terrorists. 222—The eco-terrorist. 222—Ecoterrorist. IDENTICAL TO 205—“I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t lump me in the same category with that…that eco-terrorist”

191-192—“‘This is all my fault,’ that’s what old Nora said, but she was a liar. “‘If I wasn’t such a coward.’ ‘A slinking coward.’...’look what I’ve done.‘ STRIKINGLY SIMILAR TO 164—I, too, had believed that it was my fault. 181—It’s all my fault. 133—caught in my own lie. 106—For days I skulked around feeling like like a coward...it was all my fault. 122—But like a coward I’d fled at the first opportunity. 324—I cursed myself for my cowardice

197—the town and all its people stretched and narrowed, stretched and narrowed. SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 341—the population in the room grew, rotated, shrank, grew again. 274— It was strange to watch the island noticeably shrink and expand

215—“Do you think halibut sandwiches grow on trees?” NEARLY IDENTICAL TO 330—Do you think money grows on trees?

221—maybe life is playing me for a sucker, he thought, pulling away from my punches to throw me off balance. NEARLY IDENTICAL TO 401—His chest caved in, as if he’d been sucker punched, and for a split second his body looked as if it would crumple in on itself. He lost his balance

224—You...granolas soft on terrorism? SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 206—those...granola-crunching greens.

231—Axel had pulled a couple of men from the water-bottling job to SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 179—King took one of his factory pickers off the line to

235—Her heart beat in her ears, and whether it was the altitude or the astonishment of being in this place, she did not know. SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO 120—my blood beat in my ears. 236—My face was wet, but whether it was from my tears or his I couldn’t tell. 269—He hesitated before saying the word, although whether it was to spare my feelings or his own was hard to tell. 360—I saw that his arm was trembling, although whether it was with rage or effort I couldn’t tell. 419—although whether I was apologizing for my outburst or her misspent life, I couldn’t say.

236—wipe the dew from my eyelashes. NEARLY IDENTICAL TO 280—dampening the tips of my...eyelashes...like morning dew.  

244-245—Meredith: ”I’m practically a prisoner in this house...Can you believe I listen to the marine radio for entertainment at night? How pitiful is that? STRIKINGLY SIMILAR TO 396—you were a virtual prisoner in the shed 90—now I was a virtual prisoner. 265—I was a prisoner in the shed. 155—Now, I mostly listened to talk radio. I was hungry for the company, for the sound of a human voice. 280—I was idly listening to the radio or, more accurately, not listening so much as letting the hum of voices serve as company.

252—”Eunuch,” he’d call me...I’m no snitch...I’m no snitch.” STRIKINGLY SIMILAR TO 177—They didn’t have say it. their response said p***y. 223—someone shouted belligerently. “I’m no thug.”

270—A ribbon of salmon unspooled from the spiral and turned toward home...All the stars in heaven swam on the water, lifted and bent by the slow currents of the tide. STRIKINGLY SIMILAR TO 138—surrounding the slender, probing fingers of the waterways, trailing, like cerulean ribbons unfurling, to the bay. 273—hundreds of sooks...began their long migration south to the bay basin to spawn, releasing millions of tiny, transparent fertilized eggs like ribbons of filaments unspooling. 267—the stars...swelled and shrank, merged and dissolved as their reflections were carried along on the current below.