Westerly Gets Some Literary Love

Taylor Swift purchases a $17 million dollar mansion on the beach in Watch Hill and suddenly the national spotlight is focused on this tiny section of Westerly. Just east of her property, past Maschaug Pond, sits the honky-tonk Misquamicut beach, where soon the masses will be camped out in front of Paddy’s, soaking up the sun and flipping through their summer reads. If you want to keep it Rhode Island-centric this year for beach reading, we have the perfect book, The Burn Palace, by the nationally acclaimed writer (and local resident) Stephen Dobyns.

Dobyns’ most recent work is based in the fictional town of Brewster, a thinly disguised analogue of Westerly. The reader will know all the neighboring cities and landmarks mentioned in the story, and certainly will recognize all the quirky personality types. Something has gone terribly wrong in Brewster: a newborn baby is stolen from the hospital and what remains is a snake in the crib. Enter violence, the occult and some super aggressive coyotes, which the befuddled citizenry now have to deal with. Dobyns also works a heavy dose of humor into the story. Even Stephen King is a fan, “You can’t ask for more than this book gives. I loved it.” Well Taylor and company, you have something fun to read this summer between dips in the ocean.