Rockhaven

"Rockhaven" by Charles Clark Munn
Munn earned fame during his career as a writer, but this book is one of his most enduring works. The book takes place on Rockhaven Island in Maine, a place most well-known for its granite quarry. Though there's a bountiful cast of characters, the setting itself is the symbolic protagonist of the story. The life of the working class is explored in great detail in a way that seems so far away yet so relevant even now.