Date Started: 5/29/11
Date Finished: 5/30/11
One-Word Summary: Relaxing
This is another one from the box 'o mom books and I have to say it was one of the better ones thus far. We follow four family members on a trip to Tuckernuck, off the coast of Nantucket. Having never been any of these places I have to admire how peaceful and picturesque Hilderbrand makes these places seem. She doesn't go overboard on the descriptive detail and doesn't hide the difficulties of living in Tuckernuck (no hot water, no electricity except for generators, no cell phone reception, etc.). The descriptions are just so relaxing in spite of the family drama that brings everyone there in the first place.
We follow four narratives - Birdie, the divorced mother of Tate and Chess who is trying to find her feet after divorcing her husband of thirty years; India, Birdie's sister whose famous husband committed suicide 15 years ago and who is flirting with the idea of starting a lesbian relationship with one of her art students; Chess, who called off her wedding to the "perfect" Michael only to have him die within a week in a climbing accident (oh, and she is also in love with his brother Nick); and Tate, who has harbored feelings for a guy for thirteen years and who has never been in love.
I will give the book this - it doesn't feel as forced or predictable as most chick-lit. Having Michael die after Chess breaks off the wedding was a big surprise, as was having Hank end things with Birdie after the initial spark was so strong. I think the only thing I might have changed would have been to shorten the book by a bit. It was kind of obvious that India was going to give the lesbian relationship a go, so I don't think we needed to see so much time dedicated to her wrestling with the notion. I liked that it all wrapped up nicely in the epilogue and that we see that there is hope for Chess and Nick in the end, even in the face of the tragedy that surrounds them.
This one was decent - surprisingly, particularly given the cover art!
No comments:
Post a Comment