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3.45 AVERAGE
3.45 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Referred to his new lover as “a young boy” and ruined the book. The age gap was, for far too long, enough of a mystery that I was concerned it was illegal.
Lots of secrets. . Well developed characters... Enjoyed the ending.
Written during COVID, Jennifer Weiner wanted her new novel The Summer Place to be “a fun, lighthearted book,” a family drama “somewhere between a Noel Coward farce and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” When I read this in the Acknowledgments, I had a totally different reaction to the novel. It is so over-the-top with its twisted relationships and mispairings of lovers! When a character realizes his true sexual orientation thru sexy fan fiction, I burst into laughing for several minutes. Chapters alternated characters, revealing their bad choices, their inability to control their sexual responses to the wrong people.
Not my kind of novel at all, I was thinking. I had read Weiner’s last three novels and each had some issue that was explored through the characters. While reading, I puzzled over what the ‘point’ of this novel was. There was a whole lotta sex going on. A whole lotta secrets that were alienating people from those they most loved. There was a not quite believable resolution. Why did I read this novel?
Then I read the Acknowledgment statement.
Shakespeare’s comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream takes place before a marriage. By accident, lovers are realigned with very wrong pairings. And looking at The Summer Place this way, as a comedy about human frailty and the power of sexual attraction, how we all err and all need to seek forgiveness and forgive, is a gamechanger.
The pandemic impacted the romance between college students Ruby and Gabe. Gabe is drop-dead gorgeous, and bi, called an ‘angel’ by all who see him. Ruby has lusted after him for years and was thrilled when they finally hooked up. She intends to keep him, sure she will never have another chance like this. When Covid strikes, her parents want her living at home and not in the dorm. Ruby is unwilling to give up Gabe and asks if he can come with her. Her parents allow it.
Ruby’s dad Eli raised her after his first wife left, unhappy with the suburban mom lifestyle she never wanted. Years later, Ruby’s music teacher Sarah and Eli married.
When Ruby proposes to Gabe, her mother is afraid this pandemic romance won’t last, but knows to oppose it will only propel headstrong Ruby into eloping. Her dad’s reaction is quite different: he retreats into himself, distracted and shut down. His behavior harms his marriage, leaving his wife unhappy and open to romancing.
Secrets abound.
Ruby’s grandmother was a novelist who left publishing. She has her secrets, health related and past romance related that casts a shadow on the paternity of her twin children. Ruby’s uncle lost his beloved wife and now is secretly exploring his sexuality. Sarah lost her first love and gave up a career as a concert pianist. Then, there’s Gabe’s single mom who long ago solved an unwanted pregnancy through seduction and lies.
The Summer Place is the Cape Code family cottage, which oddly has a voice in several chapters, a device that didn’t work for me. The house has seen a lot over the years, knows all the history and heartbreak. The grandmother had hoped it would be filled with children and grandchildren, but instead it has been empty every year but for a few days. She intends to sell it. The house is fighting for it’s legacy and future.
Weiner’s books are promoted as perfect ‘beach reads,’ and many will find this book fits the bill. Just don’t take it too seriously. It wasn’t meant to be highbrow. It’s a book to entertain.
I received a free egalley from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.
Not my kind of novel at all, I was thinking. I had read Weiner’s last three novels and each had some issue that was explored through the characters. While reading, I puzzled over what the ‘point’ of this novel was. There was a whole lotta sex going on. A whole lotta secrets that were alienating people from those they most loved. There was a not quite believable resolution. Why did I read this novel?
Then I read the Acknowledgment statement.
Shakespeare’s comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream takes place before a marriage. By accident, lovers are realigned with very wrong pairings. And looking at The Summer Place this way, as a comedy about human frailty and the power of sexual attraction, how we all err and all need to seek forgiveness and forgive, is a gamechanger.
The pandemic impacted the romance between college students Ruby and Gabe. Gabe is drop-dead gorgeous, and bi, called an ‘angel’ by all who see him. Ruby has lusted after him for years and was thrilled when they finally hooked up. She intends to keep him, sure she will never have another chance like this. When Covid strikes, her parents want her living at home and not in the dorm. Ruby is unwilling to give up Gabe and asks if he can come with her. Her parents allow it.
Ruby’s dad Eli raised her after his first wife left, unhappy with the suburban mom lifestyle she never wanted. Years later, Ruby’s music teacher Sarah and Eli married.
When Ruby proposes to Gabe, her mother is afraid this pandemic romance won’t last, but knows to oppose it will only propel headstrong Ruby into eloping. Her dad’s reaction is quite different: he retreats into himself, distracted and shut down. His behavior harms his marriage, leaving his wife unhappy and open to romancing.
Secrets abound.
Ruby’s grandmother was a novelist who left publishing. She has her secrets, health related and past romance related that casts a shadow on the paternity of her twin children. Ruby’s uncle lost his beloved wife and now is secretly exploring his sexuality. Sarah lost her first love and gave up a career as a concert pianist. Then, there’s Gabe’s single mom who long ago solved an unwanted pregnancy through seduction and lies.
The Summer Place is the Cape Code family cottage, which oddly has a voice in several chapters, a device that didn’t work for me. The house has seen a lot over the years, knows all the history and heartbreak. The grandmother had hoped it would be filled with children and grandchildren, but instead it has been empty every year but for a few days. She intends to sell it. The house is fighting for it’s legacy and future.
Weiner’s books are promoted as perfect ‘beach reads,’ and many will find this book fits the bill. Just don’t take it too seriously. It wasn’t meant to be highbrow. It’s a book to entertain.
I received a free egalley from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.
Fun summer read. Beautiful family home on the coast of Cape Cod. So many interesting family members, so many secrets.
When they gather at the summer home for a family wedding, will the secrets be revealed? Will they destroy all that they have? (I would say 3.7 ⭐️
When they gather at the summer home for a family wedding, will the secrets be revealed? Will they destroy all that they have? (I would say 3.7 ⭐️
To be honest I started this book because it was about to expire from the library and I needed to get it read. I wasn’t totally sure if it would end as just another one of those typical summer beach read books or if it would actually be good.
LET ME TELL YOU WHAT. I adored this book. Finished it in one day. Truthfully it shocked me in multiple ways. Even to the very end. Things I thought were going to happen went a completely different direction and then kept switching. Truly a fantastic read and highly recommend!
LET ME TELL YOU WHAT. I adored this book. Finished it in one day. Truthfully it shocked me in multiple ways. Even to the very end. Things I thought were going to happen went a completely different direction and then kept switching. Truly a fantastic read and highly recommend!
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Summer Place is a quintessential beach read. The summer after COVID lock-down, Ruby announces she’s getting married. She wants the wedding to take place at her family’s beach house on Cape Cod, and she wants it to happen quickly. The whole family knows that when Ruby makes up her mind to do something, she is a very determined young woman.
Most members of the Danhauser family approve of the wedding. Ruby’s fiance, Gabe, has been living with them for the past year during lockdown. He’s a quiet young man, willing to follow in Ruby’s decisive track. But the wedding is sending one family member into complete terror. Due to an indiscretion during his prior marriage, Eli is terrified he might be Gabe’s father. While worrying himself to death over this, he puts his own marriage in jeopardy.
I was swept away into memories of my childhood by this novel. My grandmother owned a house on Cape Cod for about a dozen years. My small, immediate family visited her for a week or two every summer. I have many vivid, pleasant memories of hunting for sand dollars, digging for clams, swimming in the freezing waters, gawking at the sights in Provincetown and eating at Moby Dick’s.
One of the modern technologies mentioned in the book is DNA testing. In addition to Eli’s worries, there are more secrets in the Danhouser family that might come out if testing kits are used. I could really relate to this part of the story. Because of DNA testing, my sister and I recently discovered that we have a fairly close relative that we never knew existed. Obviously, there are deeply hidden secrets even in my own family!
I listened to the audio edition of this book and enjoyed the narration by Sutton Foster.
My Rating 4.5 Stars, Grade B+
Most members of the Danhauser family approve of the wedding. Ruby’s fiance, Gabe, has been living with them for the past year during lockdown. He’s a quiet young man, willing to follow in Ruby’s decisive track. But the wedding is sending one family member into complete terror. Due to an indiscretion during his prior marriage, Eli is terrified he might be Gabe’s father. While worrying himself to death over this, he puts his own marriage in jeopardy.
I was swept away into memories of my childhood by this novel. My grandmother owned a house on Cape Cod for about a dozen years. My small, immediate family visited her for a week or two every summer. I have many vivid, pleasant memories of hunting for sand dollars, digging for clams, swimming in the freezing waters, gawking at the sights in Provincetown and eating at Moby Dick’s.
One of the modern technologies mentioned in the book is DNA testing. In addition to Eli’s worries, there are more secrets in the Danhouser family that might come out if testing kits are used. I could really relate to this part of the story. Because of DNA testing, my sister and I recently discovered that we have a fairly close relative that we never knew existed. Obviously, there are deeply hidden secrets even in my own family!
I listened to the audio edition of this book and enjoyed the narration by Sutton Foster.
My Rating 4.5 Stars, Grade B+
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Okay, this book is drama! It’s like a reality tv show where every time someone turns to the camera for their monologue, a new bombshell is dropped.
Spanning from the late 1970s to the present, we see how each character has made mistakes that will all collide on a young couple’s wedding. The pandemic as a backdrop feels nostalgic despite it only being a few years ago. It’s familiar and foreign all at once.
I love the fact that we get to see the characters grapple with their wrongdoings. They justify them to themselves, but clearly harbor guilt so they hide it from others. There’s no “perfect” character. While some “sins” feel worse than others, everyone has something to own up to.
While some of the drama felt over the top, the climatic clash felt worth it. The epilogue was also satisfying enough. Definitely more of a summer read with a dash of angst.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity
Minor: Sexual assault, Antisemitism
I didn't love this book. The first half dragged. I would've given it 2 stars if it hadn't been for the last quarter of the book. Also, how much infidelity can one family suffer?
