Summer House by Nancy Thayer
Date: 4 November 2009
Set in Nantucket Island on the eastern seaboard of the United States, this book follows the fortunes and dramas of a Boston banking family who have been spending their summers in the huge house that has been in the family for generations. This summer they are all gathering for Nona's 90th birthday, a wedding and a Family Meeting, and the family loyalties, squabbles, jealousies and celebrations are played out in the hot summer days near the beach. I never thought I would be that interested in the lives of rich people, old money and strict traditions, yet strangely, I found myself reeled in and reading on, although I couldn't help but feel at times that their world was portrayed through somewhat rose tinted glasses. Nancy Thayer is herself a native of Nantucket and her obvious love of the landscape and the way of life certainly draws the reader in to the book.Not what I would describe as "chic lit" this is one of those books that could definitely be described as a good beach read.
AH