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The Beach House Review
Jane Green is one of the preeminent authors of women’s fiction today, and with each new novel, her audience grows. Green’s avid and loyal fans follow her because she writes about the true-to-life dilemmas of women—and The Beach House will not disappoint. Known in Nantucket as the crazy woman who lives in the rambling house atop the bluff, Nan doesn’t care what people think. At sixty-five-years old, her husband died twenty years ago, her beauty has faded, and her family has flown. If her neighbors are away, why shouldn’t she skinny dip in their swimming pools and help herself to their flowers? But when she discovers the money she thought would last forever is dwindling and she could lose her beloved house, Nan knows she has to make drastic changes. So Nan takes out an ad: Rooms to rent for the summer in a beautiful old Nantucket home with water views and direct access to the beach. Slowly, people start moving into the house, filling it with noise, with laughter, and with tears. As the house comes alive again, Nan finds her family expanding. Her son comes home for the summer, and then an unexpected visitor turns all their lives upside-down. User Submitted The Beach House ReviewsAugust 30, 2008 Perhaps next time a little more charm and a little less fluff? Perhaps my first mistake is that this is simply not the type of book I usually read. I have never before read Jane Green and only picked up this book because a magazine recommended it and I thought a quirky old lady in Nantucket would be delightul and whimsical. I just don't like to sit around and read melo-dramatic soap operas starring characters for whom I feel nothing. Jane Green's writing is pretty enough, and I don't think this is a book that will deter me from reading more of her. But, well, this book was not what I expected--which is not always a bad thing--but in the end it truly failed to grab me. It could have been cute. It could have been sweet and heartwarming, but I never really connected with it. It was little more than a grand possibility and fluffy little affairs. Sweet, I suppose, but not what I'm into and still did not have much I would recommend. August 30, 2008 The Beach House I really enjoyed this book. Not having read any of Jane Green's writing, I went with the notion that as a best seller, it had to be good. And I was not disapointed. I love the East coast (I'm from the West coast)and Nantucket is a favorite. You can tell from her descriptions and characters she did a lot of research on both, and I'm always impressed with the effort writers put into their writings. I highly recommend this novel. Fast, easy to follow even tho there are a number of characters involved. For men as well as women. August 29, 2008 wonderful book Light, fun summer reading. Green's style is very intimate. I felt as though she was sitting across the table from me and telling me the details of her characters lives. And what characters they are. Motivation is something that always look for. Many times it's hard to find. But here the characters' actions and feelings make sense. August 29, 2008 An Easy Read An easy read with nothing too mind straining, but totally enjoying. Holds your interest while not taxing the brain. August 28, 2008 The Beach House Read this on the beach. Loved it. Kept picturing Diane Keaton as main character. August 27, 2008 disappointing If you are a white, upper middle class, female 30- or 40-something from New England who is going through a divorce, this book may be cathartic for you. However, if you fit another demographic group, this book is probably a waste of money and time. If you can stick with it past the halfway point, it is somewhat more readable (but not great). The stream of consciousness style combined with omniscient narrator style (sometimes both in the same paragraph!)is annoying , as are all the run on sentences and bad punctuation/typos (plurals where she means possessive), etc. But primarily it's simply unpleasant to read all the whining and soul searching of every character in the book as white upper middle class marriage after marriage breaks up, combined with the absence of action (other than to pack up and travel to the beach house). A much better use of your energy would be Anita Diamant's "Last Days of Dogtown" or "Red Tent." Chick books too (although my husband also likes them), but extremely well written and researched. Diamant's fluid and lovely writing style, historical perspective, thoughtful observations, action, and the interaction between characters is gripping. August 26, 2008 The Beach House by Jane Green Very entertaining, though somewhat predictable. Great light summer read. Made me want to visit Nantucket. Enjoyable. August 25, 2008 Light Read with Memorable Characters This book kept showing up as a recommendation, so I finally decided to get a copy and take it with me to the beach last week. I'm glad I did. It's a breezy read, painting a summer picture of Nantucket and filling it with an array of colorful, well-drawn characters. I couldn't help but fall in love with the central character, Nan, a kooky old broad who rides a bicycle around town and helps herself to flowers in her neighbor's gardens. The additional characters revolve around her as she, determined to keep her landmark home, ventures into an innkeeping business. I read this in two afternoons. If you like character driven women's fiction, I also recommend: Secret Confessions of the Applewood PTA, It's Not Your Mother's Bridge Club, and The Jane Austen Book Club August 25, 2008 A dead whale in the surf... I'm struggling to get through this book right now. The first chapter hooked me. I love the notion of Nan and her free spirit. But after chapter one, this book is hurdling downhill like a bus with no brakes. Each subsequent chapter is full of "introduction" dribble - boring. I find myself flipping the pages to the next chapter just to see if it gets back on track with anything exciting to say. Sadly, it doesn't. This book is a big, wad of love mush gone astray. For example, "She loves her daddy so much it hurts." Ugh. Can Jane Green not do better than that? August 23, 2008 Not typical Jane Green I didn't find this to be "typical" Jane Green, which are books I usually have a hard time putting down, but I still found it a worthwhile read. The first 3rd of the book is a real grabber but it somewhat loses momentum after that. As always, she does an excellent job introducing characters and drawing you into their lives, but I struggle with the way she weaves them all together to share the high point and plot. Still, you have to give her credit for diverse story line -- an aging mother with financial problems, a coming-out gay man, a couple of extramarital affairs, a disillusioned divorcee, a troubled young girl, and a born-again gambling addict. She manages to pull it all off, which to me is real talent but very little to identify with. For more The Beach House reviews click here.
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