Sunday Salon ~ Laid Up and Reading like a Crazy Lady!

This is going to be a quick Sunday Salon. My computer time is limited right now (why did I ever decide against a laptop?! I'm looking at getting one now ...and dreaming of an iPad!). I cracked a bone in my hip area and have to keep off it as much as possible and keep my leg elevated. It's an awful spot for a crack because it's difficult to find a comfortable position when I'm not in pain...it hurts when I sit and when I lie down. Ugh! It'll take some time for it to heal enough that I can begin using it. And because my bones are more delicate and not as strong as they should be I have to be even more careful. But I think just one more week of being really careful and I should be able to spend much more time on my computer blogging! But at least I'm home and my orthopedist didn't hospitalize me. He wanted to, though!


The cats are very good at keeping me company although some of them don't understand that they cannot sit on my lap! I've been reading a lot and have drafted some reviews which I'm trying to persuade a certain someone to type up for me! (Ssshhhh!!). I finished Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese for Erin's Reading Buddies Project for June. I think she posted her final thoughts about the book. When I'm able, I will comment on her post and then post my own review. I thought it was a terrific book. I also finished Miss Timmin's School for Girls by Nayyana Currimbhoy which I'll review soon for TLC Book Tours. I really enjoyed this book and I'm sad I've finished it. I'm reading Endless Nights by Agatha Christie. Devourer of Books is hosting a discussion tomorrow and I'm hoping I can join in for a little while. I'm reading Next to Love by Ellen Feldman. Several bloggers have already reviewed this book. It's wonderful so far. I'm still reading Strange Relations by Rachel Hadas, too. It's a beautiful, sad but lovely book and one to be savored. Finally, I started The Sweetness of Tears by Nafisa Haji which seems very good.

What are you reading and enjoying this Sunday?


Don't forget to enter the Literary Giveaway Blog Hop hosted by Leeswammes! Good Luck!

Have a wonderful Sunday!

The Literary Giveaway Blog Hop! Have Fun!

Welcome to the Literary Giveaway Blog Hop!

The Literary Giveaway Blog Hop is hosted by Leeswammes. Be sure to check out her post!

Between now and Wednesday, June 29th, you can hop to over 70 different book blogs, all offering one or more giveaways of books or bookish items. All books will be literary (non)fiction or something close to that.
Follow the links at the bottom of this post to find the other participating blogs. This is my first time listing all of the blog participants in a Blog Hop so I'm not promising the list below works! And for some reason, I think there's a huge gap between my post and the blog list!?! Oh well! But Leeswammes' Blog has a clear, working list of all Literary Giveaway Blog Hop participants!

My Giveaway:
As part of the blog hop I will be giving away 2 books, which are open for worldwide entries. Two lucky winners can choose between these books:



Neither book is new, but they are in excellent condition, it's difficult to tell they're not new! You can enter for one book or for both books.

Felicia's Journey by William Trevor: William Trevor has long been hailed as one of the "very best writers of our era" (The Washington Post). In both his short stories and his novels, Trevor manages to shed light on the darkest corners of the human heart. It is no surprise, then, that with Felicia's Journey Trevor uses his gifts as a master storyteller—spare, lyrical prose; a tightly woven story; and finely drawn characters—to turn out this psychological thriller.

Felicia's Journey is a simple tale told with a subtle complexity. Felicia is an Irish country girl who has come to England to look for her jilted lover. Hilditch is a mild-mannered, gentle psychopath who lures the helpless Felicia into his trap. Interestingly, we see the story from each character's eyes when they are separate, but from Hilditch's view when they are together. It is an unusual and effective device that distorts the perspective and adds texture to a classic story.


March by Geraldine Brooks: As the North reels under a series of unexpected defeats during the dark first year of the American Civil War, one man leaves behind his family to aid the Union cause. His experiences will utterly change his marriage and challenge his most ardently held beliefs. Riveting and elegant as it is meticulously researched, March is an extraordinary novel woven out of the lore of American history.

From Louisa May Alcott’s beloved classic Little Women, Geraldine Brooks has taken the character of the absent father, March, who has gone off to war leaving his wife and daughters. To evoke him, Brooks turned to the journals and letters of Bronson Alcott, Louisa May’s father, a friend and confidant of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau.

The rules:

1. Anyone can enter. You do not need to have a blog.
2. I’m sending out the books myself so the only thing you need is a post-office recognised address anywhere in the world, where you can receive packages.
3. You do not have to be a follower or become a follower, although if you like my blog I hope you will! You can follow by Google Friend Connect or by RSS (see buttons in the side bar on the right).
4. You can enter the giveaways until June 29th, 11:59 pm EST.
5. Double or invalid entries will be removed.
6. I will notify the winners by email. The winners need to answer my email within 48 hours or I’ll announce a new winner.

Good luck!!

Leeswammes (Int) The Book Whisperer (Int) Kristi Loves Books (Int) Teadevotee (Int) Bookworm with a View (Int) Bibliosue (Int) Sarah Reads Too Much (Int) write meg! (USA) My Love Affair With Books (Int) Seaside Book Nook (Int) Uniflame Creates (Int) Always Cooking Up Something (Int) Book Journey (Int) ThirtyCreativeStudio (Int) Col Reads (Int) The Book Diva's Reads (Int) The Scarlet Letter (USA) The Parrish Lantern (Int) Lizzy's Literary Life (Int) Read, Write & Live (Int) Book'd Out (Int) The Readers' Suite (Int) I Am A Reader, Not A Writer (USA) Ephemeral Digest (Int) Miel et lait (Int) Bibliophile By the Sea (Int) Polychrome Interest (Int) Book World In My Head (Int) In Spring it is the Dawn (Int) everybookhasasoul (Int) Nishita's Rants and Raves (Int) Fresh Ink Books (Int) Teach with Picture Books (USA) How to Teach a Novel (USA) The Blue Bookcase (Int) Gaskella (Int) Reflections from the Hinterland (USA) chasing bawa (Int) 51stories (Int) No Page Left Behind (USA)

Silver's Reviews (USA) Nose in a book (Int) Lit in the Last Frontier (Int) The Book Club Blog (Int) Under My Apple Tree (Int) Caribousmom (USA) breienineking (Netherlands) Let's Go on a Picnic! (Int) Rikki's Teleidoscope (Int) De Boekblogger (Netherlands) Knitting and Sundries (Int) Elle Lit (USA) Indie Reader Houston (Int) The Book Stop (Int) Eliza Does Very Little (Int) Joy's Book Blog (Int) Lit Endeavors (USA) Roof Beam Reader (Int) The House of the Seven Tails (Int) Tony's Reading List (Int) http://thinkingaboutloud.blogspot.com/ Rebecca Reads (Int) Kinna Reads (Int) In One Eye, Out the Other (USA) Books in the City (Int) Lucybird's Book Blog (Europe) Book Clutter (USA) Exurbanis (Int) Lu's Raves and Rants (USA & Canada) Sam Still Reading (Int) Dolce Bellezza (Int) Lena Sledge's Blog...Books, Reviews and Interviews (Int) a Thousand Books with Quotes (Int)

Wordless Wednesday ~ Playful Jazzy!

The adorably grouchy Jazzy does have a playful side to her...particularly after imbibing on catnip!!




I thought Jazzy deserved some blog attention, she usually keeps to herself and stays out of the limelight!

I might not be posting or visiting other blogs very much for several days since I cracked a bone in my hip area or injured something...the docs are still trying to figure it out! (Oy!) But whatever it is, I'm less mobile than usual and have the least amount of pain when I sit very still with my leg elevated. I'll be back on a daily basis asap!

Monday Movies ~ Prozac Anyone?...

Feature Presentation...
MONDAY MOVIE MEME

June is Sandy's month to choose the theme for the Monday Movie Meme. Today's topic is movies that leave you thoroughly depressed after viewing. On her blog, Molly relates that she's so relaxed about not having to come up with a movie topic that she forgot to post anything until she woke this morning and remembered the movie meme! I did a similar thing in that I plumb forgot it was Monday and therefore the awesome Monday Movie Meme day. But better late than never! I've listed below movies that really bummed me out. We're not talking sad movies that maybe caused you to shed a tear or two but, as Sandy put it, films "that make you want to drive your car into a wall.". Most of these movies are very good, but be aware they will bum you out! See Sandy's great list of films at You've GOTTA Read This Share on your blog movies that make you go totally bummed out and link back to The Bumbles Blog so that others can find you. And don't forget to visit your fellow participants!


Leaving Las Vegas (1995)

There Will Be Blood (2007)

Last Exit in Brooklyn (1989)

Bubble (2005)

The Pledge (2001)

Ordinary People (1980)

The American (2010)

Mystic River (2003)

~ Hello Goodbye by Emily Chenoweth ~

Title: Hello Goodbye
Author: Emily Chenoweth
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Published Date: June 14, 2011
ISBN: 978-0062-034601
Pages: 304
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Book Summary: In the summer after her freshman year of college, Abby Hansen embarks on what might be a final vacation with her parents to a historic resort in northern New Hampshire. The Presidential Hotel, with its stately rooms and old-fashioned dress code, seems almost unbearably stuffy to Abby, but the young, free-spirited hotel staff offers her the chance for new friendships, and maybe even romance.

However, for her parents, Elliott and Helen, their time spent together in the shadow of the White Mountains has taken on a deeper meaning. By inviting family friends to join them, they open their marriage up to a lifetime of confessions, and they must confront a secret about Helen’s health that they have been hiding from their daughter.

Heartbreaking and luminous, Hello Goodbye deftly explores a family’s struggle with love and loss, as a summer vacation becomes an occasion for awakening.


My Thoughts: Somebody once told me I like to read depressing books in which bad things happen to people. I beg to differ! Human beings and their behavior intrigue me. As such, friends have said I should've gone into psychology or psychiatry because I like to listen to people talk about their lives. All aspects: the good, the bad and the ugly. And, in point of fact, I'm pretty good at it. Illness and tragedy are a part of life and people react to them in a variety of ways. What I've seen in my own life makes me interested in the human condition, but I'm not a voyeur, so I read fiction.

A good study of people in the face of illness comes from Emily Chenoweth's debut novel, Hello Goodbye. It begins as the Hayes family pulls up to the Presidential Hotel one Monday morning in August 1990. It's quickly apparent that something isn't right. The Presidential Hotel presents so "... spectacular and sudden a vision" as you drive through ornate iron gates and up "...a narrow road beneath vine-wrapped lampposts whose globes flickered with gaslight, past a pond edged by daylilies and tall, whispering grasses..." but there's little reaction from the Hayes. When wife and mother, Helen starts to say the hotel looks like a ship but cannot remember which, she says "You know, that one..." Abby, the eighteen-year old daughter, replies, "Actually, we don't know". Her unexpected rudeness contrasts vividly with the beautiful setting. Not the relaxed excitement you expect from a family on vacation at a beautiful resort.

Emily Chenoweth does a good job creating a family trying to appear normal but filled with tension and uncertainty. Abby holds out the hope that possibly, in a grand place like this, things might get a bit better: "She could imagine her father relaxing, her mother feeling stronger, and herself becoming kinder and more attentive.". Before long we realize Abby's father Elliott doesn't share her hope. But he hasn't shared everything he knows with Abby or Helen for quite some time. Elliott is so tense and unnerved, he's taken up smoking. And smoking a lot.

Helen Hayes was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor seven months ago. After undergoing chemotherapy and radiation, doctors informed Elliott there was nothing more to be done and Helen will die soon. Elliott still hasn't shared this information with anyone, including Abby. He's planned a week's vacation at the Presidential Hotel resort in New Hampshire, near where he and Helen lived when they were first married. Several long-time friends will join them during the week, which will culminate in a dinner celebrating Elliott and Helen's 20th Anniversary. At some point during the week, Elliott will tell their friends and then Abby what the doctors told him

Elliott Hayes is one of the two main characters in Hello Goodbye narrated in the third person. Elliott is a decent man in an impossible, upsetting situation. He desperately wants to protect Helen and Abby from the truth but knows that ultimately he can't. His awareness of his inability to do so frustrates him. Chenoweth does a remarkable job creating a man who, in his fear of losing the woman he loves and their life together, realizes his limits as a human being. It comes naturally and without surprise that he almost collapses under the weight of this knowledge. This is a testament to Chenoweth's ability to understand people, and it's even more impressive that she is able to paint so believable a portrait of someone of the opposite sex.

Abby is the other main character but she's not as sympathetic or relatable. Chenoweth has made her, for lack of a better term, the "typical" sullen teenager. But this doesn't quite fit particularly since Abby is eighteen-years old. Abby has been away at college and isn't aware of what the last seven months have been like for her mother or her father. She only knows Helen is a shadow of the woman she used to be, literally and figuratively. She and Helen had an extremely close relationship, as much like sisters and best friends as mother and daughter. It's difficult to discern this from Abby's behavior towards Helen now. Abby spends little time with her mother and when they are together, she seems to be there more out of a sense of duty than desire.

Her attitude towards Elliot is short and dismissive, her thoughts are rude and she shows no empathy for the obviously difficult time he is having. It's no wonder Elliott finds Abby closed-off and confusing. Our initial urge is to sympathize with Abby and to hug her. But her detached, self-absorbed attitude alters that quickly. We also find her confusing, on the one hand immature and self-centered, on the other troubled and endearing.

Abby's not relaxed with her peers, either. The young members of the hotel staff invite her to their after-hours gatherings. She's awkward, insecure and uncomfortable when the boys pay attention to her and quiet and reserved with the girls. When Vic, a young, smart, good looking member of the staff, who spent time with Abby's family several years ago, calls her stuck-up, we're inclined to agree. Unfortunately, Chenoweth doesn't provide us enough information to fully understand what's going on with Abby. She comes across as a genuine, flawed human being, a stereotypical teenager in some ways. But she's too old to be an immature, spoiled girl. I suppose it's possible that she's reverted to that behavior in light of Helen's illness. Abby prioritizes her life while at the Presidential Hotel, in such a way that meeting people seems more important than her family. She has this one week to spend with her family, her mother in particular, away from the rigors of everyday life and Helen's medical issues. Instead she retreats to her peers. It's hard to sympathize with Abby, let alone like her. She's intriguing but not really recognizable to us. Our hope is that she finds her way to reconciling the reality of life, her mother's illness and her father's love for her and becomes a well adjusted, if not happy young woman.

Hello Goodbye is not a sappy, melodramatic treatise on coping with the debilitating illness of a loved one. Chenoweth's novel is an unsentimental, realistic look at how one family copes with their grief as beloved wife, mother and friend struggles with cancer. Chenoweth makes some astute observations about human behavior and manages convincingly to include light-hearted moments in her poignant debut. Still, while reading Hello Goodbye I couldn't dismiss the feeling that something was missing. Possibly it's too reserved and needs a little pathos, if not sentimentality. I'm having trouble putting my finger on it. Don't misunderstand me: I much prefer Chenoweth's novel to overly-emotional stories that try to be heart wrenching. But Elliot and Abby in particular seem too disconnected from real life at times. Perhaps that disconnectedness is what Chenoweth wanted to convey and for us to feel. She does this effectively if we are to take it that the main characters are in shock over the sudden, dramatic change in their enjoyable lives. The problem is, as with some other issues in the book, we don't know because Chenoweth doesn't provide us quite enough information.

Overall this is a powerful, deeply penetrating and captivating book. I would recommend it to anyone interested in a book about coping with life in crisis. Or if you just want a good read that has an impact. Chenoweth's debut novel has, in my opinion, something for everyone and I look forward to her next effort.


Thank you to Harper Perennial for a copy of Hello Goodbye and to TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Night Road by Kristin Hannah

Title: Night Road
Author: Kristin Hannah
ISBN: 978-0312364427
Pages: 400
Release Date: March 22, 2011
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Genre: Contemporary Fiction; Women's Fiction
Rating: 3.0 out of 5

Publisher's summary: For a mother, life comes down to a series of choices.
To hold on…
To let go..
To forget…
To forgive…
Which road will you take?

For eighteen years, Jude Farraday has put her children’s needs above her own, and it shows—her twins, Mia and Zach—are bright and happy teenagers. When Lexi Baill moves into their small, close knit community, no one is more welcoming than Jude. Lexi, a former foster child with a dark past, quickly becomes Mia’s best friend. Then Zach falls in love with Lexi and the three become inseparable.
Jude does everything to keep her kids safe and on track for college. It has always been easy-- until senior year of high school. Suddenly she is at a loss. Nothing feels safe anymore; every time her kids leave the house, she worries about them.
On a hot summer’s night her worst fears come true. One decision will change the course of their lives. In the blink of an eye, the Farraday family will be torn apart and Lexi will lose everything. In the years that follow, each must face the consequences of that single night and find a way to forget…or the courage to forgive.

My Thoughts: I have seen Kristin Hannah reviewed on numerous book blogs throughout the community but never read one. I saw Night Road advertised in the Shelf Awareness Newsletter so I looked it up on Goodreads and the story sounded interesting. When I'm not feeling well or in a lot of pain, I like a book that isn't too intense or heavy, one that will distract and absorb me. Night Road is a sweet story but not what I expected or hoped. It was too melodramatic, the characters either too intense or too superficial and their behavior unrealistic, as were many of the situations in which they found themselves.

The story begins with one of the two main characters, fourteen year old Lexi Baill. meeting her great aunt Eva to live with her in a double-wide trailer in Port George, Washington. Lexi has already had more than her share of hardship and for many years lived in foster care. The trailer might not look like much but for Lexi it's paradise compared to some of the places she's lived. Lexi finds it difficult to trust that Eva really wants her living there with her. After all, it's been so long since Lexi has felt wanted or loved by anyone. But Eva tries to make Lexi understand that she wants her living in her home. Lexi and Eva form a tight bond we're told but Hannah spends little time on the details of their relationship. I was hoping to find out more about Lexi's family history and thought she and Eva would talk about that and other things. After so much time alone, I expected Lexi would want to be with her great aunt a lot more than she does. Hannah doesn't develop Eva's character and she makes only occasional appearances in this book which I found disappointing and puzzling.

Lexi meets Mia Farraday and her twin brother Zach, on the first day of school and the girls bond instantly. The twin's mother, Jude Farraday, decides Lexi, after some major questioning, is an acceptable friend for Mia despite her sketchy family history. Lexi quickly becomes like a third Farraday child. From here on in, the first half of the novel revolves around the Farraday’s world of wealth and privilege. There are regular reminders that Lexi wasn't born into this world but the only one who seems somewhat concerned about this, besides Eva, is Jude, who doesn't want anything to compromise the glorious future she has planned for her children.

On her worst day Jude Farraday would beat June Cleaver for mother of the year . Perhaps the similarity is the genesis of her name. Jude drives a black Escalade and is a Michele Pfeiffer look-alike. She's involved in every aspect of her children's lives and, though they are teenagers, aside from a few eye-rolls, are perfectly fine with that. Zach is Mr. Popularity and the smartest kid in the class while Mia is more introspective and nerdy. She's been a loner most of her life but has never begrudged Zach his circle of beautiful, terrific friends. At school they don't mix much but at home Mia and Zach are close. Now Mia has Lexi as her best friend so life is rosy.

Kristin Hannah's writing is engaging and each sentence flows smoothly into the next. But I found it difficult to take Night Road seriously. Hannah's created a superficial, perfect world in which the Farradays live. A trailer park world that couldn't be more different is Lexi's real home and one we see very little. In fact, once Lexi meets the Farraday Family, very little time in Night Road is spent on Lexi's side of Port George. Lexi spends almost all her free time with Mia or with the family at the Farraday home. Hannah virtually ignores her aunt Eva whose relationship is one-dimensional. Lexi's background and lifestyle are referenced infrequently and mostly only when she's having a bad moment. It's difficult not to feel that Hannah sees Lexi's world as uncomfortable and unacceptable.

Later in the novel, when Lexi descends to a dark place, Hannah brushes over it with a line or two, rather than use this time to show us another side of Lexi. It's as if Hannah doesn't want to admit there's a darker side of life. It's difficult to believe that Lexi, who hasn't trusted anyone for years, slips almost flawlessly into the Farraday's life, accepting them with few doubts or questions and, despite a glitch here or there, everything works out perfectly. Eva warns Lexi to be careful because the Farradays are so different from her, and cautions that Lexi shouldn't expect to be considered an equal when it comes down to it. In other words, the Farraday parents would never compromise their own for Lexi's benefit or comfort. It's obvious that Eva feels she doesn't have the right to tell Lexi what to do and she feels she cannot compete with the glitter and luxury of the Farraday's lifestyle.

Much of the book is spent showing Jude Farraday’s pride and obsession with her children. They come before anything else in her life. The book could have been up to one third shorter had the author give the reader enough credit to know that, after one or two examples, we understand that. But Hannah doesn't seem to be able to stop hammering home this point. This is beyond foreshadowing so when the inevitable crises does occur, there are no surprises. When tragedy strikes, Jude Farraday’s personality alters completely. We see a subdued, depressed side of her. Again, Hannah hammers home this side of Jude. We’re told again and again how unhappy she is, how ineffective she is in taking care of her family. What we don’t get is much insight into what’s going on with Jude. We’re told how she feels, what she thinks repeatedly but we don’t get more than a few pages about the deep, complex side of Jude Farraday. Why is she so obsessed with her children, why does life have to be so perfect, why can’t she face the bad stuff? This occurs with other characters in Night Road, as well. It brings us to the real problem: Hannah doesn't tell us, or doesn't give us enough to go on to help figure out why her characters do what they do. She makes bold statements about her characters but doesn't help inform us in any significant detail, as to the "why's" of their choices

Without going into detail, there is a tragedy that directly affects Jude and everyone else. However, Jude's reaction fails to resonate with me. It's too much, too severe, to make it seem believable. This is symptomatic of the book's major problem. It doesn't have a sense of subtlety or degrees: everything is black or white. Not to say that Hannah isn't good at creating a touching and absorbing story with engaging, impassioned characters. But I think it would be far more compelling if they displayed more nuance in their behavior, making them more three-dimensional because in real life, people aren't just one way or another. They are more complex and as such, act and react in their worlds with varying shades of strength, weakness, delight and sadness, love, hate and apathy.

I said in the beginning of my review this is a sweet story. It is. It has the requisite happy ending, as well. But there isn’t much complexity or depth and little realism. Part of the reason I wanted to review this book is because the back cover states “Kristin Hannah has made an emotional, artistic and literary leap with Night Road”. There are many emotional scenes in Night Road but I didn’t connect with the characters or the story.

Kristin Hannah has a website chock full of information!

Thank you to St, Martin’s Press for sending me an Arc copy of Night Road to read and review.

Friday Finds ~ Two Great Book for Summer!

Friday Finds is hosted by Should Be Reading . Two books that look like great books to read over summer!


Ten Thousand Saints by Eleanor Henderson
Adopted by a pair of diehard hippies, restless, marginal Jude Keffy-Horn spends much of his youth getting high with his best friend, Teddy, in their bucolic and deeply numbing Vermont town. But when Teddy dies of an overdose on the last day of 1987, Jude's relationship with drugs and with his parents devolves to new extremes. Sent to live with his pot-dealing father in New York City's East Village, Jude stumbles upon straight edge, an underground youth culture powered by the paradoxical aggression of hardcore punk and a righteous intolerance for drugs, meat, and sex. With Teddy's half brother, Johnny, and their new friend, Eliza, Jude tries to honor Teddy's memory through his militantly clean lifestyle. But his addiction to straight edge has its own dangerous consequences. While these teenagers battle to discover themselves, their parents struggle with this new generation's radical reinterpretation of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll and their grown-up awareness of nature and nurture, brotherhood and loss.

Moving back and forth between Vermont and New York City, Ten Thousand Saints is an emphatically observed story of a frayed tangle of family members brought painfully together by a death, then carried along in anticipation of a new and unexpected life. With empathy and masterful skill, Eleanor Henderson has conjured a rich portrait of the modern age and the struggles that unite and divide generations.


I saw this one on The Book Lady's Blog:


Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan
For the Kellehers, Maine is a place where children run in packs, showers are taken outdoors, and old Irish songs are sung around a piano at night. Their beachfront property, won on a barroom bet after the war, sits on three acres of sand and pine nestled between stretches of rocky coast, with one tree bearing the initials “A.H.” At the cottage, built by Kelleher hands, cocktail hour follows morning mass, nosy grandchildren snoop in drawers, and decades-old grudges simmer beneath the surface.
As three generations of Kelleher women descend on the property one summer, each brings her own hopes and fears. Maggie is thirty-two and pregnant, waiting for the perfect moment to tell her imperfect boyfriend the news; Ann Marie, a Kelleher by marriage, is channeling her domestic frustration into a dollhouse obsession and an ill-advised crush; Kathleen, the black sheep, never wanted to set foot in the cottage again; and Alice, the matriarch at the center of it all, would trade every floorboard for a chance to undo the events of one night, long ago.
By turns wickedly funny and achingly sad, Maine unveils the sibling rivalry, alcoholism, social climbing, and Catholic guilt at the center of one family, along with the abiding, often irrational love that keeps them coming back, every summer, to Maine and to each other.