A little dated but still the solid story and relationships you expect from Elin ( )

This for me is actually relatively ‘good’ literature, but it’s also fun—a relatively unusual combination, perhaps, or perhaps we’re simply trained not to see it. It’s not like a pop romance, where people’s bodies and the functions of those bodies (doing naughty things) are a big pull; it’s relatively ‘good’ romantic/personal drama that describes people’s personas and emotions, you know. And yet it’s still fun. It’s fun; it’s positive; it’s the product of the living—a positively risible combination of characteristics, no? But there are other ‘fun’ general lit books—four of the six Jane Austens, by my count, (“I mansplain to Emma” and “Fun is against the rules at Mansfield Park” aren’t fun—although Elin’s books are a bit like a sort of fun Mansfield maybe—pretty quiet—if it weren’t for that, right; anyway usually Jane was good to people, right); “A Man Called Ove”; some of the better sci-fi romances and teen books, like, to take the famous ones, “A Court of Thorns and Roses”, and V.E. Schwab; and, of course, “White Teeth”. 🦷 😺

Actually, I guess it’s not entirely clear to me yet whether this is more of a comedy-drama (observational comedy) or romantic/personal drama, but, it’s certainly Fun General Lit, you know. Again, we’re trained to think that there’s no such thing, people even take Jane’s books as an exercise in getting angry. Not that she’s ‘fun’ in the American sense; she’s very British, almost (northern/Milan) Italian or something, you know, very careful…. But not angry. But anyway. “Ahh, your friends aren’t miserable! What are we gonna do! What are we gonna DO! You’re stupid! You’re stupid! You’re breaking the rules! AHHHH!!!” (runs into wall)

Yeah. (shrugs) So, there’s that.

…. I suppose that the world wants action, not talk, and God only knows what the intellectuals want, probs the battles of the dead, or the dead inside, but I’ve always (it dates back to my first day of life: immediately after completing my theft of Apollo’s cattle….) had this fantasy that if I read books like Elin’s, I’ll learn about life, and people (either watching talk shows about stigmatizing people rich enough to care about, or plotting the return of the IRA or something equally, I don’t know—stupid, unreal) will realize that I’m learning about them, that I’m letting them in, you know. If you really wanted to go over it, you could go over it, just like any less familiar setting. It’s about us; it’s about America, and modern people—we’re in the book. It’s about families with bad fathers and bad parents. It’s about the kids. And it realistically depicts and subtly implies all sorts of things. It shouldn’t be kept out. It’s a real novel. It’s a real book.

…. Yeah, about this I won’t really write a review, I’ll just gush, as though I were an arrogant jackass who worked for the New York Times and didn’t love anyone but his old mother, you know—and didn’t give a fuck about the children, either. Yeah, it’s great. I can’t describe it! I can’t do it justice! Read it yourself!….

And that’s the only time you should gush: when it’s a solid workpiece, but too multifaceted and subtle to really take apart…. When you’re afraid you wouldn’t do a good job…. And of course, when nobody else would bother to show it the respect it deserves, because life isn’t worthy; life is common, and only the jackasses can be kings, you know.

…. I guess I will say one thing in a specific way. Like “Gossip Girl”—and they are both romances, and about charmed lives, and they’re both kinda cute—albeit in a more subtle way, it does kinda meditate on the neuroticism of the rich. All that money, but they can’t have good relationships, can’t parent their children well, just use the money to try to control them, to get them to act like old men, like they’re peasants who struck it rich or randomly found Gold Mountain but still gather round the fire and listen to superstitious stories at night, dressed in peasant’s skirts, peasant’s blouses, you know.

…. I felt quite differently about a number of these characters, the majority, by the end. At least one went from being select circle protagonist to washed-up Uber-Mann, you know. I don’t know how it ends yet, but I know what would disappoint me. It’s almost tragic for such an idyllic setting and meandering plot, you know. But the characters are too normal and the writing too realistic to have it be anything but the snapping of dead wood, you know.

…. If you won’t smile for money, you probably won’t smile. What will it take? Someone calling you intelligent? Sex? Drugs? A vision?

And he grew up to be a suit, you know. It’s a really sick system. Just smile, and take the money, and stop trying to be a communist princeling, you know.

…. Sometimes it’s a little stupid—never let go of your old job, your old gig! Jobs aren’t for making money! They’re for…. keeping! That’s ‘love’! Love is hanging onto fear; that’s what Jerry Jampolsky said!!—but I like the many small physical details about the small things of life, and reporting basically all dialogue exactly instead of incompletely. It’s her style.

…. And while there’s a sense in which happiness isn’t “temporary”—I don’t think you have to be miserable, (say it with me, Albert Ellis), about absolutely ~anything~, ~period~, but there is a sense in which happiness tends to be, and in one of its most welcome forms simply is, bound up in temporary things. Happiness comes and goes, like the tides, the seasons.

…. I just don’t get that promoters call this “steamy”, because there’s like, one sex scene for every 213 pages or something, so like one and a half, lol—and a “beach read”, whatever the hell that is. It seriously implies self-contempt, you know. And there’s no reason for it. None at all, really.

…. So yeah: I read this after the end of summer, almost into winter, and maybe when summer comes, I’ll read Aleister Crowley’s novel at the beach—on my Kindle. 😸

…. It’s a relatively grown-up book, more so than many; I only wish she had some grown-up characters to write about. But then it wouldn’t be once-born, would it?

The beach Club I believe was this authors first book.
It was a fantastic summer book. Tightly told story with well developed characters excellent plot and some enjoyable surprises. I will definitely check out some of this authors other books. ( )

Mack Peterson leaves Iowa and his parents' farm at the age of 18 after his parents' deaths. He lands in Nantucket and "hears" the island saying "home" to him. He is mistaken for the new concierge of The Beach Club and does the job for 12 years, always being resented by Vance, the young man who was supposed to have the job. Mack has problems with Mari bell, his live-in girlfriend of 6 years, his attraction to Andrea and her autistic son James, and the fact that he feels he should have a bigger stake in the Beach Club. All these things run through the issues raised by the never ending stream of high-paying guests at the 20 cottages and the local Beach Club members. ( )

I love how the whole story revolves around the beach hotel and the people who live, work and travel there.

There were a lot of characters in this book that the storyline focused on. It didn't seem possible that they'd all get a conclusion to their storyline. When it got to the very end, I still felt like a couple story lines were a bit open ended.

I enjoyed it plenty despite that.

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