One uncertain summer on Nantucket Island
changes the lives and loves of every member of an extended family.
Elin
Hilderbrand (The Perfect Couple)
dips into
historical fiction, setting Summer of '69 in the era of the Vietnam War
and Woodstock, a landmark moon landing and the scandal of Ted Kennedy's
Chappaquiddick car accident.
With
history playing out, the Foley-Levin family of the greater Boston Area had
planned to spend another summer at "All's Well," the Nantucket home
of Exalta Nichols, the family matriarch. This year, however, the family is
splintered, everyone facing the uncertainty of personal challenges:
Kate--Exalta's widowed, remarried daughter and mother of three adult children
of her own--is worried sick about 19-year-old Tiger, who fights for his country
and his life after he's drafted into the Vietnam War. Rebellious Kirby is a
hardworking 21-year-old; the free spirit and civil rights activist grapples
with a taboo love and bristles against the ramifications of the Kennedy
scandal. Blair, a 24-year-old intellectual, feels neglected as she endures a
difficult pregnancy with twins while her husband is wrapped up, manning Mission
Control for NASA. Jessie--the only offspring of Kate and her second husband,
David, a lawyer--is a sensitive, love-sick 12-year-old swept up in family
drama, preteen angst and the judgments of her elitist grandmother.
Hilderbrand
weaves the secret struggles, weaknesses and strengths of her well-developed
cast into a rich tapestry. Hot-button issues--classism, racism, anti-Semitism,
abortion, women's rights and the polarization of war--add resonant depth to Hilderbrand's trademark Cape Cod
Islands setting and well-plotted multiple storylines. Once again, Hilderbrand
shines, continuing to stretch her literary range with great success.
The Summer of ‘69 by Elin Hilderbrand
Little, Brown and Company, $28.00 Hardcover, 9780316420013, 432 pages
Publication Date: June 18, 2019
To order this book on INDIEBOUND, link HERE
NOTE: This review is a reprint and is being posted
with the permission of Shelf Awareness. To read this review on Shelf Awareness: Reader's Edition (June 21, 2019), link HERE