The Beach House [BARGAIN PRICE] (Audio CD)

by Jane Green (Author), Cassandra Campbell (Contributor)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
Sixty-five-year-old Nan Powell has lived comfortably and happily in Nantucket since the suicide of her husband, Everett, so she is thrown for a loop when she learns that she is in danger of losing her beloved house. After weighing her options, Nan decides to turn her home into a bed-and-breakfast. The guests she gets for the summer are all at a crossroads in their lives in one way or another. Daniel has just separated from his wife and is facing something he has denied for years; Daff is recovering from the heartbreak of a divorce and getting a much-needed break from her anger-filled 13-year-old daughter; and Nan’s son Michael is on the run from a disastrous affair. Nan finds herself opening up to her guests and enjoying their company, but she is shocked when she discovers a person close to one of them has a startling connection to her. Peopled with likable, flawed, realistic characters and moving seamlessly between them, this is Green’s best novel in years, a compelling, unputdownable read. --Kristine Huntley --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review
“Green gives you a clear sense of Nantucket’s weathered splendor and offers up a refreshing summertime getaway…best read on a deck chair somewhere.”
—Chicago Sun-Times

“A sweetly memorable summer story, capturing the relaxing, renewing quality of life at the shore. . .”
—New Orleans Times-Picayune

“Breezy…deeply appealing.”
—Connecticut Post

“Green’s best novel in years, a compelling, unputdownable read.”
—Booklist --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Penguin Audio; Unabridged edition (June 17, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 0143143271
• ASIN: B001LF4AMM
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 5.3 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (178 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #435,070 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

67 of 75 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Beach house foam, July 13, 2008

By	E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Beach House (Hardcover)

Jane Green tends to write write fluffy beach reads, the sort of books that get turned into equally fluffy TV movies.

And in "The Beach House," she links together a series of storylines that could have easily made up their own books, with a warm'n'fuzzy sentimental core in an ancient Nantucket house. Unfortunately it begins to come unravelled about halfway through, and some of those storylines simply rush to the finish line without bothering to spin up a satisfactory conclusion.

Eccentric widow Nan Powell is faced with selling her beloved old house Windermere, with its memories of her beloved albeit gambling-addicted hubby. The alternative: take in boarders for money, and fend off the developers who want to tear down Windermere for McMansions.

At about this time, her son Michael returns home after an ill-fated affair with his boss's clingy wife, who now wants a commitment from him. And among the boarders are Daff, a newly-divorced wife and mother who is seeking "herself," and Daniel, a nervy young man who has just realized that he is gay, and is struggling to deal with this. His young wife Bee, who is understandably upset by her husband's distance, is still ignorant of this.

As time winds on -- and the developers circle around Nan's run-down mansion -- the various people begin to relax and open up to each other, like members of a family. But then a series of crises hit -- Bee's father is badly injured, Daff's daughter is arrested, and Michael's desperate former lover shows up with some shocking news for him (yes, you can probably guess what). And even Nan is faced with an old face from her past, who she thought was gone forever....

"The Beach House" has more than enough plot -- any of its subplots would make a decent novel, and Green winds together a series of them with some tenuous links. Jewelry stores, yuppie marriage counseling, and an empty house post-divorce are all explored in detail, as the characters' lives start spinning out of control. And she tackles some of the nastier aspects of adultery and moving on, such as disaster dates and a tantrum-throwing teenager.

But when all the characters get to Nantucket, Green seems to lose some of her inspiration. She rushes through the last quarter of the book after a leisurely build-up. And she seems vaguely embarrassed by the prospect of a big emotional scene -- big shattering events are dealt with via a phone call, a horrifying betrayal is handled by a few sniping comments and general shunning. One character even conveniently expires to avoid dealing with the general baggage.

This is particularly troublesome in Daniel's story -- his coming-out and tentative explorations into the gay subculture is both wrenching and intriguing, as you wonder what this loving father will do to avoid hurting his wife and kids. But once he's out'n'proud, then Green shies away from actually dealing with it, or with his attraction to the conveniently hunky Matt. The drippy "let's not have sex because I want a commitment" scene is simply absurd.

As for the characters, they're a mixed bag. Nan is the biggest problem -- she's not really eccentric, and she's not really nurturing. Yet Green has her randomly flip-flop between being an eccentric old free spirit, and being an earth mother-type. Not that it's very plausible that her tomato garden could instantly turn a spoiled, shrieking, shoplifting regressed teenager into a little angel overnight.

On the other hand, Daniel and Bee are explored with painful, beautiful detail, as he struggles to deal with his homosexuality and she struggles with the revelations about what their marriage was, and where this leaves her as a desirable woman. Too bad Michael is an insensitive and self-absorbed jerk who strings along a married woman until she ditches her hubby, and Daff loses her tragic wronged-woman dimensions as soon as she shrugs off Michael's adulterous liaison. Who cares if that's the sort of thing that broke up her marriage? He's hot and has tight abs!

"The Beach House" has potential and plot to burn, but the rushed final lap and a couple puttered-out storylines leave you frustrated. Here's hoping the next try is longer and more passionate.

30 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Summer fun, June 23, 2008

By	sandmanrdh (Gilbert, az USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Beach House (Hardcover)

Grab your beach chair and prepare to be entertained! Reading Jane Green's latest novel brought back wonderful memories of a Nantucket summer vacation spent in our own beach cottage. While reading this story I was easily absoarbed into the world of Ms. Green's characters and the wisdom of a wonderful woman I wish I would be lucky enough to rent a room from. I recommend you tell the kids to order pizza and spend a few hours with your nose stuck in this book.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars not quite a "3", July 22, 2008

By	BeachReader (Delaware) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: The Beach House (Hardcover)

Books like this are the reason for half-stars! I would give this 2.5 if possible. It wasn't AWFUL or I would not have finished it. But it was an audio and it was the only one I had for a long car ride.

The thing that attracted me to this book was that it was set on Nantucket. I love that place. But I wasn't far into the audio when I realized that was the best part of the book!

I have never commented on the production of an audio book - I guess because most are well done. But this one...the narrator barely took a breath between changes of locale, time, or scene. This was quite annoying,

Character development was uneven at best with some characters hardly fleshed out. There were way too many coincidences and the action was very predictable. And the writing itself was awkward.

The thing that really annoyed me were the factual errors that could have been so easily remedied by a good editor. The author had hydrangeas blooming on Nantucket before they bloom in Baltimore! And Nan was fixing her overgrown, heavily laden tomato plants at the same time in June that school had just let out for the summer! No one north of the Mason-Dixon line has tomatoes that early. There were quite a few other mistakes like this which makes me wonder if any editor was involved at all.