Amazon.com: A House in the Hamptons: Gloria Nagy: Books

Book Description

Publication Date: May 4, 1991

The story of two closely-bonded couples, now approaching middle-age, and the unexpected happenings which disrupt their apparently idyllic summer on Long Island, when the dazzling Marilyn Monroe look-alike whom both husbands adored in high school - and one briefly married - reappears on the scene.

#outer_postBodyPS { display: none; } #psGradient { display: none; } #psPlaceHolder { display: none; } #psExpand { display: none; } The story of two closely-bonded couples, now approaching middle-age, and the unexpected happenings which disrupt their apparently idyllic summer on Long Island, when the dazzling Marilyn Monroe look-alike whom both husbands adored in high school - and one briefly married - reappears on the scene.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This immensely entertaining fifth novel from the author of Radio Blues is as much an astute sociological study of yuppies in late-'80s New York as it is amusing, hip, highly readable fiction. Publisher Harry Hart and psychiatrist Donnie Jamieson, best friends with second houses in the Hamptons, loved the same Marilyn Monroe look-alike back in high school. When she moves to Easthampton 25 years later, disrupting their summer routine, wacky inconveniences give way to family catastrophes, and the men, their wives and their loved ones--most of whom could have stepped out of TV's thirty some thing --must confront the fear and angst lurking beneath their cool exteriors. Keen observation and psychological insight empower Nagy's lively portrayals of everyone from the lowbrow masseuse to the teenage au pair to the status-conscious millionaires for whom Ferraris, Ralph Lauren, psychotherapy and sun-dried tomatoes are the stuff of life. Nagy alternates narrators, allowing the reader to sympathize with even the obnoxious personalities, who, ultimately shedding their masks, become surprisingly likable and all too human.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

Nagy's fifth novel combines a savvy urban sensibility with a sharp, sassy sense of humor to create this superb comedy of manners, centering on a not-so-typical Hamptons summer. Best friends since childhood, architect Harry Hart and psychiatrist Donnie Jamieson enjoy nothing more than kicking back for the summer in the Hamptons with Harry's clever 39-year-old journalist wife (Gina), Donnie's wealthy wife Janie, their two sons, and an assortment of eccentric Long Island pets, relatives, and neighbors - including a heroin-addicted mother; a redheaded masseuse from the East Village; a nouveau fiche Wall Street mogul with an inferiority complex; an exotic-car salesman; and a visiting Hollywood WASP. Both bemused by and grateful for the upper-middle-class New Yorkers' life of city apartments and country houses that fate has bestowed upon them, the Harts and the Jamiesons feel almost invincible - that is, until Fritzi Ferris, Donnie's high-school dream girl and Harry's ex-wife, arrives in the Hamptons out of nowhere with Harry's heretofore unannounced grown son in tow. As Gina and Janie scramble to save their marriages in the face of this wealthy, voluptuous interloper (who disconcertingly resembles Marilyn Monroe), Donnie sneaks off to his doctor in New York and learns that he has inoperable cancer and less than two months to live. Suddenly, in the midst of the usual summer shenanigans, the two families are faced with real tragedy. They rally round, eking what love and life they can out of the time remaining, as Janie selflessly encourages Fritzi and Donnie to consummate their lifelong attraction; Gina learns to accept and even like Harry's new son; and everyone concerned learns that there's more to this existence than sun, sand, and the pursuit of happiness. Fabulous entertainment - and a quintessential summer read. (Kirkus Reviews) --Kirkus Reviews

More About the Author

› Visit Amazon's Gloria Nagy Page

Gloria Nagy is a novelist and screenwriter. She is the author of nine novels including the best selling, "A House In The Hamptons" Her critically acclaimed novel, "Looking for Leo," has been adapted as a mini-series for CBS. Her last novel, "The Beauty" is set in Newport and Cape Cod and has been called "a terrific fable about the futility of escape, the inevitability of evil and the power of redemption." She is currently working on an independent film adaptation of her novel, "Virgin Kisses," and a musical review for women entitled, "Where Do I Go Now?". Ms. Nagy has just completed her latest novel "The Cruise".

Gloria Nagy is a member in good standing of the Authors Guild, Author League and the Screenwriters Guild of America. She is a frequent speaker at the TED Conference in Monterey, California (Technology, Entertainment & Design) and has been interviewed on social issues by Nightline. She has appeared frequently on television and has done over fifty radio interviews on subjects relating to her work and how her themes intersect the zeitgeist. Critics have called her "the social chronicler of her time" and "The female Tom Wolfe" for her ability to "stick pins in all the hot air balloons." Her opinions and observations have been expressed in reviews and articles for national magazines such as Lears, Traveler, Self and Cosmopolitan, as well as in speeches and writing seminars.

Her novels have been published around the world and translated into numerous languages including German, Japanese, Hebrew, Russian and Dutch.

Titles by Author:

"Virgin Kisses" - Warner Books/Penguin International - 1978
"Unapparent Wounds" - William Morrow & Company, Inc., 1981
"Natural Selections" - Villard Books, 1985
"Radio Blues" - St. Martin's Press 1988
"A House in the Hamptons" - Dell Publishing, 1990
"Looking for Leo" - Delacorte Press, 1992
"Marriage" - Little, Brown and Company, 1995
"The Wizard Who Wanted To Be Santa" - Sheer Bliss
Communications LLC, 2000
"The Beauty" - Peter Mayer/Overlook Press, June 2001

Ms. Nagy lives in Newport, Rhode Island with her husband Richard Saul Wurman. They have four children, six grandchildren and three dogs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.