Summer People [Hardcover]

Marge Piercy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1989

Dinah, Willie, and Susan have long outlived the scandal associated with their ten-year-old menage-a-trois. Dinah, an avante-garde compler, treasures her independence. Yet it takes Willie's kindness and Susan's fire to sustain her. Willie is a left-wing sculptor in a right-wing age. And Susan, his wife, is a fabric designer who craves glamour, wealth, and the attentions of the summer people who visit Cape Cod every year. Then one summer, the balance shifts. Passions are tested, honesty forsaken, and the trio must face the changes brought by their beautiful visitors . . .

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Related in an absorbingly leisurely fashion, Piercy's latest (after Gone to Soldiers ) is an old-fashioned novel in the sense that it doesn't tell a flashy story but delves into character and relationships, slowly weaving a richly nuanced tale. For over a decade, Willie Dewitt, a sculptor and sometime carpenter, and his wife Susan, an emotionally fragile fabric designer, have maintained a harmonious marriage while each has been the lover of Dinah, a flutist and avant-garde composer. This unusual menage a trois occupies adjoining houses overlooking a pond on Cape Cod, sharing a compound with manipulative wheeler-dealer Tyrone Burdock and, this summer, a Boston doctor and his seductive wife. The plot segues back and forth among the major characters--who include Tyrone's suddenly widowed daughter, the Dewitt's prodigal son, newly separated from his wife, and a celebrated flutist who woos Dinah. A rumination on the nature of sexual love and friendship, and of artistic creativity and commitment, the narrative is fleshed out with details that create versimilitude to daily life. Susan's envy of the summer people erodes her hitherto stable relationships and leads to a slowly gathering but inevitable tragedy. Piercy eschews sensationalism in portraying her unorthodox trio; her characterizations are solid and believable. Some readers may find the story's pace too deliberate, but those who like to ponder the ways in which character influences fate will welcome this solidly satisfying novel.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

After 11 years, the menage a trois of Dinah Adler and Willie and Susan DeWitt is a strong family unit, accepted in its Cape Cod community. Dinah is a respected composer, devoted to her music, and Willie is a sculptor and carpenter happy with his life (and the envy of the local men). But Susan's growing discontent--with her work as a fabric designer and her role as unofficial gofer and hostess for summer people--ruptures the relationship and leads to tragedy. Piercy tells this story in short chapters in the alternating voices of several characters, making the narrative choppy and occasionally repetitive, and stuffs it with details so it sometimes seems interminable. Worse, these characters--except for the three primary ones--are basically shallow and opportunistic, and difficult to care about. A disappointing novel from a notable author.
- Michele Leber, Fairfax Cty. P.L., Va.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 380 pages
• Publisher: Summit Books; 1ST edition (June 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671678566
• ISBN-13: 978-0671678562
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,895,549 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars terrifically entertaining, December 18, 1999

By 

flame (Tennessee) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Summer People (Hardcover)

Remember the old Agatha Christie books that began with a cast of characters/suspects? This book begins the same way -- which is fitting, since with Piercy the odd mix of characters is what propells the action, and the readers' interest. In this novel, seven or eight characters whirl through twelve-month's time in a small town on Cape Cod. Domestic bliss is challenged by the usual obstacles: envy, longing, and the common desires of the heart. Rifts arise between lovers and strangers come together. Small events set in motion the breakup of families. I didn't find the book especially deep or thought-provoking, but it's definitely entertaining -- something to read at the beach or on rainy evenings.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A great read, October 19, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Summer People (Hardcover)

This book by Marge Piercy is one her better outings. I enjoy her work but her feminist agenda sometimes overides her work. Summer People revolves around the friends, family and lovers of three Cape Cod artists. Susan, Willie and Dinah have been involved in menage a trois that is terminated as the book's action begins. This is partly because of Susan's relationship with a rich summer resident Tyrone has veered into an unhealthy obsession that is ultimately her downfall. Ironically it is this change that allows the other characters to move forward with their lives. Peircy is a good writer and the book is full of juicy observations on the characters and and their interactions. Tyrone is a wonderfully drawn, and it is interesting how Susan never sees the true nature of the man,a selfserving and manipulative user under a polished exterior. However Susan's son Jimmy reveals a dark character as well. This is one part of the book that is very perceptive.I have personally seen the children of parents who depend on the largesse of others grow up to have an expectation things can be "bought" using yourself to pay. In all a really good read.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nurturing escape, November 21, 2003

By 

Sokste "KtS" (Minneapolis, MN U.S.A.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Summer People (Hardcover)

I really enjoyed this book when I read it several years ago, and it comes back to me from time to time. I like her take on what is sustainable and wholesome in life. I enjoyed watching the progress of their characters through the particular journeys we see them take. I loved her Pesach dinner. And the honesty with which she holds her characters. Low-key delight.