Summer People: A Novel [Hardcover]

Brian Groh (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 10, 2007

Nathan Empson has just accepted the most unusual summer job of his life. In exchange for serving as a "caretaker” for Ellen Broderick, the eccentric matriarch of an exclusive coastal community, he'll earn a generous paycheck and gain access to one of the last bastions of old New England wealth. But not everyone in town is welcoming—or even civil. And while he discovers companionship with a philosophical, ex-punk Episcopalian pastor, and more than companionship with the alluring nanny to the pastor's children, Nathan finds it increasingly difficult to ignore his employer's unnerving behavior. With each escalating mishap, a new aspect of Ellen's colorful past comes to light, exposing the secret lives of her old friends, flames, and enemies, as well as the story behind a scandalous incident Nathan must prevent her from repeating. Yet to sound the alarm about her condition would mean leaving his beachside oasis and the romance that may well change him forever.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Groh's debut, a fish-out-of-water story about a Cleveland college dropout who spends a summer caring for an elderly woman in a tony Maine beach town, is neither inspiring nor disappointing. Nathan Empson lands in Brightonfield Cove, Maine, with the intention of sorting out his life—his last relationship faltered, he dropped out of college, and he wants to be a graphic novelist—while caring for Ellen Broderick, an ailing elderly Cleveland woman who summers there. His caretaker responsibilities are more demanding than he'd imagined, and through time spent with Ellen, Nathan befriends Eldwin Lowell, an Episcopalian pastor with a drinking problem and a depressed wife, and Leah, the nanny to Eldwin's children who becomes the necessary love interest. As the weeks tick by, Nathan learns intriguing bits about Ellen's past, agonizes over his romantic and artistic woes and, among other things, gets beat up and watches a house burn down. It's a solidly good book. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Nothing goes right for Nathan--at least not during his summer in old-money Maine. An aspiring graphic novelist, Nathan takes the job of caretaker for Ellen Broderick, a resplendent, delicate widow. Stationed at her vacation estate, Nathan discovers that Ellen's family failed to warn him about her actual situation (dementia?). The cold-shouldering by acquaintances at the local tennis club (Ellen had affairs with at least two prominent men) compounds the fact that no one knows quite how to act toward Nathan: Is he a driver? A nephew? A companion? Throw in a love interest--the Episcopalian priest's nanny--plus a set of local rich kids, and watch the classic tension between the wealthy and the hired help unfold. There is a chill wafting through the floorboards as Nathan realizes that he is the scapegoat of various gaffes. Groh's novel is strong, in spite of verging on inauthenticity, and Nathan's character, like the lead in High Fidelity (1995), ultimately charms. Emily Cook
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Ecco; 1 edition (April 10, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061210013
• ISBN-13: 978-0061210013
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,965,862 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars "More Crass than Class", February 10, 2009

By 

Julia Smith Grossman (Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Summer People: A Novel (P.S.) (Paperback)

I think this book found its way into my hands because of the title and the cover art, so I would have to give the publisher credit for this "Ralph Laurenesque" marketing. Not what I expected.

As another reviewer here said, "all the elements were there," but nothing materialized. The author is not without talent, but something needed to be harnessed or developed. The characters felt so incomplete. I was perhaps mistaken to think that this book would have a big reveal about Ellen, but she turned out to be somewhat like a piece of furniture in her summer home. So, it turns out she liked men and had not much use for friendships with women. That's it? She seemed like nothing more than a prop, and I expected so much more.

After enduring many a rum & coke, boring tennis matches, television game shows, adolescent angst, a fist (and gravel) fight, a couple of fires, I certainly could have done without one of the characters (Ralph) saying that when his girlfriend is drunk, she lets him give it to her "in the pooper." Lovely.

I would not give this book to anyone I know. I put it in the recycling bin.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars All the Elements of A Great Book..., November 2, 2007

By 

Steven James (Washington State) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Summer People: A Novel (P.S.) (Paperback)

Too bad those elements didn't come together and really pack a wallop. This book had the Maine coastal summer, the recent college drop-out, the Ivy League boys, the femme fatale, and the aging widow. The author could have really created a powerhouse, page to screen story. Unfortunately what he created was a whole lot of nothing. The book drones on for pages with nothing really happening. Ultimately, nothing major ever does happen. I kept waiting for the "money shot", but my wait was in vain. The story flows okay and the characters are interesting enough, but the plot is bland. I can always tell how great a book is by how anxious I am to get in bed and read each night. With "Summer People" I found myself staying for just "one more rumba" with my friends from "Dancing With the Stars." I gave this book 3 stars because it did have all the elements of a great book; too bad the author didn't utilize them more efficiently.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nathan is a wuss, October 26, 2007

By 

M. Bomar (North Carolina) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Summer People: A Novel (P.S.) (Paperback)

This was an easy read. The main character, Nathan, was too sensitive, too in love, too much of a mamby pamby. I couldn't get on his side.