Summer House-Nancy Thayer

Summer House
Nancy Thayer
Ballantine, Jun 23 2009, $24.00
ISBN 9780345498205

Needing to escape from banking, thirty year old Charlotte Wheelwright leaves Boston to to stay on her nonagenarian grandma Nona’s estate. Her family of bankers supports her move because everyone has been concerned about Nona living by herself as the elderly woman has been mumbling frequently about long ago events and people dead. To occupy herself Charlotte starts a garden.

Over the next few years she loves working the land with her only stress occurring when the family invades for the annual get together to discuss financial matters. Her garden begins to turn a profit as she sells some of her organically grown items. However, her white collar banking family objects to her selling her efforts as that is beneath the upper crust Brahmins that the Wheelwright clan believes they are. This summer they plan to make Charlotte stop as they once did her mom Helen, but she might have an ally in her mother who isangry with her spouse for cheating on her.She supports her daughter to do whatever she wants.

This tale is an interesting look at the wealthy upper class through the eyes of a rebel (with a cause). Charlotte has found happiness working her garden, which was acceptable for an affluent woman of leisure, but once she becomes a middle class peddler than everyone except Nona and mom turn on her. Image is everything to the Wheelwright clan. Although the plot is extremely thin with the conflict seemingly minor and most of the support characters unlikable snobs, fans of contemporary family drama will still want to read Nancy Thayer’s SUMMER HOUSE.

Harriet Klausner