The Summer Of Good Intentions
Wendy Francis
Simon & Schuster, Jul 7 2015, $15.00
ISBN: 9781451666427
Summer on Cape Cod has always been a great get
together for the Herrington family.
However, this year is different as the patriarch Arthur and matriarch
Gloria divorced after almost five decades of marriage. Tensions are tropospheric even before the
three sisters, accompanied by their husbands/significant other and children,
and Arthur arrive at the family cottage.
At the last moment, Gloria announces she and her boyfriend will join the
gathering.
The oldest offspring supermom Maggie struggles
with accepting the end of her parent’s marriage and fears empty nest
syndrome. Maggie muses that she is not
too old to raise a baby though she wonders how Mac would react.
Her younger twin Jess loves her job apparently
much more than her husband Tim; as the unhappy couple only talks to each other
when it involves their two kids. She
owes her spouse the truth, but cannot deal with how he will react.
The youngest Virgie the reporter looks forward to
the vacation easing her dangerous levels of stress. She found a man who treats her differently
than the previous horde. Her exhaustion
lands her into the emergency room where the examination reveals a critical
finding.
Since his mate left, Arthur feels lost. He hopes his daughters and grandchildren will
lift the fog that has his family fearing he suffers from senility.
Rotating perspective, The Summer Of Good
Intentions is a well-written family drama starring a three-dimensional ensemble
in which each Herrington faces major issues (though not developed
equally). Readers will like the cast who
deal poorly with their personal tsuris; but the health crises that begin to
reunite the extended family make the coming together a bit too easy on
everyone.
Harriet Klausner
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