My favorite Jane Green book is The Beach House. I love the main character, feisty widow Nan from Nantucket. I’m sure I like her because she’s sixty-five with a reputation for being eccentric. She cuts flowers from her neighbor’s yard when they’re away. Their pool is “so blue, so inviting, it was practically begging her to strip off and jump in, which of course she did…She dried off naturally, walking naked around the garden popping strawberries and peas into her mouth in their kitchen garden…” The Siasconset villagers think of Nan as the “crazy woman in the big old house on the bluff”.
This beautiful old house, Windermere, an “idyllic retreat sitting on nine perfect acres”, becomes a main character of Green’s novel. With not enough money in the family coffers to sustain repairs and other expenses and to keep “developers from circling”, Nan determines she will rent out rooms for the summer. With this decision comes a whole cast of new, endearing acquaintances. Daniel is a husband and father who loves his wife Bee and two daughters Stella and Lizzie very much but feels that the marriage isn’t right. Daff is newly divorced from cheating husband Richard and is hoping to improve her relationship with her teenage daughter Jessica. Michael is Nan’s forty-two year old son who returns home for the summer with his current girlfriend, Aisling, making appearances.
Author Jane Green manages to intertwine the lives of all these characters and keeps the plot interesting and intriguing. There are secrets to unravel and friendships to explore. As these characters and others fill Nan’s house with a myriad of emotions, there’s a big surprise that causes havoc for many.