Maine

Summer may be closing, but I'm still in the mood for good beach reading, and J. Courtney Sullivan's Maine: A Novel fits the bill.  The setting (mostly) revolves around one family's beachfront home in Maine.  The Kellehers' vacation here, each summer, though for various reasons, they almost never gather together.  Their story is told through the eyes of three generations of Kelleher women, including the family matriarch, Alice, who both binds and divides her children, grandchildren and in-laws.  We learn that part of this divisiveness is because of a secret guilt she carries from her own young adulthood.  Because we have the beauty of storytelling from multiple perspectives, rather than that of Alice alone, we grow to know each character, and the persona of each character, more clearly.  We understand why the women in this story make the decisions they do, even if they are unclear. 

This story could easily be misclassified as mere "chick lit"--especially if one only glances at the book's cover.  But Sullivan's writing is good, her characters complex and her storytelling smart.