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22nd out of 199 books
—
217 voters
A Summer Affair
Claire Danner Crispin, mother of four young children and nationally renowned glassblower, bites off more than she can chew when she agrees to co-chair a huge benefit concert on Nantucket. Claire is asked to chair the Nantucket Children Summer Gala, at least in part, because she is the former high school sweetheart of world famous rock star, Max West. Max agrees to play the...more
Hardcover, 416 pages
Published
July 1st 2008
by Little, Brown and Company
(first published 2008)
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This is a book I have been waiting to read since learning of its publication. I discovered the author two years ago and read through her previously written books within a few weeks relishing each one. The relationship of the wealthy summer residents to the local residents and maintaining the integrity of Nantucket's beauty and history are aspects of the books that are always of interest to me. While I like the internal conflicts of her main characters, their gutsiness and longings, the main char...more
really enjoy novels by Elin Hilderbrand. And this was no exception. The first part of the book was told from Claire's point of view and the second part moved around from Claire, to her best friend, her high school boyfriend, and the secretary of the foundation. That made it move quickly and interestingly.
Claire lives on Nantucket with her four children and husband. She is a glassblower, although she stopped working after an accident when she was pregnant. She is asked by Lock Dixon to chair the...more
Claire lives on Nantucket with her four children and husband. She is a glassblower, although she stopped working after an accident when she was pregnant. She is asked by Lock Dixon to chair the...more
A Summer Affair was a good enough read but not one of my favorites by this author. It was a page turner but not because it was THAT GOOD but because I was apprehensive about where the story was going to go and to find out what was going to be the final outcome.
I was having a hard time relating to the main character, Claire, a mother of 4 and wife to a husband that seems absolutely wonderful with his only downfall being that he watches a little too much TV rather than talk to her. I couldn't fin...more
I was having a hard time relating to the main character, Claire, a mother of 4 and wife to a husband that seems absolutely wonderful with his only downfall being that he watches a little too much TV rather than talk to her. I couldn't fin...more
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3 likes · like · see review
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It's hard for me to give it more stars even though it was compelling to read. I felt weighed down as I read about Claire having an affair with Lock and her seeming lack of concern for how deeply it would effect her children and husband. I think I was more concerned for them than she was! Claire was characterized as the "good person," but I found it hard to see her as anything but selfish. Her husband was shown as flawed, but I saw him as the better person because despite his flaws he was a famil...more
11 likes · like · see review
This is my first book by this author. I've heard many good things, and the book I originally intended on reading first was Barefoot. My library didn't have the copy at the moment, so I started with this one instead.
At first, the book seems to be about an affair that the main character Claire is having. This affair is introduced early on, so this is not a spoiler. She's a wife, a mother, an artist and frankly she's bored. As the plot moves along, I found it to be less about the affair in particul...more
At first, the book seems to be about an affair that the main character Claire is having. This affair is introduced early on, so this is not a spoiler. She's a wife, a mother, an artist and frankly she's bored. As the plot moves along, I found it to be less about the affair in particul...more
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My last (and 40th) book for 2012! I finished with this because I needed a quick read in order to meet my goal, but I'm slightly sad I did. I read some amazing novels in 2012, but this one definitely isn't a favorite of mine. I didn't expect it to be a revelation of course and I realize it will never be in the running for the next, great American novel, but Hilderbrand is usually fun, at least. I read her books for three reasons a) sometimes my brain needs a break and I'm a sucker for a guilty re...more
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Surprisingly, I'm dissapointed. I didn't think I ever would be with a Hilderbrand book but I find myself stunned. Most likely, a combination of things gives me the opinion of distaste. I couldn't really relate with any of the characters in this book and they all made me mad at some point. The main character, Claire is a mother of four and is a professional Glass Blower. I have no idea what that entails and when the story got into her work I was lost. It was interesting though I just wish I knew...more
I found this book entertaining… I don’t know yet if I will say that it is a good book. I am not even sure I can say I enjoyed reading it, because I found much to complain about within the plot and with the characters. However, I kept going back to it, reading quickly so that I could find out how it played out. I also feel the need to crack the pattern in Elin Hilderbrand’s novels. Here is what I have so far:
1. Nantucket will be the setting.
2. The book will begin with a tragedy.
3. There will be u...more
1. Nantucket will be the setting.
2. The book will begin with a tragedy.
3. There will be u...more
I really liked this book. It navigates the waters of relationships and in particular those of Claire Danner Crispin, a talented glass blower artist. Her affair with the Lock Dixon, director of an organization that aids local children's lives in affluent Nantucket MA is sudden and passionate. Years earlier Claire felt that she had not tried hard enough to keep Lock's wife Daphne from driving drunk and a resulting accident left her without the ability to filter her thoughts and Claire filled with...more
I like the chapter headings - simple, short, interesting.
One thing that stuck out was the use of the word capitulate twice on one page early in the book - she "captiulated and pulled out the vacuum" and "I capitulated like a soldier without a gun."
I didn't care for the main character, Claire. She was whiny and insecure and selfish. She didn't realize how much support got her to the life she had. I kind of wanted her to get caught having the affair. Then she'd have to deal with all the lives she...more
One thing that stuck out was the use of the word capitulate twice on one page early in the book - she "captiulated and pulled out the vacuum" and "I capitulated like a soldier without a gun."
I didn't care for the main character, Claire. She was whiny and insecure and selfish. She didn't realize how much support got her to the life she had. I kind of wanted her to get caught having the affair. Then she'd have to deal with all the lives she...more
I was hoping this would be a juicy book, perfect for reading on the beach in Mexico. It was not. The parts that should have been juicy weren't juicy at all. I thought that the characters were introduced but not developed well enough for me to care what is happening between them. She also tries to write from other people's perspectives, but if you've ever read a book by Jodi Picoult, you'll see what a feeble attempt this is. And the questions! This drove me CRAZY. Here is an actual example:
But...more
But...more
I have really enjoyed 2 of this authors books, Barefoot and Castaways, but seriously do all of your books have people having affairs? Not that I need fluffy puppies and rainbows, but come on, there is more to write about than people hooking up, if I wanted this in my life I would still be going to the bars to see it in real life! When I got this I thought it could possibly mean just an "affair", not of the sexual nature, as i soon discovered, it was just that, a lady that has it all and gives it...more
I know...this is normally not my type of book. I bought it at a book sale for $1. The cover is goofy--at no time in this book did anyone ever kiss barefoot on the beach during broad daylight!
That said, it's the story about the perfect wife and mother (Claire Danner) who falls for a rich businessman (Lock Dixon--that name kills me) in Nantucket while chairing a charity event. I think the overall theme of the book is that people are not perfect, they go through bad patches in their life and marria...more
That said, it's the story about the perfect wife and mother (Claire Danner) who falls for a rich businessman (Lock Dixon--that name kills me) in Nantucket while chairing a charity event. I think the overall theme of the book is that people are not perfect, they go through bad patches in their life and marria...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Claire Crispin is married to Jason they have 3 children and a baby
(Zack) he is very precious as he was born prematurely. Claire has given
up work as a Glass Sculptor, to devote time to her husband and
children. Lock Dixon asks her to chair the children’s Summer Gala in
August; she agrees as she blames herself for his wife’s Accident she
feels she owes Lock something. Jason is not impressed and her friend
Siobhan thinks she is an idiot. Lock then pleads with her to do a piece
of glass for the Au...more
(Zack) he is very precious as he was born prematurely. Claire has given
up work as a Glass Sculptor, to devote time to her husband and
children. Lock Dixon asks her to chair the children’s Summer Gala in
August; she agrees as she blames herself for his wife’s Accident she
feels she owes Lock something. Jason is not impressed and her friend
Siobhan thinks she is an idiot. Lock then pleads with her to do a piece
of glass for the Au...more
I was very excited to read this book at first because it said it was a best seller and I love plots like this one. I did enjoy the book as a whole but at times I found myself struggling through it. I genuinely wanted to know what happened which is why I finished reading which I guess is something to say for the author being able to present a story that needed an ending. I did find that it read slow and the character were hard to get attached to. There was something else about it that just didn't...more
Claire Danner Crisp is married with four children and a husband who's glued to the TV every night. After an accident in her glassblowing studio which almost resulted in her death and the death of the child she was carrying, she has given up her art. However she's unhappy and unfulfilled, and full of guilt for her actions. She is asked by Lock Dixon, a wealthy industrialist married to a brain-injured woman, to chair a major charity and social event on Nantucket. She and Lock fall in love and the...more
Claire is asked to co-chair the biggest fundraising gala of the year on Nantucket. Her head is turned and she is further inmpressed when Lock Dixon, the head of the Nantucket Children's Organization not only knows that she is a glassblower, but owns one of her pieces and is familiar with all the others that she has in museums. The gala takes a lot of work and Lock and Claire have many meetings. Claire finds herself being drawn to Lock, while her husband, Jason is getting tired of all the meeting...more
Overall, A Summer Affair was a pretty good book. I read it in a little less than 2 days - mostly because I found myself filled with enjoyment in certain parts and filled with annoyance in other parts. Therefore, I kept wanting to keep going, keep going, through the parts that irked me to get to the good parts.
I was enamored with Claire, the main character, yet totally put off by others, such as Isabelle and Gavin. I would have enjoyed the book more if there wasn't so much back and forth skippin...more
I was enamored with Claire, the main character, yet totally put off by others, such as Isabelle and Gavin. I would have enjoyed the book more if there wasn't so much back and forth skippin...more
I thought I would love this book - got some great reviews on Amazon. I was listening to the unabridged book on tape- I have read over 100 books on tape (so it's not a problem with the medium). I never connected with the main character, Claire Danner, a mom and glass blower. I didn't ever learn to care about the magnificent chandelier she was blowing for most of the book - and I didn't care about the function she was working on, nor did I care about any of her friends - or lovers. I became very a...more
I didn't like this book as much as some of her other books. I'm usually okay with "affair" storylines-I enjoy angst and tension more than most I guess. That being said, I really couldn't enjoy either of the main characters. Claire seemed so whiny and selfish-I know what it's like to be a beleaguered mother and in need of escapism but to risk your life doing it?? I just couldn't commiserate with that. Then to add in the affair on top of that? I sympathized with Lock's situation with his wife and...more
In all fairness, I only read the first 50 pages of this book, and I would've never picked this book up if it weren't for it being a Book Club choice. That being said, the whole premise of this book disgusts me. The title. The cover. The synopsis on the back. The first 50 pages. A woman "who has everything", but is dissatisfied with her husband (the way the author writes about this poor dude is appalling), decides to have an affair with a billionaire. Ack. How can this possibly be interesting for...more
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I've read a few of Hilderbrand's books, and this was, sadly, my least favorite. Although she develops the characters well, I just found that the characters themselves were not all that interesting -- and, the storyline was not that interesting, as well. Or, maybe I just tire of reading about the bored housewife with a flock of children who starts up an affair with a rich married man, only to learn (shocking!) that the affair is fleeting and dangerous, and will ultimately lead nowhere, and should...more
Oh boy! This must be the first easy-read book that I've ever struggled to get through. Maybe even the first were I decided halfway through that I would cave in, read the last page and then put it away.
Though the last page wasn't as informative that I felt I could. So I read it through after all.
I don't know if was me or the way it was written. Let's say it was me.
I never connected with any of the characters, at times rather being infuriated by them. As in "Gesh!! Get a grip! You got yourself in...more
Though the last page wasn't as informative that I felt I could. So I read it through after all.
I don't know if was me or the way it was written. Let's say it was me.
I never connected with any of the characters, at times rather being infuriated by them. As in "Gesh!! Get a grip! You got yourself in...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
A Summer Affair by Elin Hilderbrand is about a woman named Claire Danner Crispin. She lives in Nantucket. Every year, Nantucket holds their Summer Gala. The Summer Gala is an event to help raise money for the Nantucket Children. Claire agrees to help cochair the event. Claire is a famous glass blower, so she agrees to make a piece to use as the big auction item at the Summer Gala.
Claire and her team of board members spend a year preparing for the event. Meanwhile, Claire becomes really close to...more
Claire and her team of board members spend a year preparing for the event. Meanwhile, Claire becomes really close to...more
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Elin Hilderbrand lives on Nantucket with her husband and their three young children. She grew up in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, and traveled extensively before settling on Nantucket, which has been the setting for her five previous novels. Hilderbrand is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and the graduate fiction workshop at the University of Iowa.
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“Guilt and no guilt: these were the worst things. The only thing worse than the guilt was the fear of getting caught.”
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“To be early is to be on time, to be on time is to be late, to be late is to be forgotten.”
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Mar 28, 2010 09:33pm