The Castaways (Hardcover) by Elin Hilderbrand - Reviews, Discussion, Bookclubs, Lists

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Dec 17, 2009

Kelly rated it:

Read in December, 2009

I had never read anything by Elin Hilderbrand, and have always wanted to. I love stories that take place on the East Coast as I lived there for half of my life. I am especially drawn to stories that involve islands back East or coastal towns.

This is one of the first books on CD that I have read that made me also want to read the book. This really says something because it was unabridged so I have listened to the whole book already, but it really was that good!

The Castaways is...more

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Nov 24, 2009

Jemima Adams rated it:

Read in November, 2009

The Castaways are a group of four couples that are very close friends - they all live on the island of Nantucket. When one couple (Greg and Tess) die in a boating accident, leaving two young children and a string of mysteries, the other three couples are left to deal with the tragedy each in his/her own way. As the circumstances leading up to their death become known it seems that Greg and Tess's lives were not as straight forward as their friends thought... The point of view moves between all t...more

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Nov 13, 2009

Kim V rated it:

Read in November, 2009

The Castaways by Elin Hilderbrand reads like a modern day Big Chill set on Nantucket. The novel follows the unraveling lives of six friends after one couple in the group, Greg and Tess, drown. The friends: Andrea, the Chef, Phoebe, Addison, Delilah, and Jeffrey individually cope with the couple's deaths as each has a secret from the rest of the group.The chapters are narrated by alternating members of the ensemble cast. This narrative style is fairly confusing in the beginning of the novel, but ...more

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Sep 30, 2009

Justin rated it:

Read in September, 2009

I give this book two stars instead of one because I haven't actually read the entire book yet. (Honestly, I'm not sure if I will pick it back up later and attempt to.) I really enjoyed "A Summer Affair" so I was excited about "Barefoot" but it just didn't pull me in, so I put it down and moved on to something else after a chapter or two. I had hopes that it was just a fluck and I would eagerly devour "The Castaways".

Hilderbrand has come up with a grea...more

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Sep 10, 2009

Katrina rated it:

Read in August, 2009

This is the story of six friends that have to deal with the death of two of their best friends Tess and Greg MacAvoy. Greg and Tess died in a sailing accident but there are so many suspicious things surrounding their lives and the accident that people begin to wonder who is to blame? Was it really an accident or was it murder?

This bittersweet tale is set in Nantucket, MA. I adore books set in New England so this book had promise from the beginning. There was mention of a number of Ma...more

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Sep 03, 2009

Terra57 rated it:

(review of isbn 1600246222)

Read in September, 2009

The Castaways by Elin Hilderbrand is a touching story of four very close couples and what happens when one of the couples tragically dies in a drowning accident. The regrets, the memories, what the future will hold for them now and most of all how to deal with the children left behind and the impact that they will have on those still alive.

Our couple drowns on their 12th wedding anniversary while sailing just off Nantucket. Seas were a bit more than Greg could handle and Tess is a bi...more

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Jul 05, 2009

Cinnamon rated it:

bookshelves: for-review

Read in July, 2009

Summer is one of the most perfect times of the year. It's warm out, the sun is shining bright (hopefully) and everyone seems to be in a great mood! Longer days means that there is more time to be outside and in general the atmosphere seems much more relaxed. More relaxation means more time and more time means more gossip! THE CASTAWAYS by Elin Hilderbrand is a fun, mysterious and intriguing beach read. I know, those words don't necessarily always fit together, but in this instance, they do!
...more Summer is one of the most perfect times of the year. It's warm out, the sun is shining bright (hopefully) and everyone seems to be in a great mood! Longer days means that there is more time to be outside and in general the atmosphere seems much more relaxed. More relaxation means more time and more time means more gossip! THE CASTAWAYS by Elin Hilderbrand is a fun, mysterious and intriguing beach read. I know, those words don't necessarily always fit together, but in this instance, they do!

Every group of friends will at time encounter heart-warming moments and heartbreaking ones. The Castaways, is the name that Greg and Tess, Addison and Phoebe, the Chief and Andrea, and Jeffrey and Delilah have given their little group. The eight friends have been together through thick and thin, marriage and divorce, life and loss. Things haven't always been pretty but the friends have somehow managed to stick together. They rely on each other, surviving by leaning on each other during tough times.

How will they survive, when suddenly two of their number are no longer there to lean on?

In the beautiful environment of Nantucket, disaster strikes when something happens and the boat that Greg and Tess took out to sail is found capsized. The couple is discovered underneath, dead. They leave behind two young children and six distraught friends. Tears are shred while anger begins to boil over. As The Castaways grieve, mysteries unfold and lies are discovered, threatening to tear the group apart. Can The Castaways survive it or will the death of the beloved Greg and Tess mean the death of the entire group and everything they have built together?

Elin Hilderbrand once again brings us into the world of intrigue and mystery that she creates in Nantucket, the beautiful island with an endless summer. What I absolutely love about this story is the way that Hilderbrand can create a story so full of suspense and yet one filled with love and hope. THE CASTAWAYS is the story of a group of friends torn apart and shredded to bits. Yet, through each other they find ways to piece their lives back together. Hilderbrand shows us what it means to grieve when lives end, signaling the end to an era and the beginning of another.

Present day activities mix with the past as Hilderbrand expertly uses back-story to explain the inner workings and deep mysteries of The Castaways. There are times when she devotes pages to showing us what happened in the past and there are other times that she gives us the details slowly, letting us savor every moment. The mix of the two creates a wonderful environment where the reader exists in both the past and the present. The transitions between the two are lovely and help to keep the story flowing beautifully.

It is difficult to have a great story without great characters and Hilderbrand certainly delivers in THE CASTAWAYS. She goes into great detail, showing us how the relationships of the friends diverge and separate. Who loves whom, whose heart is really held by someone else. Half of the suspense in the book is trying to figure out who each person will become by the end of the book. Any tragic occurrence, like the deaths of two friends, are bound to change people and Hilderbrand uses this to her advantage. She creates layer upon layer with each character, adding depth to the person and to the story. There were times when the relationships got fairly complex. I almost felt that I needed to grab a pen and paper to jot down a few notes about each individual in order to keep them separate. This happened mainly in the beginning while we viewed each character as a part of the whole rather than their own individual. As the story progresses, however, oil separates from water and each person becomes their own. A connection forms between the individuals and the reader; it is no longer difficult to separate each person.

Beautiful writing is what Hilderbrand brings to THE CASTAWAYS. Anyone can write a good gossip book about the darker areas that lie within a friendship, but Hilderbrand does so quite eloquently. Her style of writing is very clear and flows across the page. In order to keep things organized and make the story easier to understand for the reader, Hilderbrand gives each character their own section when the story moves to their point of view. These sections are titled with the individual's name to aid in the ease of reading. I thought this was a wonderful tough and one that made it much easier to transition from person to person in the mind. It allowed me to really connect with each person and be able to feel what they were feeling, see what they were seeing.

THE CASTAWAYS was beautifully told with enough tension to pull the reader along without becoming overwhelming. There were a few instances where it was difficult to figure out the relationships between the characters and a few transitions where I had to reread in order to figure out what time frame we were in. That accounts for most of the less than ten scores found above. If you couldn't tell from my raving throughout this review, I absolutely loved the characters and the character development. Hilderbrand shows what it means to be a real person and gives her story that sense of realism; that section earned a perfect ten.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a good gossip book. This is a book that makes you think, encourages you to feel and wonder at the world around you. It's beautiful, both in color and emotion and is a perfect read whether you want to curl up in your favorite chair with a blanket or lay out on the beach with your favorite towel.(less)

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Feb 10, 2010

Linda C rated it:

Read in February, 2010

This book disproves the idea that it is hard to get a book published. It is published and it is absolutely ghastly. What a waste of time!

The only good thing that I can saw about wasting the day reading it was that it was supposed to be snowing, so there wasn't much else to do. The kids were home watching movies or using the computer and all their activities were cancelled because of the snow. This is a book to read either on a snow day or a beach day, and only then if you don't e...more This book disproves the idea that it is hard to get a book published. It is published and it is absolutely ghastly. What a waste of time!

The only good thing that I can saw about wasting the day reading it was that it was supposed to be snowing, so there wasn't much else to do. The kids were home watching movies or using the computer and all their activities were cancelled because of the snow. This is a book to read either on a snow day or a beach day, and only then if you don't expect much. I would suggest the beach with a strong drink, that way, your expectations will be lower.

This women has serious need of an editor; the writing was sophomoric at best. I am surprised by the number of people who rated this book 3 or 4 stars. Clearly, they need to be exposed to better literature. However, I did sort of finish the book, although painful, it wasn't bad enough to give up on, but the last 30 pages I really skimmed through. I was so thoroughly sick of these people that I wanted it to end. I didn't care of Greg killed Tess or not.

Samples of the so-called writing: "Now, however, she was his."

"Tess's arms locked around him. He pulled her in. She was his now. Did she know it?"

"The little Gidget girl is hot."

"The kiss was the right thing. He kissed her again. And again."

"He felt guilty stealing it. But then, guess what?"

"Phoebe called him Reedy, Reeder, Freebird, Sweet Reedy Bird." Sweet Reedy Bird-- what the hell is that? If I had ever called my brother Sweet Anything Bird, he would have punched me.

Not to mention the things that are just factually wrong, i.e. Phoebe having an amnio at 11 weeks. That medically just doesn't happen.

When I was in journalism school, we (the newspaper writers) called the broadcast majors "the see spot run" school of journalism-- no sentence over five words. This book is the see-spot-run school of fiction writing--no sentence over five words.

The best part of the book was the description of the food and drinks that they consumed, and they did drink a lot. In fact, now that I think about it, food writing or cookbook writing would be a perfect career for this woman. She wrote about food beautifully. Too bad the rest of the book was so bad.(less)

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Oct 01, 2009

Jennifer rated it:

Read in October, 2009

recommends it for: fans of interwoven tales of woe with a tidy ending

I rounded up from my 3.5 rating since I did enjoy Hildebrand's latest. I found myself intrigued by the various characters and enjoyed her looking at their viewpoints as they deal with grief, love, misery, uncertainties, etc. What I liked most about "Castaways" was that not everyone acted in a typical way (i.e. the character of Delilah was in love with a married friend & fellow free-spirit but never acted on it because she did love her husband and family as well, Delilah's husband still...more

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Oct 24, 2009

Cheryl rated it:

Read in October, 2009

Let me begin by saying I truly enjoy "chick-lit". On top of that, I have truly enjoyed several of Hilderbrand's other novels (albeit before I joined Good Reads).

However, I read someone else's review of this book, and although most people loved it, at least one person agreed with me - - - what are these so-called "friends" doing, sleeping around or WANTING to sleep around with each other? And can you really feel sympathy or warmth toward a character that so blit...more

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Jul 04, 2009

Valorie rated it:

bookshelves: emotional-reads, fiction, slice-of-life, women

Read in July, 2009

Andrea and Ed (The Chief), Delilah and Jeffery, Addison and Phoebe, and Tess and Greg are four couples that make up a group of friends who called themselves The Castaways. Living together in Nantucket, the group is as close as any group can be until a boating accident shakes claims two of their lives and shakes the rest of them up. While sailing on a boat for their anniversary, Tess and Greg have an accident and both are killed. What they leave behind is a lot of grief, a lot of questions, an...more Andrea and Ed (The Chief), Delilah and Jeffery, Addison and Phoebe, and Tess and Greg are four couples that make up a group of friends who called themselves The Castaways. Living together in Nantucket, the group is as close as any group can be until a boating accident shakes claims two of their lives and shakes the rest of them up. While sailing on a boat for their anniversary, Tess and Greg have an accident and both are killed. What they leave behind is a lot of grief, a lot of questions, and some secrets that slowly start to come apart as people unravel. Most of the secrets center around Tess and Greg: what happened the night they died, why did Tess have opiates in her blood, had she been about to tell Greg about the affair she was having, and was Greg going to admit to the affair he was having and leave her? With the two of them dead, their friends can only try to make sense of the events without them and it tears them apart.

The story is not really about Tess and Greg, but about the friends that are left behind. This is a book about emotion. Some turn to alcohol, some dream of escaping, some retreat inward and seem about to self-destruct, and some flourish. Phoebe, the pill addict, seems to blossom from the tragedy while Andrea, the den mother type who is logical and hard backed, seems to dissolve. Addison, rich beyond anyone’s dreams, starts to drink and neglect life because he was in love with Tess. And Delilah, in love with Greg, can’t find solace in the same places she once did and longs to run away like she did as a teenager. It is the full spectrum of grief and how different people react to loss.

Every character of The Castaways is rich and full of life. Each one is complex and realistic, and you can imagine people like this living down the street. Again and again, though, I was taken aback by the selfishness of each person in the story. One of the greatest things that friends provide each other is a support group, yet none of the friends-- for how tight they claimed to be-- felt comforted by each other. The tragedy does not bring them close together. Instead, it almost tears them apart. Nearly everyone became consumed in their own grief, or in their own memories. But there is a lot happening to tear them apart. It is a little shocking that so many of them are betraying each other. In a way, though, this is good because people aren’t perfect. Hilderbrand doesn’t try to make ideal characters, but creates them with flaws and does not nurse their grief with excuses. Stark reality is really that hard and people don’t always behave the way we’d expect or want, even the best of people.

I was absolutely addicted to this book while I read it. I couldn’t put it down, and I mean that with complete honesty. For a while when I started the book, I had to refer back to the front to get the characters and their relationships straight. It took a while for me to remember offhand who was married to who, who were best friends, and who was secretly in love with who. If you like complex relationships, this book will definitely appeal to you. There is also so much emotion in this book, and you want to keep reading because you want to see everyone start to pick up the pieces of their lives and heal. You want to know what the truth is. You want to see if good things can happen out of a series of bad. (less)

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Jan 20, 2010

Ameena rated it:

I have read all of Elin Hildebrand's previous books and they all seem to share similar premises: the trials and tribulations of unhappily married Nantucket couples. This particular book is not any different. That said I read this book in just three days and it really is hard to put down!

The author illustrates the lives of 8 friends (4 couples) and how they are affected by the sudden deaths of one couple in a boating accident. Andrea, Chief, Delilah, Jeffrey, Tess, Greg, Phoebe and A...more I have read all of Elin Hildebrand's previous books and they all seem to share similar premises: the trials and tribulations of unhappily married Nantucket couples. This particular book is not any different. That said I read this book in just three days and it really is hard to put down!

The author illustrates the lives of 8 friends (4 couples) and how they are affected by the sudden deaths of one couple in a boating accident. Andrea, Chief, Delilah, Jeffrey, Tess, Greg, Phoebe and Addison or the "Castaways" as they call themselves deal with their grief in many different forms - from Andrea's depression and resulting inability to get through even the most mundane daily tasks, to Phoebe suddenly and unexpectedly releasing her grip on her various pill addictions. Then there is Addison who we quickly learn was having an affair with the now deceased Tess and Jeffrey who still loves ex-girlfriend Andrea but also loves his wife Delilah.

Honestly, trying to keep track of all 8 characters was quite challenging in the beginning. I found myself having to go back to the first few chapters at times trying to clear up my confusion. The characters are all interconnected and it takes quite a bit of focus to keep things straight. Thus this is not a beach read but more of a serious novel that one needs to devote attention to. Easier said than done when you have a 4-year-old constantly pestering you with questions!

The author has a tendency to go into great detail which can be good but also a bit tedious. Do we really need to know what each person ordered at a restaurant in Las Vegas? Um, no. Does it matter how long Delilah's labor was? Not really. But for the most part I did appreciate the great deal of depth that Elin Hilderbrand put into each character and I loved the detailed descriptions of Nantucket which sounds like an amazingly beautiful backdrop.

I found the author's ability to flash back and forth between the present and times before the accident, while also flashing back and forth between the points of view of each of the 6 surviving friends quite remarkable. I have no idea how she kept all the characters and timelines straight with so many factors in the mix. I wish I had half of her writing ability.

If you are looking for an entertaining, well written book about marriage and friendship this is one to definitely check out. Not Elin Hilderbrand's best but definitely close to the top. I also recommend her books A Summer Affair: A Novel and Barefoot which are also excellent.

Ameena Din
Freelance Reviewer
http://www.fancythatfancythis.com (less)

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Oct 18, 2009

Elizabeth rated it:

bookshelves: chick-lit

Read in June, 2009

Castaway: cast adrift or ashore; shipwrecked; a rejected or discarded person or thing.
The Castaways are four couples who are best friends living on the island of Nantucket off Cape Cod, MA. None were raised on the island, but all have found their way to it through various life events, and now with children, careers, and established relationships, it is part of their blood. Elin Hilderbrand has once again given us a story celebrating her home and the life of the year-round inhabitants woven...more Castaway: cast adrift or ashore; shipwrecked; a rejected or discarded person or thing.
The Castaways are four couples who are best friends living on the island of Nantucket off Cape Cod, MA. None were raised on the island, but all have found their way to it through various life events, and now with children, careers, and established relationships, it is part of their blood. Elin Hilderbrand has once again given us a story celebrating her home and the life of the year-round inhabitants woven into complex human relationships. I first read Ms. Hilderbrand 9 years ago with the publication of her first book, The Beach Club. With each successive novel I have seen her writing grow, and her storytelling enthrall me even more. Every summer I look forward to another layered, emotional story that makes me almost want to brave the horrors of the Cape in summer to visit the island. Maybe I'll go after Labor Day this year...
The central characters of The Castaways, teachers Greg and Tess MacAvoy, appear in the novel through the thoughts of their six good friends. The story opens with the death of Greg and Tess in a boating accident, leaving 7 year old twins, a daughter and son. This sail was to be a symbolic reconciliation and renewal of Tess and Greg's 12-year marriage, which had undergone a year of strained crisis. As friends and family scramble to make arrangements for the children, the burial, and the execution of the wills, questions swirl throughout the group. Why were both Tess and Greg found under the b oat? Why hadn't they yet made it to their destination when the squall arose? The Chief of Police, their good friend Ed has a question that the others don't even know about. Why were opiates found in Tess's bloodstream in the toxicology report? More questions arise as the Chief investigates the accident. Why did Tess receive 5 phone calls from Addison, her friend's husband, on the morning of the accident? Why did Tess's cell phone disappear right after the Chief noted the calls? Was Greg truly at the beach the night before with one of his female students? The reader learns of all these things through the eyes of Andrea & the Chief, Addison & Phoebe, and Jeremy & Delilah, piecing together a complex quilt of foolish choices, friendships, tragedy, lost loves, and family.
I'm sure you can tell that I really enjoyed The Castaways, and I'd love to tell you to run out and get it...but, it's still only in hardcover, so if you've never read Elin Hilderbrand before, try one of her earlier novels in paperback. If you are familiar with Ms. Hilderbrand, go get this one right away! Her novels are great beach books, not sudsy or foolish, and really make me think about relationships and the impact of small decisions. My favorite after The Castaways is The Blue Bistro, the story of a famous chef on Nantucket, and her restaurant.(less)

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Jul 25, 2009

Alison rated it:

Read in August, 2009

Oh. I get it now! THIS is what someone means when they talk about a great "summer read."

The Castaways: A Novel by Elin Hilderbrand was a great book. It begins with a tragedy, as most good books do. A couple dies in a sailing accident off the coast of Nantucket. They not only leave behind their twin 7 year-olds, but they also leave behind their friends, three other couples, together known as the Castaways.

Hilderbrand takes us up down and backwards into the lives ...more

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Aug 09, 2009

Debra rated it:

The Castaways were a group of 8 friends, 4 couples that live in Nantucket. They have mourned, cried and laughed together. Phoebe and Addison, Tess and Greg, Delilah and Jeffery, and Andrea and Ed care very much for each other. One tragic day Tess and Greg go sailing only to never return. The autopsy report presents questions. Was it an accident?

Elin Hilderband is a master at defining characters. Each of the Castaways had a distinct personality that was fully developed. The plot...more

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Aug 21, 2009

Colleen rated it:

bookshelves: reviewed

Read in July, 2009

This was an excellent offering by a talented author, one that explored the tough issues of love and loss and redemption through the eyes of a disparate cast of characters. Though we never meet Greg and Tess MacAvoy, they loom large over the narrative as their characters are revealed in snippets of memories. Each of the six main characters in The Castaways have a different vision of Tess and Greg, and only by combining all those different versions do their true personalities unfold.

We...more

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Jun 19, 2009

Nely rated it:

bookshelves: for-review

Read in July, 2009

This is the story of four couples who are the best of friends. They go on vacations together, they have weekend get-togethers, babysit eachother's children, support eachother when it comes to their jobs, marital issues and just life in general. But when one of these couples (Greg & Tess) dies in a mysterious boating accident the remaining friends are all left devasted by the shock of their tragic deaths.

Each chapter is written in the first person - each of the six remaining friends....more

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Jul 07, 2009

Bridget rated it:

The Castaways are a group of four couples who stick together through everything. They started out as friends and ended up family. Greg and Tess are out on the water celebrating their 12 year anniversary and the other couples are proud that these two have decided to stick it out even though they've had a troublesome time with the affair that Greg is rumored to have had.

When news hits that Greg and Tess are dead, it hits The Castaways like a ton of bricks. They feel that they have los...more

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Nov 14, 2009

Mary Anne rated it:

Read in November, 2009

For some reason this was a book I could not put down. It told the story of four couples who have been friends forever. One of the couples, Tess & Greg, tragically drown leaving behind two young children. From that point, the story is told from the other six characters' points of veiw. Each of the characters had secrets surrounding the tragedy and their way of dealing with it. There is some intrigue, mystery, fun, tragedy and hope.

Some of the story was a little unbelievable - s...more

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Jun 27, 2009

Janene rated it:

bookshelves: chic-lit, first-reads--wins-

Read in July, 2009

Another First Reads Win this week! That makes 3?? Whahoo! Very much looking forward to this one! It looks like one my 'reading partner' & I will really enjoy.

More later..........

Update:

Well, I finished Castaways in about 3 sittings. I've been sitting here trying to think of how I'd review it..and was really stumped. I was really excited to read this book.....but after finishing, I forgot to even rate it. That's how unexcited I had become. I then read 'De...more