This was another book that I had read reviews about, and thought might be fun to read. I found a copy at the library, and snapped it up off the shelf before anyone else could get it!

The characters in the title are a mother and her two grown daughters, all of whom move to a cousin's house on the beach in Westport, Connecticut when various things start to go wrong in their lives.

The book starts when Betty Weismann learns that her husband Joseph has plans to divorce her and marry his younger assistant. Betty and Joseph have been married for 50 years, and at first, Betty doesn't believe what she is hearing. But soon enough, it's all too clear that Joseph is in fact ending the marriage. While things are being straightened out, she is forced to leave her New York City apartment and take refuge in a house owned by a cousin who swoops in to help at just the right time. Her daughter Miranda, who had been a very successful literary agent, sees her business fall apart when one of her authors admits to making up the information in his memoir. The other daughter, Annie, is a librarian who is drowning in debt, and is coming close to losing her apartment. She sublets it and heads to Westport as well, to join her mother and younger sister to be sure that someone "responsible" is there with them.

The book covers a year in their lives, and reveals each character's hopes, dreams, and flaws. The cast of supporting characters are very well-drawn, and for the most part, believable. There are some very funny parts, but in the end, the book is rather sad, in the sense of evoking a what-could-have-been feeling.

The characters of Joseph and his new wife Felicity, are not as well-developed and as a result, Joseph seems like a wuss and Felicity like a golddigger. Which may be the point, but I wished a couple of times that I could have some clue as to why they acted the way they did.

Overall, I enjoyed the book, and found aspects of the story to be sadly played out in real life for too many people.