From the Bookshelf of Retro Chapter Chicks …

The Summer Wives

Beatriz Williams

Start date: August 1, 2018

Finish date: August 31, 2018

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Jul 05, 2021 Maureen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: summer-scrabble

Miranda has come back to Winthrop Island after 18 years. No one knows why she has returned. She is now a famous actress, but has bruises on her face. She needs to heal in more ways than one. She hasn’t been back to the island since the murder of her step father Hugh Fisher. She was only 18 when this happened. Why did she return now, when the convicted killer of her step father has escaped from prison. Her mother and step sister are unwelcoming to Miranda.

This book has three interconnected story ...more

26 likes · Like · see review

Jan 23, 2019 Kris (My Novelesque Life) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, america, fiction, elibrary, romance, arc-edelweiss, audiobook, 1930s

RATING: 2.5 STARS
William Morrow/HarperCollins Canada
(Review Not on Blog)

The Summer Wives has some hints of The Great Gatsby so I was excited to listen to this one. However, I found the novel to be just okay. While in the beginning I was curious to see where the plot and characters ended up, I soon lost interest. I continued to listen as it wasn't badly written and was okay. I don't mind romances in my stories, but they better be well-done or I do get bored of it. I wasn't expecting the romance e ...more

12 likes · Like · see review

Jun 30, 2019 Book Concierge rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audio, new-york, arc, historical-fiction, library, social-commentary, romance, concierge, strong-women

Book on CD narrated by Kristin Kelbly

Williams sets this historical novel on the fictional Winthrop Island, where the year-round residents are the families of Portuguese fishermen, but whose governing group consists of the upper-class families who summer here. In the summer of 1951 Miranda Schuyler is introduced to this society when her widowed mother marries the high-class Hugh Fisher. His daughter, Isobel, introduces Miranda to the country-club set, and to Joseph Vargas, the son of a lobsterman ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Feb 16, 2019 Lory Sakay rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Reading this book transported me to a time in which women had to fight to be seen and recognized as forces to be reckoned with. This tale, that encompassed decades, detailed the plight of several women, 2 in particular, and how their lives intertwined throughout. It contained action, hope, despair, frustration, and romance. This particular read became even more meaningful as our book club was given the opportunity to discuss its origins and aspects with its author. Beatriz Williams was engaging Reading this book transported me to a time in which women had to fight to be seen and recognized as forces to be reckoned with. This tale, that encompassed decades, detailed the plight of several women, 2 in particular, and how their lives intertwined throughout. It contained action, hope, despair, frustration, and romance. This particular read became even more meaningful as our book club was given the opportunity to discuss its origins and aspects with its author. Beatriz Williams was engaging and "real." She described her goal to capture the role (and expectations) of women in the 1950's as well as the feel of a small, elitist, island community with its unwritten rules and cultural divides. These explanations and details of the creation and development of particular characters, within a somewhat predictable plot, served to bring the book more to life and explained questions our group had about certain outcomes and situations. We were also able to better comprehend the challenges involved in writing a work of historical fiction. This opportunity to interact with the author definitely served to have me love the book more.
Another thing that stood out for me in this book was the writing. It was magical. I loved the way Williams used words to describe a scene, injecting unique and telling metaphors throughout. I did get a bit lost with the changing timelines and different families/surnames (would've liked to refer to a table somewhere in the book), but was able to muddle through this to savor the complex relationships and events that shaped these "summer wives." I'm very glad I picked up this read and look forward to identifying and pondering the themes presented in Williams' other books. She presents a good story, with an inlay of a profound, deeper message.

One particular quote I liked:
"You so rarely see boxwoods in a natural state. Always, always, people trim them into shape, rounded or square or something more outlandish. Poor boxwoods, they aren’t ever allowed to be themselves, are they? They’re forced inside the boundaries of human imagination." ...more

1 like · Like · see review