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The Beach House

Author: Jane Green
Publisher: Michael Joseph Ltd
Category: Book

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Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

9 reviews
Sales Rank: 221

Media: Hardcover
Pages: 432
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 5.5 x 1.7

ISBN: 0718148088
EAN: 9780718148089
ASIN: 0718148088

Publication Date: June 12, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours

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Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

Enjoy!!! August 6, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful

If you have never read Jane Green...now is the time to start!!!
All her books are enjoyable and i guarantee you will be keen to read all her books ..
Perfect for Summer holidays!! I read this in 3 days and didn't want it to end...

2 out of 5 stars

One to leave in your holiday cottage July 29, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful

I'd say 'The Beach House' is a good choice for a holiday read - as in a book that doesn't keep you from sightseeing on your summer holiday because it's just not interesting enough to want to lie around reading.

Not the kind of book I tend to normally choose, but I was hoping to enjoy it all the same. It reminded me very much of magazine fiction...those short stories that I only used to read when I'd read everything else and done the word search!

Actually, it wasn't really awful, just not very challenging. It's very light, lacking in intrigue, and is full of people with relationship problems of varying kinds that predictably all end happily in a blissful location...with everyone becoming bosom buddies.

Just a bit airy fairy for my taste I think. 2.5 stars

2 out of 5 stars

Beach house foam July 17, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful

Jane Green tends to write write fluffy beach reads, the sort of books that get turned into equally fluffy TV movies.

And in "The Beach House," she links together a series of storylines that could have easily made up their own books, with a warm'n'fuzzy sentimental core in an ancient Nantucket house. Unfortunately it begins to come unravelled about halfway through, and some of those storylines simply rush to the finish line without bothering to spin up a satisfactory conclusion.

Eccentric widow Nan Powell is faced with selling her beloved old house Windermere, with its memories of her beloved albeit gambling-addicted hubby. The alternative: take in boarders for money, and fend off the developers who want to tear down Windermere for McMansions.

At about this time, her son Michael returns home after an ill-fated affair with his boss's clingy wife, who now wants a commitment from him. And among the boarders are Daff, a newly-divorced wife and mother who is seeking "herself," and Daniel, a nervy young man who has just realized that he is gay, and is struggling to deal with this. His young wife Bee, who is understandably upset by her husband's distance, is still ignorant of this.

As time winds on -- and the developers circle around Nan's run-down mansion -- the various people begin to relax and open up to each other, like members of a family. But then a series of crises hit -- Bee's father is badly injured, Daff's daughter is arrested, and Michael's desperate former lover shows up with some shocking news for him (yes, you can probably guess what). And even Nan is faced with an old face from her past, who she thought was gone forever....

"The Beach House" has more than enough plot -- any of its subplots would make a decent novel, and Green winds together a series of them with some tenuous links. Jewelry stores, yuppie marriage counseling, and an empty house post-divorce are all explored in detail, as the characters' lives start spinning out of control. And she tackles some of the nastier aspects of adultery and moving on, such as disaster dates and a tantrum-throwing teenager.

But when all the characters get to Nantucket, Green seems to lose some of her inspiration. She rushes through the last quarter of the book after a leisurely build-up. And she seems vaguely embarrassed by the prospect of a big emotional scene -- big shattering events are dealt with via a phone call, a horrifying betrayal is handled by a few sniping comments and general shunning. One character even conveniently expires to avoid dealing with the general baggage.

This is particularly troublesome in Daniel's story -- his coming-out and tentative explorations into the gay subculture is both wrenching and intriguing, as you wonder what this loving father will do to avoid hurting his wife and kids. But once he's out'n'proud, then Green shies away from actually dealing with it, or with his attraction to the conveniently hunky Matt. The drippy "let's not have sex because I want a commitment" scene is simply absurd.

As for the characters, they're a mixed bag. Nan is the biggest problem -- she's not really eccentric, and she's not really nurturing. Yet Green has her randomly flip-flop between being an eccentric old free spirit, and being an earth mother-type. Not that it's very plausible that her tomato garden could instantly turn a spoiled, shrieking, shoplifting regressed teenager into a little angel overnight.

On the other hand, Daniel and Bee are explored with painful, beautiful detail, as he struggles to deal with his homosexuality and she struggles with the revelations about what their marriage was, and where this leaves her as a desirable woman. Too bad Michael is an insensitive and self-absorbed jerk who strings along a married woman until she ditches her hubby, and Daff loses her tragic wronged-woman dimensions as soon as she shrugs off Michael's adulterous liaison. Who cares if that's the sort of thing that broke up her marriage? He's hot and has tight abs!

"The Beach House" has potential and plot to burn, but the rushed final lap and a couple puttered-out storylines leave you frustrated. Here's hoping the next try is longer and more passionate.

2 out of 5 stars

Sorry :o( July 10, 2008
7 out of 11 found this review helpful

First thing that needs to be said is this is better than Second Chance. It really is better. The only problem is this isn't very good, either. I really think Green has just run out of ideas, or inspiration, because one of the characters in this book is a 37-year old woman called Carrie... who happens to be a writer. Are we directly ripping characters off tv shows now? Another character is called Matt; a gay man who is every woeful stereotype you could possibly imagine. Amongst others, he calls people "honey", calls his gay friends "the girls" while discussing his numerous flings.

Also, it's not very well written. For example, there are a couple of phrases used again, and again, and again. The most annoying is how the characters "feel they've come home" when they kiss their new person; running a close second is how half of the characters at various points eventually feel "comfortable in their own skin". Both of these phrases are used at least 4 or 5 times throughout and by halfway through, I was rolling my eyes.

Am so worried that sounds mean, but this book is pretty much the final straw for me when it comes to reading any more Green. Parts of it did make me genuinely quite cross. In it, we're told that a particular character - "like all women" - is a chameleon when it comes to men; willing to change on a whim to please the new man. I think that's insulting, and a little arrogant. Are you so desperate for a man you're willing to compromise who you are? *Are* all women that way? I'm saying no.

Similarly, 9/11 is once again referred to. A character compares the events of 9/11 to their life being a little topsy turvy suddenly, and I actually had to put the book down for a day or so upon reading that. Citing terrorism - yet again - is just reprehensible.

Few of the characters are very kind. They all seem to cheat on people, or go after married people... what's more, the plot is really, truly predictable. You'll know what's coming within 10 pages. You'll know who ends up with who, and you'll know exactly who *is* who.

On the plus side, the descriptions of Nantucket are wonderful. They'll make you want to be there; to uproot and live there peacefully for the rest of your life... and I think that may be the problem in some ways. Green used to be a single gal around London. Her writing was real, and earthy and beautiful. Now, though, it's a little smug, and disassociated and, truthfully, it's mundane.

I wanted to love Beach House, because Straight Talking and Jemima J are remarkable, and Second Chance was such a let down, so a lot was riding on this one. I tried to love it, but everything I've mentioned combined just got too much and this is the last Green book I'll be reading.

4 out of 5 stars

A great read - different!!! July 7, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful

Having recently discovered jane green, my favourites been jemima j and mr maybe - I was eager to read this one! It did not disappoint! Even though the book is different to her other reads (it is about a 65 year old nan with money troubles rather than a career woman in london or a fed up mom) it is really really good! When nan decides to make some money by having people come to stay with her for the holidays - little does she know how much this will change her life! There are a few twists and turns and surprises in this book - unlike Jane Greens others which are quite predictable- and I found it to be a very entertaining read! Definitely recommended to fans of hers, and I recommend reading it with a nice bottle of wine and chilling out - this book will make you smile!