Summer People

Marge Piercy is undoubtedly a very talented and interesting writer, as evidenced by [b:Woman on the Edge of Time|772888|Woman on the Edge of Time|Marge Piercy|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1480498743s/772888.jpg|838570], [b:City of Darkness, City of Light|862108|City of Darkness, City of Light|Marge Piercy|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320479678s/862108.jpg|1230592], and [b:The High Cost of Living|169693|The High Cost of Living|Marge Piercy|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1266487662s/169693.jpg|1138691]. ‘Summer People’ was less to my taste, however. I was intrigued by the central unconventional romantic relationship between three, then disappointed by somewhat soap operatic events that unfolded. To be fair, Piercy show more does sustain the five-way split in perspective impressively well throughout. The writing is good and the characters convincing. The problem was, I viscerally disliked several of those narrating and found their goings-on annoying quite a lot of the time.

More detailed discussion necessitates spoilers. I was disappointed that the decade-long three-way relationship collapses so early on in the book, resulting in a tedious return to heteronormativity. And I’m not very keen on stories about jealousy, infidelity, and family discord. Such themes have been gone over so many times by so many novelists, as well being constant occurrences in TV and films, so original twists are rare. Moreover, this focus on strife makes the novel depressing and paints the characters in a pretty bad light. The tragic death of Susan towards the end rather surprised me as, again, it seemed overblown and reminiscent of a TV drama.

Thus Piercy writes with subtlety, but there isn’t a lot of it in the plot. ‘Summer People’ has some moments of great insight, for example about septic tanks as small talk, and the characters, including the awful Tyrone and his spoiled daughter, certainly come to life. Nonetheless, I was not especially engaged and wished the characters would resolve their drama. show less

I like Marge Piercy's fiction and poetry, and two of her novels are among my favorites. However, I was not able to get into this work. I dutifully finished it, but doing so was a real chore. For a much more engaging work in the same geographical location (Cape Cod), see her more recent Storm Tide.

Cape Cod - menage a trois - unusual group of "users" - people
pg 272 - fighting Adults and Adoloscents
Susan lonely controlling - ends life - or gave up in lake -

Dinah, Willie, and Susan have long outlived the scandal associated with their ten-year-old menage-a-trois. Dinah, an avante-garde compler, treasures her independence. Yet it takes Willie's kindness and Susan's fire to sustain her. Willie is a left-wing sculptor in a right-wing age. And Susan, his wife, is a fabric designer who craves glamour, wealth, and the attentions of the summer people who visit Cape Cod every year. Then one summer, the balance shifts. Passions are tested, honesty forsaken, and the trio must face the changes brought by their beautiful visitors . . .

It's nice to read about people your own age for a change.