Off Season
by Anne Rivers Siddons
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Book Summary Information
Author: Anne Rivers SiddonsEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-08-13
ISBN: 0446527874
Number of pages: 368
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Book Reviews of Off Season
Book Review: Great Fun---The Ending Got Me!
Summary: 4 Stars
"Off Season"
by Anne Rivers Siddons
Book Review by Jay Gilbertson
Chick Lit Alert! This is a beach read for sure and you better bring a big box of tissues, as some elements of this story are simply heart wrenching--full of gooey young summer love--fall losses and all things tragically inclined. This is one walloping emotional roller-coaster-of-a-ride and all I can suggest is that you have a comfy spot to read as it's a real, honest to goodness, page turner. A wonderful friend of mine (JP) was over recently and referred to Siddon's work as a delicious box of chocolates waiting to be inhaled. She was so right.
Set in an idyllic world of maids and soaring staircases ensconced in old money and family tradition, this is a feast full of Maine history. The novel portrays a moneyed world of elitism and the well-educated living a life that, for most of us, is the delicious stuff of story. One of the main characters is a rambling summer cottage, aptly named Edgewater. The old house stands on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean outside of a seaside town called Sedgwick in Maine. It's there that most of the tale unfolds.
Meet our star, Lilly Constable, with a head of wild curly hair perfectly matching her headstrong, Leo-the-lion nature through and through. Toss in an undercurrent of little-girl curiosity propelling her into a myriad of transformational situations and we have a mix sure to please--and perplex.
The story opens with a satisfying prologue of present-time Lilly driving her deceased husband's ashes back to Edgewater. Once they arrive the bulk of the story unfurls as Lilly re-lives her summers there. And of course, it ends with an epilogue of massive resolutionary proportion only a seasoned author could conceive. Without giving a thing away, it's easy to assume, there will be no sequel...
I have to admit, if it weren't for the incredibly well crafted writing style I may have slammed the cover closed and tossed it into the library return bin without a second thought, but the magic got me. Early on, Lilly, who suffers from asthma, has a major attack while recalling a tragic memory. She gasps for air, her mind flies away, and as she struggles to breathe, something amazing happens. The sound of the ocean rushes in and surrounds her and brings her back and allows her to breath; to live.
The things we surround ourselves with truly shape us and this simple knowledge can be a powerful force--both good--and bad. For Lilly, a summer love festers into a fall riddled with sorrow and although she is only eleven, this experience haunts her for the rest of her life.
Though Lilly suffers terribly; a mother succumbing to the horrors of cancer, an unreachable brother and an over-bearing father, she is able to find peace in the water. This is something I've experienced, and it literally took my breath away in the clarity and joy and serenity of her discovery of this otherworld. When you're surrounded by the comfort of water, there is nothing else--nothing. Through the process of finding herself, Lilly sees what before she couldn't bear.
Over time, she discovers she never really knew her husband at all, not really. And family and friends and relations and all their trappings can only hold you up so long. There comes a time when you stand alone in the wind and find your breath and know, finally know for sure, that the only love that really was true, was the first.
Summary of Off Season
Acclaimed novelist Anne Rivers Siddons's new novel is a stunning tale of love and loss.
For as long as she can remember, they were Cam and Lilly--happily married, totally in love with each other, parents of a beautiful family, and partners in life. Then, after decades of marriage, it ended as every great love story does...in loss. After Cam's death, Lilly takes a lone road trip to her and Cam's favorite spot on the remote coast of Maine, the place where they fell in love over and over again, where their ghosts still dance. There, she looks hard to her past--to a first love that ended in tragedy; to falling in love with Cam; to a marriage filled with exuberance, sheer life, and safety-- to try to figure out her future.
It is a journey begun with tender memories and culminating in a revelation that will make Lilly re-evaluate everything she thought was true about her husband and her marriage.
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