Body Surfing

February 12, 2007
Deceptive love and stark betrayal form the icy core of this dark 12th novel from Oprah-anointed (The Pilot's Wife
), Orange Prize finalist (The Weight of Water
) Shreve. Set adrift at 29 by the sudden death of her second husband (her first divorced her), smart, underemployed Sydney (no last name) signs on for a quiet New England oceanfront summer of tutoring 18-year-old Julie, the intellectually slow but artistically talented and strikingly beautiful daughter of the fractious Edwards clan. The family includes Julie's brothers—35-year-old Boston corporate real estate man Ben and 31-year-old M.I.T. poli-sci professor Jeff—and the three children's parents. Sydney is half-Jewish, and Mrs. Edwards is anti-Semitic. Family tensions escalate when Julie disappears, then resurfaces in Montreal as the lesbian lover of 25-year-old Helene (a body surfer who frequented the beach near the Edwardses' home). Jeff and Sydney bond during their search for Julie, nights of passion leading to plans for a joyous wedding, which get very complicated when the couple returns to Edwards central. Shreve's devastating depiction of the family's dissolution—the culmination of sublimated jealousies suddenly exploding into the open—is wrenching. Shreve's omniscience is asserted with such ease that it often feels like she's toying with her characters, but her control is masterful, particularly in the sure-handed and compassionate aftermath.

Starred review from February 1, 2007
Already once divorced and now recently widowed, 29-year-old Sydney Sklar looks at a tutoring job at a New Hampshire beach house as the perfect escape from pain and grief. But the Edwardses offer moreand lessthan she would have hoped for, in this latest from Shreve ("A Wedding in December"). Helping 18-year-old Julie Edwards prepare for the SATs becomes a complex undertaking as Sydney realizes that Julie is slow and, as hard as she tries, will never be accepted at the prestigious colleges Mrs. Edwards prefers. Mr. Edwards loves his garden and his daughter, and he makes Sydney yearn to be part of a family. With the arrival of Julie's much older brothers, Ben and Jeff, the path for Sydney becomes as precarious as the shoreline where she revels in body surfing. An activity Sydney finds both distracting and exhilarating, body surfing requires precision timing that means the difference between a perfect ride and getting slammed. When both brothers show an interest in her, Sydney finds herself caught up in a giantand unpredictablewave that has devastating consequences. Shreve's beautifully drawn tale of family and connection will leave readers feeling a bit slammed themselves: against the vagaries of life and the rocky shoals of love. A winner; highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 12/06.]Bette-Lee Fox, Library Journal

Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2007
Shreve's latest features the same seaside New Hampshire house that appears in three of her best novels (" The Pilot's Wife, " 1998; " Fortune's Rocks" , 1999; and " Sea Glass," 2002). Now it's the place where 29-year-old Sydney comes to heal from her turbulent romantic life. Once divorced and once widowed, she is still reeling and feels unable to continue with graduate school. Instead, she's taken a summer job tutoring the sweet but slow youngest child of a wealthy architect; she is made to feel like a part of the family by the gracious Mr. Edwards and like a paid servant by the more status-conscious Mrs. Edwards. For her part, Sydney is almost afraid to let go of her mourning for her second husband, afraid that she will lose the only connection to him that remains. But then the Edwards' two older sons turn up, and both are intent on drawing Sydney out. They teach her to night surf and ply her with witty conversation and good food and wine. She soon becomes caught between the two brothers, who engage in an intense bout of sibling rivalry, with devastating consequences. In simple yet eloquent style, Shreve portrays the arc of a complicated romantic relationship, from infatuation to betrayal. What's more, she builds in a palpable sense of suspense as well as a deep empathy for human frailty. The ever-skillful Shreve delivers yet another gripping read that will satisfy her many fans and earn her some new ones. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)