chicks review:
The Inn at Lake Devine

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The Inn at Lake Devine Elinor Lipman PB list price $12.00 Vintage Books (May 1999) ISBN: 037570485X 253 pages average review: Reviews: This gets: a from abby: I haven't tried rereading the book, but the ending came up way too quickly. It was almost as if Lipmann had a page limit to stick to, and needed to tie up all loose ends pronto. I liked Dearly Departed a bit more. This gets: a from eryka: The first time I read this I thought it was okay. Mediocre. But I've reread bits and pieces, and now I really like it. It's a tale set in the early 60s about a resort (sort of akin to "Dirty Dancing"), about a Jewish girl who faces anti-Semitism when she tries to go to the eponymous inn. A pretty tale as she grows up, with the inn playing a major role in that growth. From the back cover: It's 1962 and all across America barriers are collapsing. But when Natalie Marx's mother inquires about summer accommodations in Vermont, she gets the following reply: The Inn at Lake Devine is a family-owned resort, which has been in continuous operation since 1922. Our guests who feel most comfortable here, and return year after year, are Gentiles. For twelve-year-old Natalie, who has a stubborn sense of justice, the words are not a rebuff but an infuriating, irresistible challenge. In this beguiling novel, Elinor Lipman charts her heroine's fixation with a small bastion of genteel anti-Semitism, a fixation that will have wildly unexpected consequences on her romantic life. As Natalie tries to enter the world that has excluded her--and succeeds through the sheerest of accidents -- The Inn at Lake Devine becomes a delightful and provocative romantic comedy full of sparkling social mischief. eryka.com scale: So good you just can't stand it. Almost that good. Sort of good. Generally a waste of time. Destined for the recycler. If you'd like to review this book, or another, click here Similar books by category: women writers | american fiction Go home | Go to reviews home © 2002 eryka.com. All rights reserved.