Ratings

Content Ratings based on a 0-5 scale where
0 = no objectionable content and
5 = an excessive or disturbing level of content

Guide to Rating System

LANGUAGE

VIOLENCE

SEXUAL CONTENT

ADULT THEMES

National Book Award Finalist

Ratings Explanation

Sexual Content:  Grandma suffers a nervous breakdown, after the birth of of Aunt Sandy.  “Grandpa always suspected it might have had earlier roots, in guilt Grandma felt over an affair she’d had with a family friend while living in Santa Barbara.”  When observing a beach on Cape Cod, the author, recalls his first sexual experience.  A disabled, great-uncle “got into trouble with girls.”  “No one in the family knew exactly what that meant, since wealthy Bostonians were able to keep their scandals hushed up.  A fondness for prostitutes?  Statutory rape?”

Adult Themes:  There is a family history of mental illness.  Several family members spend time in institutions following nervous breakdowns.  The author recalls experimenting with marijuana and beer drinking.

Synopsis

George Howe Colt and his family, are faced with the sale of their family summer home on Cape Cod.  The property taxes have grown too expensive and they can no longer afford the upkeep on the century old house.  George has spent a summer month or two each year for the past forty-two years at “The Big House”.  He returns for one last stay with his wife and children, Susannah and Henry.  George laments the loss of future summer memories for his children.  He weaves five generations of family history with his childhood’s summer memories into his final visit.  He savors his family’s delightful memories and confronts the less desirable.  In addition to George’s family history and a glimpse of Bostonian social structure, he provides a brief history of Cape Cod,  beautiful architectural descriptions, and details of local flora and fauna.

I enjoyed this detailed account of Howe’s family history and the loss of their century old summer home.

©2010 The Literate Mother