Body Surfing / by Anita Shreve

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Fortune hasn't exactly smiled on Sydney Sklar of late. At 29, she's been divorced once, widowed once and employed at several teaching jobs only to be left still contemplating her destiny. So when a unique opportunity courts her in the form of Julie Edwards, the beautiful but mildly-challenged daughter of a well-bred New England couple, Sydney sees nothing to lose. Hospitable people despite some characteristically WASPish airs, the family--Sydney in tow--is currently summering at their New Hampshire beach house where surf, sand and sea air provide a welcome break from routine, even more so when the Edwards' two sons--Ben(35) & Jeff(32)--arrive for weekend visits.

Both single yuppie-types, they make no pretense about their interest in Sydney whose amiability to both at first starts to favor Jeff as the summer progresses. As if reinforcing her convictions, even brief distractions like Julie's sudden disappearance fail to waver Sydney's strengthening feelings as, shortly after the girl's safe location, wedding plans are swiftly set in motion. Rejoicing for the happy couple is overshadowed by family tension, however, as restrained animosity between both brothers plus Mrs. Edwards' increasingly irritable behavior start to impose on the occasion. With Julie (legally 18) choosing to live separate from her parents, a steady stream of repressed emotion seeps into an already disquieted atmosphere, unleashing a tidal wave of bad blood by the story's end.

Anita Shreve is quite a well-known author in contemporary circles, penning bestsellers A Wedding in December, The Pilot's Wife and Weight of Water prior to Body Surfing. Exposited with extreme intuition, the author's focus remains largely on the predisposition(s) of Sydney's character, more or less negating any objective view of the Edwards clan. It's not long before the reader is lured into unsuspecting waters whereby some surprise bombshells promptly shake things up. Shreve's writing is esteemable enough and the story won't disappoint most readers even if some may be let down by the ending.