SUMMER ISLAND
By Kristin Hannah
(Crown Publishing: $21.00) Previous Columns
Reviewed by: Patricia Ann Jones
Written as a valentine to her own mother, Hannah reveals that the inspiration for "Summer Island" had its origin in her mother's untimely death at age 45 of breast cancer. "I was in my third year of Law School," she recalls. "I grieved in all the ordinary ways and then did what has to be done at a time like that, I went on with my life." Years later after Hannah married and had a child of her own, she began to grieve again. She longed for what she would never have, a mother who was her friend. "It sounds simple," she says, "but there were things left unsaid between us, battles unresolved. Now, I can only imagine where we would have gone, who we would have become. Those daydreams were the basis for this novel."
Kristin Hannah has received praise for her ability to create emotionally rewarding novels. The Washington Post wrote, "Hannah is superb at delving into her characters' psyches and delineating nuances of feeling." Publishers Weekly, commented, ". . . Never one to gush, she is more than ever disciplined in her writing and the result is a clean, deep thrust to the reader's heart." In "Summer Island," Hannah delivers a story that revolves around an estranged mother and daughter who must come to terms with the past, and with each other. The fundamental questions arise: "Can you ever really know your mother? And, if you don't, can you really know yourself?"
Nora Bridges is a phenomenally popular radio talk-show host and nationally syndicated newspaper columnist. She is the parent everyone wishes they had. What Nora's audiences do not know is something a tabloid is ready to expose. Ten years ago, Nora Bridges walked out on her family. She left behind a husband and two teenaged daughters Caroline and Ruby, to began her life anew.
Caroline is the daughter who walks on the surface of things. She marries well and has a satisfying life. It is Ruby, now 28-years-old who cannot reconcile what her mother has done to her.
Ruby is a struggling comedienne who uses her mother as fuel for her acerbic stand-up act. When the tabloid unearths Nora's explosive secret past, Ruby is offered a fortune to write a tell- all for a national magazine. This is her chance to launch her career into the big time, she accepts the offer. The only problem is she hasn't spoken to her mother in years.
Nora is injured in a car accident. This provides Ruby an opportunity to become her mother's caretaker and to get to know her again. She accompanies Nora to Summer Island in Washington State where she grew up. Ruby is eager to acquire information about her mother to add just the right touch of poison to her story, but she soon discovers, "going home is never what we expect."
Other characters who lend a surprising impact to this story are Dean Sloan and his brother Eric. Dean is an heir to a multimillion dollar business. A business he doesn't want. He has a reputation as a love-'em-and-leave-'em kind of playboy. In truth Dean longs for a lost love, Ruby Bridges, his high-school sweetheart.
Eric, at 30 is dying of AIDS and has long been a friend to Nora Bridges. She maintained their friendship and cares for young Eric whose family has disowned him. Eric also goes to Summer Island for his final days. Later, Eric's brother Dean follows him there and the two young men find a way to be brothers again. Both of these characters will touch you and teach you about forgiveness.
Ruby soon finds that in forgetting her mother, she'd misplaced herself. Her conflict becomes not how to be vengeful in her book, but how to present her mother in her true light. As the two move tentatively toward one another across the minefield of their past, anger and recriminations start to give way to understanding and acceptance. Ruby learns also about the painful secrets that led to her mother's abandonment. And, she realizes for the first time her own culpability in their estranged relationship.
"Summer Island" is a love story on several levels. It is a fascinating story of love, healing, forgiveness, and renewal, it is certain to strike a chord in the hearts of mothers and daughters everywhere.
Without preaching, Hannah manages to show us: "We are all just humans. Why then do we expect more from our parents and siblings. Mistakes are made without forgiveness, there is no love. Without
love no life."
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(Jones is a published writer & literary critic)
COPYRIGHT JUNE 25, 2001, PATRICIA A. JONES, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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