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Lake Life
From the award-winning author of the acclaimed story collection The Heaven of Animals, called “a wise debut…beautiful [stories] with a rogue touch” (The New York Times Book Review), comes a sweeping, domestic novel about a family that reunites at their North Carolina lake house for one last vacation before the home is sold—and the long-buried secrets that are finally revealed.
The Starling family is scattered across the country. Parents Richard and Lisa live in Ithaca, New York, and work at Cornell University. Their son Michael, a salesperson, lives in Dallas with his elementary school teacher wife, Diane. Michael’s brother, Thad, an aspiring poet, makes his home in New York City with his famous painter boyfriend, Jake. For years they’ve traveled to North Carolina to share a summer vacation at the family lake house.
That tradition is coming to an end, as Richard and Lisa have decided to sell the treasured summer home and retire to Florida. Before they do, the family will spend one last weekend at the lake. But what should to be a joyous farewell takes a nightmarish turn when the family witnesses a tragedy that triggers a series of dramatic revelations among the Starlings—alcoholism, infidelity, pregnancy, and a secret the parents have kept from their sons for over thirty years. As the weekend unfolds, relationships fray, bonds are tested, and the Starlings are forced to reckon with who they are and what they want from this life.
Set in today’s America, Lake Life is a beautifully rendered, emotionally compelling novel in the tradition of Jonathan Franzen’s The Corrections, Elizabeth Strout’s Olive Kitteridge, and Ann Patchett’s Commonwealth.
The Starling family is scattered across the country. Parents Richard and Lisa live in Ithaca, New York, and work at Cornell University. Their son Michael, a salesperson, lives in Dallas with his elementary school teacher wife, Diane. Michael’s brother, Thad, an aspiring poet, makes his home in New York City with his famous painter boyfriend, Jake. For years they’ve traveled to North Carolina to share a summer vacation at the family lake house.
That tradition is coming to an end, as Richard and Lisa have decided to sell the treasured summer home and retire to Florida. Before they do, the family will spend one last weekend at the lake. But what should to be a joyous farewell takes a nightmarish turn when the family witnesses a tragedy that triggers a series of dramatic revelations among the Starlings—alcoholism, infidelity, pregnancy, and a secret the parents have kept from their sons for over thirty years. As the weekend unfolds, relationships fray, bonds are tested, and the Starlings are forced to reckon with who they are and what they want from this life.
Set in today’s America, Lake Life is a beautifully rendered, emotionally compelling novel in the tradition of Jonathan Franzen’s The Corrections, Elizabeth Strout’s Olive Kitteridge, and Ann Patchett’s Commonwealth.
295 pages, Hardcover
First published July 7, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 321 reviews
August 26, 2020
“Lake Life” by David James Poissant is proof that likeable characters are not necessary for an impressive novel.
The story takes place at a lake in North Carolina during a week family vacation. The six characters, who provide their own chapter point-of-view perspective, are members of a family. The parents, Richard and Lisa, bought land and built a house (a double-wide trailer) for their family vacations. As young boys, Michael and Thad, grew up vacationing here. Two weeks a year, family memories were made. Both adult boys feel great fondness for the property. This is the family’s last vacation there, as the parents have decided to sell the property. Too expensive for upkeep and they plan to retire.
Slowly we learn that both brothers have significant personal issues. Alcohol, drugs, menial employment, stuck careers trouble their lives. Thad’s significant other is Jake, a young successful artist who is very self-involved. Michael and Jake are despicable characters who carry baggage but even after learning of the baggage, the reader will find difficulty not deploring them. Thad and Diane (Michael’s wife) are long-suffering with their significant other’s antics. Lisa has her own bit of marital suffering that is fodder for discussion.
Although this all sounds so bleak, I found this domestic fiction story to be compelling. Poissant brilliantly writes a story of family dynamics that occur in one weekend. It’s realistic fiction with realistically flawed characters who are identifiable. Poissant doesn’t dwell on the “nurture” or how the brothers became so stuck. It appears that their upbringing was supportive and loving. This story is of a snippet in time with major events that become life-altering and illuminating. Secrets are revealed and understanding, and empathy is gained. Poissant ends with hope.
The story takes place at a lake in North Carolina during a week family vacation. The six characters, who provide their own chapter point-of-view perspective, are members of a family. The parents, Richard and Lisa, bought land and built a house (a double-wide trailer) for their family vacations. As young boys, Michael and Thad, grew up vacationing here. Two weeks a year, family memories were made. Both adult boys feel great fondness for the property. This is the family’s last vacation there, as the parents have decided to sell the property. Too expensive for upkeep and they plan to retire.
Slowly we learn that both brothers have significant personal issues. Alcohol, drugs, menial employment, stuck careers trouble their lives. Thad’s significant other is Jake, a young successful artist who is very self-involved. Michael and Jake are despicable characters who carry baggage but even after learning of the baggage, the reader will find difficulty not deploring them. Thad and Diane (Michael’s wife) are long-suffering with their significant other’s antics. Lisa has her own bit of marital suffering that is fodder for discussion.
Although this all sounds so bleak, I found this domestic fiction story to be compelling. Poissant brilliantly writes a story of family dynamics that occur in one weekend. It’s realistic fiction with realistically flawed characters who are identifiable. Poissant doesn’t dwell on the “nurture” or how the brothers became so stuck. It appears that their upbringing was supportive and loving. This story is of a snippet in time with major events that become life-altering and illuminating. Secrets are revealed and understanding, and empathy is gained. Poissant ends with hope.
October 25, 2020
I don't know what it is, but while I often grow weary of certain genres and need to take a break every now and again, for some reason I can't seem to get my fill of stories of family dysfunction and dynamics. The drama, the recriminations, the despair, the revisiting old wounds and long-hidden secrets, even the hopefulness that emerges—all of this appeals to me. (I guess this is why I've always loved soap operas!)
This explains why I was so excited to read David James Poissant's new novel, Lake Life . (I absolutely loved his debut story collection, The Heaven of Animals , when I read it in 2014.)
"How fiercely we defend those we love, even to the annihilation of ourselves."
For years, every summer the Starling family spends some time at their lake house in North Carolina. They come from different places: parents Richard and Lisa travel from Ithaca, NY, where both have worked at Cornell University; older son Michael and his wife Diane, an elementary school teacher, travel from Texas; and younger son Thad and his famous artist boyfriend Jake come from New York City. None are quite in the right mindset for this vacation, but no one wants to abandon the tradition.
But this year will be the last year. Richard and Lisa plan to sell the house, which is falling apart, and move to Florida once Lisa's retirement is final. (Richard retired last year.) This comes as a shock to Michael and Thad, neither of whom can believe their parents would sell the house without telling them. Is there something else they're hiding?
While Richard and Lisa pictured this last summer being the beautiful farewell to all of their memories, that couldn't be further from reality. The first day they're all together, they witness an incident that rocks them, one which puts a pall over the whole vacation and reignites a hurt for two of them. Not only that, but each couple is struggling, both as a unit and individually, and as so often is the case, they are struggling silently, rather than confronting the issue head-on.
In a matter of a few days, the Starlings will deal with infidelity, unwanted pregnancy, addiction, alcoholism, financial woes, trust issues, and the discovery of a secret the parents have kept from their sons since they were children. Will these crises, these challenges tear at the already-fraying bonds between them or will it help bring them closer together?
This is a familiar story, but Poissant is such a skilled storyteller that even as the plot unfolds as I expected in some cases, it's still a story I couldn't tear myself away from. These characters aren't always sympathetic but their flaws make them even more human and relatable—heck, there's even the dinner table argument about the 2016 election more than a few families have had.
Lake Life is thought-provoking and poignant, and it may even make you feel better about your own family. But if you're also a fan of a little familial melodrama, this is a book you might enjoy.
Check out my list of the best books I read in 2019 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2019.html.
Check out my list of the best books of the decade at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2020/01/my-favorite-books-of-decade.html.
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.
Follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/the.bookishworld.of.yrralh/.
This explains why I was so excited to read David James Poissant's new novel, Lake Life . (I absolutely loved his debut story collection, The Heaven of Animals , when I read it in 2014.)
"How fiercely we defend those we love, even to the annihilation of ourselves."
For years, every summer the Starling family spends some time at their lake house in North Carolina. They come from different places: parents Richard and Lisa travel from Ithaca, NY, where both have worked at Cornell University; older son Michael and his wife Diane, an elementary school teacher, travel from Texas; and younger son Thad and his famous artist boyfriend Jake come from New York City. None are quite in the right mindset for this vacation, but no one wants to abandon the tradition.
But this year will be the last year. Richard and Lisa plan to sell the house, which is falling apart, and move to Florida once Lisa's retirement is final. (Richard retired last year.) This comes as a shock to Michael and Thad, neither of whom can believe their parents would sell the house without telling them. Is there something else they're hiding?
While Richard and Lisa pictured this last summer being the beautiful farewell to all of their memories, that couldn't be further from reality. The first day they're all together, they witness an incident that rocks them, one which puts a pall over the whole vacation and reignites a hurt for two of them. Not only that, but each couple is struggling, both as a unit and individually, and as so often is the case, they are struggling silently, rather than confronting the issue head-on.
In a matter of a few days, the Starlings will deal with infidelity, unwanted pregnancy, addiction, alcoholism, financial woes, trust issues, and the discovery of a secret the parents have kept from their sons since they were children. Will these crises, these challenges tear at the already-fraying bonds between them or will it help bring them closer together?
This is a familiar story, but Poissant is such a skilled storyteller that even as the plot unfolds as I expected in some cases, it's still a story I couldn't tear myself away from. These characters aren't always sympathetic but their flaws make them even more human and relatable—heck, there's even the dinner table argument about the 2016 election more than a few families have had.
Lake Life is thought-provoking and poignant, and it may even make you feel better about your own family. But if you're also a fan of a little familial melodrama, this is a book you might enjoy.
Check out my list of the best books I read in 2019 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2019.html.
Check out my list of the best books of the decade at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2020/01/my-favorite-books-of-decade.html.
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.
Follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/the.bookishworld.of.yrralh/.
April 2, 2020
This is your usual family drama - adultry, tragedy, betrayal, lies. The parents decide to sell the family beach house so the adult kids come for one last summer. The characters are despicable and honestly people you want to have nothing to do with. The saving grace is the writing. If Poissant can develop better characters with depth and warmth he will be much more enjoyable.
Read
August 5, 2020DNF at 30% Good writing but I just can't relate to these characters. They are not at all likable.
February 25, 2020
Despite the fact that all of the characters in this book are unlikable and deeply flawed, their stories, their voices, their struggles, stay with you long after you’ve turned the last page - and that is the mark of a skilled writer. A family, gathering for what will be the last time at their summer lake house, witnesses a tragedy. It is this tragedy which pushes the narrative forward, as we get a glimpse into how each one of the characters deals with his/her own personal issues (and they ALL have issues of some kind) in and around their feelings about what happens on the lake. The characters are well-drawn, the writing is, in places, luminous and poetic, and this is an author I will read again. But, there were places I thought the story could have deepened, could have moved beyond character study and into true exploration of some of the book’s themes - privilege, parenthood, marriage, infidelity, our ability to love someone at the very same time that we admit we don’t like them very much and the ways that knowledge changes us. This is also a book about secrets kept too long, forgiveness and confession, searching for the things we truly need in our lives, and it is about family in all it’s messiness, and the ways familial love can tear us down and save us when we most need saving.
January 22, 2022
“La casa sul lago è più vecchia dei suoi figli, una casa mobile degli anni Settanta convertita in abitazione fissa negli anni Ottanta. Lei e Richard l’avevano comprata d’impulso poco dopo la nascita di Michael. Il loro matrimonio era in crisi. Si erano separati due volte e poi erano arrivati a un patto: Basta ‘forse’. Sarebbero rimasti insieme, nella buona e nella cattiva sorte. La casa sul lago era la stretta di mano.”
Un bambino scomparso che rievoca una bambina scomparsa, molti molti anni prima. Una barca sul lago. Incerta e barcollante sull’orlo di un disastro annunciato. Una casa sul lago densa dei ricordi di tutti: Richard e Lisa che l’avevano comprata, ex hippy, poi docenti universitari, ora pensionati o quasi; Michael e Thad, i due figli trentenni che sono alle prese con le loro simili e differenti fragilità; e poi Diane e Jake: rispettivamente una moglie e un compagno, coinvolti di necessità nelle dinamiche della famiglia Starling.
Sono gli ultimi giorni da trascorrere in un luogo che a tutti è caro. La casa sul lago sta per essere venduta. Emozioni e sentimenti contraddittori si condensano in quel malinconico congedo.
Così si avvia questa storia. E poi, nel breve tempo di un weekend, succedono molte cose che sconvolgeranno, disturberanno, illumineranno, metteranno ciascuno difronte a se stesso e a tutti gli altri.
Chi siamo? Chi vogliamo essere? Quale rapporto abbiamo con le nostre debolezze, i nostri errori e quelli degli altri? Perché una famiglia normale produce relazioni disfunzionali? E come ci possiamo emancipare dal peso e dalle conseguenze del passato?
La narrazione procede mostrando alternativamente le storie personali e il punto di vista di ciascun personaggio. I segreti, le recondite passioni, i rancori e i rimpianti, le maschere e il loro dissolvimento. Nel teatro delle relazioni fra tutti vedremo il dolore, il desiderio, il fallimento e il tentativo di emancipazione di ciascuno. E ci riconosceremo, in quanto umani, anche in ciò che non ci concerne o non ci appartiene. Vibreremo nell’ essenzialità del dolore, della paura, del desiderio di amare e di essere amati. Ci riconosceremo nella complessità che è il modo in cui stiamo al mondo.
Perché Poissant è bravissimo a tessere la sua trama e noi volentieri ci lasciamo incatenare dalla consueta magia del romanzo che ogni volta è sorprendente e nuova.
Un bambino scomparso che rievoca una bambina scomparsa, molti molti anni prima. Una barca sul lago. Incerta e barcollante sull’orlo di un disastro annunciato. Una casa sul lago densa dei ricordi di tutti: Richard e Lisa che l’avevano comprata, ex hippy, poi docenti universitari, ora pensionati o quasi; Michael e Thad, i due figli trentenni che sono alle prese con le loro simili e differenti fragilità; e poi Diane e Jake: rispettivamente una moglie e un compagno, coinvolti di necessità nelle dinamiche della famiglia Starling.
Sono gli ultimi giorni da trascorrere in un luogo che a tutti è caro. La casa sul lago sta per essere venduta. Emozioni e sentimenti contraddittori si condensano in quel malinconico congedo.
Così si avvia questa storia. E poi, nel breve tempo di un weekend, succedono molte cose che sconvolgeranno, disturberanno, illumineranno, metteranno ciascuno difronte a se stesso e a tutti gli altri.
Chi siamo? Chi vogliamo essere? Quale rapporto abbiamo con le nostre debolezze, i nostri errori e quelli degli altri? Perché una famiglia normale produce relazioni disfunzionali? E come ci possiamo emancipare dal peso e dalle conseguenze del passato?
La narrazione procede mostrando alternativamente le storie personali e il punto di vista di ciascun personaggio. I segreti, le recondite passioni, i rancori e i rimpianti, le maschere e il loro dissolvimento. Nel teatro delle relazioni fra tutti vedremo il dolore, il desiderio, il fallimento e il tentativo di emancipazione di ciascuno. E ci riconosceremo, in quanto umani, anche in ciò che non ci concerne o non ci appartiene. Vibreremo nell’ essenzialità del dolore, della paura, del desiderio di amare e di essere amati. Ci riconosceremo nella complessità che è il modo in cui stiamo al mondo.
Perché Poissant è bravissimo a tessere la sua trama e noi volentieri ci lasciamo incatenare dalla consueta magia del romanzo che ogni volta è sorprendente e nuova.
July 31, 2020
The writing and the pacing are both pretty good. It starts with a shocking tragedy.
But regardless of my wanting to like it and trying to gleam some of the interest I had from the first pages (especially upon/ about Michael)- well I couldn't climb that hill.
Honestly I was down to my last 2 print books and away from any tech or I would probably not have finished it. Good writing and some wit to it. Characters, not only despicable but mostly shallow as a puddle.
The people are just pretentious, selfish, sex obsessed, stubborn with strange fixations about "winning" the argument- etc. etc. Just people I do not live with, meet and greet, work with or tend to see and talk with in any portion or era of my life. I would have said something else TO them if I had. Maybe "Bless their heart". But if I had this around me for more than a day or two? Well, I would have been moving on. Bus, boat, train or automobile.
The strange thing is that the posit of the lake house (descriptions, affinity connections etc.) I just adored. Too bad that there couldn't have been a higher joy or good intent family living in it or visiting or selling it.
It is true that you can never "keep it up" to a prime condition. Not after 20 or 25 years. I must add that caveat.
Just way too much condescension and hair product for me. Also be highly warned if this isn't your druthers- there's rudeness, sexual act detail and duplicity. It features a 4 or 5 year old giving a stranger the finger in the very opening pages. That sums up others' attitudes and loyalties in a type of "preview" view of character "eyes" for this book, IMHO. Others may differ on the entertainment value inherent in all this. It was way too off-putting for me.
But regardless of my wanting to like it and trying to gleam some of the interest I had from the first pages (especially upon/ about Michael)- well I couldn't climb that hill.
Honestly I was down to my last 2 print books and away from any tech or I would probably not have finished it. Good writing and some wit to it. Characters, not only despicable but mostly shallow as a puddle.
The people are just pretentious, selfish, sex obsessed, stubborn with strange fixations about "winning" the argument- etc. etc. Just people I do not live with, meet and greet, work with or tend to see and talk with in any portion or era of my life. I would have said something else TO them if I had. Maybe "Bless their heart". But if I had this around me for more than a day or two? Well, I would have been moving on. Bus, boat, train or automobile.
The strange thing is that the posit of the lake house (descriptions, affinity connections etc.) I just adored. Too bad that there couldn't have been a higher joy or good intent family living in it or visiting or selling it.
It is true that you can never "keep it up" to a prime condition. Not after 20 or 25 years. I must add that caveat.
Just way too much condescension and hair product for me. Also be highly warned if this isn't your druthers- there's rudeness, sexual act detail and duplicity. It features a 4 or 5 year old giving a stranger the finger in the very opening pages. That sums up others' attitudes and loyalties in a type of "preview" view of character "eyes" for this book, IMHO. Others may differ on the entertainment value inherent in all this. It was way too off-putting for me.
December 17, 2020
Su libro de cuentos me gustó más pero esta novela está muy bien, más que nada para leerla previo a las fiestas. Una novela intensa sobre la familia, lo que no se dice y la incondicionalidad que muchas veces no llegamos a ver. Un buen recordatorio para pasar la última semana de diciembre respirando profundo antes de mandarse una.
April 2, 2021
Gripping, insightful, and at times beautifully written family drama about a family getting together at their summer lake house in North Carolina for one final, farewell week before the parents sell the place and retire to Florida.
The narrative rotates chapter by chapter through the perspectives of each family member (and their significant others) as they discover family secrets, confront personal demons, and struggle to navigate their broken or fraying relationships.
Having grown up spending summer vacations at lake properties on both sides of my family, I connected on a deeply personal level to the many authentic descriptions of "lake life," as well as the difficulty of saying goodbye to a place where a lifetime of cherished memories and family traditions have been created and enjoyed.
I struggled to find the individual characters all that interesting or compelling, but that could be due at least in part to the fact that an upper middle-class white family's "problems" didn't quite match the historic and cultural moment of Summer 2020 for me.
Where the novel truly shines, however, is in the INTERACTIONS between the main characters, conveying with great honesty and compassion and insight the essential truths about what it means to be a family:
The explosive fights about politics, the competitiveness, the clashing and bruising of egos, the myriad hurts and resentments. The countless things one SHOULD say to a parent or sibling but doesn't, and the countless things one should NEVER say but too often does.
It would be easy to call the Starling family "dysfunctional," but I don't think they're any more "dysfunctional" than the average American family. Like most families, they are simply a small, unchosen community of flawed human beings capable of deeply hurting, but also helping and healing one another.
"I'm learning to love you and hate you at the same time," one of the characters tells another family member at one point. And if that isn't the very definition of "family," I don't know what is!
Part 3 dragged for me a bit, probably because it mainly involves interactions between the main characters and people outside their family, as opposed to their far more interesting interactions with each other. The final chapter also felt overwritten and unnecessary. The penultimate chapter would have made a far more effective ending.
The narrative rotates chapter by chapter through the perspectives of each family member (and their significant others) as they discover family secrets, confront personal demons, and struggle to navigate their broken or fraying relationships.
Having grown up spending summer vacations at lake properties on both sides of my family, I connected on a deeply personal level to the many authentic descriptions of "lake life," as well as the difficulty of saying goodbye to a place where a lifetime of cherished memories and family traditions have been created and enjoyed.
I struggled to find the individual characters all that interesting or compelling, but that could be due at least in part to the fact that an upper middle-class white family's "problems" didn't quite match the historic and cultural moment of Summer 2020 for me.
Where the novel truly shines, however, is in the INTERACTIONS between the main characters, conveying with great honesty and compassion and insight the essential truths about what it means to be a family:
The explosive fights about politics, the competitiveness, the clashing and bruising of egos, the myriad hurts and resentments. The countless things one SHOULD say to a parent or sibling but doesn't, and the countless things one should NEVER say but too often does.
It would be easy to call the Starling family "dysfunctional," but I don't think they're any more "dysfunctional" than the average American family. Like most families, they are simply a small, unchosen community of flawed human beings capable of deeply hurting, but also helping and healing one another.
"I'm learning to love you and hate you at the same time," one of the characters tells another family member at one point. And if that isn't the very definition of "family," I don't know what is!
Part 3 dragged for me a bit, probably because it mainly involves interactions between the main characters and people outside their family, as opposed to their far more interesting interactions with each other. The final chapter also felt overwritten and unnecessary. The penultimate chapter would have made a far more effective ending.
December 4, 2024
“Lake Life” is a slice of life, dysfunctional family drama. Each member of the family is more flawed and unlikable than the last. Terrible people doing terrible things. And yet, somehow… I found myself caring about and rooting for these people. Nice work, Poissant. Nice work indeed.
November 19, 2020
La casa sul lago è il primo romanzo di David James Poissant, autore americano già conosciuto per la apprezzatissima raccolta di racconti Il paradiso degli animali, pubblicata sempre da NN Editore nel 2015, uno dei titoli più rappresentativi del loro catalogo.
Vista la mia avversione naturale nei confronti della forma racconto che non manco mai di citare, nonostante l’unanimità dei pareri positivi non mi sono mai avvicinato a Il paradiso degli animali e sono stato particolarmente felice quando ho saputo che Poissant si sarebbe cimentato anche con un romanzo.
Nella piena tradizione del romanzo famigliare americano, La casa sul lago racconta l’ultimo weekend che la famiglia degli Starling passa nella loro casa delle vacanze sul lago Christopher prima che i genitori la vendano per trasferirsi definitivamente in Florida. La famiglia è composta da Richard e Lisa, una coppia di settantenni borghesi prossimi alla pensione; i due figli Michael e Thad, un commesso alla Foot Locker col vizio dell’alcool e un aspirante poeta sempre un po’ fatto che lotta con la depressione; i rispettivi compagni Diane e Jake, una maestra d’arte in una scuola elementare che vorrebbe essere un’artista e un pittore di straordinario successo con un blocco creativo e una grave dipendenza dal sesso.
Arrivati a la casa sul lago, subito il primo giorno, la famiglia assiste a un evento tragico che sconvolge per sempre la loro permanenza lì: un bambino cade dalla barca di fronte alla loro e affoga. A niente serve il tentativo di Michael di buttarsi in acqua per provare a salvarlo: rimedia solo una brutta botta alla testa nel risalire e un trauma difficile da superare.
Si scatena così, all’improvviso, un vortice di dolore che spazza via ogni buona intenzione negli Starling di passare un’ultima settimana in allegria in famiglia. Ognuno di loro, partner inclusi, si trova a dover fare i conti con le proprie paure e con i propri segreti, sia personali sia di famiglia. Crollata la serenità, crollano anche le maschere e ognuno di loro non può fare altro che mostrarsi agli altri per quello che è realmente. Anche la casa sul lago si rivela per quello che era diventata negli ultimi anni: un teatro dove tutti mettevano in atto il rituale borghese della vacanza perfetta in cui tutti si è felici e, soprattutto, in cui si deve dare l’idea che la vita fuori da lì stia andando alla grande.
La casa sul lago non è un romanzo rivoluzionario né particolarmente originale. È molto americano, molto classico, ma è scritto e strutturato molto bene. Poissant è stato molto bravo nel caratterizzare i propri personaggi e le loro relazioni, fulcro di ciascun romanzo famigliare, e a rivelare capitolo dopo capitolo sempre qualcosa in più su di loro.
È un romanzo che mette bene a nudo i meccanismi contorti e paradossali della vita in famiglia, di tutto ciò che rimane taciuto e inaffrontato in nome di quel quieto vivere che è un ideale in realtà più raggiungibile e più sostenibile sulla lunga distanza se le cose degli altri si sanno e se si affrontano insieme, anche trovando qualche compromesso. I problemi non sono soltanto nel rapporto tra genitori e figli e nella complessa rete di aspettative e responsabilità tra di loro; sono anche e soprattutto nelle tre coppie, nella loro difficoltà di stabilire un territorio comune in cui ci sia spazio per i desideri, le esigenze e le ambizioni di entrambi, anziché costruire rapporti che sono in realtà bolle di soffocamento per la personalità più accondiscendente tra i due. Ma alla fine della permanenza, la casa sul lago avrà reso tutti un po’ più ammaccati, qualcuno quasi spezzato, però più uniti.
Vista la mia avversione naturale nei confronti della forma racconto che non manco mai di citare, nonostante l’unanimità dei pareri positivi non mi sono mai avvicinato a Il paradiso degli animali e sono stato particolarmente felice quando ho saputo che Poissant si sarebbe cimentato anche con un romanzo.
Nella piena tradizione del romanzo famigliare americano, La casa sul lago racconta l’ultimo weekend che la famiglia degli Starling passa nella loro casa delle vacanze sul lago Christopher prima che i genitori la vendano per trasferirsi definitivamente in Florida. La famiglia è composta da Richard e Lisa, una coppia di settantenni borghesi prossimi alla pensione; i due figli Michael e Thad, un commesso alla Foot Locker col vizio dell’alcool e un aspirante poeta sempre un po’ fatto che lotta con la depressione; i rispettivi compagni Diane e Jake, una maestra d’arte in una scuola elementare che vorrebbe essere un’artista e un pittore di straordinario successo con un blocco creativo e una grave dipendenza dal sesso.
Arrivati a la casa sul lago, subito il primo giorno, la famiglia assiste a un evento tragico che sconvolge per sempre la loro permanenza lì: un bambino cade dalla barca di fronte alla loro e affoga. A niente serve il tentativo di Michael di buttarsi in acqua per provare a salvarlo: rimedia solo una brutta botta alla testa nel risalire e un trauma difficile da superare.
Si scatena così, all’improvviso, un vortice di dolore che spazza via ogni buona intenzione negli Starling di passare un’ultima settimana in allegria in famiglia. Ognuno di loro, partner inclusi, si trova a dover fare i conti con le proprie paure e con i propri segreti, sia personali sia di famiglia. Crollata la serenità, crollano anche le maschere e ognuno di loro non può fare altro che mostrarsi agli altri per quello che è realmente. Anche la casa sul lago si rivela per quello che era diventata negli ultimi anni: un teatro dove tutti mettevano in atto il rituale borghese della vacanza perfetta in cui tutti si è felici e, soprattutto, in cui si deve dare l’idea che la vita fuori da lì stia andando alla grande.
La casa sul lago non è un romanzo rivoluzionario né particolarmente originale. È molto americano, molto classico, ma è scritto e strutturato molto bene. Poissant è stato molto bravo nel caratterizzare i propri personaggi e le loro relazioni, fulcro di ciascun romanzo famigliare, e a rivelare capitolo dopo capitolo sempre qualcosa in più su di loro.
È un romanzo che mette bene a nudo i meccanismi contorti e paradossali della vita in famiglia, di tutto ciò che rimane taciuto e inaffrontato in nome di quel quieto vivere che è un ideale in realtà più raggiungibile e più sostenibile sulla lunga distanza se le cose degli altri si sanno e se si affrontano insieme, anche trovando qualche compromesso. I problemi non sono soltanto nel rapporto tra genitori e figli e nella complessa rete di aspettative e responsabilità tra di loro; sono anche e soprattutto nelle tre coppie, nella loro difficoltà di stabilire un territorio comune in cui ci sia spazio per i desideri, le esigenze e le ambizioni di entrambi, anziché costruire rapporti che sono in realtà bolle di soffocamento per la personalità più accondiscendente tra i due. Ma alla fine della permanenza, la casa sul lago avrà reso tutti un po’ più ammaccati, qualcuno quasi spezzato, però più uniti.
August 23, 2020
It took Poissant ten years to publish a follow-up to his insanely good debut story collection and it is clear there's a huge difference between writing short stories and novels. It requires a totally different talent and approach.
If his stories were inventive amuse-bouches packed full of flavour, his novel is a blend, conventional dish. It lacks the insights, creativity, poetic charm and playfulness of his short gems in which each character only need two pages to become real. In this novel... au contraire: I didn't really relate to any of its protagonists. I don't have to like them, but I do have to care about them.
The plotlines and dialogues were too simplistic and predictable: so everything The heaven of animals was not.
He still knows how to set a scene and describe important events, but I really hope he'll use this talent combined with his unique skill of writing short stories, to come up with a new collection next time.
If his stories were inventive amuse-bouches packed full of flavour, his novel is a blend, conventional dish. It lacks the insights, creativity, poetic charm and playfulness of his short gems in which each character only need two pages to become real. In this novel... au contraire: I didn't really relate to any of its protagonists. I don't have to like them, but I do have to care about them.
The plotlines and dialogues were too simplistic and predictable: so everything The heaven of animals was not.
He still knows how to set a scene and describe important events, but I really hope he'll use this talent combined with his unique skill of writing short stories, to come up with a new collection next time.
January 31, 2020
How do you enjoy a book where all the characters are unlikable? I did. This is not a light fluffy summer vacation read. The characters are all deeply flawed and sometimes hard to read about. But the author sucks you into the story of a family gathering for what will be their last time at a family owned lake cottage and you really want to know what will happen to them all.
August 30, 2022
I purposefully read this slowly so I could spend as much time as possible with the Starling family. I’m going to miss them.
August 26, 2025
Dat we Lake Life - het romandebuut van David James Poissant - ten allen tijde zullen afmeten tegen zijn onwaarschijnlijk sterke kortverhalendebuut The Heaven of Animals, is wat het is. Het niveau dat we in zijn kortverhalen terugvinden, missen we een beetje in Lake Life, maar misschien is de conclusie wel eenvoudig: de spanningsboog die en het verteltempo dat je in kortverhalen kan hanteren, is niet haalbaar in een roman. De vergelijking die we in ons hoofd maken is dan ook niet eerlijk.
In Lake Life vinden we een familie die voor het laatst een zomerweekend aan het meer doorbrengt, waar ze gedurende jaren hun zomervakanties spendeerden. Poissant opent meteen fiks en dramatisch met een pittig voorval, waarna we één voor één de familieleden, hun partners en hun besognes leren kennen. Poissant creëert weer sterke karakters, brengt ze in emotioneel ontregelde situaties en belicht hun tragische kanten zonder groteske situaties uit te tekenen. Met veel liefde voor elk van zijn personages zien we toch hoe disfunctioneel de familie is, wat geheimen met bloedbanden doen en dat liefde iets bijzonders en uniek is.
Een oerdegelijke roman die we misschien nog guller ervaren hadden, ware het niet dat hij tegen de erfenis van The Heaven of Animals moet opboksen.
In Lake Life vinden we een familie die voor het laatst een zomerweekend aan het meer doorbrengt, waar ze gedurende jaren hun zomervakanties spendeerden. Poissant opent meteen fiks en dramatisch met een pittig voorval, waarna we één voor één de familieleden, hun partners en hun besognes leren kennen. Poissant creëert weer sterke karakters, brengt ze in emotioneel ontregelde situaties en belicht hun tragische kanten zonder groteske situaties uit te tekenen. Met veel liefde voor elk van zijn personages zien we toch hoe disfunctioneel de familie is, wat geheimen met bloedbanden doen en dat liefde iets bijzonders en uniek is.
Een oerdegelijke roman die we misschien nog guller ervaren hadden, ware het niet dat hij tegen de erfenis van The Heaven of Animals moet opboksen.
March 5, 2021
Per me è un romanzo bellissimo.
Le vicende si snodano attraverso un fine settimana passato nella casa al lago, in North Carolina, l’ultima occasione per stare in questa casa mobile adattata, prima che venga venduta.
Qui al lago, l’episodio di annegamento di un bambino diventa l’occasione per far emergere tutti i problemi di questa famiglia, apparentemente felice.
I personaggi sono credibili, antipatici, è difficile simpatizzare con loro... eppure questa famiglia è lo specchio della nostra società odierna.
Tanti i temi sfiorati: l’omosessualità, l’aborto, l’alcolismo, la droga, il tradimento, l’elezione di Trump (non nominato, eppure ogni riferimento era chiarissimo!), L’Obama Care, la malattia, il suicidio, il dolore per la morte di un figlio in primis.
Mi è piaciuto anche lo stile.
Fantastica la traduzione, lo consiglio.
Le vicende si snodano attraverso un fine settimana passato nella casa al lago, in North Carolina, l’ultima occasione per stare in questa casa mobile adattata, prima che venga venduta.
Qui al lago, l’episodio di annegamento di un bambino diventa l’occasione per far emergere tutti i problemi di questa famiglia, apparentemente felice.
I personaggi sono credibili, antipatici, è difficile simpatizzare con loro... eppure questa famiglia è lo specchio della nostra società odierna.
Tanti i temi sfiorati: l’omosessualità, l’aborto, l’alcolismo, la droga, il tradimento, l’elezione di Trump (non nominato, eppure ogni riferimento era chiarissimo!), L’Obama Care, la malattia, il suicidio, il dolore per la morte di un figlio in primis.
Mi è piaciuto anche lo stile.
Fantastica la traduzione, lo consiglio.
December 5, 2024
A book where you've definitely read it all before if you've ever read a dysfunctional family novel about unlikable characters. The writing is plain and functional, but not very inspired. However, I was entertained for the most part. It's like watching some limited series drama that is shot nicely but it just a dressed-up soap. Sadly, I found the ending really clichéed (more so than the rest even) and unrealistically so, very saccharine. Overall, an ok beach read.
January 11, 2021
Lo primero que me sale decir es que es completamente incómoda la traducción, varias veces me encontré diciéndole ke??? al libro. Pese a eso el libro está bien y los diálogos están muy bien logrados. Se podría resumir en un: me gustó pero no me mató.
(Su libro de cuentos me gustó mucho más, eso también hay que decirlo)
(Su libro de cuentos me gustó mucho más, eso también hay que decirlo)
June 22, 2020
A family full of secrets spends a weekend together at their North Carolina lake house, and the question is how much of the truth will come out? The novel is an outgrowth of an excellent story in Poissant's 2014 story collection, The Heaven of Animals.
January 25, 2020
So here we are with the old conundrum: What to do with a book full of unlikeable characters who are relatable when we face our worst instincts? There's Lisa, who smothers her sons with love, even after they are in their 30s. Richard, the distant father who lives in his head and, of course, got a genius grant at some point. Michael and Thad, the sons whose goal in life is blotting everything out. Moored by these unsurprising folks, the book, although well written and engaging, is ultimately predictable. I'd have loved to have seen Michael deal more directly with the neighbors' tragedy. Clearly he can't tolerate them. What if he, in his darkest thoughts, wished them ill and it happened? Don't we all have those nasty thoughts that float in before we push them away, that the loud woman at the airport would just choke on her apple or the guy on the phone would get hit by a falling brick? I had hoped that's where this was going, that Michael's evil wishes came true, but no, it was just another story about people with privilege defending and denying it in themselves and resenting it in others, about flawed parents producing even more flawed children. The tragedy that begins the book remains a bit of a side story. And the deep family secret has no earthly reason for being a secret. It finally comes out and the family has a brief period of fallout and then moves on, inexplicable, supposedly, better than before. Poissant is a good writer. I hope he pushes himself a bit more next time.
September 15, 2020
Oh. My. God. I laughed and cried and was in awe of the prose. This is everything I love in a novel. Stunning.
September 10, 2020
"Lake Life" is about a dysfunctional family that gathers at a vacation home and starts hurling recriminations and ultimatums at each other. It's an idea at least as old as Eugene O'Neill ("Long Day's Journey Into Night") and arguably as old as Chekhov ("The Seagull"), but I don't know if there's a dramatist, novelist, or made-for-TV movie scriptwriter who has handled this scenario as badly as David James Poissant. His writing is so overheated with mock profundity ("every heart still pumping behind a wall of ribs") and contrived urgency ("Why was he told when Thad was not?") that until the last few chapters I wondered if this wasn't a horror novel or at least some darkly satiric crime fiction and all of these awful characters will wind up dead. Spoiler alert: it's literary fiction.
In the opening scene of the novel, a small child drowns in the titular lake. None of Mr. Poissant's protagonists, the Starling family and their significant others, has any connection to the unfortunate boy, but his death is an excuse for them all to spend the weekend wallowing in self-pity. The Starlings feel so profoundly sorry for themselves that I had a hard time sparing them any sympathy whatsoever, especially when Mr. Poissant provides them with a new defect in ever chapter, some of which seem are just gratuitous ("Well, you can't blame me for not noticing that you're a violent drunk, Michael, you've always been an abusive loser"). some of which seem to contradict everything you've already learned ("Gosh, Richard, you sure are sentimental about your family's summer home for an emotionally distant, borderline autistic Dad").
And I finished "Lake Life" because I finish everything, but you are not obliged. For future reference, here are some red flags for bad novels that might save you some anguish:
1. "Always . . surprised." Twice in "Lake Life" there are references to recurring surprises. The only way to be surprised by the same thing over and over is to suffer brain damage.
2. ". . . begs the question." If a writer uses "beg the question" to mean "prompts the question," they've either never read a book written before 1970, or weren't able to learn from context when they did. Dangerous either way.
3. Poorly disguised Googling. Mr. and Mrs. Starling were married in 1981, a year which I assume Mr. Poissant is too young to remember, so he checked the Wikipedia page for major events that year and decided that the two academics (YES, they're both academics, Mr. Poissant doesn't just resort to cliches, he rejoices in them) were wed in response to the existential malaise following the attempted assassinations of Pope John Paul II and Ronald Reagan. I remember 1981. No one but Jodie Foster made major life decisions after Reagan was shot.
You have been warned.
In the opening scene of the novel, a small child drowns in the titular lake. None of Mr. Poissant's protagonists, the Starling family and their significant others, has any connection to the unfortunate boy, but his death is an excuse for them all to spend the weekend wallowing in self-pity. The Starlings feel so profoundly sorry for themselves that I had a hard time sparing them any sympathy whatsoever, especially when Mr. Poissant provides them with a new defect in ever chapter, some of which seem are just gratuitous ("Well, you can't blame me for not noticing that you're a violent drunk, Michael, you've always been an abusive loser"). some of which seem to contradict everything you've already learned ("Gosh, Richard, you sure are sentimental about your family's summer home for an emotionally distant, borderline autistic Dad").
And I finished "Lake Life" because I finish everything, but you are not obliged. For future reference, here are some red flags for bad novels that might save you some anguish:
1. "Always . . surprised." Twice in "Lake Life" there are references to recurring surprises. The only way to be surprised by the same thing over and over is to suffer brain damage.
2. ". . . begs the question." If a writer uses "beg the question" to mean "prompts the question," they've either never read a book written before 1970, or weren't able to learn from context when they did. Dangerous either way.
3. Poorly disguised Googling. Mr. and Mrs. Starling were married in 1981, a year which I assume Mr. Poissant is too young to remember, so he checked the Wikipedia page for major events that year and decided that the two academics (YES, they're both academics, Mr. Poissant doesn't just resort to cliches, he rejoices in them) were wed in response to the existential malaise following the attempted assassinations of Pope John Paul II and Ronald Reagan. I remember 1981. No one but Jodie Foster made major life decisions after Reagan was shot.
You have been warned.
July 9, 2020
Comparing the story line of this wonderful book with its title reminded me of something I heard on the streets of Dickinson, North Dakota, in the early 1970s. Two older men in farmer's gear exited the town's theater after a weekend matinee. They were disgusted. "That ain't no western!" one of them said. The marquee read: "Midnight Cowboy."
Lake Life ain't no typical summer beach read. I liked it a lot. The writing is clean, simple, intelligent and perceptive. But it forced me to confront the shambles we all can make of our lives. After I finished the book, I looked up the author's earlier work, where he was praised as a writer who makes us “face the people we are when we’re alone in the dark.” Exactly!
These six characters (parents Richard and Lisa Starling, sons Michael and Thad, and their partners Diane and Jake) are each at a turning point in life. They are each questioning where they are, how they got there, and where they want to go from here -- and it may not be where their loved ones need and expect them to go.
Set the six of them down in their small, decrepit summer house on a lake for the last time (the house is being sold) and you can only imagine the way the will get on one another's nerves and push each other's buttons. It's a hot mess, individually and collectively -- but the love they share comes through in so many scenes.
As one of the characters concludes: "Love is dragging things behind you -- dead children, houses fallen into disrepair, infidelities lassoed to your back -- and continuing on."
Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for an advance readers copy.
Lake Life ain't no typical summer beach read. I liked it a lot. The writing is clean, simple, intelligent and perceptive. But it forced me to confront the shambles we all can make of our lives. After I finished the book, I looked up the author's earlier work, where he was praised as a writer who makes us “face the people we are when we’re alone in the dark.” Exactly!
These six characters (parents Richard and Lisa Starling, sons Michael and Thad, and their partners Diane and Jake) are each at a turning point in life. They are each questioning where they are, how they got there, and where they want to go from here -- and it may not be where their loved ones need and expect them to go.
Set the six of them down in their small, decrepit summer house on a lake for the last time (the house is being sold) and you can only imagine the way the will get on one another's nerves and push each other's buttons. It's a hot mess, individually and collectively -- but the love they share comes through in so many scenes.
As one of the characters concludes: "Love is dragging things behind you -- dead children, houses fallen into disrepair, infidelities lassoed to your back -- and continuing on."
Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for an advance readers copy.
December 26, 2020
El libro es una locura. Los silencios del pasado que estallan en el presente. La realidad íntima que se ve atravesada por la vida sociopolítica de cada uno de lo personajes. Actual en sus planteos: la grieta entre quienes votan a Trump, quienes votan a los demócratas, quienes no votan. Las depresiones y trastornos de ansiedad propias del mundo que vivimos, a los planteos de Byung Chul Han. Las relaciones padres e hijos. Relaciones de la pareja (el mundo de las relaciones que ya exploró en El cielo de los animales). La crítica a la religión. En algún punto siento que el libro dialoga con Un libro de mártires americanos de Joyce Carol Oates.
Y así podría seguir en otro momento en que no me ataque el insomnio, porque la novela da para hablar.
Poissant y su trabajo con la forma del texto.
Ahora: No entiendo la necesidad de los traductores de traducir las puteadas en inglés a términos tan argentinos como Pelotudo. Nos vivimos quejando de las traducciones españolas pero leer un pelotudo en medio de una historia cien por ciento estadounidense hace que rompa el contrato conmigo como lectora (diría con el lector pero entiendo que a otros no les moleste). Lo terminé leyendo en inglés y la casa estuvo en orden.
Y así podría seguir en otro momento en que no me ataque el insomnio, porque la novela da para hablar.
Poissant y su trabajo con la forma del texto.
Ahora: No entiendo la necesidad de los traductores de traducir las puteadas en inglés a términos tan argentinos como Pelotudo. Nos vivimos quejando de las traducciones españolas pero leer un pelotudo en medio de una historia cien por ciento estadounidense hace que rompa el contrato conmigo como lectora (diría con el lector pero entiendo que a otros no les moleste). Lo terminé leyendo en inglés y la casa estuvo en orden.
September 16, 2023
Una famiglia americana disfunzionale, una di quelle tanto care alla letteratura americana, e anche a noi lettori. Un romanzo piacevole ed incentrato sui personaggi, scritto bene pur senza particolari guizzi, ma che mi sembra non aggiunga al genere niente che non sia già stato detto.
Nota di merito a Poissant che dimostra di aver fatto bene i compiti a casa conoscendo tutte le pubblicazioni degli X-men!
Nota di merito a Poissant che dimostra di aver fatto bene i compiti a casa conoscendo tutte le pubblicazioni degli X-men!
June 11, 2020
I struggled to get into this book. I stopped and started reading it multiple times and for some reason I just could not connect with it. The concept seemed exciting to me: A family decides to sell its lakehouse, a place they visited often, where their children grew up, where they experienced firsts and grew together as a family. What should be a sentimental last stay before the keys are handed over to the new owners is more bitter and less sweet than expected. This should be a time for the family to come together and reminisce on their shared memories but the gathering is less than ideal with all the members of the family at odds with one another. It starts to give pause and have the reader ask the question, "is this a last stay to say goodbye to a beloved family vacation home or a last ditch effort to try and bond a family that has continued to be at odds with one another for years?"
I typically enjoy books that have unlikable characters. There is something about it that draws me in more by my distaste for the characters. It makes me appreciate the story more than the characters. I did not get that with this. This was a DNF for me. I could not get into the characters or the story. I was annoyed by them and felt like everyone was trying to force everyone else to be the person THEY wanted them to be verses appreciating them for who they are. Even the partners of the sons gave me that impression. It made me frustrated and I kept setting the book down. Then I would give it another go and found myself in that same state and would have to put the book down again.
I don't know if I could recommend this to anyone. If someone with more patience could finish it and summarize it back to me, maybe then I could determine that but I don't think I would recommend it to anyone at this time.
I typically enjoy books that have unlikable characters. There is something about it that draws me in more by my distaste for the characters. It makes me appreciate the story more than the characters. I did not get that with this. This was a DNF for me. I could not get into the characters or the story. I was annoyed by them and felt like everyone was trying to force everyone else to be the person THEY wanted them to be verses appreciating them for who they are. Even the partners of the sons gave me that impression. It made me frustrated and I kept setting the book down. Then I would give it another go and found myself in that same state and would have to put the book down again.
I don't know if I could recommend this to anyone. If someone with more patience could finish it and summarize it back to me, maybe then I could determine that but I don't think I would recommend it to anyone at this time.
July 1, 2021
Questo è il primo romanzo di David James Poissant, autore di saggi e racconti con i quali ha vinto numerosi premi negli Stati Uniti.
Il romanzo si svolge nell’arco di pochi giorni durante i quali Lisa e Richard, una coppia prossima alla pensione, organizzano una vacanza di famiglia presso la loro casa di villeggiatura al lago.
Oltre ai due genitori alla vacanza partecipano il figlio maggiore Michael con la moglie ed il figlio minore Thad con il suo compagno.
Sarà l’ultima vacanza al lago perché, anziché usarla come residenza stabile dove trascorrere il pensionamento, la coppia di genitori sorprende i figli annunciando la propria intenzione di vendere la casa per trasferirsi in Florida.
Durante la vacanza poi la famiglia è testimone di un tragico evento che, insieme alla decisione del trasferimento in Florida, funge da catalizzatore di tutte le tensioni già esistenti all’interno di ogni coppia.
Due terzi abbondanti del romanzo trascorrono così raccontandoci incomprensioni e segreti di ogni singola coppia, devo dire con una narrazione abbastanza piatta e prevedibile, senza particolari scossoni.
Alla fine però il ritmo cambia. Le tensioni giungono ad un punto di rottura, si percepisce che in quella casa sul lago il destino di queste tre coppie imboccherà finalmente una strada.
Il pathos delle ultime pagine si risolve tuttavia in un finale a mio avviso un po’ troppo “alla Disney”. I destini delle tre coppie sembrano infatti definirsi un po’ troppo frettolosamente, quasi plasmati dalla casualità o da un’invisibile bacchetta magica che di colpo trasforma il carattere di uno dei personaggi rendendo possibile un finale altrimenti impossibile.
In conclusione, una trama molto interessante sviluppata troppo superficialmente, che mi ha lasciato con una sensazione di incompiutezza.
Il romanzo si svolge nell’arco di pochi giorni durante i quali Lisa e Richard, una coppia prossima alla pensione, organizzano una vacanza di famiglia presso la loro casa di villeggiatura al lago.
Oltre ai due genitori alla vacanza partecipano il figlio maggiore Michael con la moglie ed il figlio minore Thad con il suo compagno.
Sarà l’ultima vacanza al lago perché, anziché usarla come residenza stabile dove trascorrere il pensionamento, la coppia di genitori sorprende i figli annunciando la propria intenzione di vendere la casa per trasferirsi in Florida.
Durante la vacanza poi la famiglia è testimone di un tragico evento che, insieme alla decisione del trasferimento in Florida, funge da catalizzatore di tutte le tensioni già esistenti all’interno di ogni coppia.
Due terzi abbondanti del romanzo trascorrono così raccontandoci incomprensioni e segreti di ogni singola coppia, devo dire con una narrazione abbastanza piatta e prevedibile, senza particolari scossoni.
Alla fine però il ritmo cambia. Le tensioni giungono ad un punto di rottura, si percepisce che in quella casa sul lago il destino di queste tre coppie imboccherà finalmente una strada.
Il pathos delle ultime pagine si risolve tuttavia in un finale a mio avviso un po’ troppo “alla Disney”. I destini delle tre coppie sembrano infatti definirsi un po’ troppo frettolosamente, quasi plasmati dalla casualità o da un’invisibile bacchetta magica che di colpo trasforma il carattere di uno dei personaggi rendendo possibile un finale altrimenti impossibile.
In conclusione, una trama molto interessante sviluppata troppo superficialmente, che mi ha lasciato con una sensazione di incompiutezza.
October 13, 2020
The Starlings are retiring and moving to Florida, but first there's a last week a the lake house they've just sold. Joined by their adult children and their partners, they have high hopes of a perfect week to cap off the years' of vacations spent there. Their first afternoon out in their boat, a catastrophe strikes, setting the mood for the rest of their time together. Each couple is at a stress point in their relationship, and simmering tensions are not calmed by proximity to one another.
This is not a vacation novel. You're not going to fall in love with any of the characters, or want to join them on future gatherings. Instead, this is a compassionate look as some very flawed characters who often behave badly and fail to communicate with the people they love the most. It's exhausting at times, just being with them. The writing is beautiful and never gets in the way of the story. I liked Lake Life, but I do like flawed, difficult characters, of which this book has an abundance.
This is not a vacation novel. You're not going to fall in love with any of the characters, or want to join them on future gatherings. Instead, this is a compassionate look as some very flawed characters who often behave badly and fail to communicate with the people they love the most. It's exhausting at times, just being with them. The writing is beautiful and never gets in the way of the story. I liked Lake Life, but I do like flawed, difficult characters, of which this book has an abundance.
January 12, 2020
I will remember this book for a very long time and live for books like this. The characters had such amazing depth and texture and seemed so real. In the book, the Starlings are enjoying their last week at the lake before they sell the location. The lake has been such an integral part of their family's lives and events through the years and it is the end of an era. The week starts with the drowning of a child in the lake. One of the starling boys is unable to save the boy and it just opens up so many feelings for everyone and what is going on in their lives. You have the father who has retired and is unsure whether his marriage will last. You have a mother who is just hurting and has many reasons to. There are two sons who have things going on in their lives that have reached a precipice. I will be recommending this book to others and hope that it is the success that it deserves to be. Thanks for the ARC, Net Galley.
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