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Noah's Rejects
A behind the scenes look at life on an island, off of an island, off the coast of America.
On the tiny resort island of Chappaquiddick, things are not always as they appear. It looks like paradise, it feels like paradise…it should be paradise. But for Rob Kagan, a summer-home caretaker, it’s a struggle to live amongst so much beauty while surviving so much dysfunction.
With intimate knowledge of this vacation hotspot’s inner workings, Rob shows the reader a year in the life on Chappy. He weaves together a multitude of stories, from the heartbreaking to the hilarious, that reveal how the seasons on this tiny spit of sand off the coast of Massachusetts can tear at a person’s soul. With his family and business at the center of this saga, Rob attempts to showcase the island life that most people never get to see. A story of class struggle, hardships, and parenthood that serve as a microcosm for the greater society…off-island.
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“Spot on… You can’t make this stuff up.”
—Anonymous, Chappy Resident
“We think we know how others live. But time and time again memoirs like Kitchen Confidential, Maid and now Noah’s Rejects open our eyes to see the truth.”
—Jonathan Tuttle, Crab Apple Cove News
On the tiny resort island of Chappaquiddick, things are not always as they appear. It looks like paradise, it feels like paradise…it should be paradise. But for Rob Kagan, a summer-home caretaker, it’s a struggle to live amongst so much beauty while surviving so much dysfunction.
With intimate knowledge of this vacation hotspot’s inner workings, Rob shows the reader a year in the life on Chappy. He weaves together a multitude of stories, from the heartbreaking to the hilarious, that reveal how the seasons on this tiny spit of sand off the coast of Massachusetts can tear at a person’s soul. With his family and business at the center of this saga, Rob attempts to showcase the island life that most people never get to see. A story of class struggle, hardships, and parenthood that serve as a microcosm for the greater society…off-island.
--
“Spot on… You can’t make this stuff up.”
—Anonymous, Chappy Resident
“We think we know how others live. But time and time again memoirs like Kitchen Confidential, Maid and now Noah’s Rejects open our eyes to see the truth.”
—Jonathan Tuttle, Crab Apple Cove News
358 pages, Paperback
Published April 27, 2022
2 people are currently reading
30 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
June 30, 2022
Having visited Martha’s Vineyard many times, I’ve often wondered what it would be like to live there year-round. This book gives an inside view into that world; showing the good, bad, funny, and at times heartrending truth of being an “Islander”. It’s a charming read with some laugh out loud moments.
February 12, 2023
When I first moved to Martha's Vineyard year 'round a little over 16 years ago, I was shocked to find that it is a very different place when you actually live here than when you come on vacation (which I had done many many times). I was advised to read Susanna Sturgis' book "The Mud of the Place" which gives a good introduction to Island life, and which I also recommend.
Now I will tell people to read "Noah's Rejects" too. It is a superb portrait of a very different place than most people think Martha's Vineyard is. And whatever Martha's Vineyard is in the scheme of things, Chappy (where Rob Kagan and his family lived) is an exaggerated version of the main Island in that it is even more inconvenient, isolated, expensive, and the people are even more quirky than they are on other parts of the Vineyard. In its defense, Chappy also has unparalleled beauty and its own mystique.
"Noah's Rejects" is a very funny book, heart breaking in some respects, and above all true to life. Many of Rob Kagan's observations resonate with my own observations, particularly the ways in which the unacceptable becomes normalized. This book is as true a portrait of this place as I have seen in print. The author describes both the depravity and limitations of some of the people and the school system (which my daughter also had issues with) in contrast to the incredible natural beauty and sense of community I have never found anywhere else.
As Rob and Melissa Kagan learned, you have to deeply love this place in order to put up with it. Even when its natural beauty enriches your heart every day it is never an easy place to live or work or raise a family.
"Noah's Rejects" is a realistic honest picture of what really goes on around here. If you are interested in looking beneath the surface beauty and culture and veneer of this Island, definitely this is the right book to open your eyes a little bit. And while I think it may shock a lot of people, it is also a lot of fun to read.
I hope Rob Kagan's family is thriving in their new hometown near Boston, and that he continues to write. Meanwhile "Noah's Rejects" is a treat. It is better organized, better written, and more consistent than almost anything I have read in a very long time. Most highly recommended!
Now I will tell people to read "Noah's Rejects" too. It is a superb portrait of a very different place than most people think Martha's Vineyard is. And whatever Martha's Vineyard is in the scheme of things, Chappy (where Rob Kagan and his family lived) is an exaggerated version of the main Island in that it is even more inconvenient, isolated, expensive, and the people are even more quirky than they are on other parts of the Vineyard. In its defense, Chappy also has unparalleled beauty and its own mystique.
"Noah's Rejects" is a very funny book, heart breaking in some respects, and above all true to life. Many of Rob Kagan's observations resonate with my own observations, particularly the ways in which the unacceptable becomes normalized. This book is as true a portrait of this place as I have seen in print. The author describes both the depravity and limitations of some of the people and the school system (which my daughter also had issues with) in contrast to the incredible natural beauty and sense of community I have never found anywhere else.
As Rob and Melissa Kagan learned, you have to deeply love this place in order to put up with it. Even when its natural beauty enriches your heart every day it is never an easy place to live or work or raise a family.
"Noah's Rejects" is a realistic honest picture of what really goes on around here. If you are interested in looking beneath the surface beauty and culture and veneer of this Island, definitely this is the right book to open your eyes a little bit. And while I think it may shock a lot of people, it is also a lot of fun to read.
I hope Rob Kagan's family is thriving in their new hometown near Boston, and that he continues to write. Meanwhile "Noah's Rejects" is a treat. It is better organized, better written, and more consistent than almost anything I have read in a very long time. Most highly recommended!
June 25, 2022
This is perhaps not a wholly unbiased review: although I haven't met the author, I know his spouse and also know one of his kids a little bit. I genuinely loved it, though. It's a charming, affecting, and very entertaining memoir of the family's past life living year-round on Chappaquiddick, the small island that is to Martha's Vineyard what Martha's Vineyard is to Massachusetts.
The book is a series of loosely connected anecdotes detailing the joys and challenges of island life, difficulties with staff and customers (Kagan ran a business providing all manner of necessary services to both summer and full-year residents), unexpected crises, and so on, arranged to fill a year in which the family gradually grows more disenchanted with that existence. Kagan is a terrific storyteller, with a great ear for dialogue and a talent for sketching a character clearly in a few words. I found it a really fun and engaging read, and it has in it some excitement and some genuine pathos. (I assume — I haven't asked — that the stories are true in spirit but mildly fictionalized for artistic license, to disguise specifics, and to fit the overall frame. The author's note cheerfully advises that "everything in this book is factual... except for the parts that I made up.")
The book happened to come out not long after I renewed my own acquaintance with Martha's Vineyard, visiting for the first time in many years. We'd been there in the off season and I'd become curious about what it's like to live there throughout the year. I now have one answer to that question.
The book is a series of loosely connected anecdotes detailing the joys and challenges of island life, difficulties with staff and customers (Kagan ran a business providing all manner of necessary services to both summer and full-year residents), unexpected crises, and so on, arranged to fill a year in which the family gradually grows more disenchanted with that existence. Kagan is a terrific storyteller, with a great ear for dialogue and a talent for sketching a character clearly in a few words. I found it a really fun and engaging read, and it has in it some excitement and some genuine pathos. (I assume — I haven't asked — that the stories are true in spirit but mildly fictionalized for artistic license, to disguise specifics, and to fit the overall frame. The author's note cheerfully advises that "everything in this book is factual... except for the parts that I made up.")
The book happened to come out not long after I renewed my own acquaintance with Martha's Vineyard, visiting for the first time in many years. We'd been there in the off season and I'd become curious about what it's like to live there throughout the year. I now have one answer to that question.
July 29, 2022
The Arrogance of Privilege
For a decade plus the author was a summer-home caretaker for many of the residents and visitors on Chappaquiddick Island, off Martha’s Vineyard. Yes, that Chappaquiddick. In winters he maintained the properties of absent owners, performing chores that were less time-sensitive, but more important in the grand scheme of vacation rentals. Summers he was at the beck and call of both owners and visitors, and no task seemed too demeaning for him to handle with grace and good humor. So, when an issue of great personal importance to Kagan came up, he was stunned by the lack of sensitivity of his customers and neighbors.
Like the consummate story-teller he is, Kagan writes candidly and thoughtfully, and the reader is never wondering just what Rob is feeling. He relates episodes with customers often with humor, sometimes with disappointment or even disgust. This is a book to be read not only by summer-home owners and their tenants, but by everyone in the hospitality profession – desk clerks to owners, who might feel themselves invisible and unappreciated. Kagan writes for all of you. And for those of us who are tenants, we need to look at ourselves and our expectations as summer visitors and guests. Kagan’s “cautionary tale” is not only about the arrogance of sense of privilege, but its insensitivity as well.
For a decade plus the author was a summer-home caretaker for many of the residents and visitors on Chappaquiddick Island, off Martha’s Vineyard. Yes, that Chappaquiddick. In winters he maintained the properties of absent owners, performing chores that were less time-sensitive, but more important in the grand scheme of vacation rentals. Summers he was at the beck and call of both owners and visitors, and no task seemed too demeaning for him to handle with grace and good humor. So, when an issue of great personal importance to Kagan came up, he was stunned by the lack of sensitivity of his customers and neighbors.
Like the consummate story-teller he is, Kagan writes candidly and thoughtfully, and the reader is never wondering just what Rob is feeling. He relates episodes with customers often with humor, sometimes with disappointment or even disgust. This is a book to be read not only by summer-home owners and their tenants, but by everyone in the hospitality profession – desk clerks to owners, who might feel themselves invisible and unappreciated. Kagan writes for all of you. And for those of us who are tenants, we need to look at ourselves and our expectations as summer visitors and guests. Kagan’s “cautionary tale” is not only about the arrogance of sense of privilege, but its insensitivity as well.
July 5, 2022
Rob Kagen wears many hats in fulfilling his varied responsibilities living on the resort island of Chappaquiddick. He can add being a writer to his list. I lined this book up to be the first I read this summer as it intriqued me from the start. Rob portrays the many rites of passage he, and his family, go through living on this island paradise, seen from a drone's eye view of life from both the year-round locals and summer home owner's perspectives. Traveling through the seasons with Rob as he shares the highs and lows of the tides and the times of this chapter in his life. I was mesmerized. I was drawn to the book for selfish reasons as well. I am an island dweller in the summer, like ones he promises to showcase from his unique vantage point. It made me look at the caretaker for my family's island with a new light and, for this and so much more, I highly recommend this compelling story that benefits us all in having compassion for each others' journeys through life. What a wonderful way to kick off my summer. I read the book in two days, finishing it today, on the 4th of July. I could feel myself in the Vineyard with Rob even though tucked away turning the pages on an island in Maine.
January 27, 2023
On one level, an entertaining "tell-all" about life on a tiny island off an island. On another level, an insightful reflective memoir that casts a much broader audience net than the setting might suggest. Kagan has the gift of great storytelling while also pondering life's journey. Laugh out loud at times, with many reality checks to ground the read. Universal themes makes this a relatable read even if you don't know Martha's Vineyard.
August 9, 2022
Loved, loved, loved this book. We've had a house for years on Chappy and think of ourselves as Islanders. Boy, was I wrong.
Naturally, when he was in trouble, I rented my house to "Rich" and his family. I found other characters to be people we know. And yes, you can't make this up.
Naturally, when he was in trouble, I rented my house to "Rich" and his family. I found other characters to be people we know. And yes, you can't make this up.
January 10, 2023
Genuinely the best and most accurate portrayal of this island at its most raw as someone who’s lived here my whole life. There’s just so much more nuance than “vacationland” and this book does a great job calling attention to that.
August 16, 2023
If you have ever lived on an island this book is definitely for you. If you have ever thought about living in an island then you must read this book. There’s a lot to unpack in this book. There’s nothing superficial. Why did I read it? I had been on Martha’s Vineyard for three days and was starting to like it a bit too much. I imagined myself living in West Tisbury. I had formulated a whole life in my mind so a cautionary tale seemed the appropriate antidote. Having finished it, I still hold a dream for the community life in West Tisbury. I would love to run Rob’s business with my son. The struggles Rob mentions are real and translate across to other island communities or island-like communities.
August 13, 2025
Wow...live and work on a small island year-round. Interesting idea.
The island itself offers unique challenges...especially with only one rather rickety way to get off the island. This is especially challenging in foul weather. Most of the roads are compacted sand, with divots.
Our hero, Rob, successfully builds a home maintenance business, with a limited pool of consistently solid laborers. Rob's business focuses on maintaining the Summer homes of wealthy owners, along with their demanding issues. His wife stays supportive...for awhile. And the kids seem split on whether they want to stay or relocate to the mainland.
In the end, it all becomes too much for Rob. So, does Rob move his family off the island?
The island itself offers unique challenges...especially with only one rather rickety way to get off the island. This is especially challenging in foul weather. Most of the roads are compacted sand, with divots.
Our hero, Rob, successfully builds a home maintenance business, with a limited pool of consistently solid laborers. Rob's business focuses on maintaining the Summer homes of wealthy owners, along with their demanding issues. His wife stays supportive...for awhile. And the kids seem split on whether they want to stay or relocate to the mainland.
In the end, it all becomes too much for Rob. So, does Rob move his family off the island?
May 10, 2022
We live on Chappy and I was excited to read this to get the perspective of a Chappy business owner. Whenever the author talked about his relationship with his daughters and his sailing adventures, the story pulled me in. His love for both and desire to have a strong bond came through loud and clear. I was disappointed with his reflections about the dysfunction of island life on MVY and on Chappy - it read as though he hasn't comes to terms with his decision to live off island. It was clear that drawing boundaries was not his strong suit. I found myself struggling to reconcile the fact that he wanted more from his customers.
August 10, 2022
A candid and thoughtful book.
October 3, 2022
I enjoyed this book more than I expected! A fun, frank reflection of life on Chappy and what it's like to work to live a life on MV.
May 18, 2023
Super fun read! Rob is so charismatic and witty!
May 20, 2023
Really great book! Wonderful imagery that pulls you into the story and all of a sudden you start rooting for the characters like they’re your closest friends! A must read!
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews