Anita Shreve, Body Surfing

Body Surfing

Anita Shreve

Little, Brown, Apr 2007, $25.99

ISBN: 0316059854

Stunned by the sudden death of her second husband due to an aneurism, twenty-nine-year-old Sydney feels lost and unanchored. To pass time quietly in a serene locale while she silently grieves about life's ironies, Sydney accepts a tutoring position at an ocean-front cottage. Mr. and Mrs. Edwards hire her to teach their eighteen- year-old daughter, intellectually challenged but artistically brilliant Julie, who is a disappointing underachiever compared with her thirtyish older brothers, Boston realtor Ben and MIT political science professor Jeff.

Julie suddenly runs away with Mrs. Edwards blaming half-Jewish Sydney for putting dumb ideas in her head. As Jeff and Sydney search for the missing sibling, they fall in love. However, when Julie reappears relatively safe in Montreal with a lesbian lover, twenty-five-year-old Helene, Mrs. Edwards deems her middle child will not marry the Jewish upstart and Ben is outraged by the proposed nuptials.

Mostly told through the perspective of Sydney, fans obtain a fascinating family drama as readers observe the impact of the tutor on the Edwards clan though it takes a final shocking watery twist to understand Ben's reaction to the engagement. The key cast members seem real even through Sydney's filter. However, this is the heroine's tale as she learns that life is a roller coaster in which one ride ends with a death of sorts while the next spin begins. This is a fine contemporary tale as expected by Anita Shreve.

Harriet Klausner