Jul 6

Jul 6 Lake Life

Author: David James Poissant
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
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Note: Trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the full review.

Cover Description

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.

TL;DR Review

Lake Life is a fast-paced, character-driven family drama that tackles heavy themes and yet still feels right as a summer read.

For you if: You like family dramas.

Full Review

Big thanks to Simon & Schuster for sending me an advanced copy of this book for review!

I don’t usually read very many books that you’d see billed as a “beach read.” (I like to be left sobbing on the floor, thank you very much.) And while Lake Life isn’t *quite* what I’d call a beach read, it still felt like a good choice for a hot, lazy summer weekend. This family drama is fast-paced, juicy, can’t-look-away, sooooo many secrets coming to light. But it also addresses some heavy, real-life stuff (see trigger warnings) that makes it feel like anything but fluff.

The story is about a family — a set of older parents, two adult sons, and the sons’ partners — as they all gather at the family’s summer home for one last vacation. At the end of the week, the parents are selling it in preparation for their retirement to Florida. But right as they’re settling in for the trip, they see something terrible happen, and it shakes up everyone’s emotions enough that a plethora of closely held secrets can’t help but come out.

This book really is a classic family drama. Each character in the book is vivid and distinct, and by the end, you’ll have come to root for (and also kind of hate) all of them. Poissant drops them into a setting where they can’t get away, prods them around, dials up the stakes, flames the tension, and lets it explode. We, the readers, can’t help but watch as all these pieces fly into the air, so curious as to when and how they will land.

Ultimately, this book is about parenthood, marriage, family, grief, the nature of family secrets, and how we care for ourselves and those we love best. I especially recommend it if you’re usually a literary fiction reader but looking for something faster-paced than your norm.