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A review by mbkarapcik
Summer of '69 by Elin Hilderbrand
5.0
Damn it, Elin Hilderbrand, you have done it again! Another satisfying novel.
Ever since I can remember, I've always been fascinated by the time period of the late 1960s to the early 1970s. Love the music, and find the social and political climate so interesting as well as the culture. My parents married in 1969, although they were far from hippies, more like a more conservative take of the Mad Men martini and Manhattan generation, and I recall my mom describing how she and my dad stayed up to watch the moon landing. This event and more are depicted in Elin's latest book.
The family is like any other family in Elin's world with complex family dynamics and foreboding secrets, some of which stay under wraps. I liked each character's arc and that the potential to revisit this family in a future novel is there even if Elin never planned it that way. I felt engaged by the characters and wondered where the future would take them. I loved how Elin incorporated an important part of her own life into this particular book for a good and timely reason. As usual with her novels, I kept gravitating toward it despite the stack of books waiting patiently by my bed.
One thing I specifically appreciated was the way the characters' mores and language and values reflected the era instead of being run through the politically correct machine of today. Yes, people smoked. Yes, people drank even when pregnant (My mom's friend was told by a doctor to drink during a pregnancy -- the daughter was born in 1971. She's fine btw 😁). The relationships between men and women and different races read more like my knowledge about the time period than today. Another book I read recently which covered past decades slipped too often into present day speak and mores that I found it inauthentic even though I enjoyed it. To me, this captured the era even down to the pop culture and the brother who serves in Vietnam. The events were seamlessly inserted without force or too many unnecessary details. The plot was king. Along with the characters, you learned about the events through them with a pure, unclouded lense.
I really relished this book and thought Elin's foray into the past was excellent, and I hope she continues to explore this time period again. And I think a sequel to this book could easily be arranged, especially when I read a passage in the last chapter that hints at the possibility.
Ever since I can remember, I've always been fascinated by the time period of the late 1960s to the early 1970s. Love the music, and find the social and political climate so interesting as well as the culture. My parents married in 1969, although they were far from hippies, more like a more conservative take of the Mad Men martini and Manhattan generation, and I recall my mom describing how she and my dad stayed up to watch the moon landing. This event and more are depicted in Elin's latest book.
The family is like any other family in Elin's world with complex family dynamics and foreboding secrets, some of which stay under wraps. I liked each character's arc and that the potential to revisit this family in a future novel is there even if Elin never planned it that way. I felt engaged by the characters and wondered where the future would take them. I loved how Elin incorporated an important part of her own life into this particular book for a good and timely reason. As usual with her novels, I kept gravitating toward it despite the stack of books waiting patiently by my bed.
One thing I specifically appreciated was the way the characters' mores and language and values reflected the era instead of being run through the politically correct machine of today. Yes, people smoked. Yes, people drank even when pregnant (My mom's friend was told by a doctor to drink during a pregnancy -- the daughter was born in 1971. She's fine btw 😁). The relationships between men and women and different races read more like my knowledge about the time period than today. Another book I read recently which covered past decades slipped too often into present day speak and mores that I found it inauthentic even though I enjoyed it. To me, this captured the era even down to the pop culture and the brother who serves in Vietnam. The events were seamlessly inserted without force or too many unnecessary details. The plot was king. Along with the characters, you learned about the events through them with a pure, unclouded lense.
I really relished this book and thought Elin's foray into the past was excellent, and I hope she continues to explore this time period again. And I think a sequel to this book could easily be arranged, especially when I read a passage in the last chapter that hints at the possibility.