allisonb64133 's review for:

Summerlong by Dean Bakopoulos

2.0

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Described as a "deft and hilarious exploration of the simmering tensions beneath the surface of a contented marriage" and a hold I placed I thought based on a summer beach reads list, this was much darker and disturbing than I expected. Although the story was engrossing to read (3 stars?), it was about mostly miserable people that I never came to like very much (2 stars.) There were some insights I liked, like the almost 90 year old character Ruth telling the middle aged man he was at the hardest time of his life. "Midlife is when you have to accept what you've created, knowing that the life you have is the only one you will live." Then she tells him that can be terrifying. Until you accept it. Too close to home for this middle aged woman maybe?!?