Product Description
At the age of 29, Sydney has already been once divorced and once widowed. Trying to regain her footing once again, she has answered an ad to tutor the teenage daughter of a well-to-do couple as they spend a sultry summer in their oceanfront New Hampshire cottage.

But when the Edwards' two grown sons, Ben and Jeff, arrive at the beach house, Sydney finds herself caught up in a destructive web of old tensions and bitter divisions. As the brothers vie for her affections, the fragile existence Sydney has rebuilt for herself is threatened. With the subtle wit, lyrical language, and brilliant insight into the human heart that has led her to be called "an author at one with her métier" (Miami Herald), Shreve weaves a novel about marriage, family, and the supreme courage that it takes to love.

Amazon.com Review
The beach house in New Hampshire which figured in Anita Shreve's The Pilot's Wife, Fortune's Rocks, and Sea Glass is once again featured in Body Surfing. This time, it is the summer home of the Edwards family, Anna and Mark and daughter Julie. Mrs. Edwards has great hopes for Julie, who is "slow," so she hires Sydney to tutor her, in preparation for her senior year. There are two older brothers, Jeff and Ben, whose arrival changes the household dynamic considerably.

Once again, Shreve revisits the minefield of love and betrayal that she has explored so well in her best novels. Sydney is 29, twice married, once divorced, and once a widow. She is floundering, not sure she wants to go back to school, accepting whatever job comes along and then moving on. She answers the ad for a tutor and finds herself in the Edwards household, where she discovers that Julie has undiscovered artistic talent. Mrs. Edwards dislikes her instantly, is dismissive, and treats her like a servant. Mr. Edwards befriends her, shows her his roses and talks to her about the history of the house, giving the reader a rundown of the role the house has played in prior novels.

Sydney, Jeff, and Ben go body surfing late one night and Sydney is sure that Ben has tried to grope her underwater. She takes immediate umbrage at this and treats him coldly thereafter. Shreve's other work has a steady narrative flow, but this novel is episodic and disjointed. There is the the arrival of Jeff's girlfriend, her departure, an evening when Julie comes home drunk and won't talk about it, and a liaison between Sydney and Jeff which leads to the complications that eventually define the novel. There is a twist at the end, involving the brothers, that is divisive, destructive and rather hard to believe.

While this is not Shreve's best effort, because the characters are not well-defined, it is worth reading her take on what happens to people when they compete for love. --Valerie Ryan

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 3.0 based on 90 reviews)

Disjointed and Unrealistic

This was my first Anita Shreve book and I have to say I am not impressed.

As soon as I started reading it I got distracted by the writing style. It seemed more like a string of consciousness then a plotted out story. There were not clear transitions, beyond the large spaces in between blurbs of text.

Once you got used to the odd style, the story was actaully interesting to follow, seeing the outsiders perspective on this tense family dynamic. The relationship that develops between Sydney and Jeff seems destined to be wonderful fairytale where she joins the family that she has fallen in love with.

A surprise twist leaves Sydney single and alone looking back at the past with new eyes as she visits the family one last time.

Unfortunately, this is where the book truly loses me as a reader. The ending does not make sense, the new love or relationship that develops was not hinted at nor where the reason's Sydney looks back on, good enough to base it upon. A good friendship may have been built from the misunderstanding, but not love, or a relationship.

I am currently reading A Wedding in December because I don't want to completely write off Anita until I've read a couple of her books. I'll review that one on Amazon as well once I finish it.
November 20, 2008

Least Favorite of them all

While I am a huge fan of her work and have read all of her books this was absolutely my least favorite. It took awhile for me to get into and once I did I felt sort of cheated with the end. I completed the book so it wasn't all bad, but it wasn't the greatest.
October 27, 2008

Surfing Into Conflict

This was a good book but not as good as other novels by Shreve that I have enjoyed. It is still a fairly quick read and good for passing some time.

The basic plot is straightforward - a family hires a tutor (Sydney) for their daughter, and there are two older brothers which sets up the some of the main portions of the book. Then there are are other issues such as the conflict between Sydney and the mother of the family.

Eventually the book does wind up being satisfying reading even if it is not the best work by the author.
October 08, 2008

Surfing between 3 and 4 stars

Anita Shreve comes through once again with an emotional and involving look at interpersonal relationships. Body Surfing tells the story of Sydney, a young woman who takes a summer tutoring job to get off the emotional roller coaster of her life for a bit. At the tender age of 29 she's been divorced from her first husband and widowed by her second. Tutoring sweet but slow Julie at her parents sea side vacation home seems like just the calming ticket to Sydney, and it is, until Julie's two brother's show up. Ben, Jeff and Sydney become entangled in ways that change everyone's lives as old scores are settled with fresh attacks in a family where appearances mean more than realities. I just wished for a bit more development of the characters, hence the somewhat low rating.
September 27, 2008

Shreve Does It Again

Her insight into affairs of the heart shines again in this crisply written story that returns us to her favorite sea shore.

I enjoyed the journey!
September 18, 2008

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