Finished A Hundred Summers by Beatriz Williams. This book examines the past and present of Lily Dane. Although set in the summer of 1938, much of the story is told in flashback. Lily's family is monied and imporant. She attends Smith College with her best friend Budgie. When the two travel up to Dartmouth to see Budgie's boyfriend play football, Lily is introduced to Nick Greenwald. The two fall for each other almost instantly. When Lily brings Nick home to meet her parents she misinterprets her father's objection to their relationship. Lily and Nick run off to elope, but are foiled in their plans.
Seven years later, Lily travels with her mother and much younger sister to Seaview, Rhode Island, the family's summer retreat. She and all of Seaview are stunned when the now married Budgie and Nick arrive to open and remodel Budgie's derelict family home. Secrets and misplaced loyalties weave in and out of this story. It all comes to an enormous climax when the deadly hurricane of 1938 barrels up the New England coast, acting as a deus ex machina. This was a good read, filled with palpable tension that built as the event of the hurricane got closer. I look forward to reading more of Williams' novels.
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