My Review Of
Montauk
Enter into the world of 1938 where women in society were as successful only as their husbands were. A world of yesteryear when Montauk was just starting to become more than a fishing town. Montauk is where the very elite and snobbish Park Avenue families went to spend the summer, that is the ladies and children did during the week while the men, ahem.... worked, in the city all week and joined their families on weekends.
This book reads like a historical romance with some women's rights issues thrown in as well as briefly touching on the horrible ant-semitism of that particular era.
We meet Bea, a college educated, raised modestly country girl in Pennsylvania who lost her brother Charlie in a tragic accident when she was 15. Bea is not comfortable in this world and I love how Bea constantly stands up to the ladies who tennis and lunch. Bea quickly makes friends with Dolly, a woman ahead of her times, a bit loose,somewhat brash but a true friend when Bea needs her. Now let's talk about Bea's faithless cad of a husband Harry, selfish, drinks too much and womanizes whomever he wants because after all Harry feels that this is his right. Dolly shows Bea the ropes and how to pretend to fit in with these snobbish boring women. Bea becomes entangled in the lives of the locals and enters into a forbidden relationship with a mysterious man who seems just a bit familiar to her.
I loved how Bea becomes a woman in her own right, finds her voice and rallies against all that she is supposed to be in this era. While Harry was a horrible husband to Bea, somehow I just coud not bring myself to dislike him, I actually pitied him. This is a very well written historical romance with a lot of drama, a bit of intrigue and just full of scandal and secrets. All of this set against the beautiful backdrop of Montauk's yesteryear.This review was originally posted on Fictional Reviewer