Summer at the Lake

Rating:
Summary: two men, one woman, not much else
Review: A mysterious car accident claims two lives. One man witnesses it. Same man loves a woman who marries the driver (who was also in and survives the accident). A priest is also in love with the woman. Half way thru the book, nothing else has happened. 3/4 of the way thru the book nothing else has happened. Once in awhile they talk about the mystery surrounding the car crash. The mystery to me is why I'm still reading this book. It must be because the style is enjoyable. There sure isn't any plot. Greeley's style is definitely fun, but other than that I'm not sure what this book has to offer. Nice cover,tho.

Rating:
Summary: Is this a rerun?
Review: I have read Andrew Greeley before and enjoyed some of his earlier works, but it seems that the characters in Summer at the Lake are reincarnated from past books. What is his obsession with middle-age women who have incredible bodies, incredible intellects, and have been wronged in love? And what's wrong with a female lead who has a less than "delicately shaped rear end" or perfectly perky breasts at 48? But many of his female leads are crafted this way (and they need rescuing from a male...) All the men are good-looking and moneyed; all the children are smart, beautiful, supportive of their parents and wise beyond their years. I could take this in a couple of the books, but it's getting old. I don't think I'll even bother to finish, because the ending will be so predictable! They'll probably run off to Ireland where Packy will bestow the sacrament of marriage upon their rich, beautiful bodies. Oh, yes, and here's another story with a priest in love with his best friend's love interest/sister/etc. I'm sure it happens, but I don't care to read about it over and over again. The plot is slow, and quite frankly, I don't just don't care a whit about the mystery! Eileen has no character development, and so what about Jim--so he had an affair with an older (beautiful rich perfect-bodied) woman. Disappointing, to say the least. I'm glad I only borrowed it from the library.

Rating:
Summary: my review
Review: This book tells the story of a man and a woman and how they are able to join their love after missing out on their first chance.

This book is an incredible love story, even though it is hard to follow for you are brought back and forth between present time and the past. Once you grow used to this switching, the book becomes very interesting and easy to read.

The characters are very genuine and the feelings they have are vey real. The plot, even though you pretty much guess the outcome, keeps you glued until the very end!

Good read and great fun.

Rating:
Summary: Just a darn good temporarily life-escaping read..
Review: What's the true test of whether it's a good book or not? When you can't bear to put it down and you don't want it to end, it's a good book! Greeley has characters with whom you can identify, a plot that keeps you going and a setting that makes you long for those big old houses by a pristine lake on summer days uncomplicated by bumper to bumper traffic and air pollution. I read the other reviews and wonder if everybody is so uptight these days that they can't imagine just laying back under an oak tree and reading a good book - not a great book, not a great work of literature. Just a good book. Lighten up, get a life, smell the flowers and learn to love just a "good" book.