Rating: 
Summary: Refreshing blend of humor and intellect in novel
Review: The Inn at Lake Devine is the first novel I have read by Lipman. I purchased and started the novel yesterday, and have almost finished it already. The novel begins with a 12 year old Natalie who is quite curious and indigant about Mrs. Ingrid Berry, who demonstrates "genteel Anti-Semitism" in the 1960s New England. After a week's vacation at Lake Devine with a camp friend, Natalie assumed her curiousity and fixation had ended. however, the novel picks up ten years later. I thought it was a brilliant concept which was not explained on the back of the book. Natalie is a growing and evolving character, like the other key actors in the story. It can be difficult to understand Natalie's condoning attitude toward the Berry family regarding Mrs. Berry's prejudice, but I was charmed by Kris and Nelson, amused by Gretel. Using the 1964 Civil Rights Act was a nice touch. Lipman's writing not only strikes the right tone between (sometimes mock)seriousness and humor, and the plot was interesting enough for me to plow through the majority of the book in two days. I am very picky about fiction novels, and became aware of the novel through a search on amazon.com - since I enjoyed Elizabeth Berg's writing, this novel was recommended to me. I am absolutely NOT disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Really, really cute
Review: Calling Elinor Lipman's work "cute" is a bit of injustice, but that's just how I felt about this book. After reading this, I felt the same way I feel coming out of a great romantic comedy movie, all warm and fuzzy inside.The book follows Natalie Marx who becomes intrigued/obsessed with an Inn who, when she was a child, did not allow her family to vist because they were Jewish. Natalie whowever, manages to find a way into the Inn through non-Jewish friends, and her commentary about the Inn and it's visitors, and the family who graciously allows her to vacation with them is hilarious. (And the gentile hottie Natalie becomes involved with is a pretty cool storyline too). The back of this book contains a quote from the Chicago Tribune calling it a "punchy little comedy of manners. . .Think Jane Austen" and although way too many female authors get compared to "modern-day Jane Austens" this description actually fits. I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Self centred heroine slighty spoils things
Review: Like most readers here, I love Lipmans stuff. This one was slightly marred for me though by the selfishness of the central character. I felt she was judgemental and a bit of a hypocrite. She made such a big deal about Gretel getting off with the deceased's brother, but when she herself was wooed at the Inn, it was all about romance, and in the best possible taste. While Gretel may have been an irritating person, she was in her own home, and Natalie was the visitor. I felt this quite a few times throughout the book! I thought it was actually a bit cheeky how the two couples so neatly inherited the Inn at the end (sorry, plot spoiler), and cheerfully put their parents out of business. If Natalie resented Ingrid so much, why didn't she just stay away from her? I enjoyed the book immensely but I've noticed Lipmans' heroines being selfish in other books too and it has really pi**ed me off! I suppose you just feel like stepping into the pages and giving them a good shake. And was it just me or was Linette such a sypmpathetic character because she wasn't particularly glamourous - and therefore posed no threat to Natalie? Just a thought.
Rating: 
Summary: a serious sujbect effectively treated with a comic touch
Review: I started laughing out loud in the first chapter when Natalie began her retaliations against the anti-Semitic Mrs. Berry at the Inn. I found myself alternately laughing and crying with the characters throughout the comic and tragic events of Natalie's life. Brains are not Mrs. Berry's long suit, as is apparent from the first offensive letter she sends Natalie's mother; but though she is more stupid than evil, she still has the power to hurt people, including herself. Natalie finds, however, that her Jewish relatives are hardly free from prejudice against others, when they boycott her sister's wedding to an Irish Catholic, nor even among themselves (Natalie's grandmother disdains her future son-in-law because he drives a fruit truck, at which point her husband recalls that she herself is the daughter of a rag dealer.)Mrs. Berry never does quite get it. Despite the older generation and some real tragic events, the book builds to a wonderful finish and makes you want to see all the kids of Natalie's (and my) generation succeed all the way.
Rating: 
Summary: strong start; very disappointing fininsh
Review: I purchased this book on the strength of the first chapter, excerpted here at amazon.com. That chapter, and the succeeding 50 pages or so, were funny--a great read. Ms. Lipman's portrayal of the protagonist as a young girl infuriated by the "genteel" anti-semitism of a Vermont innkeeper really resonated with me, a transplanted Mainer who happens to be Jewish. But following a significant plot twist (which I'll not reveal here), the book goes decidedly downhill. The story becomes very formulaic, the characters introduced beyond that point are predictable and unidimensional, as is the rest of the story. It was as if Ms. Lipman lost interest in writing this book and was doing as little as she could to please a demanding publisher. If she could have sustained the energy of the first chapters, this would have been a great summer read. As it is, forget it.
Rating:
Summary: Fun but fluffy and unconvincing
Review: This novel, which was recommended by the New Yorker as ideal summer reading, felt fluffy to me. The plot, which concerns the fascination of a young girl, later a young woman, with a quaint Vermont inn that excludes Jews, is promising. Having wormed her way in, the Jewish heroine contrasts the ways of these vanilla-flavored, plain cooking 1950s WASPs with those of her quirky, loving working-class family in Newton, Mass. (Or, Newton, Massajewsetts, as her not-so-welcoming hostess pronounces it--or so Natalie, who is rather prickly, imagines.) Ingrid Berry, the proprietor of the inn, never comes real; her mycologist husband, who is too gently bemused to understand the implications of the Inn's Gentiles-only policy, is better drawn. When the action moved to the Catskills and the Borscht-Belt scene, the book lost me. The author seems intent upon exploring the differences between Orthodox and Reform Jews, as well as Jews and Wasps, and it is all rather labored. She also takes a gratuitous swipe at Unitarian Universalists: No fair! The crisis in the story, which I won't give away, is melodramatic and unconvincing, and the ending has a contrived feel. So I give this about a B-. It's okay for hammock reading, but you can do better. Try Cold Mountain.
Rating:
Summary: Elinor Lipman's done it again
Review: I'm an Elinor Lipman fan but was disappointed by "Isabel's Bed," and didn't find the summary of "The Inn at Lake Devine" all that compelling. But I ended up reading this little trifle of a book in one sitting--laughing out loud on occasion. It's a great light read with some interesting points about society and prejudice, and a cute little love story you root for besides. My reservations are that the adult Robin isn't more developed, and the anti-Semitic innkeeper's views aren't explained in more depth. But maybe the latter is the point--many of these attitudes develop without people realizing them or recognizing that they're wrong.
Rating:
Summary: a great, quick, fun read!
Review: I'm writing this from Southwest Florida where I am vacationing for the holidays. I read this book in a day as it is that easy, that "fun" and so easy to get into. The characters are well developed, the story line is a good one and the book instantly caught me by surprise. I had never read anything by this author but will do so now as I love her style. I found myself laughing out loud on occasion as I read this fine book and am sure you will, too. Read it, you will love it!
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous
Review: I happened on this book while browsing Amazon. I couldn't put it down. Very light reading, but interesting. I ordered another book by this author as I love the way she writes. Her characters are fantastic and the stories intriguing. Super book!!
Rating:
Summary: Sorry I am not 17 anymore!!
Review: THE INN AT LAKE DIVINE Well written novel, no loose ends although at times it seemed contrived and very obvious the writer was 'explaining' something. Would have liked Lipman to be more subtle as she justified/explained motivation and actions of characters. Loved the mushroom twist, well done and unexpected, also loved the episode when Natalie pretended to be the daughter of the murder and her reservation at the inn was accepted without question. Natalie was well developed as a character but the others seemed flat and one dimensional...some characters seemed to be inserted to fill the plot, relationships were unrealistic and seemed to lack emotion. Many characters were stereotyped...the Jewish mother, the kindly, but out of touch Mr. Berry, the cold, ridged Mrs Berry, etc. Mrs Marx was secretive then suddenly supportive of Natalie...people don't change that fast.
Natalie was a passionate and interesting youth but as in her twenties she seemed flat, heavy and lacked sparkle, just pushed around by life. What happened to the youthful fire?? Some solutions to problems seemed pat at times, original at other times. Getting into the inn by way of the Fifes was original as was the engagement of Linnet to the Rabbi, and the mushrooms illness. The boyfriend of Linnet being so willing to break off the engagement and take the blame was just too "contrived". The ending was too pat...the anti-Semitic ones got their comeuppance as did Gretel and Skip. I can not imagine what it would be like to be refused entrance to a place due to my ethnic or religious background. It must be awful and deeply hurtful. The question must be asked: Do we look at the offence in the context of the times and forgive...it was common back then or do we hold people accountable and punish (loss of the Inn). I think it is hardest when the offence is in the recent past and the offenders are still alive. It may be just a tiny bit easier to forgive when the offence is further in the past. Does time heal?
It seems that when the offence is more recent the offenders must suffer consequences: pregnant daughter, son marrying the undesirable Jew, loss of the family heritage Inn due to scandal and humiliation. Of course the consequences were light compared to the many hurts that had occurred due to the policy of discrimination. The writer was able to speak to the wrongs of descrimination and yet keep it fairly light. It think many lessons can be extrapolated from the story, especially for young people who may not be aware of the details of the past. Many know of descrimination against African Americans but many may not know of the antisemitic behavior that occurred in this country so recently. To sum it up, it is a great book if you:
1. Are 17
2. Have a box of bon bons
3. Don't have a date on a Saturday night For me the problem is:
1. Missed that age by a mile
2. Long ago ate all the bon bons
3. Saturday nights date is a distance memory. Good juvenile novel. I would recommend this book for young people 15 to 25 yrs old.
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