Rating: 
Summary: Lighten up a little, folks
Review: Just finished the book and took a look at many of the past reviews. I enjoyed the book tremendously but agreed with some of the comments that the last third of it was a bit disappointing, though I can understand why Natalie and the others wound up in the Catskills. What I don't understand is why so many readers wanted this book to be the be-all-and-end-all on anti-Semitism. This is clearly a comedy of manners, and at that it more than succeeds. It isn't meant to solve anything or explain everything. I think one of the points of the story is that Ingrid ISN'T a scary villain OR a Nazi -- she is what so many people are -- flawed and not very nice and not someone I'd want to spend any time with, but certainly not even a little Hitler in her own world. Maybe Catskill hotels didn't send out letters suggesting Gentiles weren't welcome, but there was always a sense of segregation there as well. And the anger that Natalie and Linette wind up with the Berry brothers -- and I didn't get any real sense that Nelson and Linette are headed for the altar any time soon -- puzzles me. It's a STORY; it isn't going to convince anyone to intermarry -- and if it can, the reader doesn't have very strong opinions to start with. I also didn't see any true and/or annoying Jewish stereotypes in the book -- but there are always going to be people who are going to look for ways to be insulted. Oh, and the notion that Orthodox parents would sit shiva if their daughter married a Reform rabbi struck me as a bit much. We are talking about the mid-1970s, not today; we are not talking about an ultra-Orthodox family. Just lighten up a little; it's only a book -- and an amusing one at that.
Rating:
Summary: 'Inn' a keeper
Review: Lipman lures you in with great character development and lighthearted story lines. One can't help but like Natalie - the main character, and the story had enough substance mixed with enjoyable fluff to keep me interested for the duration! If you are looking for an easy read with some substance, too - pick up 'Inn at Lake Devine' and enjoy.......
Rating: 
Summary: Intriguing child becomes bland adult; a disappointing novel
Review: Natalie Marx as a child goes beyond irreverence to confront anti-semitism and try to uncover its causes, inspired by "The Diary of Ann Frank". The reader is led to believe this daring child will mature into an adult who is willing to fight against injustice, but instead she makes jokes and instructs her Wasp boyfriend in Yiddishisms. She becomes really cute. What a sellout.
The book also sets up a great villain with Ingrid Berry but doesn't explore any of the potential for a denouement with Natalie, who as a child tried to torment her with first with crank phone calls, then getting herself invited to the restricted Inn.
Lipman writes well, and can create good characters; did she lose interest after the first chapters? Kris, the boyfriend, had been fat as a child, and presumably also, like Natalie, felt like an outcast, but this is not explored.
All the main characters sound as if they could be played by movie stars, even the quirky Linette.
After setting us up for cultural confrontations, the Jewish girls marry their Wasp hunks with no sparks flying. Again, even comedic possibilities are unexplored. Everyone lives happily ever after.
This book could have appeared in a 50's women's magazine.
Rating:
Summary: Delightful
Review: While reading this book I found myself neglecting household chores and turning off the television. When teenager Natalie finds out The Inn at Lake Devine only accepts Gentile guests she is disgusted and hurt. The rest of young adult life is spent getting to know the family that runs The Inn at Lake Devine. I loved The Fifes. They were so perfectly annoying in the begining. I'm sure I've met their family in my real life some where before! I look forward to reading more of Lipman's books.
Rating: 
Summary: A warming love story.....
Review: A truly warming story of love conquering all battles. A young Jewish girl in the sixties hears of "Gentiles Only" inn in Vermont, she is at the same time infuriated and curious. A couple of years later she falls upon a chance to visit the inn and cannot pass up the opportunity to see what she has been forbidden to see. And again, many years later as an adult, the chance to visit as a wedding guest! Only this visit brings tragedy and love, and at once her life is turned upside down. I followed Natalie, her friends and their families through tragedy, prejudices, and love in this bittersweet, wise, and warm story. A wonderful read!
Rating: 
Summary: An entertaining frolic, a serious topic
Review: The disturbing anti-Semitic episode which kicks off The Inn at Lake Devine is not given light treatment in this comic novel, which makes this book both thought provoking and highly readable. I am not Jewish, but this book gave me an insight into what it feels like to be treated like a lower class citizen. Natalie Marx, a young Jewish girl, is both repulsed and fascinated when Isabel Berry, the Inn at Lake Devine's innkeeper, tacks an anti-Semitic comment to the end of the room rates. The rest of the book concerns how Natalie manages to get completed involved with the Berry family, and how she ultimately winds up getting a very sweet revenge. An interesting counterpoint to the main story, is the prejudicial treatment other Jews deliver when Natalie's older sister marries a Catholic boy. Bigotry in "The Inn at Lake Devine" comes from many sources. I really enjoyed the descriptions of the Catskills Hotel that caters to Jewish clientele; the food, the entertainment and the atmosphere were wonderfully described. I wonder whether places like this still exist, and would I, as a non-Jew feel "comfortable" there? A good read and a good discussion book. I would give it 3.5 stars if I could.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best books I've read for enjoyment.....
Review: This book is a journey, one that is a simple story on the surface but addresses complex issues of its time. A good, though quick, read that takes you up and down but leaves you smiling at the end. Good book for a vacation.
Rating:
Summary: one of my very favorites
Review: Elinor Lipman is one of my favorite authors, largely on the strength of The Inn at Lake Devine and The Way Men Act. I mean, I like her other books, but these are the ones that, for me, make her great. These are the ones that I give as gifts to everyone I know. The Inn at Lake Devine has a number of different settings and Lipman has a perfect eye for all of them. Her characters are fully-drawn and realistic; no one is merely a charicature. The writing is engaging and funny. But for me, the main character of Natalie is really the book's strength. Lipman's characters are generally women whose lives are not glamourous or exciting in any way. Her challenge then is to keep them from seeming like losers. In this book she is totally successful. Natalie is not the most beautiful girl in any room, is often jobless, hasn't lived up to her potential insofar as she's less educated than she is intelligent, and is generally pretty aimless. But she doesn't come across as a loser. Rather, I found her more realistic for all these things without ever being depressing. I just can't recommend this book highly enough.
Rating:
Summary: Intriguing start dwindles down to lackluster conclusion
Review: The first chapter really had me - a twelve year old's indignation at her family's exclusion from a Vermont resort because of their religion. Natalie's revenge tactics were amusing, thought provoking and admirable. I eagerly read on, hoping to see how Natalie would deal with this bit of discrimination - how it would affect her life and shape her as a person. After all, it occurred at a crucial "coming of age" point in her life, so there was the perfect opportunity for Ms. Lipman to plunge into an intriguing storyline. Instead, it felt as if the following chapters were written by someone else using the classic pattern of girl-meets-boy, girl-loses-boy, girl-finds-boy-again. What this story lacked was a stormy confrontational scene between Natalie and the villainess who discriminated against her. I never got a true feeling for Natalie's concern for her Jewish heritage, even when Yiddish words were hastily tossed into the stilted dialogue towards the end. When the story concluded, there was no real lesson learned by either protagonist or antagonist. There was no life-affirming changes, no maturation of character, no revelations or final acceptance. Truly a disappointment since this had some real potential.
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.
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