Cameo Lake

Rating:
Summary: Unsettling but good.
Review: Writer Cleo Grayson McCarthy is having trouble finding her muse on her latest work. Her friend Grace offers her cottage on Cameo Lake in New Hampshire to recharge her creative batteries. Now she is away from her husband and children and other distractions of everyday life. The lake is beautiful, and soon she is making progress on her book. Her neighbor across the lake catches her interest as well. His name is Ben Turner, and soon he and Cleo become friendly. Cleo's family comes to the lake for the weekend. She notices her husband Sean has pulled away from her, especially when he goes back home and leaves her with the kids. He has been getting more and more involved in work--or so he says. Eight years before, she experienced the pain of his infidelity, and she fears it is happening again. She sends her children to day camp, and in this time her friendship with Ben deepens. Secretive, wounded Ben slowly begins to open up.... The protagonists' professions are used beautifully in the narrative with ingenious references to prose and music composition. The lively first-person narrative eloquently tells the story of a woman slowly realizing that her life needs to change, and finding the courage to face grief, guilt, and pain in the change.