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Summary: Lipman's wit sparkles but the plot falters at the end.
Review: I enjoyed "The Ladies' Man," Lipman's zany book about a man for whom flirting is as natural as breathing. She has the same kooky and irreverent tone at the beginning of "The Inn at Lake Devine," a novel about a Jewish girl named Natalie Marx. The book opens during the sixties. Natalie becomes fascinated with the inn of the title, mostly because the owner is openly hostile to Jews. Natalie cannot understand this blatant anti-Semitism and she takes it personally. As the plot unfolds, Natalie becomes embroiled with the Berry family, who own the "Inn at Lake Devine". Althought the book starts out promisingly, with a mixture of Jewish shtick and outlandish characters, Lipman fails to keep up the same tone throughout the book. During the last half of the book, the book's plot becomes too convoluted and labored and the characters lose some of their sparkle. This is unfortunate, since Lipman is one of the most original comic writers around and her wit is often sharp and deliciously wicked.
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Summary: Not an Enthusiastic Reader...but This Kept Me Reading!
Review: My friend recommended this book to me and knowing that she's not a big reader either - I figured something went right with this. I want to respond to the review that this book didn't combat anti-Semitism. I think it did - I felt there was a tone with the characters from the beginning to the end that dramatically changed. I LOVED THE CHARACTERS - AND I LOVED THE BOOK! This was a great read. I hope (if you haven't done so already) that you read the book and see what I mean.
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Summary: A CLASSIC!
Review: What a book! Because she was compared to Jane Austen, I had to see what the deal with Elinor LIpman is and I must say that that is a fitting description. Her hand is deft but not heavy, with just enough humor thrown in to dissaude you from thinking she's being TOO serious about it all- "it all" being love, loss, and civil rights.
Rating: 
Summary: Nothing to offer
Review: This was a difficult book to finish. I found the syle childish, and the characters to be exteremly one dimensional. I must admit that the author was able to pull me in for the first chapter (which may be due to the fact that it was autobiographical to some extent), but the book dragged on after that. At the end, I didnt care about any of the characters, and was suprised I made it through to the end.
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Summary: My first Elinor Lipman, but certainly not my last!
Review: I stumbled upon this gem of a novel one day and decided to pick it up. It then sat on my bookshelf for over a year in the pile of "books i must read". I finally picked it up a few days ago and I really wished I had done so much sooner. I didn't have any idea of what to expect but I was immediately drawn into this story of a young girl who is taken aback by the anti-Semitism of an inn she and her family wish to stay at one summer. The impact this has on her life is far reaching and the journey she takes is one I relished to take with her. I enjoyed all of the different characters and their relationships and was thoroughly surprised at some of the twists in this delightful novel. Looking for a good beach read that's fast paced but not too fluffy? Then this book's for you!
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Summary: Another winner!
Review: Elinor Lipman is a full-hearted writer with a magic pen. I always look forward to a new book by her, knowing that I'll laugh hard and learn a thing or two about the human spirit. Every single one of her books is a gem, and this one, perhaps because of the Lipmanesque (read: cockeyed) view of bigotry, shine brightest of all.
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Summary: Splendidly Turns Nastiness into Sparkling Social Comedy
Review: What I really admire about this delightful book is the way the author starts with a most unpleasant incident - a letter in 1962 excluding a family from an inn in Vermont just because they are Jewish - and turns it into a wonderful social comedy of just revenge and just desserts, without ever being "preachy" about it. Th touch may be light but the voice is assured and serious. This book made me want to read more by Ms. Lipman.
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Summary: A most unexpected delight
Review: This book cannot standup to much critical review. However I read it expecting little and was incredibly surprised. I didn't see any of the twists or turns coming, and was enchanted by the way one letter early led to such a life. It could have been better, perhaps a few more revisions toward the end, however I cannot get over the wonderful feeling this book with all its flaws left me with.
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Summary: A good story, a bad intro to Judaism
Review: You could say that I am the product of the relationships in this book. That is, one of my parents is Catholic and the other is Jewish, and they married in the mid 70s when inter-religious marriage was not a great thing to do.... this book is NOT about why a person would choose to fall in love with someone with a different religious background and then marry him. This book is also not about conquering anti-Semitism in Vermont, as the book jacket would have you believe. In the 1960s, a Jewish family tries to book a room at the Inn at Lake Devine, only to be told that the Inn doesn't rent to Jews. This sparks an obsessive nature in the youngest daughter, Natalie, who finagles a week at the hotel with a hastily made friend at summer camp. Ten years later, Natalie returns for this friend's wedding and falls in love with the owner's son Kris. This, of course, causes some issues with both sets of parents, neither of whom like the idea of their children marrying outside their faiths. This does not bother anyone except the parents, keep in mind, and thus Nat and Kris do their own thing and do stay together. Really, there was never any doubt in my mind that they wouldn't. What really bugged me about this book was the the echoes of Judaism rang false for me. An Orthodox girl marrying a Reform rabbi, and her parents are OKAY with this? Stranger that her parents don't really put of much of a fight when she ends up with the Christian guy in the end, either -- actually, none of the parents seem to put up much of a fight about anything in this book. Either they are far more willing to "go with the flow" than my grandparents, or Elinor Lipman has her head stuck in the sand.
Rating:
Summary: An awesome book!
Review: I loved this book. It's the story of a Jewish girl who goes with her old friend, Robin, to a cabin that doesn't like Jewish people for her wedding. Something unexpected happens and it's the story the girl and an unexpected friend...there are a million twists and turns and I absolutely loved it! E. Lipman is a wonderful writer who knows how to write a wonderful book. She makes you feel like you're in love with the leading man.
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