The Guest Book by Sarah Blake

This story centers around a family dynasty and their enchanted summer island home. Three generations will come to this island for summer family gatherings and will witness their finest moments and greatest disappointments. The war touches all of them and for the first generation, it will mean a lifetime of love, loss, and regret. The younger generation strives to break with tradition and needs to break free of the binds that tie them to the island while the older generations strive to keep those traditions strong and are at a loss when confronted with the moral dilemmas of race, anti-semitism and class distinctions. There is a sense of solid foundation in the family and in the enchanted house that holds their memories and secrets. Each character is illuminated, their best moments and deepest flaws exposed and then their stories are woven together beautifully. Sarah Blake uses her own personal summer memories and superb writing style to create the quintessential American dynasty complete with the uneasiness that the country faced over another European war and the diminishing upper-class elegance and power and racial tension. This house and the island where it rested hold memories and their history better than any photo album or handed down stories ever could.