Red Hook Road by Ayelet Waldman Review & Giveaway

This story takes place over four summers and features the Copaken/ Kimmelbrods, a well to do Jewish family from Manhattan, who spend their summers on the coast of Maine (Summer People) and the Tetherlys, a working class family that lives in Maine year round.

Both families are dominated by the mothers, two very strong willed women, Jane Tetherly and Iris Copaken.  These two families have nothing in common except that their children have fallen in love.  They are wed and less than an hour later they are both killed in a car accident on their way to their reception.  This tragedy rocks both families and they both deal with their grief in very different ways.  The first thing the families clash over is the funeral, being Jewish the Copakens  need the funeral as soon as possible, Jane Tetherly doesn't even want a combined funeral and must even be convinced to lay their children together in the cemetery.  This is not the last time these mothers will butt heads.  Over the next 3 summers they will be at odds over a variety of things, including memorials for their children and conflict over Jane's niece, just to name two.  This is the point were Iris's father, a world-renowned  violin virtuoso, who is no longer able to play but still teach, comes to the forefront of the story and through the love of music tries to bring these families together.

This story is so well written it is like a composition by Bach, Mozart or Brahms.  I am afraid to give you too many details to the story because you must read it for yourself to achieve the true feelings brought out in this wonderful novel. I was shocked by something that happens the second summer. Waldman tells this story with such a rich tone, you will go through the whole gambit of emotions until the last page.  The characters are well developed, the plot very defined, and the illustrations created with her words form detailed pictures in your mind of all the locations.  I could definitely see this book made into a movie.  I highly recommend this commanding work. It is definitely a must read.

Now for the fun part.  Thanks to Doubleday I have 2 copies of this wonderful book to giveaway!! 

Just fill out the form below to enter.  

                                   Contest will end at midnight August 4, 2010. 
U.S. Residents Only.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the Doubleday Publishing. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”