Body Surfing (English)

Divorced and widowed by the age of 29, Sydney drops out of graduate school and takes a job tutoring Julie, the mentally slow teenage daughter of Mr. Edwards, a wealthy architect living in a seaside New Hampshire home. When Julie's two older brothers, Ben and Jeff, arrive home, they engage in a romantic bout of sibling rivalry, each vying for Sydney's attention over wine and nighttime swimming. Just as Sydney feels like she's recovering from her psychological trauma, Julie runs off to Montreal with a lesbian body surfer, and Sydney's feelings for Jeff threaten to create a jealous conflict--a situation exacerbated by Mrs. Edwards's anti-Semitic sentiments. Oprah Book Club author (for THE PILOT'S WIFE) Anita Shreve creates an ominous atmosphere where delicate feelings of hope and love are constantly threatened by duplicity, pettiness, and loss. minimize