The friendship between the Shepherd and Coleman families was as well worn and comfortable as their summer homes and shoes in Cape Cod. Starting with a friendly rivalry between Nate Shepherd and Samuel Coleman over who made the best clam chowder, the two families have a long standing tradition of supporting each other through their respective joys and tribulations as well as starting each summer with their annual gathering for gin and tonics and loads of freshly made clam chowder.
The summer started off well with Samuel and Sarah's two sons, Isaac and Asa, getting ready to head off to their respective universities in the fall and Nate happily in love and married to Noelle, a young nurse who had been a godsend to his first wife when she was terminally ill. As the old friends kibitzed together and enjoyed their drinks, none noticed the growing tension and attraction between Noelle and the athletic college bound Asa.
Despite all the values his parents had transmitted to him, the romantic poet inside Asa became headstrong in his growing passion for Noelle and didn't want to pay attention to the young girls that flocked to Cape Cod. While full of disdain for Isaac's balancing act with his girlfriends, he feels his own passion to be purer and stronger. Heedless of the consequences, he makes his feelings known. What harm could come of that?
Well known for her children's books, THE GIN & CHOWDER CLUB is Nan Rossiter's first adult novel and, hopefully, it will be the start of many more. This wonderful story of family and friendship is lovingly built with a strong plot, thoughtful character insights, and a great attention to the details of life that reflect both the ordinary as well as their far reaching consequences. Her depictions of Noelle's feelings of being torn between two lovers as well as the intensity of emotion felt by Asa as a young college student are so accurate that you just want to keep reading to find out how it will end. It is a great summer read and with its Discussion Suggestions, it is sure to provide lots of conversational fodder for a book club selection. Enjoy!
Set against the beautiful backdrop of Cape Cod, The Gin &
Chowder Club is an eloquent, tender story of friendship,
longing, and the enduring power of loveβ¦
The friendship between the Coleman and Shepherd families
is as old and comfortable as the neighboring houses they
occupy each summer on Cape Cod. Samuel and Sarah Coleman
love those warm months by the water; the evenings spent on
their porch, enjoying gin and tonics, good conversation
and homemade clam chowder. Here theyβve watched their
sons, Isaac and Asa, grow into fine young men, and
watched, too, as Nate Shepherd, aching with grief at the
loss of his first wife, finally found love again with the
much younger Noelle.
But beyond the surface of these idyllic gatherings, the
growing attraction between Noelle and handsome, college-
bound Asa threatens to upend everything. In spite of her
guilt and misgivings, Noelle is drawn into a reckless
secret affair with far-reaching consequences. And over the
course of one bittersweet, unforgettable summer, Asa will
learn more than he ever expected about loveβthe joys and
heartache it awakens in us, the lengths weβll go to keep
it, and the countless ways it can change our lives foreverβ¦
To Asaβs surprise, the days passed quickly...and even though
each day seemed to blend into all the rest, there was one
daily occurrence that gave him something to look forward to:
the delivery of mail. Taking two granite steps at a time
into the school post office, Asa would quickly scan the rows
of mail slots with small combination locks on their doors.
With a tightening in his chest, he would peer through the
tiny glass window to see if there were any envelopes leaning
up against the inside wall. Noelle had proven true to her
word and, after her first letter, Asa had forgiven her for
not meeting him that last night. She wrote often...two or
three times a week. Asa would slip her envelope into a book
and find a seat on the grass under the reaching boughs of an
old oak tree or at a worn secluded table by the window in
the library. There, with the sun casting light across the
pages, he would slowly read...running his fingers over the
pale stationary and thinking of the slender hands that had
touched it last...the hands that had touched
him...and given him such pleasure.
Noelleβs letters were warm and funny and spoke of life at
home and at work. She wrote about the changing weather and
the ocean and the stars. She wrote about Nate finding a
bottle of champagne by the pool... where in the world had
that come from??? And she always closed with thoughts of
him...she missed him...every part of him...her
thoughts stirred his fire and kept the embers burning. Asa
clung to her words and they sustained him...more than food
or drink or air...he lived for these...elegant lines linked
together to give him hope...
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