A Summer Affair - Elin Hilderbrand
Barefoot, Summer People Author Explores Marriage, Self Destruction
Claire Danner Crispin has trouble with saying no. The mother of four young children and nationally renowned glassblower has always had trouble with boundaries. She tends to take the world’s problems onto her own shoulders. In fact, she constantly has her best friend and sister in law Siobhan’s voice echoing in her head, saying “No boundaries.”
So when Claire is asked to co-chair the Nantucket's Children Summer Gala, an annual event that raises millions of dollars, she immediately agrees. She had previously put on hold her job as a glass blower to take care of her husband Jason and their four children, and has the time and space in her life for the charity event. She soon learns that she was asked to chair the benefit, in part, because she is the former high school sweetheart of rock star Max West and is almost guaranteed to be able to book him.
Crossing Boundaries
Claire has glass pieces in private collections of the rich and famous, and one in the Whitney, but stopped to stay home and take care of her family. Her husband Jason is more interested in watching “Junkyard Wars” than the kids, so she runs the household on her own, constantly balancing others’ needs and leaving no time for her own.
The charity’s executive director Lockhart Dixon insists on working personally with Claire on the auction, usually in two-person meetings after dark in the deserted Nantucket's Children offices and with a bottle of wine. Claire soon finds herself unable to ignore his advances and begins an affair with him. She begins an affair with Lock, both of whom are married to other people and having trouble in their marriages.
With some prompting from Lock, she agrees to come out of her semi-retirement and produce a “museum-quality” piece of art for the charity auction, sure to garner at least $50,000 in bids.
Finding Her Strength
After she catches Claire in a rendez vous with Lock, Siobhan challenges her to end her affair before Siobhan tells Claire’s husband Jason about it herself. Clare agrees and struggles internally with the love and need she feels for Lock, and the comfort she feels with Jason and her family.
A Summer Affair is a deep look at how far one woman will stray and what it takes to get her steered in the right direction. It's an excellent summer book to read on the beach or enjoy on vacation.
About the Author
Elin Hilderbrand lives on Nantucket with her husband and their three young children. She grew up in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, and traveled extensively before settling on Nantucket, which has been the setting for her six previous novels. Hilderbrand is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and the graduate fiction workshop at the University of Iowa. A Summer Affair is Hilderbrand's seventh novel
Hilderbrand, Elin
A Summer Affair
Hachette Book Group USA, New York, July 1, 2008
