The Beach House

By: Jane Green

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell

Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's Summary

She's known as the crazy woman who lives in the big old rambling house on the top of a bluff in Nantucket, but at 65 years old, Nan doesn't care what people think. If her neighbours are away, why shouldn't she skinny dip in their swimming pools? Her husband died 20 years ago, her beauty has faded, her family flown, and when she discovers that the money she thought would last forever is running out and she may lose her beloved house, she knows she has to make drastic changes.

Slowly people start moving in to the house, filling it with noise again, with laughter, and with tears. There is Daniel, recently divorced and a father of two girls, who is struggling to find out who he really is, and Daff, the single mother of a truculent teenager who blames her unreservedly for the divorce. As the house comes alive again, Nan finds her family extending. Her son comes home for the summer, and then an unexpected visitor throws all their lives upside down.

©2008 Jane Green (P)2008 Penguin

Warms the Heart

What did you love best about The Beach House?

The unexpected twist at the end.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Nan, I love her wisdom and calmness.

What does Cassandra Campbell bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I love Cassandra Campbell's voice, she distinguishes each character so good. Hearing the voice helps create a visual.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

I can't think of one.

I'm sold on Jane Geen and Nantucket

"The Beach House" was selected for me by audible.com based on what I read. This was a sweet story, an easy read and a great fix for my summer dreaming. The book opens with Nan, the matriarch of this story who definitely had my attention! Loved how I stepped into the quaint town of Nantucket from the start.
I truly enjoyed the development of characters in the story with their "could be real" relationship ups and downs and especially the coming together in the second half of the book.

My husband & I absolutely loved this book as we drove to Estes Park today!!

When I get done reading a book & tell my husband about the book, he’ll say “you tell it like it really happens.” That’s how I feel about the best books I read. This is one of THOSE books. Now I want to visit Nantucket, hope my husband wants to go too!!

Heart warming!

This is a great heart warming story that made want to laugh and cry! Families and friends coming together in unity to help each other.

I really can't believe I listened to the whole boo

The story is more than lame. It made me roll my eyes sometimes. But I really love Cassandra Campbell's reading. I think I could listen to her read the phone book.

Could have been better-ending was worth the read.

What did you like best about The Beach House? What did you like least?

I enjoyed when everyone came to Nantucket to be tenants of Nan Powell. I liked the way they became family in Nan's eyes. Nan is a strong character but a loving one.

My dislike is I felt the story could have had more substance not just about all these people getting divorced. I wasn't crazy about the gay story and I surely didn't know 65 made a person old!! Seriously!!!!!

If you’ve listened to books by Jane Green before, how does this one compare?

This is my first Jane Green book not enough story line for me.

What about Cassandra Campbell’s performance did you like?

Cassandra did a lovely job of the book. Her voice is soothing yet she gets all the charters as individuals.

Was The Beach House worth the listening time?

I almost turned it back in because the story seemed skimpy to me; however when they all arrived at Nantucket after many chapters it was better and this is the first I've read of Jane Green. The reviews on this book were not her highest,

Any additional comments?

I will try another book before I make a decision if this author is for me. I believe an author puts hours of work writing and certainly not all books will be ten's.

Trash

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

I thought I'd venture out of my nonfiction box and try this. I've never understood why people want to invest a lot of time on a bunch of fables coming from one person's head. I thought it was going to be mostly about Nantucket and Nan. I'm only halfway through, but so far it's been 5 hours of the backstory of people's lives crashing all because of their immorality. I don't feel like finishing.

Sappy

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

The story could have been good but the writing is so sappy!

The author uses "for" way too much. (Exple "for she is ..."

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Better writing. Less cheesy!

How could the performance have been better?

Too much drama in her voice

Any additional comments?

The book is more like a Harlequin Romance

The Beach House - predictable

It was an easy listen, but seemd a bit predictable. A good escape from the difficulty in our time.

Thought provoking

I love Jane Greene’s books. Yes, this one is very different from most. There were several true to life situations in this book. This could be in the inspiration / motivation relationship category. Lesson learned “Things always have a habit of working out in life the way they are meant to. We must learn to just sit back and relax; things WILL work out according to the UNIVERSE.