Robert M. (shotokanchef) reviewed on + 813 more book reviews
Mirthful Haven is a quaint, once prosperous New England seaport. Now (1920s) it is mostly a summer residence for the affluent east. Only two founding families remain in the town along with the usual rural rubes and rumormongers. The newly arrived plutocrats are self-righteous, hypocritical, bigots who are buying up the land for summer residences. Oh yes, and for a casino (accomplished) and a yacht club (not). Transmogrified to the 1960s and moved inland it might as well be Peyton Place; to the 1980s it is a community battling against the onslaught of Wal~Mart: a sort of One Crazy Summer. This is a book that is difficult to find today, although I thought that it is one of his best: alongside Alice Adams and The Magnificant Ambersons. The ending seems to be patterned, but dont try to outguess it. Let happen!
