The Inn at Lake Devine

The premise of a Jewish girl trying to infiltrate one of those Gentile-only resorts, was why I picked this book up. That was interesting, and it should have been the whole book. Unfortunately Natalie grew up about 1/4 through the book & then it got progressively less interesting. As soon as Adult Natalie went to the hotel and met What's His name and became a chef, I knew she would get with him and someday own the hotel. As for What's His Name: I could not keep the male characters straight. None of them stood out or caught my interest. I could get no feeling from the relationship: who are these people and why do they like each other? There is some superficial conversation & that's it. It was like "Oh my, something tragic happened, let's have a Romance with the first person we see!" If a romance is going to work, the characters have to be interesting, 3-dimensional, relatable and the author has to make us believe in their chemistry. Instead we get lots & lots of prose about cooking and what dishes Chef Natalie makes. To me that's about the least interesting subject you can write about. I'd rather read about electronics. In my experience 'cooking' is one of those jobs people get when they can't make it in science. I did finish the book, so I gave it 3 stars.

If you want a quick, easy, light hearted summer novel, this would please you! This is a great book to either zip through, or casually meander without the worry of losing track of the story. Put it down, go for a swim, or a weekend vacation. When you come back to it, it will be still fresh and memorable. Better yet, take it with you, if you go away.. Simply put, a perfect summer time book, "ready to wear", so to speak.This is a sweet, good humored, yet, sensitive story about a young, jewish girl facing one of her earliest experiences of predjudice. At the age of 12 years, she encounters the reality of her family affected by religious persecution. Her family inquires as to reservations for a summer get-away and is blatantly slighted by the vacation resort called The Inn at Lake Devine. Provoked by the reply that follows in response, she instantly becomes a young advocate, mailing material alledging the resort's transgressions. Dating back to 1962, the memory of her family being rebuffed by the gentile Vermont Inn becomes somewhat of an obsession for Natalie. The sweet comedy alights from the relationships that originate and the ones that are celebrated at this very resort. A passive/aggressive or love/hate relationship is developed between the inn and Natalie AND the relatives between the two.The fun is seeing the end result. Not bitter, not mean spirited, it is sweet rewards for Natalie who carries a hurt in her heart long enough to do something about it.

It is the early 60s in New England and the Marx family, Jewish, but not particularly observant, inquires about a summer vacation at the Inn at Lake Devine. When 13-year-old Natalie Marx's mother receives a reply with the answer that the guests at the Inn are Gentile and perhaps the family would be more comfortable somewhere else, young Natalie takes it upon herself to torment Ingrid Berry the innkeeper with letters and phone calls of her own, anonymously of course. Natalie also makes it her mission to wrangle a visit to the Inn, which she accomplishes by ingratiating herself to a young girl she meets at summer camp. Natalie's longed for visit ensues and the saga begins. This is an interesting and important period of bigotry and segregation in our country that went largely under the radar at the time, but came to the forefront during the African American struggle for equality during that same time period. After Natalie's week-long visit to the Inn, we jump forward to just after her college years and her further interaction with the Gentile family who took her along 10 years or so before which results in another visit to the Inn for the wedding of her friend to the innkeeper's eldest son. Lipman is an excellent storyteller who develops her characters well and keeps you interested throughout. This book is on my top 100 list, confirmed on this my second reading. Pick it up; you won't be disappointed.

I fell madly, totally, and completely in love with the heroine of Elinor Lipman's The Inn at Lake Devine.Natalie Marx is around twelve when the short novel opens, and her family has just received a politely worded rejection letter from the proprietor of the Inn at Lake Devine: there are no rooms at the inn for people with Jewish names. The first half of the book recounts Natalie's comic attempts to visit the inn, her real but limited success, and the interesting people she encounters along the way.The second half of the book concerns the twenty-five-year-old Natalie's re-introduction to the inn and her romance with the innkeepers' son.As always, Lipman's characters are quirky, yet true to life. They respond to real life situations in real ways, yet Lipman's compassionate eye for the comic shines through.

I learned about this book through the Readers' edition of Shelf Awareness, an e-newsletter about books. I'm so glad I read The Inn at Lake Devine.A young Jewish girl becomes angry at a hotel keeper's prejudice against Jews, indicated indirectly but purposefully in a written response to the girl's mother's inquiry about reserving rooms. The girl determines to make the hotel keeper face up to the unfairness, and though her actions seem anticlimactic initially, they reverberate through the years, affecting several families.

This book is timely and provides insight into our complacency and acquiescence as we go with set habits of prejudices. Some go with the 'flow' while others pretend they don't exist. Especially in these times of uncertainty and distrust we have to look at ourselves and our individual roles in allowing things to go on or to make a change. An easy read that does alert us.

I had never read Elinor Lipman and a friend thought I would enjoy her. She was right.Elinor Lipman manages to write about difficult things with a wry, witty, bitter-sweet and perceptive touch.The Inn at Lake Devine deals with anti-semitism and she makes you think about it.The central character is wonderful and I was rooting for her all the way. I loved the many descriptions of food - she is a chef who produces wondrous meals.I will be reading more of Elinor Lipman. I have so much respect for writers who have a comic touch while saying something important too.

This was really enjoyable and quick and easy to read, as many others have noted. I did get sucked in a bit and enjoyed the Jewish storyline- my husband is Jewish and I'm not so can relate to a lot of the bits. However, I just found that it only really touched very lightly both on the religious issues and even the love story. Better than too much melodrama, but I wanted it to get a bit, I don't know...grittier or something. This was my first Elinor Lipman, so perhaps that's just her stuff. I enjoyed this enough though that I would try some others.

Very enjoyable. Would read more of this author.

Just love it , this was my 3rd copy , cos give to friends to read.