- Lovely prose and a gripping, romantic tale make Body Surfing a page turner and a satisfying read.
- Water imagery saturates the novel; a recurring theme in Shreve’s writings.
- The plot takes turns that are unexpected and yet entirely believable.
- Shreve’s writes with short, choppy sentences that break up the narrative passages.
- Sydney, a young widow, becomes a tutor for a family spending the summer at their beach house.
- While tutoring the young daughter, Sydney also becomes involved with one of the sons.
- Her own romantic history and the family’s lukewarm welcome further complicate the relationships.
- 'Body Surfing' was released by Little, Brown in April 2007
Sydney has a traumatic past: two marriages--one that ended in divorce and one that left her a widow. The family she lives with has their own troubles, including a youngest daughter who is "slow" and threatens to disappoint her parents’ high hopes that she go to college. These characters are presented in whole, complex portraits, and there’s a strong undercurrent of hope in the way they continue to embrace love and new relationships, despite their flaws.
Body Surfing is a slow-moving story that spans three summers, and yet manages to move quickly and deliberately as well. The beach house functions as a character itself, playing a large role in the story and providing the novel with an intoxicating air of summer vacations and sandy feet. Body Surfing would make a great beach book, but it’s also emotionally satisfying enough to stand up to anytime of year.
