THE GUEST BOOK by Sarah Blake

It is long, protracted, a little preachy but overall not a bad read. The writing is terrific with well drawn and conflicted characters; descriptive of place and setting, and how well ideas and themes are put together and transmitted to the reader.

This is a very American novel, with old New York money and its deeply ingrained attitudes, embedded for generations.  If you aren't white, brought up in the same narrow circles, Christian, wealthy then please do not apply. Within this tight circle if you are female please don't expect to have an opinion, let alone express it, please know that you are disposable and expected to marry within the same class you are born into.

With this as the backdrop, the story opens in 1935. Kitty and Ogden Milton are living the life in New York. A terrible tragedy occurs, and as a way to help the recovery Ogden buys an island off the coast of Maine with a beautiful rambling house on it. It becomes a retreat for the family and the setting over the years of parties, celebrations, family holidays. But where did the money to purchase it come from?

In the late 1950s the Milton children are now young adults, and bringing their own friends to the island including those who would have been excluded in the near distant past - a very talented young Jewish man called Len Levy who works in Ogden's investment bank, and a talented young black photographer called Reg Pauling. Talk about putting the cat amongst the pigeons - things happen....

Parallel to these stories taking place in the 1930s and 1950s is that of Kitty, granddaughter to Kitty and Ogden. Evie and her cousins are faced with the prospect of having to sell the much loved island. Evie''s husband who happens to be Jewish himself, has uncovered disturbing secrets about the history of the Milton family, bringing to the surface the family secrets that Evie always felt lay just below the surface of her perfect family exterior.

The author is tackling a lot in this large novel, not the least of which is the sense of entitlement and exclusion that those of extreme wealth often have to almost all other elements of the society we all live in. And how easily it is for them to shut down any threat those elements may bring. These were the aspects of the book I liked - how the author tackled the conflict between them and us, the justifications and moral judgements for the way people behave, plus her analysis of her characters.  The only problem is that the story is far too long, with too many threads, not all of which are satisfactorily resolved.