I met Lisa Dale at a conference, and when I realized this novel was set in Newport, RI, my childhood stomping grounds, I figured I had to read it. I Kindled it ($9.99, unfortunately, but the mmpb is $6.99) and found it very hard to put down. Slow Dancing (Penguin, April 2011, 368 pages) is a contemporary novel which has very strong romantic elements. Here’s the blurb:
A family learns that time can erase mistakes when the heart remains true- from a refreshing new storyteller.
Fifteen years ago, Garret Sorensen’s family, trust, and heart were destroyed when Thea Celik betrayed him and married his brother. Now they are divorcing. Garret’s ready to finally mend his relationship with his brother. But being back in Newport, Rhode Island, triggers a lot of memories-all leading back to Thea.
Thea’s not ready to let go of the Sorensens-even if it means being around Garret. As they cautiously circle around each other-finding themselves drawn together-they realize following their hearts could cast them adrift.
The novel begins in the present day, when Thea, the daughter of Turkish immigrants who stayed in Newport to run the family coffee shop after they returned home, is contemplating her impending divorce from Jonathan Sorensen, her husband of ten years, with whom she has a daughter, ten year old Irina. But the novel very quickly delves back to Thea’s childhood, when she met brainy Jonathan and his athletic younger brother Garret for the first time. Both stories unfold simultaneously, shifting back and forth. I don’t mind flashbacks, and these were in chronological order and not hard to follow, but I know some readers just despise them.
Price’s Pier is about Thea and Jonathan’s negotiation of their divorce, including Irina’s rocky adjustment, Thea’s attempts to establish a new relationship with the Sorensen family — who had been her surrogate parents ever since her own mother and father went back to Turkey — and Thea’s relationship with Garret, who has despised her since high school for reasons that do not become clear until late in the novel.
As someone who grew up in the area, I was pleased with how well Dale portrayed Newport and its many subcultures. Thea’s coffee shop caters to the blue collar locals, but the Sorensens, a wealthy family, move in circles that include summering “cottage people.”. Then there are the throngs of day trippers and college students moving in and out of the scene as the seasons change. The class difference between Thea’s family and the Sorensen’s was never an “issue” in the book, but Thea’s heritage, and its connection to coffee (developed in part by chapter-opening bits from her column in The Newport Examiner) added interest. On the other hand, I will say that although I was born and raised in the area, I never met a Turkish immigrant, although I met several descendants of Armenians who fled Turkish persecution. So, to me, Thea’s ethnicity (and the use of “Turkey” as a way to signify ethnicity) seemed an odd choice. Could there be a lone Turkish family who moved to Newport in the 1970s? Of course. But I don’t think it would been a typical pattern (there was no community to join) so some back story might have been nice.
Although much of the focus of Price’s Pier is on Thea and Garret finding their way back to love, it’s hard to say this is a traditional romance novel, since she had been married to his brother for a decade, and has a child with him. I just don’t see that happening in a straight romance. Thea and Jonathan had tried to do the right thing and make their marriage work, but they married for all the wrong reasons, most of them having to do with Garret. I did find myself wondering how this situation could have gone on for an entire decade. And how Garret, now a successful businessman, could have basically put his emotional life on hold all that time as well. I would have been happier with five years. On the plus side, the length of journey gave the book a melancholy and regretful tone — sometimes mistakes are made, and they can never be undone, even with an HEA – that felt refreshing. I also think the expanded focus, not just on Thea and Garret, but on Jonathan’s recovery from the divorce, and his attempts to renew his relationship with Garret, from whom he had been basically estranged, make this more straight contemporary fiction than romance. On the other hand, all of the major characters were flawed to a point that went a little beyond my comfort zone for a believable romance.
The romance between Thea and Garret is pretty compelling stuff, both in its high school and adult forms. One high school scene in particular broke my heart. I thought their adolescent love was handled really well, neither trivializing their feelings, nor portraying the teenaged Thea and Garret as any more mature than they were. Here’s an excerpt:
[Garret] adjusted his legs beneath hers, denim sliding along denim. The surf whispered, and the moonlight caught the froth of the waves. The future was coming for them. Probably, their lives as adults would separate them. When Garret went away to college, he would leave Thea behind. He would be going to parties and meeting girls, and she would be here in Newport, making small talk with the regulars who came into her parents’ coffee shop. He would be staying up late at night to study or making midnight trips to the supermarket; she would be calling it quits at 9 pm because she had to wake at dawn.
Some couples made it through the transition into adulthood. They went on to say they married their high school sweethearts. Those people were lucky. But not the norm.
He wondered: If he and Thea were the real thing—were really in love—could they do it? Could they make it through whatever the years had in store?
On the water, a boat moved slowly—one winking light against the darkness.
“Thea?”
She nestled closer without waking.
Regardless of what love was or wasn’t, Thea had altered his plans. He closed his eyes, airplanes gliding silently along the black sky, the cooling earth pushing the breeze out to the sea. The moment was perfect. He wanted to wake Thea up, to say “You don’t want to miss this.” But then it occurred to him, she was this—everything that was beautiful about the moment. He guessed that’s what the poets were trying to say.
If you hate love triangles, flashbacks, and the expanded cast of characters included in so-called “women’s fiction”, Slow Dancing on Price’s Pier is perhaps not the best choice for you. But if you are in the mood for a second chance at love story that tries to do a bit more than that, you might give it a try.
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This actually sounds like the kind of book I’ll enjoy, and I’m pretty sure I already have it. Thanks for reminding me of it.
I also found this book hard to put down, Jessica. Actually so far I’ve enjoyed all of Dale’s books, her writing style and the way she weaves contemporary fiction with romance.
@Amy @ My Friend Amy: You’re welcome.
@Hilcia: I really like Dale’s voice and I plan to read another of her books. Off topic, but the conference paper she gave on writing and responsibility was terrific, too.