The new book from Elin Hilderbrand examines life, love, and everything that really matters
Barefoot, the latest release from Elin Hilderbrand, is a little deeper and more complicated than your standard “beach reading” (though beach season seems to be behind us for another year). Three women—sisters Vicki and Brenda, along with Vicki’s friend Melanie—escape to Nantucket for a summer of relaxation, regrouping, and healing. That’s the plan, anyway. All three are nursing some major heartaches that aren’t easily left behind. Brenda has recently been fired from her prestigious job as a literature professor after getting involved with a student. Her plan for Nantucket is to write a screenplay and, hopefully, salvage a bit of her reputation. After several unsuccessful attempts, Melanie learns she’s pregnant—right after she discovers her husband’s affair with a co-worker. And Vicki is battling lung cancer while trying to keep up a brave front for her two small boys. The three women settle in at the beach house that once belonged to Vicki and Brenda’s great-aunt, and let the summer bring what it will.
Once twenty-year-old writing student Josh Flynn enters the picture, things get a bit more interesting. Josh is home from college and looking for a different sort of summer—something a bit more than beach parties and dates with girls from high school that he doesn’t relate to anymore. Josh accepts a job baby-sitting Vicki’s boys, and quickly becomes part of the family. Josh’s presence helps the women in a number of ways. He becomes Vicki’s confidante, encourages Brenda in her screenplay, and Melanie…well, that’s a whole story in itself. Over the course of the summer, all three women learn more about themselves and what “family” really means.
In Barefoot, Hilderbrand has created characters with a bit more depth than usually found in “light” beach reading. Other than having the novel set on Nantucket—as are her four previous novels—very little about this novel is light or breezy. The beach is just a temporary escape from the difficult situations each woman put on hold when they left their “real lives” behind. Though Hilderbrand provides a backstory for each of the women, Vicki is clearly the lead character. Much of the focus is on her and her ordeals through chemotherapy and the road back to health.
In another interesting touch, Hilderbrand doesn’t tie everything up neatly at the end. By the time the women have returned to their lives, all three have been undoubtedly changed. All three find a new appreciation for love and life itself.
Other titles by Elin Hilderbrand:
Summer People
Nantucket Nights
The Blue Bistro
The Love Season
