With summer just beginning I have found myself in such a beach-read reading mood. I want something light, uplifting and fun; one that is delicious, you can just picture reading on a beach with your toes in the sand, or by a pool with a lemonade in your hand! At the end of the book though, I still want to feel that I have gained knowledge or have been made to think about a subject or topic. That is exactly what Elin Hilderbrand did for me with her book Summer of ‘69. Settle in and be ready to be taken on a delightful, but still thoughtful, ride.
Summer of ‘69 is the first book I’ve read by Ms Hilderbrand but I don’t think it will be the last! In this story Ms Hilderbrand tells the story of a fictional family set with the backdrop of the turbulent year of 1969. I love historical fiction and while I don’t usually find myself picking up a historical fiction work set as recently as the 1960’s I found I enjoyed it very much. I have a tendency to skip over the 1960’s, they happened way before I was born, but not so long ago that I think to go back and read about them as I would the decades before. My parents were alive in the 1960’s- how could it be considered history already??
Ms Hilderbrand artfully weaves together fact and fiction as she tells the story of the Levin family. Tiger, the only son, serves in Vietnam. Mrs. Levin struggles to keep her secrets hidden, secrets about the past and the present. Blair, The eldest daughter, struggles in her relationship with her husband as he works on the moon launch and is never at home during her tough pregnancy. Kirby, the wild middle child, protested the war before her brother was called up, now she struggles with her stance on the war while she continues fighting for the women’s liberation movement and for racial equality. Jessy is the youngest member of the family, she paradoxically fights both to be seen and not to be seen while everyone is caught up in their own drama and doesn’t seem to have time for her. All of this family drama in the midst of world chaos: assassinations from the previous year, the Vietnam war is on, and then there is also a little incident at Chappaquiddick that summer involving the Kennedys…. all of this wound tightly into the story of one family that is trying their hardest to have a normal fun summer…..
If you’re in the mood for a gripping summer read that can make you feel the sand under your feet while simultaneously taking you back in time-then I recommend this book to you! I hope you enjoy it!
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