This will probably be one of this reviewer's favorite books of
2004. Justin Cronin's THE SUMMER GUEST takes place, for the most
part, at a rustic fishing camp in Maine and centers on the dying
wishes of wealthy businessman Harry Wainwright. Harry has been
spending the last thirty summers at the camp, having become a
friend to the family that runs the place. Joe Crosby is the current
owner, running the camp with his wife Lucy. Harry has come home to
the camp to have his last dying wishes fulfilled, to fish one last
time out on the lakes, and to reveal who will inherit his estate to
those at the camp who have come to mean more to him than
family.

The novel opens with a prologue that takes us to the end of WWII. A
war veteran, Joseph Crosby, has brought his wife Amy and infant son
Joe to Maine, taking a risk by purchasing and re-opening a fishing
camp that he learned to love as a boy. The prologue depicts a war
hero who is about to risk all he has for the hopes of a better
life, as the couple has spent their entire life savings to start
anew in this remote part of the country.

The prologue is misleading, as the reader will at first assume the
story is about a WWII veteran, but it is not. THE SUMMER GUEST
instead revolves around Joe, Joseph's son, Joe's wife Lucy, and the
wealthy businessman who becomes their friend. It is their
relationship that drives the plot to its conclusion, ending with
the third generation member of the Crosby family, Kate. What makes
this book a must-read is the skill that Cronin uses to create these
characters, making each of them come alive, and the story that is
behind each character. The relationships that are formed are what
make this book worth reading, and the mystery behind what really
happened between Joe, Lucy and Harry come together by the end of
the book, culminating with a revelation that affects everyone,
especially Kate.

A different person narrates each chapter, telling the story of the
past from varying viewpoints. Jordan Patterson opens the book with
his introduction of Harry Wainwright and his current wife, their
baby daughter January, and his grown son Hal from his first
marriage. Jordan, who works for Joe and Lucy, spends his time doing
odd jobs, helps take guests out on tours by the lake, and helps run
the camp. It is a simple life, and he doesn't make a lot of money,
but it's what he loves, and he lives at the camp all year round.
Jordan's job that weekend is to see that Harry gets his last chance
to fish before he dies.

As the novel progresses, the past is told in bits and pieces. Joe
and Lucy's story starts with Lucy taking a job at the camp during
the summer months. She's a teenager, a few years younger than Joe,
and their story takes the novel to the height of the Vietnam War.
Joseph takes yet another risk in life when he helps his son dodge
the draft by sending him off to Canada, a seemingly contradictory
action to take on the part of a WWII vet. A very involved plot
line, it also tells the tale of Harry's love for Lucy, whom he met
when he was still married to his first wife, who at the time was
dying from a terminal disease, and Lucy was still a teenager. It is
a love that spanned three decades.

Harry is the core of this novel. It is his story, ultimately
intertwined with Joe and Lucy's past, that brings the plot to the
present day. Their past lives are slowly revealed by each narrator
until the secret is finally told by the end of the book.

The entire novel reads like a story out of another era, with the
backdrop of the fishing camp as a reminder of another place and
time. It is hard to believe that THE SUMMER GUEST actually takes
place in 1994. Reading this book makes one think about lazy summer
days from years gone by. If nothing else, Justin Cronin paints a
beautiful picture of this out-of-the-way part of the country,
creating a wonderfully magical place where the past mingles with
the future. And with it, a poignant love story interspersed with
tales about the Vietnam War is what makes THE SUMMER GUEST worth
reading.