The Rocks by Peter Nicols
Lulu and Gerald are briefly married in the 1940s but then something happens, they split up and
stay away from each other for years, even though they live near each other on Mallorca.
In 2005, their paths cross again with unfortunate consequences. And soon we're on a journey
backwards through time to see how their relationship unravelled.
Lulu owns a small hotel on Mallorca called The Rocks, which is where most of the action is centered.
She's flamboyant and lively and everyone wants to be her friend. But she's not the most sympathetic character. Or the world's best mother to her son Luc. I much preferred the character of Gerald, who grows olive trees, takes care of his beloved daughter, Aegina, and can't stop thinking about Lulu.
A secondary plot involves the on again/off again relationship between Luc and Aegina--and you're really hoping they can find a way to work things out since they seem made for each other.
The story is good and the setting is different. But there were 2 disturbing scenes involving inappropriate sex between much older adults and fairly young teens, which the adults seemed to think was perfectly okay. And there was a scene where a group of friends is strangely welcoming to a member of their crowd who has been accused of pedophilia, which perhaps was meant to foreshadow what came later in the book (or earlier in time--and yes, it was a little hard to keep track of what was happening when).
All in all, I think this would be an interesting choice for a book group book. I can think of plenty of issues in this book that I'd like to discuss.
stay away from each other for years, even though they live near each other on Mallorca.
In 2005, their paths cross again with unfortunate consequences. And soon we're on a journey
backwards through time to see how their relationship unravelled.
Lulu owns a small hotel on Mallorca called The Rocks, which is where most of the action is centered.
She's flamboyant and lively and everyone wants to be her friend. But she's not the most sympathetic character. Or the world's best mother to her son Luc. I much preferred the character of Gerald, who grows olive trees, takes care of his beloved daughter, Aegina, and can't stop thinking about Lulu.
A secondary plot involves the on again/off again relationship between Luc and Aegina--and you're really hoping they can find a way to work things out since they seem made for each other.
The story is good and the setting is different. But there were 2 disturbing scenes involving inappropriate sex between much older adults and fairly young teens, which the adults seemed to think was perfectly okay. And there was a scene where a group of friends is strangely welcoming to a member of their crowd who has been accused of pedophilia, which perhaps was meant to foreshadow what came later in the book (or earlier in time--and yes, it was a little hard to keep track of what was happening when).
All in all, I think this would be an interesting choice for a book group book. I can think of plenty of issues in this book that I'd like to discuss.
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