Sometimes, books are best selected through random discovery rather than careful consideration. I’ve found this to be especially true during the summer season, as some of my favorite lighthearted beach reads have been picked up in random nooks or crannies. I stumbled upon Last Summer at the Golden Hotel on a coffee table at a friend’s grandmother’s house in Mashpee, MA…and after thumbing my way through a few pages with waves lapping onshore in front of me, I was invested enough to ask my generous hosts to take the book home and finish it. Now that the time to return the book to its owner is nigh, I will briefly summarize my thoughts.
Last Summer at the Golden Hotel captures the antics and identity crises of two estranged families who are brought together in the Catskills to make a decision of utmost significance: whether to sell the fading Golden Hotel, which they have owned and maintained for years, or keep the doors open. With multiple generations converging on the property amidst simmering tensions and poorly-kept secrets, drama is bound to ensue.
The book shimmers with colorful characters. Among my favorites are the rival matriarchs, Louise Goldman and Fanny Weingold; as well as Aimee Goldman-Glasser, a member of the “sandwich generation” who must care for her ailing mother and needy kids while keeping a devastating secret on her husband’s behalf. I was less impressed with some members of the youngest generation, many of whom appear to be written as Gen-Z caricatures. These include Phoebe, the ‘influencer’ who can’t step away from her iPhone, and Zach, the beloved youngest Glasser child and stereotypical “stoner” who lives at home and can’t seem to leave the nest.
Still, Elyssa Friedland excels at highlighting the ways in which generational divides play out in times of significant change. Zach and Phoebe may have some “unorthodox” ideas for restoring the hotel to its former glory (selfie stations? Goat yoga?), but they’re able to show their parents and grandparents what it means to maintain the essence of beloved traditions while adapting to change. Additionally, the tense heart-to-hearts between members of the family who have long held secrets from each other unearth painful realities about what it means to watch a child grow into adulthood or watch a parent face the inevitability of aging:
“What could she do for a return to the days when fixing Aimee’s problems was as simple as slapping a Band-aid on a scrape and taking her to the toy store. The worst part of adulthood wasn’t a creaky back or financial worries. It was facing problems for which there was no good answer, only the lesser of evils.”
Louise goldman, p. 220
Like the Golden Hotel itself, the relationships captured in the book need to adjust to changing circumstances, despite the growing pains. It is what makes the characters worth sticking with, despite the fact that some dialogues and plot twists come across as more outlandish than humorous or heart-wrenching. Other aspects of the book I enjoyed included the emails, online reviews, and social media comments interspersed among the chapters, which lend credibility to the notion that the Golden Hotel is a former rural enclave that must catch up with the new realities of the modern world.
Last Summer at the Golden Hotel is an entertaining read that explores evolving family relationships and the power of nostalgia while still providing high entertainment value and plenty of laughs. I would recommend it for any vacation…particularly a trip to the beach or the Catskills.
