The Last Bathing Beauty
In the same way that Rosamunde Pilcher’s books often bring to life different generations of women meeting and surmounting challenges, Amy Sue Nathan’s story of love and mishap in “the Catskills of the Midwest”—that is, 1950s South Haven, Michigan—pulls at your heart with its dual narratives of young and seasoned love affairs.
It’s the story of Betty Stern’s last summer at her grandparents’ lakeside resort in 1951 before heading to college in New York City. She’s breaking tradition, since in those days what she really should have been doing was finding a nice boy to marry—and he’s right there, in love with her, despite her not feeling the same way about him. Fast-forward to the present day, and Betty’s granddaughter, Hannah, is in the oldest kind of “trouble” that a young woman can find herself in. It’s a different era, and yet Hannah’s choices seem achingly familiar to her grandmother.
As an extra, Betty’s two longtime friends are also part of the story. Their presence gives an added layer of meaning. This tender summer read is a love story with just enough social commentary to make it insightful. It’s also got just enough wisdom to make it memorable. As I read this novel, I fell out of the story now and then, measuring my own life against Betty’s and Hannah’s. I suppose that’s a knock on the storytelling, but it added to the book’s appeal for me.
