Review: The Gin & Chowder Club by Nan Rossiter

I was totally drawn to The Gin & Chowder Club for several reasons, first the gorgeous cover art, second the name and third is the review I read by Ti at Book Chatter which totally sold me on this book. There are many more reasons to tell you why I loved The Gin & Chowder Club. It includes the total package for me on what is a good book...cover art,  title, solid story that sweeps me away to the setting, engaging characters, food...I swear, I could smell the chowder simmering and the salt air on the beach of Cape Cod. That is another reason I was drawn to this book. I love Cape Cod and have been there many times on vacation as a teenager and adult and every time I fall in love. The accents of those who live there and their welcoming nature, the ocean, the ferry that I took to Martha's Vineyard and the food! Gosh, I wish that I was there now...I would love to be on the sandy beaches looking at a lighthouse. You see, this book truly took me to Cape Cod!

This is a tender story of two families and their friendship and connection to one another. The Coleman and Shepherd families have been friends for several generations. The men were childhood friends as were their fathers and they each took over their father's family business in the city (Boston) and have summer homes on Cape Cod. A family tradition started with their father's who started having get-togethers enjoying a  good gin & tonic and homemade clam chowder. The novel is set in the 60's which gives the story its gentle pace and rhythm.  If it was set in the current time period it would not have the same gentleness and flow and would have been much more fast paced due to our electronic age.  I grew up in the 60's so I am showing my age a bit, it was a time that was a bit more carefree and less fast paced. 

The Coleman's are raising their sons Isaac and Asa and the summer this story is told, Isaac is returning to college and Asa is set to go off to his first year of college. Nate Shepherd lost his first wife a few years ago and she was like an aunt to both Isaac and Asa as they did not have children of their own. Nate found new love with a much younger wife Noelle who has been welcomed into the fold of the Gin & Chowder club. There is a growing attraction between Noelle and Asa which ends in a secret relationship that results in great yearning, guilt and passion that unfolds as they both realize the consequences of their actions. The author did a wonderful job in describing the emotions and feelings of both Noelle and Asa as well as the guilt and remorse that can wreak havoc on their lives. There are strong elements of faith that challenge them both, the love and bond of family that can be strong and help us to survive. The elements of faith and the storyline of forbidden love may appear contradictory but it is written in such a realistic way that makes one realize that we are all human, flawed and not perfect.  There are repercussions to our actions and love does not heal all...we can make mistakes that will stay with us, effect those around us and we must learn from them and take responsibility for those actions. This is a book that will raise questions and it would be a great book to discuss with a book club. There is a reading group guide at the end of the book (you can find it online, here) that will stir up some great conversation, add some gin & tonic and some chowder and you'll be all set to have a heated discussion!


You can read the first chapter of The Gin & Chowder Club at the publisher, Kensington Books website, here.

Thank to the author, Nan Rossiter for sending me this book to review. You can check out Nan's website, here.