“The Jetsetters”

by Amanda Eyre Ward

Nightstands and Coffeetables | Bayou Pages

REVIEW BY MEREDITH MCKINNIE

“She wanted him to know she’d been a stunning beauty once – that inside, she was still that graceful young boheme. But strangers seeing you as someone you couldn’t bear to be was simply one of the indignities of age. You could accept it, rail against it, or just pretend it wasn’t happening.”

This novel is a light, summer read for those who appreciate a peek inside a typical dysfunctional family set against the backdrop of an elaborate Mediterranean vacation. Charlotte Perkins is a woman who turned 70 in a flash, now with grown children experiencing the same disappointments she has tried to suppress. She appreciates a finer lifestyle she can no longer afford, though she refuses to settle for anything less. Her three children have scattered, now busy with their own lives that they’ve conveniently kept hidden from their mother. She misses them, but is also finally trying to find an independence she can live with. Her eldest daughter Lee is a struggling actress in Los Angeles, her son Cord a closeted entrepreneur in New York, and her youngest Regan trying to decide between holding her picture-perfect family together or exploring her own emptiness. Charlotte has taught her children to suppress emotions, yet feels left out when they don’t share their true feelings. While the plot sounds heavy, Ward sets the novel at sea, the family thrown together for two weeks, unable to retire to their segregated corners. While exploring Europe and the luxury of the cruise ship, the Perkins’ clan uncovers who they’ve all become aboard the Splendido Marveloso. 

Love is the cornerstone of this story, how we seek it, deny it, and convince ourselves we don’t really need it. The characters are only lightly developed, as the plot is the primary mold of this novel. The chapters are brief, and from each family member’s perspective. The story is enriched by vivid accounts of what came years before, detailing why the siblings have isolated themselves and why Charlotte is intent on avoiding hard topics to keep the mood light for her adult children. In the presence of one another, they’re forced to examine their past and rethink their present. The family ties are strong, even for people so uniquely different. This book shows the struggle of escaping who were told we are in childhood and how we never really feel grown up. 

I breezed through this book in a few days, as the pace moves swiftly, and each chapter is often left with hooks that aren’t resolved until that particular narrator returns. It’s not one of those deep novels that makes you think, though you can see parts of yourself in the characters, particularly the longing for introspection and the difficulty of the whole endeavor. If you’ve ever ventured on a cruise, this will probably serve as a nice memory of your time at sea.