Sunburn

A great novel about complex interacting, dynamic american relationships in a quaint setting in 1970s Spain.

I received the book quickly. It was in even better condition than stated. Thank you very much.

The American characters in John Lescroart's recently re-published first novel, Sunburn, have wound up at an idyllic house close to a seaside town near Barcelona. The Spanish summer sun beats down relentlessly. The owner of the house, Sean, has been able to buy the house, which is isolated atop a hill and reached by a dangerous road, because he received a large settlement after an accident at the factory where he worked for many years. He has lost a hand but appears to have adjusted well to the handicap. His stunning girlfriend has recently moved in with him and he has invited his sister and brother-in-law to stay for a long visit. Both Sean and his brother-in-law Douglas are purportedly writing novels, although with Douglas it seems to be more of a vague plan than anything else. He has been making a good living writing magazine articles but wants to try something new. What better place than these lovely tranquil surroundings, and yet the ambience keeps everyone sluggish and unfocused. In Madrid, the dictator Francisco Franco lies in a coma, and the Spaniards wait nervously to see what will happen when he finally dies after years of iron-fisted rule. The characters' own suspended animation may be a reflection of the white-hot summer heat. A large part of the problem is booze, of which they consume huge quantities. Do they drink because they can't write or can't they write because they drink? They all seem adrift in a sea of nothingness. Sean has probably the most valid excuse. Years earlier he suffered some trauma in Viet Nam that seemed to go beyond the physical and left him feeling very bitter and betrayed. If the rest of them were bored at home, they are just as bored and restless here. The introduction of a younger man, Mike, serves as a catalyst for their dissatisfaction, especially Sean's sister, Lea. Since the young man says his sadness began with the disappearance of his girlfriend years before, Lea unaccountably feels she must help with his search, a decision with unusual consequences. A chain of events brings about tragedy and the break-up of this curious ménage. The pace quickens and overriding the troubles, it propels the actors in this drama into some pursuits and turns them away from others. Despite the flaws of the players, they become more appealing with more doing and less telling. Life is action and passion, as Oliver Wendell Holmes said, and no doubt many other people have said it too. Sunburn is disquieting, told in various voices, oddly compelling. When I finished, I wanted nothing so much as a tall drink of water (or cerveza) and a siesta because Lescroart's settings are vivid and forceful, even when his protagonists are not. Paradoxically, not much happens in Sunburn yet a lot happens--or may happen. But the characters stop holding back and start to care about "little things," and from there they cease to merely exist and go on to embark upon living. Not passion quite yet, but soon, perhaps.