Eden

In her uneven debut, Blasberg traces the women of one family across decades of summers spent in the family’s ancestral house in Long Harbor, R.I. When financial hardship hits the Meister family, it appears they will have to sell their longtime summer home. But before it’s sold, matriarch Becca decides to host a large party to commemorate the family’s last season there. Told from various points of view and heavily dependent on flashbacks, the novel reaches back to the 1920s to tell the story of Becca’s mother, Sadie, as well as digging into Becca’s own youth when she made the heart-wrenching decision to give up her child. Although the multiple generations add depth to Blasberg’s ruminations on motherhood, the narrative’s many twists and turns are marred by awkward dialogue. The decision for Becca to reveal her secret child is inspired by her granddaughter, Sarah, who has an unplanned pregnancy and decides to keep the baby. Throughout the many flashbacks and long scenes of dialogue, the enchanting beach home—called Eden—keeps the novel centered. As the final party approaches, the dispute over the future of Eden becomes complicated by the secrets Becca has kept, resulting in an explosive get-together. Blasberg’s novel is notable for its ambition, but it overreaches. Readers will be let down by a confusing plot, a cast of characters whose voices sound too similar, and a web of complicated relationships. (May)