How the Other Half Hamptons by Jasmin Rosemberg
Reviewed by L.D.Y.
Trade, 320 pages, 2008
Rating: 9/10
Reason for Reading: Remember that episode of Sex and the City where the women get a place in the Hamptons and craziness happens, especially with Charlotte pretending to be younger in order to date someone? I figured any place that brought that out in people was worth a revisit in book form (with different characters, of course).
Synopsis: Forty people, five-person bedrooms, more booze than a person should see in a lifetime, and a strange body in your bed: this must be a share-house in the Hamptons, where the rich and famous summer…or where 20-something New Yorkers with $2000 (and endless patience) can grab a handful of weekends in a party house that might not be quite on par with the celebrity lifestyle they’re trying to buy a piece of. Three friends with very different attitudes find themselves trying to navigate a share-house in an attempt to find love, random hookups, or just a hell of a party…
Why you should read this book: How the Other Half Hamptons is all about the sort of zany fun that’s easy to imagine you and your friends getting into - not to mention the troubles that you’d rather avoid (well…some of them, at least; the others are just a good story). The characters represent a very believable cross-section of 20-somethings - party girl, wallflower, stealth boyfriend/husband hunter, post-frat frat ‘boys,’ the guy who’s quietly looking to settle down, and everyone in between. Crammed into the same house, all of the personalities clash and mesh depending on the mood, creating some wild times that will make you overlook the horror stories and wish for your own share-house in the Hamptons. Motivate yourself to get through the weekdays this summer by reading Rosemberg’s book and remind yourself that the weekend is worth waiting for, no matter how tired you are on Monday morning.
Why you should avoid this book: The end of the book may be fairly predictable…but hey, with chick-lit it’s all about the journey being interesting, and Rosemberg makes it a fun ride.
Opening paragraph:
It starts with a party, unlike any you’ve been to before. A party that goes something like this:
Just imagine you are riding in a crammed elevator.
Fabulous quotes:
But while the atmosphere was fun, Jamie had to admit, it wasn’t the be-all and end-all of parties. Upon closer inspection, it was like that clothing store you walked into love the look of everything, but not finding a single shirt you wanted to try on.
Couldn’t everyone see that having feelings again so soon was as much a surprise to Allison as to anyone else? Why, of course I like Brian, she’d argue. And it wasn’t so much that this happened quickly, as that it happened in reverse. We saw each other in pajamas even before we exchanged five sentences! was the catchphrase she’d say.
But there was one thing she didn’t say. One thing she’d never say, much less own up to. That, as their sushi date turned into a sleepover, turned into additional dinner dates, turned into takeout and TiVo…the tiniest part of her felt relieved to retreat from the Hamptons’ cutthroat singles scene.
Also recommended: Burning the Map by Laura Caldwell; The Blonde Theory by Kristin Harmel; Divas Las Vegas by Belinda Jones.
Also by this author: How the Other Half Hamptons is Rosemberg’s first novel.
Author’s website: jasminrosemberg.com
Fun tidbit: Rosemberg was a shareholder in the Hamptons and chronicles her own experiences in The New York Post over sixteen weeks.
Would I read more by this author? I’ll wait for Rosemberg’s second novel to come out and read it when I’m in the mood for something light and fun.
© Lisa Yanaky 2003-2008