Blush centers around a family winery and the three generations whose lives orbit around the vineyard and also features racy reads from the 1980s in the form of past and current book clubs for women, an element I really enjoyed.
Jamie Brenner's recently published novel Blush centers around a family winery and the three generations whose lives orbit around the vineyard.
Hollander Estates has long been the respected grandfather of North Fork wineries on Long Island, and most members of the Hollander family took for granted that the winery would still be standing when great-grandchildren came along.
But the push to shift production to meet current-day wine trends and demands; the disconnect between generations' plans for the business and for their individual futures; and basic, intensely complicated interpersonal family relations are all threatening the vineyard's existence.
This is a lovely light fiction story with elements that offer appealing weight. Women explore traditional roles and push back against infuriating chauvinism; characters consider their life paths and how to find value and passion in them; siblings and spouses alternately support each other and vie to compete to have their needs met. Some characters heartbreakingly sell others short, and there's some satisfying remorse about mistakes made. There's some romance. Blush also focuses on racy reads from the 1980s in the form of past and current book clubs for women, an element I really enjoyed.
I received a prepublication digital edition of this book courtesy of G.P. Putnam's Sons and NetGalley.
Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book?
In her Acknowledgments, Brenner mentions some authors who inspire her: Mary Kay Andrews, Elin Hildenbrand, Nancy Thayer, and Adriana Trigiani as well as Judith Krantz and Jackie Collins from her teen years. Are any of these favorite authors for you?