A HOUSE IN THE HAMPTONS

Nagy's fifth novel combines a savvy urban sensibility with a sharp, sassy sense of humor to create this superb comedy of manners, centering on a not-so-typical Hamptons summer. Best friends since childhood, architect Harry Hart and psychiatrist Donnie Jamieson enjoy nothing more than kicking back for the summer in the Hamptons with Harry's clever 39-year-old journalist wife (Gina), Donnie's wealthy wife Janie, their two sons, and an assortment of eccentric Long Island pets, relatives, and neighbors--including a heroin-addicted mother; a redheaded masseuse from the East Village; a nouveau fiche Wall Street mogul with an inferiority complex; an exotic-car salesman; and a visiting Hollywood WASP. Both bemused by and grateful for the upper-middle-class New Yorkers' life of city apartments and country houses that fate has bestowed upon them, the Harts and the Jamiesons feel almost invincible--that is, until Fritzi Ferris, Donnie's high-school dream girl and Harry's ex-wife, arrives in the Hamptons out of nowhere with Harry's heretofore unannounced grown son in tow. As Gina and Janie scramble to save their marriages in the face of this wealthy, voluptuous interloper (who disconcertingly resembles Marilyn Monroe), Donnie sneaks off to his doctor in New York and learns that he has inoperable cancer and less than two months to live. Suddenly, in the midst of the usual summer shenanigans, the two families are faced with real tragedy. They rally round, eking what love and life they can out of the time remaining, as Janie selflessly encourages Fritzi and Donnie to consummate their lifelong attraction; Gina learns to accept and even like Harry's new son; and everyone concerned learns that there's more to this existence than sun, sand, and the pursuit of happiness. Fabulous entertainment--and a quintessential summer read.