On Fire Island by Jane L. Rosen

ON FIRE ISLAND by Jane L. Rosen may cause you to shed a few tears, but it will certainly surprise you and make you laugh. For a book with a main character, Julia Morse, who dies from cancer at age thirty-seven, it is hilarious! This wonderful celebration of Julia’s beloved Fire Island and the many friends who live there is Rosen’s best yet (after Nine Women, One Dress; Eliza Starts a Rumor; A Shoe Story). Thanks in large part to a rabbi friend, Julia is at peace with her death and the funeral, including the poem We Remember Them, is a beautiful tribute. Unusually (or not, who knows?), Julia is then somehow able to observe her husband, Ben, as he leaves Shiva and heads for their cottage (the “Love Shack”) on Fire Island. There, he learns to cope with grief accompanied by curmudgeonly neighbor Shep, who is in his 80’s and has recently lost his own wife. Their adventures are often joined by sixteen-year-old Matty, son of Julia’s best friend, Renee. The inter-generational aspect and quiet insights from different life perspectives is one of my favorite parts of this novel which deals with loss of a soulmate, but also loss in other ways - divorce, virginity, and family dysfunction. And yet, in this close-knit community, “There was so much love all around – palpable love.” Author Elin Hilderbrand calls ON FIRE ISLAND “an irresistible escape.” Enjoy the music and happy summering!