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Title: To the New Owners
Subtitle: A Martha's Vineyard Memoir
Author: Madeleine Blais
Narrator: Laura Copland
Format: Unabridged
Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
Language: English
Release date: 10-03-17
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 2 votes
Genres: Travel & Adventure, Essays & Travelogues
Publisher's Summary:
In the 1970s, Madeleine Blais's in-laws purchased a vacation house on Martha's Vineyard for the exorbitant sum of $80,000. Two-point-two miles down a poorly marked, one lane dirt road, the house was better termed a shack - it had no electricity, no modern plumbing, the roof leaked, and mice had invaded the walls. It was perfect.
Sitting on Tisbury Great Pond - well-stocked with oysters and crab for foraged dinners - the house faced the ocean and the sky, and though it was eventually replaced by a sturdier structure, the ethos remained the same: no heat, no TV, and no telephone. Instead, there were countless hours at the beach, meals cooked and savored with friends, nights talking under the stars, until at last, the house was sold in 2014.
To the New Owners is Madeleine Blais's charming, evocative memoir of this house, and of the Vineyard itself - from the history of the island and its famous visitors to the ferry, the pie shops, the quirky charms and customs, and the abundant natural beauty. But more than that, this is an elegy for a special place.
Members Reviews:
Poignant and bittersweet
I have always resonated with a sense of place, I'm originally from the Boston area and I strongly believe that a house has a soul. So I wasn't surprised that I enjoyed this memoir as much as I did.
I was captivated right from the beginning. It was a wonderful walk down memory lane because the author shared many important people and events that I recalled. The writing had a breezy, conversational tone which made me feel I was sitting with the author over a glass of wine or cup of coffee with the Vineyard as the backdrop.
I understood the sense of loss that comes with giving up a home of many years. I experienced this loss when left to clean out my aunt's large home of over sixty years. All the distractions when finding photos, letters, etc. and the decision of what to keep and what to throw away. But it is these memories that sustain us and make the loss a bit easier.
I loved this memoir and it will remain one of my very favorite books for so many reasons. A huge thank you to the author for sharing a very special slice of history and memories.
Madeleine Blais wrote a sweet and loving portrayal of life on Marthaâs Vineyard in ...
Madeleine Blais wrote a sweet andÂloving portrayal of life on Marthaâs Vineyard in her memoir TO THE NEW OWNERS. She lucked out in the in-law department. Her mother-in-law Lydia King Phelps Stokes Katzenbach, an analyst and woman before her time, and father-in-law Nick Katzenbach, who served as U.S. Attorney General under President Kennedy, were both intelligent, warm, and family first people, who welcomed everyone to the home they bought on the pond years ago, as a summer retreat. Not simply a place to getaway, but a place to create memories and that they did.
In this memoir, Blais describes the lay of the land. How true MV lovers appreciate and respect their neighbors and the unwritten rules, and what happens when they donât. I especially loved the anecdotes that she shared about frequent guests and good friend such as Phil Caputo. Caputoâs wife Linda Ware, who was editor at Consumer Reports left the best log book notes Consumer Reports style. I also adored the logs that they kept in the house, which everyone wrote in as they left.
