Book set in Cape May, New Jersey – by Chip Cheek

Submitted: 8th May 2019

Cape May, New Jersey for a honeymoon you will never forget

“Cape May explores the social and sexual mores of 1950s America through the eyes of a newly married couple from the genteel south corrupted by sophisticated New England urbanites.”

This is a perfect beach read as it’s largely set on a beach and it’s a honeymoon spot but not as you might imagine it…

Let’s head off to Cape May then shall we?

BookTrail Travel to the locations in Cape May

#Bookreview

I can see why this book has been compared to The Great Gatsby for the 1950s scenes of decadence and devil may care attitude, but this is a more modern and sexier, no holds barred version and the devil definitely doesn’t care at all!

A young recently married couple fear life is going to become humdrum, but before it has a chance to do so, they decide to rev things up a notch…and then some. Sex is involved of course, and plenty of it. For two people who were sexually inexperienced beforehand are certainly making up for lost time now! Henry is the husband of the main couple and it’s his eyes we see things through. He’s on a mission it would seem to sleep with as many people as possible, and that got me thinking that this story would have been very different and dare I say more interesting had Effie had a greater role in its narration. I would have liked to have known more about Effie and female sexuality and attitudes towards it, especially as this was the 1950s and there were some very different attitudes and standards back then.

That’s not to say the novel isn’t a lot of fun – it is, and a perfect beach read. Wouldn’t it be great to read on the Cape May beach! Sun in your face and sand between your toes as you read. The 1950s style and beach life is nicely evoked. I so wanted to be able to see the white washed houses the lighthouse, the cape and feel the sun on my face. It does seem like the ideal honeymoon spot!

The deserted spot, the ideal honeymoon setting and then there’s the moment when all that changes, when they meet the otherworldly hedonists who introduce them to sex, lust, alcohol and obsession.