Title: Out East: Memoir of a Montauk Summer
Author: John Glynn
Published: May 2019, Grand Central Publishing
Format: Hardcover, 256 pages
Source: Publisher
Summary:
A gripping portrait of life in a Montauk summer house–a debut memoir of first love, identity and self-discovery among a group of friends who became family.
They call Montauk the end of the world, a spit of land jutting
into the Atlantic. The house was a ramshackle split-level set on a
hill, and each summer thirty one people would sleep between its thin
walls and shag carpets. Against the moonlight the house’s octagonal roof
resembled a bee’s nest. It was dubbed The Hive.
In 2013, John
Glynn joined the share house. Packing his duffel for that first Memorial
Day Weekend, he prayed for clarity. At 27, he was crippled by an
all-encompassing loneliness, a feeling he had carried in his heart for
as long as he could remember. John didn’t understand the loneliness. He
just knew it was there. Like the moon gone dark.
OUT EAST is the
portrait of a summer, of the Hive and the people who lived in it, and
John’s own reckoning with a half-formed sense of self. From Memorial Day
to Labor Day, The Hive was a center of gravity, a port of call, a home.
Friendships, conflicts, secrets and epiphanies blossomed within this
tightly woven friend group and came to define how they would live out
the rest of their twenties and beyond.
OUT EAST is an indelible story of love and transformation, longing and escape in our own contemporary moment.
My thoughts: I admit, I agreed to read this memoir because it’s set in Montauk at the tip of Long Island, which I am proud to call home. While I have not been to Montauk in ages and have not never done a summer share out there, this book called to me. Little did I know just how powerful a read it would be.
This little book sure does pack a powerful punch. Yes, it’s about a group of twenty-somethings spending their summer weekends living it up in Montauk, but it’s so much more than that. This book is about the vulnerability that comes when you are struggling to find out deep down who you really are. It’s about feeling lonely in a crowd because you aren’t quite sure who you really are and you aren’t quite sure your friends or family will accept you as the person you think you might be.
John Glynn has written a book that anyone who has experienced some type of internal struggle will relate to. And he has written it with heart. The emotions and the feelings are all there. This is John’s story, but the way it is written allows others to see themselves in his shoes, whether directly or indirectly.
I loved this book for the story as much as for the writing. It is beautiful and yes, I did shed a few tears. The story got to me. Do yourself a favor and pick this one up…it’s well worth the read!!! And I will certainly be keeping an eye out for what comes next from this talented writer!
***Keep your eyes peeled for a chance to win a copy of this book later on today!!!
This book sounds very gripping. I enjoyed reading your well-written review. I went to Montauk once on a vacation with my family, many years ago.