Acclaimed novelist Anne Rivers Siddons's new novel is a stunning tale of love and loss.


For as long as she can remember, they were Cam and Lilly--happily married, totally in love with each other, parents of a beautiful family, and partners in life. Then, after decades of marriage, it ended as every great love story does...in loss. After Cam's death, Lilly takes a lone road trip to her and Cam's favorite spot on the remote coast of Maine, the place where they fell in love over and over again, where their ghosts still dance. There, she looks hard to her past--to a first love that ended in tragedy; to falling in love with Cam; to a marriage filled with exuberance, sheer life, and safety-- to try to figure out her future.

It is a journey begun with tender memories and culminating in a revelation that will make Lilly re-evaluate everything she thought was true about her husband and her marriage.

Customer Rating:
Summary: Siddons delivers again
Comment: Anne Rivers Siddons is one of my favorite authors, and she delivered a good story once again. This book was captivating, with good character development, and a surprise twist at the end.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Liked it, didn't love it
Comment: I wanted to love this novel as I have others written by this author. And there are certainly elements in it that I did enjoy a great deal - her description of her childhood was particularly appealing and reminded me of my own special summer place at the beach. I was also moved by the description of her mother's illness and death, and Lilly's reaction. I cried when Wilma died - I am still recovering from the death of my beloved first dog over two years ago. I also appreciate reading a novel about a woman in her fifties since I'm one of those people!

But there was a lot in this novel that didn't really ring true. I was turned off by the ethereal relationship between Cam and Lilly... it just wasn't realistic - his courting her was particularly odd. Maybe there was just too much mysticism to it, I don't know. But they didn't seem very real to me - or maybe that's the point. She was looking back at their relationship and sometimes, memories don't always accurately reflect the reality.

Maybe I just wasn't reading closely enough, but the ending totally caught me by surprise. I didn't particularly like it and don't think it fit the characters... at all. I suppose that's life, right!

Overall, though, this story has stayed with me for a few days, and I re-read the last few chapters to see if I "got" it any better. I did not.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Long build up,instant ending
Comment: It took a long time to read all the descriptions while wanting to know the rest of a dialogue, here and there. Instead of describing a moment in time, I wanted to know Kitty's answer. I have just discovered ARS books and have found them very appealing. But not this one. After five books in a row, I am tired of beautiful women in the extreme, redheads, quotes from the Jungle Book, architects, Princeton and rump sprung sofas. I do not believe a girl not having one date between 11 and 17. Only two boy friends and each a great love of her life. C'mon . . . Really? Nothing in this book was believable. Her brother at a computer camp in 1960's? PC's came along in the '80's! A saracastic cat - cute! I took my sixth ARS book back to the library without reading it . . .maybe later.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Poignant story about life and love
Comment: Reviewed by Cherie Fisher for Reader Views (11/08)

I found "Off Season" to be a compelling and poignant story. It is about life, the complications of family, love and incredible loss. Overall, the book was well written and enjoyable to read.

When Lilly Constable McCall loses her husband to an untimely death, she is not sure how to pick up the pieces. As she feels the world closing in on her, she decides to return to the one place she can find comfort, her family home in Maine. When Lilly arrives, she finds she can breathe easier and as she relaxes, the memories about all the important things in her life come rushing back.

Every summer, Lilly and her family spent the summer in their summer cottage in Maine. Her eleventh summer was a very memorable one. During that summer, Lilly spent her time trying to figure out her complicated relationship with her Mom, an artist and activist who was just coming into her own. This is the summer that Lilly also experienced love for the first time in her life. When the summer ends in tragedy, Lilly has to learn to deal with her emotions in a way that will impact the rest of her life.

The story then follows Lilly's life as she must deal with her Mom's illness and the aftermath of that. So much happens in her life that she really grows up more quickly than she should. The one place that Lilly finds peace through all of this is in the water and she becomes quite a proficient underwater swimmer. When Lilly meets Cam, who is fun and loving, she begins to really live for the first time. As Cam's wife, a mother and sculptor, she finds real happiness for the first time in her life.

With her children grown and married and Cam gone, Lilly must figure out what is next in her life. Maine is the only place that she can possibly find the answers that she is looking for. I recommend "Off Season" by Anne Rivers Siddons for anyone who enjoys reading about family and relationships.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: From J. Kaye's Book Blog
Comment: The story begins shortly after the funeral services of Lilly Constable McCall's husband, Cam. Against her daughters' protests, she decides to head to coastal Maine where her family's cottage and its memories await her. Lily takes us back to her childhood of innocence and the losses she experienced and then her life with Cam.

Before I go further, let me make something perfectly clear. I feel Anne Rivers Siddons is a phenomenal writer. In OFF SEASON, she digs deep, exposing the human side in all of us. Do you hear a "but" coming? There really isn't one, but Siddons goes too deep that it's painful for me to experience. The last time I was moved to such a state was over Terms of Endearment. The writer packed such an emotion punch that leaves me so sad and full of pain days after reading the last page. It's a wonderful literary read, but sensitive types might feel Lily's pain all the way to their bones.

Now that I have made that perfectly clear, the ending was a total let down. I can understand no happily ever after, but this left me bitter. This is just a suggestion. If this isn't an author you tried before, try another book first. This was my first and it's totally ruined me for reading another.

These are the things I look for in a good story. I had a heck of a time getting into the book. I picked it up several times and what I read was good, but it wasn't enough to hold my interest. So for me, it had some dry spots.

The second problem was at the end. I just thought that was wrong. Maybe I became too wrapped up in Lily. But I asked the question what was the purpose for Cam's betrayal and couldn't come up with a logical answer. That was cruel, totally cruel. The book doesn't get a check in the good ending department.

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