Wade Rouse’s new novel, The Bluff is beautiful, tender, heartbreaking yet filled with humor, but more importantly life lessons. When two families must somehow try and make Christmas work while harboring jealousies, resentments, anger and even secrets, one can only hope there will be a bit of self-refection. For some, the lessons will be learned others can’t see past their egos and greed. But no matter what your age you can choose to change.
When Kat Chapman boldly decides to seize the Chapman annual Christmas celebration from the matriarch of the family, Charli who has been doing the holiday forever at the family’s lakefront home on Mackinac Island in Michigan, a place relished in the summer, but feared in the winter she understands there will be pushback. First, because she has invited her own parents to the Island, a place where they lived all their lives before moving away, and secondly because she has decided to vier from her mothers-in-law’s strict rules and have a more relaxed and enjoyable holiday. What could go wrong?
Immediately Charli is put on notice as to what is to come as she enters the house and lo and behold the Christmas tree in not where it should be! She immediately begins to become a thorn in Kat’s side. Especially when she discovers Kat’s parents are arriving! Why? This is HER holiday! And of course, she sticks her nose up at every change Kat has made.
But unfortunately for Kat and Charli, there are many moving parts to the Chapman family this year and with a massive snowstorm getting ready to bear down on the Island we begin to learn the family dynamics on all sides.
Kat’s husband Chris has just taken over the family business much to the ire of his brother Cormac who feels not only is Chris doing a terrible job, but he should be the one running the company which by the way had been failing. Then there is their father J.C. who is an intolerable ogre who drinks way too much and enjoys torturing his family which includes Kat and Chris’ children…his grandchildren no less Chip and Leah.
When Shirley and Bob, Kat’s parents arrive with their dog no less, well things go from bad to worse. Shirley does not seem to be herself and Bob knows something is wrong but for the life of him can’t figure it out.
Add to this the major snowstorm which traps them all in a house with surprise guests and with nowhere to escape, they begin to literally turn on each other. As their feelings begin to explode no one will ever expect that first, they will come out of this Christmas alive and second there will ever be any resolution to problems which have been buried for so many years which are deeper than the snow outside.
The Bluff will hold you captive as we begin to see the dynamics of these extremely dysfunctional relatives some of whom think greed and jealously are positive attributes, while others begin to see the light and this Christmas may open them up to a whole new world!
Thank you #NetGalley #MiraBooks #TheBluff #WadeRouse for the advanced copy.
Amazon.com: The Bluff: A Novel: 9780778306221: Rouse, Wade: Books
Great review, Lisa. It sounds like it could be heartbreaking.
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