28 Summers

“When we first meet our girl Mallory Blessing (and make no mistake, Mallory is our girl; we’re with her through the good, the bad, and the damn-near hopeless) […]” 

This quote quickly and unambiguously establishes Mallory as the book’s protagonist. Jake is referred to as “our boy,” which unites the two of them as the most central characters. Hilderbrand’s style uses the narrator to help guide the reader’s reactions to the main characters.

“This island chooses people, Aunt Greta said. It chose Bo and me, and I think it’s chosen you as well. Mallory remembered feeling…ordained by that comment, as though she were being invited into an exclusive club. Yes, she thought. I’m a Nantucket person. She loved the sun, the beach, the waves of the south shore. Next stop, Portugal! Uncle Bo would cry out, hands raised over his head, as he charged into the ocean. She loved the pond, the swans, the red-winged blackbirds, the dragonflies, the reeds and cattails. She loved surf-casting and kayaking with her uncle and taking long beach walks with her aunt, who carried a stainless-steel kitchen bowl to hold the treasures they found—quahog shells, whelks, slippers and scallops, the occasional horseshoe carapace, pieces of satiny driftwood, interesting rocks, beach glass. As the days passed, they became more discerning, throwing away shells that were chipped and rocks that wouldn’t be as pretty once they dried…although Mallory was often lonely in New York, she has not felt lonely in Nantucket even once.”

The idea that Nantucket can “choose” people (and that it has “chosen” Mallory) emphasizes the island’s role in the book. It also adds a sense of belonging to Mallory’s perception of the island, its ecosystem, and its community. The concrete, sensory details in this passage such as specific birds and shells reinforce the idea that Mallory both knows Nantucket intimately and continues to be struck with its beauty.

“Whether or not our boy Jake (and he is our boy, we’re with him here through the good, the bad, and the incredibly stressful) wants to admit it, his life has been changed by spending Labor Day weekend with Mallory. He would like the record to show that he went to Nantucket as a free and single man. A week before Jake headed to the island, he and Ursula had a Category 5 breakup that destroyed everything in its path—Jake’s self-esteem, Ursula’s promises, both of their hearts. He hadn’t been looking for another romantic entanglement, not even an easy rebound. But…he realized this is what he’d been hoping for since the moment he saw Mallory waiting on the dock of Straight Wharf.”

This quote describes Jake’s mentality when he first meets Mallory in person. The use of the phrase “Category 5” in describing his breakup with Ursula evokes a storm such as a hurricane, emphasizing the violence and destructiveness of the conflict. Mallory is therefore portrayed as a healing presence who helps Jake discover true love and support, and his own intentions toward her are initially free from romance. Jake’s devastation after breaking up with Ursula and his intentions when he arrives on the island prevent the reader from interpreting Jake as a womanizer.

“Jake knew every single thing about Ursula—they had been together since the eighth grade—but Mallory was a whole new person, undiscovered. Jake would get to know her better than he knew Ursula, he decided then and there. He would pay attention. He would learn her. He would treasure her. He would make a study of her eye color, the tendrils of her hair, the shape of her tanned legs, and the gap between her teeth.” 

Jake uses the physical details of Mallory’s appearance to demonstrate his interest in and attraction to her. He is determined to be more attentive toward and proactive about getting to know Mallory than he has been in his long-standing relationship with Ursula. Jake’s recognition that he wants to understand Mallory more than Ursula indicates that he already feels that she will be more central in his heart than his own wife. 

“Well, the answer was that you didn’t recover. Losing Jessica was the central fact of Jake’s life, and yet he almost never talked about it. Everyone he grew up with in South Bend already knew, but once Jake got to Johns Hopkins, it became something like a secret […] It wasn’t fine, it would never be fine, but Jake learned to keep Jessica out of casual conversation. He couldn’t believe he’d told Mallory about Jessica after knowing her for little more than twenty-four hours. But there was something about Mallory that made him feel safe. He could turn himself inside out and show her his wounds, and it would be okay.” 

This passage describes a key element of Jake’s feelings for Mallory—he feels safe confiding in her almost immediately. This contrasts with his relationship with Ursula, whom he feels is remote and uninterested in his feelings. This disparity helps explain the longevity of Mallory and Jake’s relationship as Mallory continues to offer Jake love, support, and understanding throughout the years while Ursula becomes increasingly withdrawn from her marriage.

“Mallory is popular because she’s young, because she’s ‘cool,’ because she wears long blazers and leggings and friendship bracelets that the nineth-grade girls weave for her, because she’s friends with Apple […] who is also young and cool, because she talks to her students like they’re people, because she takes an interest in their lives. She knows who just started dating whom and who just broke up. She knows to pack an extra sandwich and invite Maggie Sohn, whose parents are divorcing, to spend lunch in her classroom so they can talk. She knows where the parties are, who goes, who doesn’t, who throws up, who hooks up.” 

Mallory’s students relate well to her both because of her demeanor with them and because she is relatively close to their own age at this point in the story. Having just left her teenage years herself, Mallory has an intimate understanding of the setbacks, milestones, and relationships that make up a typical teenager’s life. Mallory is characterized as having a non-judgmental attitude toward behavior that other adults might classify as illicit and offensive, such as underage drinking, and retains this attitude even later in the story toward the behaviors of her own teenage son Link. 

“They were once so close that now it feels awkward to be not as close, though Mallory knows this is what happens when you grow up: paths diverge, people lose touch. Mallory didn’t know that Leland had moved. She doesn’t know who just answered the phone. Leland’s new roommate, presumably.” 

Mallory’s recognition that she has been out of touch with Leland for a while gains greater significance because of the fundamental differences that will arise between the two friends. Mallory often misses, permits, or chooses to ignore Leland’s selfish actions, and now the distance between them has made her ignorant of Fifi’s presence in Leland’s life and the changes in Leland’s sexuality. The tables will be turned later in the story as Fifi confides in Mallory before she confides in Leland, meaning that Mallory will have information that Leland does not.

“It’s completely unfair because Jake and Ursula are now living together—meaning that Jake is living in the same apartment that Ursula uses to take a shower and change her clothes before going back to work—but Jake prefers to think of Mallory spending her evenings lying by the fire with only Cat Stevens, a book, and the howling wind for company.” 

Because Mallory chooses to either be single or casually date during much of the story, Jake generally imagines her as being alone. This double standard—he is partnered but he is uncomfortable with the idea that Mallory would be—is acknowledged as “unfair” by the narrator. However, the reality of Jake’s marriage is that he is, in effect, also living alone despite being married to Ursula, thus emphasizing the similarities between Mallory and Jake, and increasing their connection to one another.

“They skipped the Chicken Box last night. Mallory was disappointed by this, he knows, because the Box is part of the tradition. They almost had an argument about it. She accused him of being afraid of bumping into someone from Washington. While it’s true this always lurks in the back of his mind—how would he explain dancing and kissing Mallory if he saw one of Ursula’s coworkers?—the real reason he wanted to stay home was that he didn’t want to share Mallory. He wanted to play with her hair, trace her ribs, listen to her breathe. If that’s not the definition of love, he doesn’t know what is.” 

Jake’s definition of love in this passage is having Mallory all to himself, reinforcing the sense of Mallory’s availability to him discussed in the previous quote. His desire to be with Mallory is described using physical descriptions of her body, an especially important interaction with her because they are physically separated during their time apart. The discussion of someone Jake knows seeing them together foreshadows Jake being recognized by both Bayer and a college acquaintance while he visits Mallory. 

“Jake and Ursula are connected in ten thousand ways: the shared memories, the inside jokes, the secret language, the references that only they understand. Ursula is a connection to his sister; she made Jess smile, made her laugh, made her feel like a normal eleven- or twelve- or thirteen-year-old girl the way no one else could. Jake’s emotions about these memories venture into territory that has no language.” 

This passage attempts to explain why Jake continues to be with Ursula despite the many emotional hardships he experiences in his relationship with her. Hilderbrand here references a long-lasting and profound connection between the two characters, one that affects Jake in a way he can’t explain. However, this connection is rarely portrayed or referred to again in the book, troubling the idea that Jake is justified in staying with Ursula even though he truly loves Mallory.

“Maybe there was a loose seam or a fault line [in Leland’s parents’ marriage]—or maybe the problem is marriage itself. Marriage is a gamble with even odds; half the time it works, half the time it doesn’t […] She’s glad she’s not the one who’s getting married this weekend.”

This commentary on marriage mirrors the allocation of happy versus troubled marriages in the book—the Gladstones, Jake and Ursula, Leland and Fifi, and Cooper all struggle in or leave their marriages/partnerships while Apple and her husband, Mallory’s parents, and Frazier and Anna form long-lasting marriages/partnerships. Hilderbrand’s characters support the thesis that the narrator implicitly proposes: that the problem with remaining faithful is with the married state itself, not individuals. This thesis helps exonerate Jake as he stays involved with Mallory.

“Mallory, meanwhile, is single and the reasons why have been catalogued by her very best friend in the world: She is neither interesting nor original. She’s suggestible, a follower. She’s ‘nice,’ like a jelly jar filled with daisies or a pony that trots in a circle. Jake is married to Ursula.” 

Mallory’s assessment of herself in this passage is affected by Leland’s disparaging remarks. The images used—a docile pony and commonplace flowers that aren’t generally considered especially elegant—evoke Leland’s feelings about Mallory. The immediate transition to Jake being married reveals the fact that Mallory is feeling especially insecure because he has chosen Ursula.

“He has looked at the photograph every single day the way other people look at pictures of Caribbean beaches—to remember that there is another world out there, one that provides escape, solace, joy.” 

Jake’s perception of Mallory as his refuge amid a harsh world mirrors his perception of their weekend together as an escape from daily life. The unique nature of their relationship fuels these feelings, which would have likely dissipated if he and Mallory were together long-term. The word “solace” suggests that Jake grapples with disappointment, regrets, and difficulties daily—most likely centered around his relationship with Ursula.

“Jake stays behind with the things. He feels like a pioneer. What do you need to create a life, after all? Food, clothing, shelter, a person to love. Jake marvels at the sheer beauty around him. Whale Island isn’t an island at all but rather a ribbon of white sand that is the only place boats can anchor. Beyond lie green acres crisscrossed with sandy paths and, here and there, a glimpse of gray-shingled rooftops.” 

Jake’s reflections on the simplicity of life’s needs and the natural beauty of the island contrast with the intensity, complications, and urban environment of his “real life” with Ursula. The contrast becomes linked to the differences between Mallory and Ursula. Jake is more aligned with Mallory’s visions of life, satisfaction, and wellness, which makes his response to the pristine, calm environment on Tuckernuck understandable.

“[Mallory] tries to imagine Sloane and Steve in the early passion of their secret affair—the all-consuming obsession, the stolen moments of rendezvous made more heady because it was so forbidden. Had they viewed their love as a rare jewel that no one else could possibly understand? And if so, how did it feel now that they had devolved into being just like the masses, squabbling now because they felt uncomfortable at Sloane’s grandson’s first-birthday party? Food for thought. If Mallory and Jake were ever together-together, would they wake up one day to find the magic gone? Probably yes.” 

In this passage, Mallory explicitly recognizes that the temporary nature of her time with Jake makes it more precious and makes her value him more than she would if they were in an “official” relationship. Sloane has been portrayed as an edgy “wild child,” and the fact that Mallory thinks that a long-term, permanent relationship has “tamed” her and taken the passion out of Sloane’s relationship with Leland’s father reflects her beliefs about marriage and long-term partnership. She views illicit relationships as “rare jewels” that are so often replaced by something much more commonplace and taxing—a mindset that helps explain her refusal to ask Jake for any formal commitment. 

“She wants to tell Cooper about Jake, but she just can’t. The reason their relationship works is because absolutely. Nobody. Knows.”

The rationale behind Mallory’s approach to romantic relationships, suggested in the previous quote, is here expanded to connect secrecy more explicitly with the continuance and quality of her relationship with Jake. This again explains Mallory’s contentment to be Jake’s secret lover rather than his girlfriend, partner, or wife. The secrecy enjoyed by Mallory and Jake during the first portion of the book will eventually be fractured by Cooper, Leland, and Ursula all finding out about the relationship. 

“Will Scott still think she’s so wonderful when she has the stomach flu or he hears her on the phone with the parent of a student who’s been underperforming? Will he think she’s a good mother when she snaps at Link for splashing in the bathtub or when she skips reading stories because she’s too tired? Will he find her fun when she informs him that she can never see him on Fridays during the school year because Fridays are for Apple? She doesn’t like lima beans or beans of any kind; she has no sense of direction; she doesn’t care for the theater and last year went home during the intermission of the high-school musical. She has so many flaws, so many areas that need improvement, and yet Mallory lacks the time and energy to work on them. She doesn’t make a charitable donation to Link’s day care because she pays so much in tuition already, even though she could, technically, afford an extra hundred bucks. She never watches the news…He couldn’t find a less informed person. Well, except she does know about celebrities because she did, this year, get a subscription to People magazine, which was thirty bucks she could have donated to the day care. Will any of this bother him once he figures it out?” 

Mallory’s unease with committing to a long-term relationship are again explored here, with the added dimension of a fear of her partner finding out what she’s “really” like. This suggests that her surreptitious relationship with Jake allows her to reveal her true self only partially—her feelings about theater, beans, or current events are not part of her weekend with Jake and can be relegated to the rest of her “real life.” Mallory’s sense of self-assurance, then, gains more nuance because she also has fears about someone loving her if they knew about her “true” self.

“There are five people of color, which surprises Fifi. Nantucket Island; she would have thought that all the kids would be lily-white, privileged, and entitled. But Fifi learns that Nantucket has quite a diverse year-round population; the school’s emails, Mallory says, come out in six languages. The kids in Mallory’s class are growing up on an island, like Fifi did, some of them as eager to escape as Fifi was. It’s no wonder they liked Shimmy Shimmy.” 

Fifi’s surprise at the diversity of Nantucket’s high school population mirrors one popular conception of the island—that it is an enclave of White, affluent citizens. However, Hilderbrand uses Fifi as a lens through which to show that the fictional version of Nantucket is home to a variety of cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Hilderbrand’s version of Nantucket in the story reflects the diversity of its real-life demographic—about 15% of Nantucket residents are races other than White.  

“It’s obvious that the kids adore Mallory. They call her Miss Bless and they kid with her and tease her, though respectfully. She is that English teacher, the one Fifi wishes she’d had in secondary school—the one who listens, the one who reads her students’ work carefully and asks questions without prying, the one who presses a novel into a student’s hands and says, I thought of you when I read this. Let me know if you like it. Fifi wishes Leland were with her just so she could see this. Fifi and Leland live in a rarefied literary stratosphere where they believe they’re creating culture and influencing public opinion, but the person who’s actually making a difference is Mallory.” 

Just as Fifi serves as a lens for examining racial diversity, here the characters serve as a way for Hilderbrand to highlight the social benefit of Mallory’s work as a competent, caring high school teacher. Fifi rejects the elitist sphere that she and Leland occupy as the site of true social change in favor of the more humble, less visible work that Mallory does. This description of Mallory’s teaching and the positive response that her students have to her mirrors the one in Chapter 3, demonstrating that Mallory has truly found her vocation as a teacher. 

“It’s better to acknowledge the possibility of Ursula finding out than dismiss it. At this point, Jake is far more concerned about Bess discovering his secret. She’s at the age when she’s just becoming aware of boys, and Jake would like her to believe they are trustworthy. A better man might decide to give up the relationship with Mallory out of respect for his daughter. But Jake finds himself unwilling—he would like to say ‘unable,’ but he knows better—to do that, and so should Bess ever find out, he will admit to his failure. He conducts himself like a prince the other 362 days of the year in hopes that this will balance out his weekend ‘away’ in some karmic sense. They finish the champagne, then head to bed, hand in hand. They are living inside a magic bubble, the kind that doesn’t pop.” 

Jake’s concern about Bess’s ability to trust and be comfortable around men reflects his caring, supportive relationship with his daughter. The passage also reflects his belief in the charmed nature of his relationship with Mallory, which he believes is distinct from and immune to the disruptions of the outside world. Mallory and Jake’s “bubble” will “pop” when Ursula finds out about the affair and Mallory’s cancer cuts their time together short.

“‘And I’m in love with him. I’ve always been in love with him. But it’s contained, like in a hermetically sealed box. It has never leaked out into real life. It’s come close. But yeah, me and him, one weekend a year, for a long time now. And nobody knows but me and him. And now you.’ […] [Leland’s] not sure there’s such a thing as a relationship that exists in a hermetically sealed box.” 

Mallory, like Jake, views their relationship as completely separated from the outside world. She obviously doesn’t view Leland knowing about the relationship as a threat to it, an ironic oversight that will eventually lead to Ursula finding out about the affair. Leland, more “world-wise” than Mallory, isn’t as optimistic about the secrecy of the affair.

“She isn’t famous like Ursula; she isn’t a scene-stealer. She’s just a person—a good person, she has always believed. To Coop, it must seem like she has zero integrity, but where her relationship with Jake is concerned, Mallory would argue she has nothing but integrity. She has never taken more than her share. Their weekends together have a certain purity; they aren’t dirty or mean-spirited. She’s not trying to fool herself; she knows it’s wrong. But it’s also right. If Mallory tells Coop this, will he understand? He may; he may not. She isn’t sure what kind of warped rulebook he uses when it comes to love. Or maybe she’s the one with the warped rulebook. Or maybe there is no rulebook.” 

The distinction between right and wrong, with Mallory and Jake remaining on the side of right in the moral world of the novel, is here defined. Mallory and Jake aren’t conducting a “dirty” affair, Mallory is content with the one weekend a year they share, and she questions the moral rules that say that her actions are offensive. The statement “maybe there is no rulebook” posits the idea that conventional restrictions in long-term relationships should be examined, questioned, and perhaps even rejected.

“The times that Mallory has asked God to stop time for her and Jake seem quaint compared to how badly Mallory wants to stop time now. Just let these high-school days go on forever, please—the gathering of boys eating chips and guacamole around the harvest table or playing Fortnite while sitting on Big Hugs; the baseball games in thirty-seven-degree weather; the pep rallies and Spanish-club dinners; the Homecoming floats and SAT prep; even the Bud Light cans stuffed deep in the trash and the empty nip bottles of McGillicuddy’s scattered across the front porch; even the heartbreak of day six of Nicole-in-Italy when she texted to say she needed la libertà and Link screamed profanities across the ocean, then went into his bedroom and cried. She’ll take it all on a loop, forever and ever.”

The list of the activities that Link is involved in, like the list of the island’s flora and fauna in Chapter 1, adds detail and believability to the description of Mallory’s experience as mother of a late high-schooler. Her acceptance of teenage drinking, foreshadowed in her attitude toward the high school students she teaches early in the book, is demonstrated with the nonchalant description of the evidence of alcohol to which Mallory turns a blind eye. Link’s pain over Nicole emphasizes how much time has been covered in the story—a new generation is experiencing adult heartbreak for the first time.