The Beach House by James Nugent

[TheMusicalMuse]

If you're searching for an intriguing storyline, don't look here. If you want a read that's fast-paced and action-packed, you're in the wrong place.

This book isn't fast or progressive or mainstream. It's a soothing narrative in which the author invites you to peek through a tiny window into his idyllic corner of peace.

Reading "The Beach Cabin" was like sitting down with my grandpa and letting him talk. Sometimes, he rambles a little bit. Sometimes, his grammar isn't perfect. But there's nothing like listening to that kind of narrator: he draws you into the most ordinary of stories.

Mr. Nugent's beach house is extraordinary in the numerous, minute ways it deviates from the norm. He speaks of living simply and inexpensively, of spending time in pure nature, and of communing with God...all counterculture topics, but none of them hot button issues. Yet, this is the life he has chosen, and the peace he finds there shines through his writing. It could make even the most driven reader long for the slower pace of life on the beach.

I especially appreciated the section concerning an abuse free zone. By refusing to let harmful, hurtful people into his beach house, Mr. Nugent has ensured that it will remain a healthy, happy place for him and his family. I think he hits on an important theme here: regardless of where we live, we can make our homes more wholesome and comfortable by refusing to admit into them those people who only have negativity to offer.

"The Beach Cabin" isn't the perfect book. It's not particularly well-written, and it's never going to win any awards. However, what it has to offer is far more impressive--a glimpse of life lived in harmony and satisfaction. Perhaps, if you take a peek, you will be inspired to create your own "beach house", regardless of where you actually dwell.