The Nakeds
By Lisa Glatt
Regan Arts, Hardcover, 9781941393055, June 2015, 288pp.
The Short of It:
Super flawed characters, an engaging story and a nudist camp. This will probably be one of my faves for the year.
The Rest of It:
From Indiebound:
Seven-year-old Hannah Teller is on her way to school when she’s hit by a car. Martin Kettle—just out of high school, still drunk from the night before—is the driver who injures Hannah and leaves her by the side of the road. Glatt follows the intertwined lives of these two characters as they deal with the accident’s aftermath.
Martin’s guilt over the accident leads him to Hannah’s bedside at the hospital. There, he leaves her secret presents, inquires about her progress and realizes that he’s changed her life forever but decides not to come forward. Instead, he moves far away and attempts to get his life in order, never really getting past the actions of that fateful day.
Hannah’s family is supportive, but her mother and father are on the brink of divorce and the added burden of caring for a crippled child just adds to their stress. Endlessly hopeful, her parents do their best for Hannah, but ultimately their marriage ends leaving Hannah to deal with visitations, new significant others and the nudist lifestyle that her step-father encourages.
Yes folks, nudist lifestyle. You read that right. This was such an interesting addition to the story and although it did make for some awkward moments, I couldn’t help but think that in some way, it mirrored the awkwardness and disappointment Hannah had over her own body. Realizing that she may never walk again, Hannah’s perception of what others think of her plays a huge role in who she is and the idea of being naked, in front of all those people is too much for her.
The story spans many years and alternates between different characters but it all comes together beautifully. It was meaningful, sometimes funny, other times very deep. All of these characters have their quirks and for some, deep running faults, but you can relate to all of them which is not something that happens too often.
I haven’t seen many reviews of The Nakeds which surprises me because it’s really quite good. I hope you pick it up.
Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.
Book Chatter 
Wow, I wouldn’t have seen a nudist colony in that story, but it does sound like an interesting read.
The nudist colony represents a lot of things in the book so there’s a purpose for it being there. Oh, the book is so good though. Just made it more interesting.
I had borrowed this one but returned it u read so I just requested it again. Glad u loved it so much!
BTW – I listened to the audio of The Invaders and although the story was so so the audio was fantastic and made for a great road trip book. Poor Cheryl and Teddy LOL
I know! That ending!
The nudist camp is certainly an interesting twist! Will keep an eye out for this book. Thanks, Ti.
It’s really a very good book. Someone on Facebook questioned the cover and how it wasn’t safe for work and I was like, no… the title is symbolic. Two pages later the nudist topic came up so yeah.
When we lived in Alabama, one of Carl’s co-workers was a weekend nudist. He gave Carl a couple brochures to bring him in case I was interested in going. It still cracks me up when I think about it. A nudist camp with flawed characters is certainly intriguing!
I’d be too concerned about hygiene. In the book, they want this young girl to go and I’d be worried about what she sees but I guess the whole point is that the naked body is a natural thing. But still.
We have two nudists camps within 40 miles of my house. I’ve never been to either one. Maybe I should read this and head over. 🙂
Trisha… you crack me up 😉
I can see how the nudist lifestyle could be freeing but I’d be too self conscious and I’d worry about hygiene too much. The topic made for some interesting reading though.
A nudist colony. I think that is a first for me. Yet, your praise for the book as a whole has me very intrigued. I know I won’t be forgetting the title of this one for a long time!
I know, right? I just loved that the characters were not an open book. You could’t predict one way or another how’d they react to what was happening to them. The inclusion of the nudist colony just made it all the more entertaining and complex.
You kind of got me at super flawed characters!
I’m surprised you haven’t read it yet.
This sounds like an unexpected gem.
Oh, my dear friend, you had me at “nudists!” ❤
You would enjoy The Nakeds. It’s a really solid read.