Another winner by Lipman. The Inn at Lake Devine begins in 1962 when teen-ager Natalie Marx reads a letter her parents received from a restricted resort in Vermont. The proprietor of the Inn, Ingrid Berry, writes: “Our guests who feel most comfortable here, and return year after year, are gentiles.”
This sets Natalie on a crusade to stay at the Inn. This she manages by wangling an invitation as a guest of the family of a camp bunk mate, Robin. Needless to say, the week at the Inn is miserable for Natalie.
Several years later, still crusading, Natalie sends anonymously to Mrs. Berry, a copy of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the Anne Frank quote “In spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart.”
After returning home from college, Natalie enrolls in a cooking school. A camp reunion newsletter puts her back in touch with Robin, who is now engaged to Nelson Berry, Ingrid’s oldest son. Natalie is invited to the wedding and finally checks into the Inn.
Lipman’s genius is managing to convert loaded topics like intermarriage and anti-Semitism into witty comedy.