It’s a lunch club like no other. Author Diane Bergner describes her prosecco guzzling friends in this metaphor. Think Sex in the City meets the Devil Wears Prada sprinkled with Crazy Rich Asians. And please substitute Palm Beachers for Asians. I’m talking about the fictionalized ladies who lunch in her debut novel The Royal Coconut Beach Lunch Club.
Yes, they can be crazy, rich, scandalous and oh, so much more. The protagonist, Julia Wild, is an attorney who became a fundraiser for a Performing Arts Center in Royal Coconut Beach. By the way, the author is an attorney, and currently the vice president of development for the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach, Florida. Hmm. . . Perhaps this lady writes what she knows.
Bergner’s descriptions of the powerful and wealthy sparkle alongside the Jimmy Choo stilettos. I’m not sure why she left out the Lily Pulitzer prints, but she managed to mention the Stubbs and Wootton shoes.
Oh, did I mention that everyone is having an affair? Well, not exactly everyone. The protagonist only dreams of one with an Argentinian billionaire who she meets clandestinely on the bridge. Remember, Royal Coconut Beach, like Palm Beach, is an island.
She confides in her lunch buddies about work, pleasure and daily living. Can raising dollars for nonprofits really be a back-stabbing, challenging business? Does Bergner blur the lines of reality in this roman a clef?
Read it for yourself, because I know you will enjoy it. The short, witty chapters fly by. And, by the way, pass the prosecco please.
Motown Savvy 