It takes place in an isolated bed and breakfast in Cornwall, England, in 1947. World War II has just ended, but the world is not back to normal yet. A few families have gathered to escape that world for a few short summer weeks. By the end, they will have bonded in a way they never thought possible.
Early in the book it is revealed that a landslide has buried the seaside hotel, killing seven guests. The story unfolds as the survivors recount the week leading up to the disaster. We know it is coming, we just don't know when or to whom.
Yet as the book goes along, the reader finds she is rooting for some to make it, and cringing to think there are some that don't deserve to.
By the end, we find that Kennedy chose wisely.
The best part of reading this book came during our discussion. Apparently we had all missed the introduction that stated, "The Feast situates the age-old questions of sin, retribution and salvation against a specific post-war context of shortages and squabbling, and this is what gives the novel such immediacy and texture. Pride, gluttony, covetousness, lechery, wrath, envy and sloth are well in evidence at the Pendizack Hotel" (p. IX). I think we all assumed those sins would be evident. We completely missed Kennedy's ingenious ability to embody each sin a particular character. We all gasped with the realization.
It's a clever, enjoyable read. The twist is worth the price alone.
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