When Sam Baker meets Jane Adagio at an anti-Vietnam War protest march, he’s immediately transfixed—as are his housemates, Matt and David (otherwise known as “Trotsky”). Jane, the sister of Sam’s friend, Anthony, a soldier fighting in Vietnam, springs from a troubled past and a strained relationship with her brother, who writes home to tell Jane “every time you and your liberal friends go marching in the street, it gives encouragement to the North Vietnamese to keep fighting.” When one of Jane’s protests goes awry and she is arrested, her upcoming trial casts a shadow on her relationship with Sam, testing their love for and acceptance of each other.

Sandler (author of The Age of Worry) paints a meticulous, indulgent, and loving portrait of a very relatable, flawed protagonist. Jane is both vibrant and vulnerable, portrayed through Sam’s eyes in a way that keeps her at an arm’s length from readers—who get to know her thoughts and feelings primarily through what she confides in Sam. The book’s other characters are just as lively, including the left-leaning Trotsky with his passion for cooking, mandolin playing Matt who infuses tense situations with humor, and the empathetic Sam. Interestingly, Suzanne—Sam’s girlfriend when Jane wanders onto the scene—lingers in readers’ minds, made vividly realistic through her unwavering feminist beliefs and tendency to push herself into a lonely corner while pursuing them.

Sandler keeps the narrative pace relaxed and the prose sunny, evoking a largely positive atmosphere of enthusiastic curiosity and passion for safeguarding one’s beliefs throughout. Times may seem simpler in Sam’s story, but they’re not without problems: amid a heated discussion about women’s rights, Jane energetically proclaims to Sam and his entourage that “someday, a woman will bring us the TV news at night.” This is a nostalgic study of love, war, and protest in the ‘60s.

Takeaway: Nostalgic study of ‘60s life amid cataclysmic world events.

Comparable Titles: Susen Edwards’s What a Trip, Philip Roth’s Letting Go.

Production grades
Cover: B
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A-