A Sense of Place, or Virgil is Still the Frogboy
About this book
Schuyler Browne and his friends, Josh, Ann and Mary, gather for the spring at Schuyler's family's Hampton home. Schuyler, a trust-fund kid from wealthy lineage, doesn't yet know what to do with his life. Josh, very into computers, is on the verge of making millions on a stock market deal done over the Internet. Ann, a would-be dancer, is turned down for a grant and is fearful of becoming a blue collar worker. Mary is a business manager about to open her own company, and the one to open the group to a new member, Chuck, a local carpenter working for her. As the spring passes, the friends begin to clash as all their problems and futures grow. Growing more neurotic, Ann spends her time cooking even as she continues her work in a nearby shop. Tempers fly when Schuyler insults Chuck, and Mary and Josh in turn chide Schuyler for being a snob. More time passes, and Josh, with some of his new money, makes a large contribution to the director of a dance troupe hoping Ann can have a featured role, but his kindness backfires when she is fired on opening night. Schuyler's feud with Chuck fizzles, but Schuyler's father informs them all they may no longer live in the house since, come September, he has rented it out. When the time comes to leave, the friends vow to hang onto their meager livings and to their family of friends, but no one really knows how. Schuyler wants to hurt his father and announces his intention to open a restaurant with Ann as the cook, but it is Josh who rescues the group, with his vow to spend millions on a new house, where they all can, again, be together.