Brenda may seem terribly cruel for trying to salvage her career while Vicki struggles with both her cancer treatment and what it means to have cancer, but just as Vickis primary identity is a mother, Brendas primary identity is an academic. Sometimes, too, indifference or misdirection can be a coping mechanism.
In addition, it seems to be painfully common to only half-listen to someone, to acknowledge their situation without really registering it.
Its not a terribly sympathetic way to render someone, but in truth people are selfish, and our own concerns tend to eclipse those of others. Each is wrapped up in her own difficulties, and throughout the book theres a sense of frustration as each character feels as though her own needs are being subjugated to someone elses. Melanie has, after a string of failed IVF attempts, finally fallen pregnant, only to learn that her husband is having an affair. Brenda, Vickis younger sister, is an academic whose career is in turmoil after being caught having an affair with a student and damaging a valuable painting.
Vicki, mother of two young children, has just been diagnosed with stage two lung cancer and is preparing to undergo chemotherapy. Each of the three key characters has come to the island haven of Nantucket in order to seek distance from a personal issue that is devouring them. If its an authors job to throw rocks at her characters, then Hilderbrand has upped the ante by hurling boulders at them instead. Once these opening credits slowly filter away, our lens zooms in and retains this close focus, alternating between the three main characters of Vicki, Brenda and Melanie, with the occasional moment of reflection from Josh. Josh, whos studying creative writing and is in search of a story to follow, is intrigued by the woman and their odd dynamics.
Elin Hilderbrands' Barefoot'opens with a scene akin to a drawn-out framing shot in a Steven Spielberg movie: through airport attendant Josh Flynns eyes we see three woman disembarking from a plane, each lost somewhere beneath a personal burden.
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