The Beach House / Jane Green

The Beach House is a 2008 novel by Jane Green, arguably one of the founders of modern "chicklit." It deals with several different individuals, all dealing with problems of their own, and the way in which they come together during the summer of 2007.

Plot
The novel takes place primarily in Nantucket, Massachusetts, though various other East Coast locales make appearances. It has an ensemble cast, with no single character taking prominence as protagonist. There is Nan, an eccentric aging widow who owns the eponymous beach house, and her son, Michael. She has impending money problems, and his whole life seems stuck in a rut. There's Daff, whose dealing with divorce and a truculent 13-year-old daughter named Jess, and there's Daniel and Bee, a married couple with two children who are having relationship troubles, largely because Daniel is closeted. The book follows these stories as they unfold and resolve over the summer of 2007.

Relevance
The Beach House is a mainstream women's novel written by a mainstream women's author. The gay content, therefore, doesn't take prominence in the story, but it's not pushed aside, either. Daniel's story is given as much airtime, so to speak, as any of the other characters, so if you're looking for something that's got some gayness to it but doesn't overkill, this is a good place to start. The gay issues are, quite predictably, centered on Daniel's inability to admit his sexuality to his wife and the life-changing results of his ultimate confession, though Daniel's internal awakening to his sexuality does play a minor role through flashbacks.