Reviews with content warning for Suicidal thoughts - Summerwater

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Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

Summerwater by Sarah Moss

28 reviews

readundancies's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

So I need to start off this review with the admission that I was completely under the impression that this was a horror novel. I read the synopsis blurb, saw the words subtle menace and was like 'Yup, this be a horror novel' and then went on with my life.

Some context: I'm not a big horror novel reader - there's something about the concept of fear as a form of entertainment that utterly bores me and so I tend to steer clear of the genre as whole. But this year, The Royal We that is me, myself and I are trying to expand our minds and dip our toes into genres that we don't generally want to wet our whistles with. Hence the picking up of a novel that I was convinced was horror.

Of course, upon conclusion of this novella, it is very much not so a horror novel. It very much is literary fiction though, and so I fully admit that my overall rating may be slightly biased due to this.

That being said, it really was an experience of a novella. The backdrop of rainy Scotland, being hustled within cabins in a community of strangers, and the dark undertones that tinged each perspective as everyone divulged their opinions of that one family that is very much at the centre of everyone's thoughts despite them not quite fitting in - all of it is very aptly described by the words subtle menace.

We are very quickly thrown into the story where the stream-of-consciousness delivery is both potent and jarring. Certain perspectives made use of the style better than others; Justine was rather boring and I'm not in love with how her perspective was the first one we encounter (because that woman thinks in rather large blocks of text with no breaks and I would've preferred a more slower ease into the writing style), whereas Mary's was without a doubt my favourite of the lot because so much of her inner monologue was illuminating with all the implications she expressed.

Branching off that, I feel the need to highlight that the cadence with which the way Moss writes is very natural. It's not what I would call lyrical, but rather it has a very comfortable and effortless quality to it as you read, which holds your gaze as you’re lulled into the feeling of ease beneath the diction. Even though I wasn’t completely sold on the stream of consciousness delivery, it was made more palatable by the quality of the writing because there were so many lines that were hard-hitting, poignant and thought-provoking - to the point where I would actively stop reading and be like, damn, this is the good shit.

This story's biggest strength is the characterization: all 12 of the perspectives are strong characters that bring all kinds of human aspects to light. There's internalized racism, teenage rebellion, the capacity for maliciousness in children, and a rather fantastic exploration of the dichotomy that exists within relationships both young and old. The way that Moss displays how each character perceives the others, how they theorize what others motivations are; where they’re going, what they’re up to, what they’re thinking and feeling. It’s brilliant in that virtually all of the assumptions made are not correct, but there’s also a strange affinity in how the characters observe and try to make sense of one another. From a sociological standpoint, it was incredibly interesting to read.

I did however see the ending coming a mile away - not so much in it's execution, but rather the overall result. I don't necessarily think that it detracted from my reading experience, but the predictability is worth noting.

As a whole, had I been more properly informed going into this story (which is a direct result of my own misguided arrogance), this is likely higher than a 4 star read. And I have no qualms about vehemently recommending it.

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beth_farrelly's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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erinblue's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.25

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clarahowell92's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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absolutive's review against another edition

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funny slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This book takes place on one very wet rainy day in a holiday park on a Scottish loch. Each chapter is told from the viewpoint of a different character, and we revisit the various families and their holiday cabins from different members' points of view. The flitting from mind to mind and the prose mirror the waves of loch and wind, the circular path around the loch, and the steady downpour of rain in a lovely style. Some of the themes in this book are ageing, immigration and inclusion, and for the young and middle-aged how to live the good life in a changing world with an uncertain future and seemingly rosy past. The book contains its share of sparkly wee gems of insight, humour, irony, pathos, and prose. I found the book fun and engaging but not challenging or deeply moving. The ending seemed tacked on, like a hopeful attitude on a rainy day, though it was not hopeful.

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michellehogmire's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Thanks to FSG for an advance galley of this title, which came out in the US on Jan 12, 2021--

After really enjoying Ghost Wall, I was excited to read this new book by Sarah Moss, whose writing is quiet and understated, yet hugely emotionally impactful; I think I prefer Ghost Wall overall, but Summerwater definitely didn't disappoint.

Despite the fact that Summerwater describes a group of people vacationing in remote cabins in Scotland, the experience is much more anxiety-inducing than relaxing. The weather is relentlessly rainy, and the novel's characters either soak themselves outside or stay inside--and judge the behavior of the strangers staying around them through their windows. Mothers try to relax when it's impossible: they still have to cook and clean and take care of the kids on holiday. Teenagers resent their parents, and the quickly dying world and uncertain futures they've been dealt. Young couples try to figure out how to live a more sustainable life, while older couples resent change and hide rapidly encroaching memory loss. And everyone's upset about the "foreign" family, who host loud parties late into the night.

Moss is a master at rendering unsettled minds and rapid, associative thoughts on the page (my favorite being a woman who can't stop thinking about genocide when her partner is trying to attain a simultaneous orgasm). Summerwater is the perfect depiction of that common feeling of "trying" to relax--of criticizing ourselves for "wasting" our few days off by not appropriately enjoying them.

Large scale social upheaval and political clashes, climate change, inherited prejudice, and natural loss loom in the background of every small moment--with interstitial chapters about animals trying to survive a perilous environment complimenting scenes of trivial human concerns. But Moss' point seems to be that these human moments actually aren't trivial: instead, like the book's stressful end, the little things often add up and burst forth dangerously, if we don't try to deal with them.

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lian's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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lorellei's review against another edition

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emotional relaxing tense slow-paced

Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This year I have firstly encounter Sarah Moss, through Ghost wall and similar to that one, Summerwater gets 4 stars. Sarah Moss reminds me of Ali Smith, I will for sure read all her books. Summerwater is not plot driven, some families and couples are on holiday, somewhere near a loch, in Scotland and it rains. You get the perspective of each character (with one exception), a lot of info for such a short book and a lot of subjects, like climate change, feminism, immigration, long term relationships, sex, family, money, sport. Basically every possible subject appears due to lack of activity thanks to the rain.

I enjoyed the details for each character, you could differentiate clearly between them. The scenery, loved it, I really miss Scotland, the holiday there still brings back great memories. I am amused by "the Romanians" with the loud music, we do not appear a lot in english novels, but when we do...things happen, it seems.

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