Reviews with content warning for Bullying - Summerwater

Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Summerwater by Sarah Moss

11 reviews

veelaughtland's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Content Warnings

bookedbymadeline's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-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

4.5

Alternating chapters between different characters and the nature surrounding them. It was as if the landscape and animals around the loch were another character on its own, looking on at the events of the people.

We see the daily lives inside each cabin with frustrations and bigotry towards the Ukrainian family throwing parties late at night.

Some characters are extremely unlikeable and I couldn’t wait for their chapters to end like Lola and the dads/husbands. I Liked some characters more than others like Milly and David were my favorites.

Beautiful writing and storytelling from Moss! This was my first book from her and I can’t wait to read more. Normally I wouldn’t read this type of book where nothing significant happens plot wise, but the writing just held my attention and made me want to finish the book!

That ending was intense but abrupt and incomplete otherwise it would’ve been a 5 star read.

Content Warnings

jesshindes's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

We read the first chapter of Summerwater as an exercise in one of my MA classes last year and I can absolutely see why: Sarah Moss is so skilful at building character through interior monologue, which is what she does in each chapter of this shimmering little book. Summerwater is set in a clutch of holiday cottages on the Scottish border, on a rainy summer's day (not just rainy: pouring, saturated). As the day passes we dip in and out of each cabin and into the minds of the inhabitants, old and young. A lot of what Moss is exploring here is about relationships: different families and their different traditions and expectations; different financial situations, life stages, loves and hates and frustrations. It's especially rewarding when you get one half of a couple early in the novel and then, later on, see the same cabin from the other person's side. The book isn't trying to be or do too much: it's more about tenderly and carefully rendering this detailed, tactile picture of human life. With that said, there is certainly plot here, and a climax built to - in a way that reminded me (as did the whole book) of John McGregor's If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things, which I read with my book group back in 2020. Moss's cast is less diverse than McGregor's (which is fine and I think realistic for the setting), but I liked that she gave attention to the non-human wildlife around the loch as well, in short paragraphs that interleave the longer chapters.

This is the second of Moss's books I've read, after Ghost Wall, which I picked up last year. I think on balance I preferred that one because of its speculative elements (the clue is in the title), which lent it an additional dimension that I really enjoyed, but this is a beautifully crafted piece of work and really a masterclass in precise, understated writing.

(PS I could not stop thinking the whole time I was reading it about something I read last year, where Moss said that she writes a first draft of a book and then DESTROYS IT AND WRITES THE WHOLE THING AGAIN. Absolutely unhinged behaviour but it clearly works for her because this was fantastic.)

Content Warnings

pageturn_industries's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Very fast read, closed circle setting, interesting and varied pov’s written in a stream of consciousness style. I liked the little interludes between each pov.

Content Warnings

rabonallie's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark funny reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

what a good book to round off summer with, as full of summer's chaos and liminality as it is. between this and ghost wall, i'm beginning to think nobody does this particular flavour of creeping dread like sarah moss.

oh, also, absolutely dying to read the fell, ngl.

Content Warnings

linda3's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

teresareads's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional mysterious reflective 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

Content Warnings

olivianw's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark reflective tense 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? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

readundancies's review against another edition

Go to review page

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.

Content Warnings

beth_farrelly's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

Content Warnings

More...