Reviews with content warning for Xenophobia - Summerwater

Summerwater is told in a series of introspective yet quotidian vignettes, each centered around a different character; the main narrative thread drawing each character together is their residence, be it permanent or vacationing, in a particular cabin park in Scotland and on a particularly nasty, rainy day. I love this premise, and I think for the most part it works very well-- it reminds me of a very contemporary To The Lighthouse, in ironic structure, plot, character intricacy, and reflective musings about the meaning of human connection alike.

Moss’s writing style here is beautifully casual, and each character is offered a distinct thought pattern in their chapters. All these people are complicated; all of them are more than they seem to be. Moss does a fantastic job of communicating that complexity in her writing, along with adding lyrical flair in interspersed depictions of wildlife between chapters. The natural world, however gloomy it is on the day the story takes place, is rendered with a careful poignance, complementing the quiet melancholy or dissatisfaction underpinning many of the characters’ stories. The gap between the anthropocene and the otherwise natural is wide and tangible-- but we also get to see the subtle similarities through those differences.

My concern with Summerwater is, as many reviewers seem to agree, its ending.

I’m inclined to think the surprising nature of the fire, its overt out-of-left-field disturbingness and the dawning horror it evokes, is the point: all these people, who seem to have nothing in common, are drawn together by the tragedy, just as the wildlife is drawn together in the face of environmental deterioration caused by humans. There are parallels between the people and nature, as well insights about what we refuse to notice and the biases we pass on to those who look to us for guidance. The contrast between the fire and the water represents the disturbance and disruption of the environment by humans too preoccupied with their own goings-on to care, or even to notice when their worldviews promote harm to their own community. And thus, destruction, fire, tragedy.

I can’t help but feel unsatisfied, though! Even if it was the point, I think the fire could have had much more of an impact with increased foreshadowing. This book thrives on irony; why not turn up its intensity? In the pages leading up to the fire, we do see some amount of this, especially with the focus on the horrible xenophobic little girl (her name eludes me at the moment). Ultimately, the book realizes its potential as a tragic warning about manufactured differences between humans, how we should not let classism and xenophobia and racism and sexism divide us lest our biases result in such a tragedy. I only wish there had been more, though. The ending’s suddenness almost undercuts its point… almost. It would have been far more chilling if it had been just a bit more predictable, I think.

Overall, I liked Summerwater, regardless of how I felt about its ending. Moss’s ability to entrench the audience in the minds of the different characters and shift flowingly between them is astounding; the writing shines in its complexity. The audiobook version, which I listened to, did an amazing job of communicating the story as well. I don’t think this book is for everyone, and I don’t think it’s perfect, but I enjoyed its reflection, however rainy and gray.

Content Warnings

bookedbymadeline's review against another edition

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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

bumble_abi's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

Set over one summer solstice in a rain-drenched holiday cabin park in the Scottish countryside, this book is made up of a bunch of successive streams of consciousness which together offer sharp (and often blackly funny) insight into the contemporary British consciousness. Moss is a genius about the mundane antagonisms that steal the joy from the everyday, and most of this book is following people through a day where nothing much happens, where they struggle to live alongside each other, where the tension quietly drips down and down until the soil can hold no more and it erupts into a furious crescendo in the final few pages. Remarkably observant, a taut, clever, cutting little book.

Content Warnings

freja's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective medium-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? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

pageturn_industries's review against another edition

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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

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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

evangelinereading's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective tense 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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