Reviews with content warning for Self harm - Summerwater

Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

Summerwater by Sarah Moss

5 reviews

bibliothecolle'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? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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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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