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cora98's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Nice and reflective stories about relationships but I was always waiting for more.
flahri's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
estherdb's review against another edition
4.0
Süßer Band mit Kurzgeschichten, die sich handeln um... Sommerlügen (go figure).
Die Kurzgeschichten sind nicht immer super komplex oder tiefsinnig (manchmal sogar eher trivial), waren zur Zeit aber unglaublich schön und rührend.
Die "Sommerlügen" handeln um Erinnerungen, menschliche Nähe vs. Abstand zwischen Menschen, Wahrheit vs. (Not)lüge und oft Kontrolle/Herrschaft (die Kontrolle, die jemand hat über einen anderen Menschen hat, z.B. in einer Beziehung).
Hier kopiere ich die kurzen Inhalte der Kurzgeschichten, gefunden in einer anderen Review (von Goodreads user Robert)(nur für mich selbst, damit ich mir die Geschichten später einfacher in Errinerung bringen kann):
In the first story, "After the Season," an accomplished musician with adequate but not a great deal of money falls in love with an heiress with tons of money…and that's a problem for him. He doesn't like rich people, or thinks he doesn't, but there's really nothing wrong with the woman except that by moving in with her, he'll lose touch with all the nice things he has in his modest New York life. These are itemized: the guy he plays chess with, the kids he jokes with on the sidewalk, the fact that he can hear all the fighting going on in his apartment building which justifies him playing music as loud as he wishes any time of night or day. Anyway, bye-bye to all that…love is in the air and he'll swallow his distate for a fortune to accomodate it. Sweet, maybe. Saccharine? Maybe that, too.
The next story, "The Night in Baden-Baden," is a tale in which a fellow likes women other than his girlfriend from time to time…and his girlfriend is the jealous, snoopy type. You can imagine how that turns out, but this guy still gets an unexpected roll in the hay --with another woman, of course--before the final break-up.
Then we come to my favorite stinker: "The House in the Forest." Here a male writer who is overshadowed by his more successful spouse, also a writer, moves the family five hours out of New York so her fame won't distract her so much. Kind of him. He even goes as far as knocking out the telephone line to their house so no one will tell her she's won "the American Book Award." All this ends up in a car accident and a split. Some marriage.
Throughout these tales, the question of control often presents itself. Our writer friend clearly is a controller. The jealous girlfriend? A controller. In the next story, "Stranger in the Night," a con artist bewilders an otherwise intelligent chap…in other words, he controls him, quite implausibly.
Same thing in spades in "The Last Summer." Here we have a man dying of cancer who wants his family around him at his country house for one last summer before the pain becomes so great that he will drink a potion that will kill him as kindly as falling asleep. Of course, he doesn't want anyone to know this is his plan. And of course, his wife finds out. End of his control over the situation. The wife and the family abandon him. Really? He's quite ill, can barely peck out a letter apologizing, but somehow he manages to do so, and in addition, he locks up the poison and throws away the key.
The same control-freak reappears in the next story, "Johann Sebastian Bach in Rügen". Here he's a father with a son desperate to get to know him. The son batters him pretty hard about this, but no luck; when dad cries over a Bach CD's beauty, a true show of emotion, he offers no explanation why.
Now the last story, "The Journey to the South." This is another end-of-life story that does have an interesting twist when a granddaughter snookers her highly controlled grandmother into meeting, after decades, the man who was the true love of her life. This is hard on the old lady, but good for her. After facing her own role in undermining a passionate youthful romance, she confronts many of the highly controlled consequences that followed: chiefly, becoming a dutiful, exploited, betrayed wife and grandmother.
Die Kurzgeschichten sind nicht immer super komplex oder tiefsinnig (manchmal sogar eher trivial), waren zur Zeit aber unglaublich schön und rührend.
Die "Sommerlügen" handeln um Erinnerungen, menschliche Nähe vs. Abstand zwischen Menschen, Wahrheit vs. (Not)lüge und oft Kontrolle/Herrschaft (die Kontrolle, die jemand hat über einen anderen Menschen hat, z.B. in einer Beziehung).
Hier kopiere ich die kurzen Inhalte der Kurzgeschichten, gefunden in einer anderen Review (von Goodreads user Robert)(nur für mich selbst, damit ich mir die Geschichten später einfacher in Errinerung bringen kann):
In the first story, "After the Season," an accomplished musician with adequate but not a great deal of money falls in love with an heiress with tons of money…and that's a problem for him. He doesn't like rich people, or thinks he doesn't, but there's really nothing wrong with the woman except that by moving in with her, he'll lose touch with all the nice things he has in his modest New York life. These are itemized: the guy he plays chess with, the kids he jokes with on the sidewalk, the fact that he can hear all the fighting going on in his apartment building which justifies him playing music as loud as he wishes any time of night or day. Anyway, bye-bye to all that…love is in the air and he'll swallow his distate for a fortune to accomodate it. Sweet, maybe. Saccharine? Maybe that, too.
The next story, "The Night in Baden-Baden," is a tale in which a fellow likes women other than his girlfriend from time to time…and his girlfriend is the jealous, snoopy type. You can imagine how that turns out, but this guy still gets an unexpected roll in the hay --with another woman, of course--before the final break-up.
Then we come to my favorite stinker: "The House in the Forest." Here a male writer who is overshadowed by his more successful spouse, also a writer, moves the family five hours out of New York so her fame won't distract her so much. Kind of him. He even goes as far as knocking out the telephone line to their house so no one will tell her she's won "the American Book Award." All this ends up in a car accident and a split. Some marriage.
Throughout these tales, the question of control often presents itself. Our writer friend clearly is a controller. The jealous girlfriend? A controller. In the next story, "Stranger in the Night," a con artist bewilders an otherwise intelligent chap…in other words, he controls him, quite implausibly.
Same thing in spades in "The Last Summer." Here we have a man dying of cancer who wants his family around him at his country house for one last summer before the pain becomes so great that he will drink a potion that will kill him as kindly as falling asleep. Of course, he doesn't want anyone to know this is his plan. And of course, his wife finds out. End of his control over the situation. The wife and the family abandon him. Really? He's quite ill, can barely peck out a letter apologizing, but somehow he manages to do so, and in addition, he locks up the poison and throws away the key.
The same control-freak reappears in the next story, "Johann Sebastian Bach in Rügen". Here he's a father with a son desperate to get to know him. The son batters him pretty hard about this, but no luck; when dad cries over a Bach CD's beauty, a true show of emotion, he offers no explanation why.
Now the last story, "The Journey to the South." This is another end-of-life story that does have an interesting twist when a granddaughter snookers her highly controlled grandmother into meeting, after decades, the man who was the true love of her life. This is hard on the old lady, but good for her. After facing her own role in undermining a passionate youthful romance, she confronts many of the highly controlled consequences that followed: chiefly, becoming a dutiful, exploited, betrayed wife and grandmother.
mandyherbet's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed the first and last stories in this collection. Each story deals with a different kind of love - that found in a summer romance, or a lost love from one' youth for example. There's a gentle rhythm to this collection, a reflective and meditative look at love and lies we tell to those we love, or to ourselves. Definitely worth a read - a collection that stays with you long after you've turned the last page.
lenasch's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
fast-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
4.75
nikaaa's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
stef369's review against another edition
4.0
Na de prachtige roman, "De Voorlezer", krijg je terug zin om eens Bernard Schlink te lezen. "Zomerleugens" is een mooie bundel met zeven novellen. Wat is waarheid, wat is leugen? Moet je soms de waarheid verzwijgen tegenover jezelf of tegenover anderen? Dat zijn zo enkele vragen die Schlink zich voortdurend stelt. Schijnbaar eenvoudige verhalen worden bij Schlink soms ineens morele vraagstukken door de prangende vragen die hij de lezer stelt. Het zet je in elk geval aan het denken. Onder de mooiste verhalen vond ik "Het huis in het bos" (een man wil op fanatieke manier alleen met zijn dochter leven en doet tot in het absurde alles om zijn gezin te behouden), "De laatste zomer" (een terminale kankerpatiënt verzwijgt zijn ziekte aan zijn vrouw en brengt een laatste zomer door met zijn kinderen en kleinkinderen - wat echter dramatisch eindigt als de "waarheid" naar boven komt) - "De reis naar het zuiden" (het ontroerende verhaal van een oude wordende moeder die zich volledig afzondert van de buitenwereld en een laatste reis maakt naar een zuiderste stad...). Schlink schrijft in eenvoudige taal, maar zijn verhalen intrigeren. Ze roepen vragen op. Boeiende literaruur