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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
This sucked me right in and was a delightful story. If you have any interest in historical fiction (WWI Britain) you should read this immediately. An engrossing "oops, I didn't mean to stay up this late" read.
There's so much to love about this story! As it began, I thought it only a light-hearted, easy-paced tale in the spirit of Lark Rise to Candleford or Cranford. Then once I made it through the beginning desultory yet charming chapters and war began affecting the people of the village, the real drama began. I loved that the older couple---the bedrock of the family---though high born, were not wastrels & cheats involved in tawdry plots as in so many British novels. They were a charity-minded woman and her tender, quiet-spoken husband, who was so humble few in the village realized his powerful position in the government. Yes, the novel contained gossips, bullies, and cruel, clueless aristocrats. But so many people in the village were kind. And who could not love the brave, noble Beatrice and the practical, always-to-be-counted-on, understated hero, Hugh? This story brought chuckles & tears throughout & then sighs at the satisfying, hopeful ending. Talented author. Wonderful narrator. (No language. Disturbing topics not described & handled delicately.) Highly recommend!!
A big thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for the free copy of this book I received!
This book was...unexpected? I read Major Pettigrew's Last Stand a long time ago and forgot about the author until this book popped up. So glad I read it! This book was pleasantly different from Pettigrew, and while I really liked both, I welcomed the change. I tried very hard not to compare the two while I read, but couldn't help but remark on Simonson's signature wit and quirky characters.
Set in the small town of Rye, England, in 1914, an adventurous and intelligent young Latin teacher named Beatrice Nash arrives to stir things up a bit. However, the threat of imminent war looms over the town, and I will not spoil the rest for you! I loved Beatrice and thought her character exceptional in many ways. She at first seems cliche in that she is educated, well-traveled, kind, strong and blablabla, but she later appears very well fleshed-out in that she has her own insecurities and inabilities to do all that she wishes to do. In addition, I really liked Agatha, Hugh and Daniel. They weren't simple trope-y characters either, and each had their strengths and weaknesses.
One issue I had with the book was that there were a few too many background characters with not enough explanation as to their existence. I understood that being a small town, the description of Rye had to include a lot about its villagers, but I felt like they were just names that I will forget without real personalities. I also thought the story dragged a bit at the beginning, but it really picked up towards the middle and end, so it didn't bother me that much.
I really like this book! Go read it!
This book was...unexpected? I read Major Pettigrew's Last Stand a long time ago and forgot about the author until this book popped up. So glad I read it! This book was pleasantly different from Pettigrew, and while I really liked both, I welcomed the change. I tried very hard not to compare the two while I read, but couldn't help but remark on Simonson's signature wit and quirky characters.
Set in the small town of Rye, England, in 1914, an adventurous and intelligent young Latin teacher named Beatrice Nash arrives to stir things up a bit. However, the threat of imminent war looms over the town, and I will not spoil the rest for you! I loved Beatrice and thought her character exceptional in many ways. She at first seems cliche in that she is educated, well-traveled, kind, strong and blablabla, but she later appears very well fleshed-out in that she has her own insecurities and inabilities to do all that she wishes to do. In addition, I really liked Agatha, Hugh and Daniel. They weren't simple trope-y characters either, and each had their strengths and weaknesses.
One issue I had with the book was that there were a few too many background characters with not enough explanation as to their existence. I understood that being a small town, the description of Rye had to include a lot about its villagers, but I felt like they were just names that I will forget without real personalities. I also thought the story dragged a bit at the beginning, but it really picked up towards the middle and end, so it didn't bother me that much.
I really like this book! Go read it!
I really liked Simonson's first novel, Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, but I found The Summer Before the War painfully slow and lacking a lot of the charm and wit and whimsy that made the first book so enjoyable. The year is 1914 and the citizens of a small, idyllic British town called Rye get a rude awakening when war suddenly breaks out with Germany. What soon comes to be known as World War I is at first viewed as a brief, irritating disruption: travel to the continent is halted and food quality and quantity dips. Still the citizens do their part and show their patriotism by forming committees, holding parades, and recruiting their able bodied men to help with the fighting. These are the events that are described in minute, almost excruciatingly boring detail throughout most of the book. We get a glimpse of the war only in the last few chapters, which is when the book picks up a little bit.
The cast of characters is large, but for the most part they're bland and not very well developed. Events that should be moving and heart-rending aren't because you don't know enough about the characters to really care what happens to them. Important topics are brought up: proper conduct in a very prim time, the role of women in society, sexuality, sexual assault, the fate of refugees and other victims of war, but Simonson doesn't really go anywhere with them. The bones of interesting ideas and a good novel are here, but are bogged down by excessive wordiness, a snail's pace, and lack of thorough editing.
The cast of characters is large, but for the most part they're bland and not very well developed. Events that should be moving and heart-rending aren't because you don't know enough about the characters to really care what happens to them. Important topics are brought up: proper conduct in a very prim time, the role of women in society, sexuality, sexual assault, the fate of refugees and other victims of war, but Simonson doesn't really go anywhere with them. The bones of interesting ideas and a good novel are here, but are bogged down by excessive wordiness, a snail's pace, and lack of thorough editing.
I knew what I was getting into with this book - I knew I wasn't going to love it. However, I think I did hope that I would be a bit more enthralled. In the end, I rushed through it, listening to it constantly not because I really WANTED to but because I wanted to FINISH (and it was going to be automatically returned to the library tomorrow). It was just a story. There was nothing I specifically didn't like about it, but...there was nothing particularly compelling either. I didn't care much about the relationship between Hugh and Beatrice. I liked Aunt Agatha and was mildly interested in Daniel, but I wasn't moved by either of them. I thought the way women were treated was frustrating, but it felt like a story I had been told before and nothing new was being added.
This book was a placeholder: something to listen to while I waited for other books to become available.
This book was a placeholder: something to listen to while I waited for other books to become available.
This was predictable but I think the reason I enjoyed it is because it reminded me in a way of Downton Abbey: the rigid social mores of the day, the role of women and what was considered scandalous or inappropriate, village hierarchy, etc. If you're a sucker for Downton and historical fiction, you'll probably enjoy this as well.
More like 3.5? Hard to rate this one. It was too long. It just kept ambling along, with not a lot in the way of storyline or plot, but it was largely enjoyable. The characters are indelible, the setting & era well rendered, and the emotions palpable. But it did drag at a few points. The sexist and classist cruelty was hard to take at times, and I skipped ahead during some of the war scenes. But overall a good, enjoyable read. It would make a great mini series.
Well, I didn't finish this one. The plot didn't grab me hard enough for me to finish it before I had to return it to the library. I may try it again though--I keep thinking I should like it more.