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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
I eagerly picked up this book as a fan of [b:Major Pettigrew's Last Stand|6643090|Major Pettigrew's Last Stand|Helen Simonson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320539020l/6643090._SX50_.jpg|6837577]. Unfortunately this book doesn't live up to that standard, but nevertheless I found it an enjoyable read. My biggest critique is the length, which seems quite unnecessary. While there is quite a bit of good character development I definitely think this book would benefit greatly from being at least 100 pages shorter. My other major problem was the ending, not so much in the events that transpired but in the fact that the focus of the book shifts to being more of a warfront story and doesn't really return to the small town focus as it concludes, which I thought was most unfortunate. It is however a lovely story and I would still happily pick up any new books by this author.
Witty, sad, critical, this novel had many elements that I enjoyed.
I loved Beatrice’s banter and “out of line” comments for the time. Aunt Agatha quickly became a favorite character of mine. She was a really well done representation of a woman of her time who is “progressive but not a revolutionary” (I believe is how she described herself at one point). The complexity of her character being able to break social norms for certain things and not for others really highlighted the limitations on women at the time, and how quickly their reputations and futures could be changed.
There were many other characters who also highlighted the breaking of social norms for the time, some more subtle than others, but all well done.
I’ve seen negative reviews saying that this novel doesn’t compare to Simonson’s first. As someone who hasn’t read her other novel, I was not disappointed with this one. At times it did feel a little slow, and some story lines could have progressed quicker.
From the idyllic coastal summer, to the consequences of war, and all of the complexities in between, this was an enjoyable read.
I loved Beatrice’s banter and “out of line” comments for the time. Aunt Agatha quickly became a favorite character of mine. She was a really well done representation of a woman of her time who is “progressive but not a revolutionary” (I believe is how she described herself at one point). The complexity of her character being able to break social norms for certain things and not for others really highlighted the limitations on women at the time, and how quickly their reputations and futures could be changed.
There were many other characters who also highlighted the breaking of social norms for the time, some more subtle than others, but all well done.
I’ve seen negative reviews saying that this novel doesn’t compare to Simonson’s first. As someone who hasn’t read her other novel, I was not disappointed with this one. At times it did feel a little slow, and some story lines could have progressed quicker.
From the idyllic coastal summer, to the consequences of war, and all of the complexities in between, this was an enjoyable read.
For those yearning for a more upper-middle class Downton Abbey may want to pick up Helen Simonson's latest. Set in the town of Rye in the summer of 1914, Beatrice Nash is grappling with being an educated female who wishes to earn her own way. As much as I love Simonson, the characters seemed forced and predictable, with the ending telegraphed almost from the first page.
emotional
funny
hopeful
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I honestly couldn't get into this book. It felt like the was very little to this book. I didn't connect with the characters, I don't even know if there was much of a plot. The scenery wasn't vivid. I just ended the book thinking Why?
I'm not saying it's a bar book. I just maybe would have enjoyed reading rather than listening. Or maybe it just wasn't a book for me.
Overall it was ok so 2/5 stars but I wouldn't recommend you read it. If you want to read it, I highly suggest using a library or borrowing from a friend.
I'm not saying it's a bar book. I just maybe would have enjoyed reading rather than listening. Or maybe it just wasn't a book for me.
Overall it was ok so 2/5 stars but I wouldn't recommend you read it. If you want to read it, I highly suggest using a library or borrowing from a friend.
The Summer Before the War is a historical fiction novel that chronicles the lives of several families in the town of Rye, England prior to World War I. Rye is a real place that still exists today "near the coast in East Sussex. In the centre, cobbled lanes like Mermaid Street are lined with medieval, half-timbered houses. The redbrick Lamb House was once owned by writer Henry James. Nearby, the tower of the Norman St. Mary’s Church overlooks the town. The 14th-century Ypres Tower, which formed part of Rye’s defences, is now Rye Castle Museum, with paintings and displays on local history (Rye, East Sussex).
Simonson drew upon her locale from her own childhood and her depiction of poetry at the heart of the novel from great authors such as Wilfred Owen and Rupert Brook. She even has a character that resembles Henry James (Irish author, but made his home in Rye as noted above).
The novel begins in the summer of 1914 when England knew peace and war was only something spoken of in hushed whispers of "surely not" and "what if." The people of the town subscribed to old-fashioned decorum with proper tea and proper places in society. Agatha Kent, a matriarchal figure for the quaint English village, however, has just ruffled the feathers of the school board by suggesting a woman replace the previous Latin master at the local school. Beatrice Nash is anything but dainty, and is certainly progressive, and her arrival is really the catalyst to the constant change thrust upon the village. While the looming war is certainly not her fault, her character's arrival reads like foreshadowing for the unimaginable devastation of war that will change their village forever.
Simonson writes with a deft hand for both detail and characterization. The progressive women, the conservative mainstays, the poets, the surgeons, the soldiers, the dreamers. She creates a world that is entirely believable and fully cultivated with a plot the lends itself to turning pages, but at quite the leisurely pace.
And this is where I struggled some with the novel - it reads like a Sunday drive...a very slow Sunday drive. The plot builds into a climatic development, but it happens so late in the novel I found myself putting the book down a lot to see what else I could do. It's not a bad book, it's just not a riveting book. I really liked her characters and it certainly carried with it a "Downtownesque" feeling, but the story didn't captivate, until it captivated. In the end I was heartbroken, but the development to take me there earns it only ☕☕☕. It feels very rushed in the end, and I understand the urgency of war once the war has begun, but it read like two separate novels for me: a very long development of plot, characterization, and setting, and then a fast-paced war novel. I understand the shift, I just didn't enjoy it.
Overall, this is a good book, but not something that's going to keep you up at night. Helen Simonson does have another novel entitled Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, which as I read the reviews has the same writing style. Maybe something to check out?
I would like to share something by Wilfred Owen though, a poet from who she drew inspiration for the poets' corps in her Army ranks:
Dulce et Decorum Est
Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs,
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots,
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of gas-shells dropping softly behind.
Gas! GAS! Quick, boys!—An ecstasy of fumbling
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time,
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling
And flound’ring like a man in fire or lime.—
Dim through the misty panes and thick green light,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.
In all my dreams before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.
If in some smothering dreams, you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,—
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.
Notes:
Latin phrase is from the Roman poet Horace: “It is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country.”
Works Cited
"Rye, East Sussex." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 24 Mar. 2017. Web. 24 Mar. 2017.
Simonson drew upon her locale from her own childhood and her depiction of poetry at the heart of the novel from great authors such as Wilfred Owen and Rupert Brook. She even has a character that resembles Henry James (Irish author, but made his home in Rye as noted above).
The novel begins in the summer of 1914 when England knew peace and war was only something spoken of in hushed whispers of "surely not" and "what if." The people of the town subscribed to old-fashioned decorum with proper tea and proper places in society. Agatha Kent, a matriarchal figure for the quaint English village, however, has just ruffled the feathers of the school board by suggesting a woman replace the previous Latin master at the local school. Beatrice Nash is anything but dainty, and is certainly progressive, and her arrival is really the catalyst to the constant change thrust upon the village. While the looming war is certainly not her fault, her character's arrival reads like foreshadowing for the unimaginable devastation of war that will change their village forever.
Simonson writes with a deft hand for both detail and characterization. The progressive women, the conservative mainstays, the poets, the surgeons, the soldiers, the dreamers. She creates a world that is entirely believable and fully cultivated with a plot the lends itself to turning pages, but at quite the leisurely pace.
And this is where I struggled some with the novel - it reads like a Sunday drive...a very slow Sunday drive. The plot builds into a climatic development, but it happens so late in the novel I found myself putting the book down a lot to see what else I could do. It's not a bad book, it's just not a riveting book. I really liked her characters and it certainly carried with it a "Downtownesque" feeling, but the story didn't captivate, until it captivated. In the end I was heartbroken, but the development to take me there earns it only ☕☕☕. It feels very rushed in the end, and I understand the urgency of war once the war has begun, but it read like two separate novels for me: a very long development of plot, characterization, and setting, and then a fast-paced war novel. I understand the shift, I just didn't enjoy it.
Overall, this is a good book, but not something that's going to keep you up at night. Helen Simonson does have another novel entitled Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, which as I read the reviews has the same writing style. Maybe something to check out?
I would like to share something by Wilfred Owen though, a poet from who she drew inspiration for the poets' corps in her Army ranks:
Dulce et Decorum Est
Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs,
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots,
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of gas-shells dropping softly behind.
Gas! GAS! Quick, boys!—An ecstasy of fumbling
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time,
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling
And flound’ring like a man in fire or lime.—
Dim through the misty panes and thick green light,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.
In all my dreams before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.
If in some smothering dreams, you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,—
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.
Notes:
Latin phrase is from the Roman poet Horace: “It is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country.”
Works Cited
"Rye, East Sussex." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 24 Mar. 2017. Web. 24 Mar. 2017.
Even better than Major Pettigrew's Last Stand! I can't wait to see what she writes next - fan for life!
Ooh, this is a tricky one.
I just LOVE Simonson's writing -- her dry humor, sophisticated style, and lovable characters. She is truly a pleasure to read.
But this book was incredibly slow-moving . . . not necessarily a bad thing, but it was the sort of book that I'd read a chapter of, then think, "That was delightful!" and not really feel any drive to pick it up again for a week or so. I enjoyed every moment of reading it, but it took me a solid month or two to get through, which is pretty slow for me. Again, I enjoyed it completely, but it was *very* slow going.
And the end -- wow. It took a major shift in the final quarter, which is completely understandable and appropriate given the time period and subject matter, but it was such a sad departure from the previous tone. It was perfectly fitting, and yet . . . just so sad to see how things changed toward the end. I feel so torn between wishing she hadn't given it the ending it had, yet understanding it was very true to what the reality of life at that time was probably like.
Mixed feelings, but overall, I did enjoy it quite a lot. But I'm not sure it's one I'd want to read again, and although I can think of a few people who might enjoy it, it's probably not one that would be very appealing to most of my reader friends.
I just LOVE Simonson's writing -- her dry humor, sophisticated style, and lovable characters. She is truly a pleasure to read.
But this book was incredibly slow-moving . . . not necessarily a bad thing, but it was the sort of book that I'd read a chapter of, then think, "That was delightful!" and not really feel any drive to pick it up again for a week or so. I enjoyed every moment of reading it, but it took me a solid month or two to get through, which is pretty slow for me. Again, I enjoyed it completely, but it was *very* slow going.
And the end -- wow. It took a major shift in the final quarter, which is completely understandable and appropriate given the time period and subject matter, but it was such a sad departure from the previous tone. It was perfectly fitting, and yet . . . just so sad to see how things changed toward the end. I feel so torn between wishing she hadn't given it the ending it had, yet understanding it was very true to what the reality of life at that time was probably like.
Mixed feelings, but overall, I did enjoy it quite a lot. But I'm not sure it's one I'd want to read again, and although I can think of a few people who might enjoy it, it's probably not one that would be very appealing to most of my reader friends.