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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
This book could not have been any more up my alley. What a little gem. I really enjoyed this one, I will be thinking about it for days to come.
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
What I loved about The Summer Before the War was how well Simonson captured the human elements of the lead up to, and the actual war. The first half of the book feels almost like a British 1914 Gilmore Girls — the small town of Rye is full of funny characters and there is a truly laugh out loud town hall scene. Our main characters are charming, well-rounded, funny, and ultimately complicated.
I wept my way through the last several chapters, all of which took place on the Western Front. This is a beautiful story of courage, family, perseverance, friendship, and love.
My only criticism is that it could have been a little bit shorter — there were B plots that detracted from the main story and felt like something I had to get through to get back to the part I was loving.
I wept my way through the last several chapters, all of which took place on the Western Front. This is a beautiful story of courage, family, perseverance, friendship, and love.
My only criticism is that it could have been a little bit shorter — there were B plots that detracted from the main story and felt like something I had to get through to get back to the part I was loving.
I listened to the audio version of this, and yesterday while I was making dinner, I heard the last few chapters. I was thankful there was nobody else in the house because I cried and cried!
Enjoyed this completely as it is just the sort of novel I like. English village, just before & into WWI, full of interesting, well-developed characters of a variety of social/economic classes, plenty of delightful descriptions of landscape/food/social interaction/clothing. Love, heartbreak, misunderstandings, mostly good people doing their best to help each other, with the unavoidable difficult people making trouble ... and then the horror of the war with all that entails. If you appreciate English village stories set in the Great War era, this is a must-read. I also enjoyed Ms Simonson's earlier novel, Major Pettigrew's Last Stand.
I loved Major Pettigrew's Last Stand so was excited to see Helen Simonson had a new book coming out. It wasn't a disappointment. Though a bit more somber than the first, it had all the rich characterization and lyric writing style I loved before. She deals with similar themes but in a new setting. People who love Downton Abbey should give this a try.
4.5 stars. I really enjoyed this book. And while it was still a "war" book, it was WWI vs WWII and that was a nice change, and provided a complete different atmosphere. I really loved the whole premise: life just prior to the war and how drastically it all changed in just a short time span. There were parts that seemed perhaps a bit heavy handed, so, I knocked it down a half a star from perfection. ;) The audio book version was charming and a great listen.
Yes, I read this again. It never gets old. I love Beatrice, Hugh, Daniel, Snout, and everyone else more every read.
I feel bad giving a low rating but this book was just not what I expected. I'd really looked forward to reading it and it had been compared to Downton Abbey. But I thought the whole book took place the summer *before* the war. Instead, a small portion takes place before the war. The majority of the story takes place *during* the war. So, this is not a light, sweet story like the description implies. I found it extremely sad. Which I would have expected of I realized most of the story was during the war.
Too sad for my taste.
Too sad for my taste.
Nothing was surprising, but it was really well done, and the characters were wonderful.