You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
I did not enjoy this book as much as the first novel by this author. About half way through, I lost interest, read the end, and gave up on it.
I read this while hearing fragments of Vaughan Williams playing inside my head. It's a classic story of an idyllic English rural community being forever changed by modern life and modern warfare. A bit formulaic in some ways, but with plot elements regarding gypsies (Romany people) providing extra interest. An author's postscript shows that the story was actually based on the history of Helen Simonson's local area.
A gentle, sweet and moving piece of historical fiction, The Summer Before the War is set in the East Sussex town of Rye. The countryside is beautiful after a peaceful summer when a young woman arrives to teach Latin, just before the world goes to war. It says much about being a woman in the early 1900s, as well as prevailing attitudes about race, class and sexuality, but it is neither moralistic nor pushing a modern agenda. It did drag a little in the first half, and was tied up very quickly in the end, but I did shed a tear for the characters I had come to care for.
This was a pleasant little (well, long) read, kind of a less soap opera-y version of Downton Abbey, but without quite the punch of the drama it fell a tiny bit flat for me. It was well characterized and interesting but there was a little something lacking. I'm not wholly sure I can put my finger on what it was, though. Perhaps it's that ultimately the vast number of plots that were being carried out watered down the ultimate impact of individual storylines, to the point where the ultimate triumphs and tragedies seemed more like foregone conclusions than specific moments to cheer or grieve over.
Disappointing, especially after the author's previous gem of a book. As others have said here, overblown and with characters and situations we've seen time and again in other novels and BBC series.
It is so hard to find such succinct and clean writing these days, and a lovely story to boot. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
Just perfect, hitting all the notes of the quiet before, the tumult within and the way our lives follow us. One of the best books I've read in a very long while.
The Latin teachers of my acquaintance lead rather mundane lives compared to our novel’s heroine. At every turn, she is confronted with sharp-tongued gossips, life and death situations, and hormonal upheavals I was pleasantly exhausted when I turned the final page; relieved for Beatrice, broken-hearted for Agatha, and feeling quite bereft about Snout and his dog. Celeste – well, she and I did not bond.
This little slice of life before the war is carefully and cleverly crafted. Simonson weaves the myriad of historical situations in 1914 England from fleeing Belgians, men and women who are outliers both political and sexual, to the subtle navigation through village life and its class system.
The scope of this novel is wide, which is a treat to those who immerse themselves in setting and the nuance of history, but this precludes depth with the characters on a level I prefer. It left me hoping for a companion novel. Those who enjoyed her first novel, Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand will not be disappointed here.
This little slice of life before the war is carefully and cleverly crafted. Simonson weaves the myriad of historical situations in 1914 England from fleeing Belgians, men and women who are outliers both political and sexual, to the subtle navigation through village life and its class system.
The scope of this novel is wide, which is a treat to those who immerse themselves in setting and the nuance of history, but this precludes depth with the characters on a level I prefer. It left me hoping for a companion novel. Those who enjoyed her first novel, Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand will not be disappointed here.