cassietea783 's review for:

The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson

5.0

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I adore Helen Simonson like you adore an old friend with whom you’d sit comfortably, rocking and sipping herbal tea on the porch at dusk. There’s something so endearing about her characters and English village life she portrays. I’ve lived in England several times in my life, and her books make me miss it. I love the history in this one too—the naïveté and over-the-top patriotism that characterized the time right before WWI. I honestly wish there was a way to protect the characters from what lies ahead, or at least warn them of the horrors. To explain that trenches were not quaint in any sense but would instead haunt men’s nightmares for decades. This book makes me think of poppies and Flanders and Union Jack pennants and village squares with worn old stone memorials carved with long-forgotten names. I recommend this book to anyone looking for an easy, lovely, engrossing little read.