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findyourgoldenhour 's review for:
The Summer Before the War
by Helen Simonson
Oh, this book. *Sigh* This is a beautiful novel. Yes, it's long. Yes, it's slow. I can understand why fans of her first book were disappointed. I think you have to be in the mood to read this, if you know what I mean, and I was luckily in the right mood when I picked it up. I imagine that if I picked it up at another time, I may have abandoned it. I happened to start reading it when I had a good chunk of time to really let myself sink into it, which made me invested in the characters all the way to the end. If I'd grabbed it and tried to read 15 pages at a time during stolen moments during my day, I think I might have gotten bored before I gave it a chance.
Simonson is a gifted writer. This story is about a small town's collective loss of innocence as the country is drawn into WWI. But it's also about the unfair cruelty of a society bound by strict rules and duties of class; about the frustrating limits on women's lives at the turn of last century; about the extreme homophobia of that time; about the lies of bravery and valor in the face of war. Simonson handles these issues with such a light touch; none of the issues are taken lightly, but the characters respond in ways that feel so true to the time period. I see what you did there, Helen Simonson. Well done.
Simonson is a gifted writer. This story is about a small town's collective loss of innocence as the country is drawn into WWI. But it's also about the unfair cruelty of a society bound by strict rules and duties of class; about the frustrating limits on women's lives at the turn of last century; about the extreme homophobia of that time; about the lies of bravery and valor in the face of war. Simonson handles these issues with such a light touch; none of the issues are taken lightly, but the characters respond in ways that feel so true to the time period. I see what you did there, Helen Simonson. Well done.