una_macchia 's review for:

The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson

2.0

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I listened to the audiobook, and if I had been reading I probably wouldn't have finished because this novel is quite bloated. With audio, I don't mind just letting the unnecessary/boring bits wash over me, but it would have been a slog in print. The pacing is a mess. There are a lot of story threads going on, and I felt like the focus was off balance -- what was going on in the background was oftentimes more intriguing to me than the "main" plot -- that said, there were some interesting ideas here. I just wish it had been edited more.

Spoiler

Also it annoyed me that she killed off Daniel and then ended with Beatrice and Hugh happily married. That's just one instance of Simonson taking the least interesting path, imo.

I really liked Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, and I'll still be interested in anything else from this author, but this one was a letdown.