A review by jesshindes
Summerwater by Sarah Moss

emotional reflective tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

We read the first chapter of Summerwater as an exercise in one of my MA classes last year and I can absolutely see why: Sarah Moss is so skilful at building character through interior monologue, which is what she does in each chapter of this shimmering little book. Summerwater is set in a clutch of holiday cottages on the Scottish border, on a rainy summer's day (not just rainy: pouring, saturated). As the day passes we dip in and out of each cabin and into the minds of the inhabitants, old and young. A lot of what Moss is exploring here is about relationships: different families and their different traditions and expectations; different financial situations, life stages, loves and hates and frustrations. It's especially rewarding when you get one half of a couple early in the novel and then, later on, see the same cabin from the other person's side. The book isn't trying to be or do too much: it's more about tenderly and carefully rendering this detailed, tactile picture of human life. With that said, there is certainly plot here, and a climax built to - in a way that reminded me (as did the whole book) of John McGregor's If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things, which I read with my book group back in 2020. Moss's cast is less diverse than McGregor's (which is fine and I think realistic for the setting), but I liked that she gave attention to the non-human wildlife around the loch as well, in short paragraphs that interleave the longer chapters. 

This is the second of Moss's books I've read, after Ghost Wall, which I picked up last year. I think on balance I preferred that one because of its speculative elements (the clue is in the title), which lent it an additional dimension that I really enjoyed, but this is a beautifully crafted piece of work and really a masterclass in precise, understated writing.

(PS I could not stop thinking the whole time I was reading it about something I read last year, where Moss said that she writes a first draft of a book and then DESTROYS IT AND WRITES THE WHOLE THING AGAIN. Absolutely unhinged behaviour but it clearly works for her because this was fantastic.)
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