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42nd out of 288 books
—
39 voters
Death in Summer
From the winner of the 1999 David Cohen British Literature Prize — the richest literary award in the UK — comes an unforgettably chilling novel, written with the compassion and artistry that define Trevor's fiction.
There were three deaths that summer. The first was Letitia's, shocking and sudden, leaving her husband haunted by the details of their last afternoon. No one ex...more
There were three deaths that summer. The first was Letitia's, shocking and sudden, leaving her husband haunted by the details of their last afternoon. No one ex...more
Paperback, 224 pages
Published
October 1st 1999
by Penguin Books
(first published 1998)
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Mr. Trevor struck a tuning fork on the marble fireplace then laid it in its holder - the resonance echoed through me.
Again I find myself out of step because I thought this was brilliant along the lines of If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things crossed with The Remains of the Day
Fabulous writing - and I get the odd wink of authorial twinkle shining through.
Again I find myself out of step because I thought this was brilliant along the lines of If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things crossed with The Remains of the Day
Fabulous writing - and I get the odd wink of authorial twinkle shining through.
Three point five stars is actually what I would give this book. William Trevor is an incredible writer, but there were parts that seemed irrelevant to me. The emergence of this newfound dislike for extraneous and irrelevant details in novels has me rather perplexed because I think maybe it is in those parts that I deem useless that the true story lies. Maybe it serves as character development. Of course, when I say that about a novel like DEATH IN SUMMER it does not carry the same weight as what...more
I gave this book three stars ONLY because I absolutely adore William Trevor as a writer, but really it probably deserves a two. The prose is awkward and halting. Trevor mixes present tense with flashbacks in a way that makes the reader repeat entire paragraphs before comprehension sets in. Reading should not be that much work.
Not surprisingly, the good parts of the story get lost in the incoherent streams of consciousness expressed by the various narrators. I love Trevor's exploration of Thadde...more
Not surprisingly, the good parts of the story get lost in the incoherent streams of consciousness expressed by the various narrators. I love Trevor's exploration of Thadde...more
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"I saw Pettie in the sky"... Is William Trevor not the "King of Pain and Suffering"(apologies to Gordon What's 'is Name)? Another gut-wrencher to go along with "Felicia's Journey" and all the rest. Written in a curious prose/poetic style that requires close attention and backtracking. I'm going to re-read it as soon as my schedule will allow. Pettie and Thaddeus are both victims of abuse/neglect/abandonment but to differing degrees. The book is about death and surviving and survival. About compa...more
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Trevor’s Death in Summer is a well-written but odd story to which I found myself somewhat indifferent. Set in contemporary rural England, the tale revolves around two young people who run away from a corrupt institution for homeless children, The Morning Star.
After living in an abandoned shack following their release, the boy and the girl who have grown up as friends, try to build normal lives in society. Albert - responsible, kind and sensitive - secures a job washing graffiti off walls and boa...more
After living in an abandoned shack following their release, the boy and the girl who have grown up as friends, try to build normal lives in society. Albert - responsible, kind and sensitive - secures a job washing graffiti off walls and boa...more
William Trevor does it again. The man should be sainted or knighted, or both (simultaneously). This novel is a study in shifting close-third-person points of view, so masterfully done that you don't even notice; all POVs are equally convincing, and they range from a pair of slightly off twenty-something friends who grew up together in an orphanage, to an elderly upper-class grandmother. I regret to say that Jrobertus below cannot have actually read this novel, or if he did he must have been drun...more
William Trevor never ceases to amaze and challenge me. This is a subtle novel, that develops so gradually as the narrative, plot and psychological backgrounds build, that you will find yourself going over it after you've finished, and still trying to draw together the threads and work back through the hints that he has supplied. Similar to 'Felicia's Journey' he uses life incidents to build the characters in the present, in a tale set outside of his native Ireland.
This is the story of a man who was married to a very kind woman whom he didn't love. When his wife died unexpectedly, his concerns are centered around finding a caretaker for their infant daughter. One of the applicants for the position becomes increasingly obsessed with this man and the lifestyle that his wealthy wife provided. His mother-in-law's solution to the caretaking problem propels the obsession to a dangerous level.
Mr Trevor's writing style is slow and laborious, yet it seems, that this method accomplishes the goal of creating the pathos and deep, hopeless sadness that the story evokes. Death in Summer is no tense, edge of your seat murder mystery, rather a soulful glance into the main character's mind. Filled with irony, subtle yet poignant, the story's ending is its saving grace, leaving the reader with a kind of sad longing. If an author can accomplish that, he must be good.
A poignant rendering of love both true, false, or merely lacking wrought about characters just as flawed for better and for worse. I was quite impressed by this novel, having not heard of Trevor and picking the title out on a whim without knowing what to expect from the story or the writing.
A note: it could merely be a regional disconnection (the author is Irish and resides in England) in language, but his sentence structures were a little awkward for me and my American English. Not horribly so...more
A note: it could merely be a regional disconnection (the author is Irish and resides in England) in language, but his sentence structures were a little awkward for me and my American English. Not horribly so...more
An author who is new to me, but one who has clearly been around a long time with much success. I understand Trevor rarely includes a happy ending and this novel is no exception. However, he builds great atmosphere, especially through weather, and character, in writing their thoughts. I will definitely read more of his books.
3 deaths occur in England one summer. First is Letitia. Second is Mrs. Ferry, former lover of Letitia's husband before his marriage. Third is Pettie, would-be nanny of Letitia's daughter.
My favorite character is slow Albert Luffe who grew up with Pettie in an orphanage and is caring to elderly, sickly folk.
My favorite character is slow Albert Luffe who grew up with Pettie in an orphanage and is caring to elderly, sickly folk.
I found this book overly full of flowery language and very short on entertainment. The list of 'points for discussion' included at the end put me in my place - hardly any of the 'points' had occurred to me whilst I was reading. It felt like the sort of thing a book group would greatly enjoy - many layers of meaning that probably don't come out with a single reading.
With a title like "Death in Summer" and the first three words being, "after the funeral", you get the feeling that this book might be a downer. It is a bit depressing, but in the end, it becomes more like a mystery story than anything else. As usual, well-written and rather slow-paced.
Seriously stunning prose and the shifting POV was handled beautifully but the abuse victim/obsessive stalker orphan was a little hard for me to read. Not in that I found her story emotionally draining (though that was part of it) but that it seemed pulpy and hard to believe.
Trevor is a great short story writer and very good novelist. This is not among his best novels, which are all short, but still quite good in its way. Small Irish lives, sadness, loss, missed opportunities, words not said, death, realizations made too late.
William Trevor is so very adept at exposing the mindset of his characters as they deal with the day to day stuff of life. Thaddeuss is a man whose wife dies due to accident, leaving him with a new baby. Interviews to find a nanny prove fruitless, thus his mother-in-law moves in to help. One of the interviewed girls finds it hard to take no for an answer, taking steps that alter many lives.
Trevor is a gifted storyteller who compels the reader to understand a variety of mentalities and how they al...more
Trevor is a gifted storyteller who compels the reader to understand a variety of mentalities and how they al...more
typical Trevor, ie, it was riveting. as the decription notes, he is so good at investigating evil. his style is so tight, it squeaks.
I fought it was a very witty, dark sort of comedy with memorable characters and a clear streak of quintessential British Isles humour. I'd read more of him.
Another great novel by William Trvor. A very, very sad book but in a quiet way.
Awesomly slow but stays with you forever, like band-aid residue.
Kind of strange, but fun... a nice change of pace for me...
I think the author seeks to show that everyone is damaged and our lifes are our management and understanding of that damage. Sometimes it leads to more damage.From the begining we know there will be a train wreck on the tracks of this novel - we just don't know who will step out of the train. There a slow build up of the characters so that we know so much about them we can predict their behaviour and theres a comfort in that - that we know the corners they will go to. This is a book to not perha...more
I almost liked it. Some interesting characters in here but that's about it.
Thaddeus Davenant is immersed in death.
William Trevor never disappoints.
Beautiful, haunting, lyrical perfection.
This is a well crafted story with the points of view shifting through every main character, some perhaps unnecessarily. It's a quick and enjoyable read, but I came off of it feeling that something at its heart was missing--a real emotional attachment to the baby, Thadeus' miracle. Of course the writing is solid, but in the end, I don't think much of this one will stay with me.
William Trevor is not for everyone, but if you are into writing for writings' sake, read him. I'd start with Reading Turgenev, and then maybe to this one or another. He's usually quite dark, but not gratuitously dark. Usually there is something really beautiful in the darkness he sees in the human condition.
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William Trevor grew up in various provincial towns and attended a number of schools, graduating from Trinity College, in Dublin, with a degree in history. He first exercised his artistry as a sculptor, working as a teacher in Northern Ireland and then emigrated to England in search of work when the school went bankrupt. He could have returned to Ireland once he became a successful writer, he said,...more
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