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Summertime
For a year, Venetia Summers has been buffered from single motherhood by her boyfriend, David, but when work takes him to a Brazilian rainforest, things begin to unravel. Phone lines crackle, e-mails go unanswered, and long-distance love proves to be a frustrating experience. Meanwhile, Venetia’s children—Giles, Felix, and The Beauty—and dogs run wilder than ever, her boring freelance career drives her to all kinds of procrastination, and the awkward but persistent advances of a wealthy new neighbor become a little unsettling.
How is Venetia to cope? A burgeoning fashion career, creating outlandish garments for a London boutique, provides some needed diversion. But when a moonlit walk takes an unexpected turn, she finds herself with a real dilemma on her hands. Throughout the chaos and moments of tenderness, her frankness and flair make this unsentimental British comedy a total delight
How is Venetia to cope? A burgeoning fashion career, creating outlandish garments for a London boutique, provides some needed diversion. But when a moonlit walk takes an unexpected turn, she finds herself with a real dilemma on her hands. Throughout the chaos and moments of tenderness, her frankness and flair make this unsentimental British comedy a total delight
336 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
4 people are currently reading
258 people want to read
About the author
Raffaella Barker
15 books63 followersRaffaella Barker was born in London in 1964 and moved to Norfolk when she was three. Her father, the poet George Barker, had 15 children; she is the oldest of those by the novelist Elspeth Barker.
She spent her childhood in Norfolk sulking and refusing to get dressed, going everywhere in her nightie. She recalls worrying about how to respond at school when asked how many brothers and sisters she had. She did not know the answer.
After Norwich High School, Raffaella Barker moved to London and did life modelling and film-editing. She landed a job on Harpers & Queen magazine and later freelanced as its motoring columnist. For 10 years she wrote a column for Country Life about her week.
Her debut novel Come and Tell Me Some Lies was published in 1994, followed by The Hook, Hens Dancing, Summertime, Green Grass, the children's book Phosphorescence and A Perfect Life.
Divorced, she lives in Norfolk with her three children aged 17, 15 and eight.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
April 17, 2018
One of my very favourite comfort reads. Raffaella Barker's prose and narrative are so funny and easy that they always cheer me up. Her depictions of Norfolk, the countryside, waking up early in the middle of summer, gardening, romantic entanglements and all the while dealing with her little daughter who insists on dressing up in feather boas, 2 sons who can't stop looking at their gameboy and 3 dogs who tramp mud into the house is a delight. This book has been used to get me out of book slumps, make me well again when I'm sick, make me happy when I'm sad and numerous other things. It's the best antibiotic I have ever taken and I highly recommend it.
September 2, 2013
Well, I can say I did finish this book, but only because I wanted something nasty to happen to the main character!
The story is about Venetia Summers, a single Mum with three kids, who seems to me to live a lovely life in the country. She has assorted animals and is a copywriter cum fashion designer, with frends and family aroud her. But her boyfriend gets a job abroad and suddenly she can't cope with life and everything goes stupidly wrong. This includes getting lumbered with organising her brother's wedding and having an on-off relationship with the next door neighbour.
Detect some slight pessimism?
All the blurb mentions this being a very funny book and, fair enough, some of the incidences did make me laugh. However, rabbits being eaten by the dogs and then leaving dogs in kennels as can't be bothered to go fetch them, made me wince. As it's written in diary form, I suppose you could take it as tongue in cheek, but the tone wasn't quite right for this. I actually breathed a sigh of relief, not because of the sappy ending, but because I did manage to finish it.
The story is about Venetia Summers, a single Mum with three kids, who seems to me to live a lovely life in the country. She has assorted animals and is a copywriter cum fashion designer, with frends and family aroud her. But her boyfriend gets a job abroad and suddenly she can't cope with life and everything goes stupidly wrong. This includes getting lumbered with organising her brother's wedding and having an on-off relationship with the next door neighbour.
Detect some slight pessimism?
All the blurb mentions this being a very funny book and, fair enough, some of the incidences did make me laugh. However, rabbits being eaten by the dogs and then leaving dogs in kennels as can't be bothered to go fetch them, made me wince. As it's written in diary form, I suppose you could take it as tongue in cheek, but the tone wasn't quite right for this. I actually breathed a sigh of relief, not because of the sappy ending, but because I did manage to finish it.
June 26, 2008
I really hate classifying this as chick-lit because it's so much more than that. Anyway, I just love Venetia and her crazy, messy, ridiculous, sweet life. I was sad to see the 2-book series end!
September 30, 2017
1.5 stars. Maybe.
December 27, 2025
So boring. The main character was just bleh. No ambitions, no skills, just coasting along on nothing. Not worth a read.
August 21, 2009
This book is written as a journal. At first, I didn't know how I felt about this because it means there is not always a whole lot of dialogue (although, sometimes there was). But I really enjoyed the narrator's observations on herself and others and there are definately some great characters in this book.
November 18, 2009
LOVED this one better than the first! I think I got used to the style of writing and so it flowed a lot better for me. Such a fun book, and I just loved the main character's attitude about everything. The only problem with the ending is that I wish it had given me just a little more. Definitely recommend this little series.
July 6, 2017
Meh. I liked the first book better (Hens Dancing): the heroine was charmingly annoying in the first book but just annoying in this second book.
August 9, 2015
Loved this book. So easy to read and the characters are super.
July 1, 2018
I picked up this novel because all the blurbs on the cover promised a delightfully hilarious read, and I was looking for something fun and breezy. Unfortunately, I didn't find the book funny at all. The humour is so ridiculous and relentless that I felt like I was being pummelled with over-the-top situations and characters, none of which bore even a passing resemblance to real life. Venetia, the heroine, often seems TSTL (too stupid to live), and the way she pursues her two supposed careers (copywriter and fashion designer) halfheartedly and halfwittedly is an insult to copywriters and fashion designers everywhere.
Venetia has animals everywhere, but treats them horrendously. She leaves the dogs at the kennel for weeks because she doesn't want to be bothered with them. She leaves the parrot at the store for a similar reason, and when the parrot is finally dropped off unceremoniously at her door, she seems to forget about it most of the time. She allows her children to buy some rabbits, even though she knows they will neglect them, and sure enough the rabbits get neglected, killed by the dogs, and abandoned in a baby carriage in the pantry for days. This is supposed to be funny?
It wasn't until I read some other reviews on Goodreads that I realized this book is actually a sequel. It would have been nice if the publisher had indicated that fact somewhere on the book cover. It does, however, go a long way towards explaining why the author took no time at all establishing the relationship between Venetia and David before sending David off to the jungle, never to appear again in the flesh in the novel. Not having read the first book in the series, I couldn't understand why Venetia was so smitten with David, and why his weird marriage proposal at the end of the book was supposed to be a happy ending.
One last gripe: why on earth are two men smitten with Venetia? She shows no traits in the book that indicate why any man at all would be interested in her.
Venetia has animals everywhere, but treats them horrendously. She leaves the dogs at the kennel for weeks because she doesn't want to be bothered with them. She leaves the parrot at the store for a similar reason, and when the parrot is finally dropped off unceremoniously at her door, she seems to forget about it most of the time. She allows her children to buy some rabbits, even though she knows they will neglect them, and sure enough the rabbits get neglected, killed by the dogs, and abandoned in a baby carriage in the pantry for days. This is supposed to be funny?
It wasn't until I read some other reviews on Goodreads that I realized this book is actually a sequel. It would have been nice if the publisher had indicated that fact somewhere on the book cover. It does, however, go a long way towards explaining why the author took no time at all establishing the relationship between Venetia and David before sending David off to the jungle, never to appear again in the flesh in the novel. Not having read the first book in the series, I couldn't understand why Venetia was so smitten with David, and why his weird marriage proposal at the end of the book was supposed to be a happy ending.
One last gripe: why on earth are two men smitten with Venetia? She shows no traits in the book that indicate why any man at all would be interested in her.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 28, 2017
Got bored halfway through. DNF.
July 19, 2021
On the cover it was writen that the book is very funny, but it's not! It is boring! The story is empty and the characters are stupid.
June 11, 2022
Different but fast pased and enjoyed reading it.
July 22, 2022
Meh. Sorta funny, mostly cloying. A man saves the day.
July 2, 2023
sweet and easy
July 1, 2024
Such a lovely little book. So funny and cute. Could relate to some of it too.
November 4, 2024
Sensational
April 30, 2015
Eredetileg: http://olvasonaplo.net/olvasonaplo/20...
Tavaly decemberben olvastam Raffaella Barker: Csirketánc című könyvét, ami nagyon tetszett, s megörültem, mikor a Red Busban szembe jött velem a folytatás, a Summertime. Ugyan ez a könyv már nem annyira ellenállhatatlan, mint az első, de azért még mindig szórakoztató és nosztalgikus emlékeket idéző volt.
Venetia Summers ismét csak egyedül van, igaz, átmenetileg, mert David, a barátja akire az elmúlt évben mindenben számíthatott a világ másik felén dolgozik pár hétig. Addig újra hozzá kell szoknia ahhoz, hogy egyedülálló szülőként állja meg a helyét és gondot viseljen három gyerekére, a 11 éves egyre kritikusabb Giles-re, a 9 éves és néha meglepően felnőttes Félixre, valamint a 3 éves és még mindig hihetetlenül bájos és tetőtől talpig nő Szépségre. Ez persze nem megy könnyen. Ráadásul öccse nősülni készül, s hol is lehetne máshol tartani a bulit, mint Venetia kertjében. Úgyhogy a hosszú hónapok előkészületei után természetesen mindent az utolsó héten kell megszervezni, s eleinte úgy tűnik, nem is lagzi, hanem valami mini Glastonbury készül a ház mögött, az időjárás se akar kedvezni és még egy új, mogorva monoszemöldökű szomszéd is megjelenik. Kiderül, hogy David újabb lehetőséget kapott és mégse mostanában tér haza, s lassan a soha végig nem beszélt telefonhívások, az időeltolódás a semmitmondó e-mailek kezdik kikezdeni Venetia türelmét is. Miközben megpróbál életében először egyedül kempingezni menni a gyerekeivel, beindítani a vállalkozását és rendbe tenni a magánéletét is és eldönteni, hogy mit akar: könyebb-e férjezettnek lenni (ahogy mindenki mondogatja), vagy megállja egyedül is a helyét, mint anya és üzletasszony.
Csak egy csillaggal kevesebb mint az előző rész, talán mert már nem hatott egy csomó minden az újdonság erejével, ennek ellenére továbbra is kellemesen szórakoztató női regény volt.
Tavaly decemberben olvastam Raffaella Barker: Csirketánc című könyvét, ami nagyon tetszett, s megörültem, mikor a Red Busban szembe jött velem a folytatás, a Summertime. Ugyan ez a könyv már nem annyira ellenállhatatlan, mint az első, de azért még mindig szórakoztató és nosztalgikus emlékeket idéző volt.
Venetia Summers ismét csak egyedül van, igaz, átmenetileg, mert David, a barátja akire az elmúlt évben mindenben számíthatott a világ másik felén dolgozik pár hétig. Addig újra hozzá kell szoknia ahhoz, hogy egyedülálló szülőként állja meg a helyét és gondot viseljen három gyerekére, a 11 éves egyre kritikusabb Giles-re, a 9 éves és néha meglepően felnőttes Félixre, valamint a 3 éves és még mindig hihetetlenül bájos és tetőtől talpig nő Szépségre. Ez persze nem megy könnyen. Ráadásul öccse nősülni készül, s hol is lehetne máshol tartani a bulit, mint Venetia kertjében. Úgyhogy a hosszú hónapok előkészületei után természetesen mindent az utolsó héten kell megszervezni, s eleinte úgy tűnik, nem is lagzi, hanem valami mini Glastonbury készül a ház mögött, az időjárás se akar kedvezni és még egy új, mogorva monoszemöldökű szomszéd is megjelenik. Kiderül, hogy David újabb lehetőséget kapott és mégse mostanában tér haza, s lassan a soha végig nem beszélt telefonhívások, az időeltolódás a semmitmondó e-mailek kezdik kikezdeni Venetia türelmét is. Miközben megpróbál életében először egyedül kempingezni menni a gyerekeivel, beindítani a vállalkozását és rendbe tenni a magánéletét is és eldönteni, hogy mit akar: könyebb-e férjezettnek lenni (ahogy mindenki mondogatja), vagy megállja egyedül is a helyét, mint anya és üzletasszony.
Csak egy csillaggal kevesebb mint az előző rész, talán mert már nem hatott egy csomó minden az újdonság erejével, ennek ellenére továbbra is kellemesen szórakoztató női regény volt.
January 30, 2012
Let me first say that if you think this is a realistic view of life in England then you need a reality check. I wanted to read more by this author after really enjoying her book poppyland. I was sorely disappointed. This book is about a woman whose boyfriend leaves for a job abroad (temporarily) and goes on to talk about the woes of single parenthood, if your boyfriend moves away for work you are NOT a single parent! I detested the main character and her whiny pretentious middle class ways. This woman was so unlikeable, she moaned about her horrid unfair life while twittering on about her ducks and chickens that live in her huge country garden outside her idyllic cottage. She is so childish in her ways and irritated me beyond belief. The only relief I had from the main character, Venetia was her children, who were delightful and stroppy and cute and funny. She did not seem to notice the wonder of said children very often. The part with the bunnies upset me and caused me to have even more hatred for these absolutely awful unfeeling middle class twerps. Venetia accidentally becomes a fashion designer by sewing old tat onto used cardigans which miraculously end up selling in London for hundreds of pounds each (As someone currently looking into setting up a craft business I found this so insulting and patronising).... this whole concept was just unrealistic and idiotic. She also manages to get engaged to someone she has zero interest in because she is convinced that her far away boyfriend is off doing the same. There were parts of this book which made me laugh and chuckle but they came less often than the moments that made me scowl and tut. I just found this book totally unrelatable and I couldnt have cared a less about her having a happy ending, in fact I would have felt better if she didnt. If you are going to read one of this authors books please make it poppyland and not this pile of crud.
July 1, 2015
Oh, wow. I wanted to love this book as much as I loved Hens Dancing, which I gave 5 stars. Perhaps if I had read this one first, even though it is actually the sequel to Hens Dancing, I would have given it 5 stars.
In Hens Dancing the reader meets Venetia, divorced mother of three children; all of whom are a handful and to add to that, Venetia loves/adores her children, but her parenting skills leave a lot to be desired. With that said, Venetia is also scattered, reckless, overly enthusiastic to the point of not thinking things through, and she has a short attention span. All that looked to change at the end.
Now, Summertime, reintroduces the reader to Venetia. I had hoped that her new beginning would give her new adventures. I didn't want her to change. I just wanted her situations to change. Instead, I found this second book to be merely a repeat of the first with just a couple of new characters coming into the story along with a new title and a new book cover.
I was so excited to get this second book but I ended up so disappointed and a couple of times I found myself skipping some pages just to get to the end quicker. The ending was also a big disappointment. Like the first ending, the story leaves everything to the reader's imagination and the open-ended ending might suggest that a third book will follow. If it does, I imagine I will pass on it. I can't find Venetia all the loveable and funny again. She is getting to be annoying.
In Hens Dancing the reader meets Venetia, divorced mother of three children; all of whom are a handful and to add to that, Venetia loves/adores her children, but her parenting skills leave a lot to be desired. With that said, Venetia is also scattered, reckless, overly enthusiastic to the point of not thinking things through, and she has a short attention span. All that looked to change at the end.
Now, Summertime, reintroduces the reader to Venetia. I had hoped that her new beginning would give her new adventures. I didn't want her to change. I just wanted her situations to change. Instead, I found this second book to be merely a repeat of the first with just a couple of new characters coming into the story along with a new title and a new book cover.
I was so excited to get this second book but I ended up so disappointed and a couple of times I found myself skipping some pages just to get to the end quicker. The ending was also a big disappointment. Like the first ending, the story leaves everything to the reader's imagination and the open-ended ending might suggest that a third book will follow. If it does, I imagine I will pass on it. I can't find Venetia all the loveable and funny again. She is getting to be annoying.
March 25, 2015
I read this book about a year ago, after reading "Hens Dancing". At the time I was disappointed, because I loved Hens so much and I didn't feel like this book really stood up next to it. My biggest qualm, I think, was that the romance between David and Venetia wasn't as present. In fact David was in Brazil for the entire novel, leaving Venetia on her own with the children and animals. So there was this strange thing between Venetia and her new neighbor Hedley Sale. (complete with monobrow...ick.)Not exactly a full blown romance, but a relationship which grew out of desperation on Venetia's side and lust on Hedley's. Initial reservations layed aside, I decided to re-read "Summertime" because I had fallen absolutely in love with "Hen's Dancing" all over again on my second reading. This time I was able to overlook the things that had bothered me before. I love Raffaella Barker's writing and the crazy set of charicters she has created in these books, so I was able to take them with warts and all this time...and it was so worth it!!!
July 22, 2011
This summer has not been a very successful one for reading. Real life has been tugging at my ankles every step of the way. This book was a delightfully light and funny read that I was able to pick up at any point whenever time froze long enough for me to read it.
Delightfully mundane, Summertime is written as an epistolary, as a single mother of three attempts to maintain sanity and some semblance of functionality. Her live-in boyfriend departs for South America to work on the set of a Tarzan movie, leaving her alone all summer to deal with little dramas such as flourescently dyed baby dolls of her toddler, The Beauty; the incessant call for her sons' attention by the Nintendo; and several days on an island roughing it with all three.
It's the kind of story that makes you long for the small pleasures of gardening, seeing the seasons change, and makes you realize that it's okay if you are only able to count small successes through each day.
Delightfully mundane, Summertime is written as an epistolary, as a single mother of three attempts to maintain sanity and some semblance of functionality. Her live-in boyfriend departs for South America to work on the set of a Tarzan movie, leaving her alone all summer to deal with little dramas such as flourescently dyed baby dolls of her toddler, The Beauty; the incessant call for her sons' attention by the Nintendo; and several days on an island roughing it with all three.
It's the kind of story that makes you long for the small pleasures of gardening, seeing the seasons change, and makes you realize that it's okay if you are only able to count small successes through each day.
June 5, 2013
A dissertation wouldn't convey how much i hated this book!
Stories like this is what give people that image of single parents!
It is a completely awful story and focuses on a self obsessed woman WHO NEED A MAN TO SURVIVE
and no this isn't a book written in the 1800s its a present day book!
Frankly its disgusting the idea that to be a full house hold you need a man and woman to have a complete working house hold!
it pisses me off that to the detriment of her children's upbringing the character is obsessed with her own self endeavors and man hunt!
it makes me want to pull my hair out how backward this story is! i havent read another works of writting of the authour so i will not be overly judgmental about her other works, but this story means i will keep a distance from her other works just in case!
and i dont not understand what she was trying to put across in the book!!!!
HATTEEDDD IT!
Stories like this is what give people that image of single parents!
It is a completely awful story and focuses on a self obsessed woman WHO NEED A MAN TO SURVIVE
and no this isn't a book written in the 1800s its a present day book!
Frankly its disgusting the idea that to be a full house hold you need a man and woman to have a complete working house hold!
it pisses me off that to the detriment of her children's upbringing the character is obsessed with her own self endeavors and man hunt!
it makes me want to pull my hair out how backward this story is! i havent read another works of writting of the authour so i will not be overly judgmental about her other works, but this story means i will keep a distance from her other works just in case!
and i dont not understand what she was trying to put across in the book!!!!
HATTEEDDD IT!
June 30, 2008
A continuation of Venetia's diary following the garden and her life through another year. Much less about the garden in this book and definitely not a stand alone story.
Her love life is sparse because David is off in Brazil building for a film company. The children are growing up and have no male role models. The ex, Charles, is less involved since his twins were born. Now he sees Giles, Felix, & the Beauty on holidays rarely for other occasions.
Now even the younger brother is getting married. He has decided to use Venetia's farm house for his wedding but neglects to inform her until a couple of weeks prior to the event. Hysterical plans thrown together culminate in Desmond finally marrying Minna.
As erratic and disorganized as Venetia sees herself she does manage to move forward into a new carrier and develops a line of clothes as idiosyncratic as Venetia is.
Her love life is sparse because David is off in Brazil building for a film company. The children are growing up and have no male role models. The ex, Charles, is less involved since his twins were born. Now he sees Giles, Felix, & the Beauty on holidays rarely for other occasions.
Now even the younger brother is getting married. He has decided to use Venetia's farm house for his wedding but neglects to inform her until a couple of weeks prior to the event. Hysterical plans thrown together culminate in Desmond finally marrying Minna.
As erratic and disorganized as Venetia sees herself she does manage to move forward into a new carrier and develops a line of clothes as idiosyncratic as Venetia is.
abandoned
June 26, 2011After Hens Dancing: A Novel, I wanted to see what further adventures Venetia got into, but it wasn't to be. I was able to stomach Venetia as a directionless single mom freshly post divorce, but two years later, I just couldn't excuse her helpless, whiny uselessness. I wanted to smack her, especially when she was complaining to and about her boyfriend for being gone, gasp, to earn money to support her and her children.
October 10, 2009
I have to say that although these 2 books were well-written, I couldn't help but be frustrated with the main character. She honestly concerned me as a mother and frankly, struck me as a scatterbrain. Perhaps it's just the nature of what happens when you go through a divorce and are forced to figure life out on your own...and if that's the case, I'm sorry. It just seems that she is weak where she needs to be strong and her youngest daughter, "The Beauty" struck me as a colossal brat.
March 8, 2010
I've found out that it's the second book in a series things are making more sense to me. I think it is not really the type of book to read if you haven't read the first one, and I can bet, that the first book is far better than this one. Still, it is quite funny and entertaining (but ever so unrealistic). I really thought it was difficult to get into it, and nothing really seemed to be going on (no plot), but it was sort of enjoyable.
April 30, 2008
I really did not enjoy this author's writing style. The book is written in the present tense, and she frequently writes in fragments such as "Decide to go to the store." It very much grated on my nerves and I skim read much of the book because I was irritated with the style. I also didn't find the main character to be very sympathetic.
August 7, 2009
Raffaella Barker is a fantastic writer. I liked this book but I thought Hen's Dancing was much better. Summertime continues the life of Venita from Hen's Dancing. The story line was OK, but the writing makes up for everything. I love her little girl, AKA The Beauty!!!
September 10, 2009
I really enjoyed this book. The characters were so so charming. About a single mom, Venetia, and her summer with her three children. This book made me laugh a lot. Well-written and enjoyed the British humor.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews