liviamello's review against another edition
emotional
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? No
2.0
caitlynmeadow's review against another edition
4.0
I probably wouldn't have picked this up if it wasn't a set book for my contemporary fiction class but I'm very glad I got the chance. It is written quite differently to most other books out there, Hustvedt's voice comes through Mia who is narrating the story directly to the reader.
Mia's husband asked for a 'pause' in their 30 year marriage to take up with a much younger colleague; Mia has a nervous breakdown and finds herself in hospital. To help with her recovery Mia heads back to her small home town of Bonden, here we meet a diverse array of female characters, the Five Swans - Mia's mother and her friends who live the independent living area of an old people's home, the young mother who lives next door and the teenage girls in Mia's poetry class.
Mia tells us about the happenings of the characters, is reflective of her marriage and makes her feminist opinions clear.
The Summer Without Men stretches the boundaries of what the expectations of a novel are and it did it well at that.
Mia's husband asked for a 'pause' in their 30 year marriage to take up with a much younger colleague; Mia has a nervous breakdown and finds herself in hospital. To help with her recovery Mia heads back to her small home town of Bonden, here we meet a diverse array of female characters, the Five Swans - Mia's mother and her friends who live the independent living area of an old people's home, the young mother who lives next door and the teenage girls in Mia's poetry class.
Mia tells us about the happenings of the characters, is reflective of her marriage and makes her feminist opinions clear.
The Summer Without Men stretches the boundaries of what the expectations of a novel are and it did it well at that.
erickauribe's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Easy read
lit_africa's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
violetvixen's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.0
peggy_racham's review against another edition
4.0
"We all smell of mortality, and we can’t wash it off."
A little too much men for a men free book. But I loved the unity and devastation of female connection.
A little too much men for a men free book. But I loved the unity and devastation of female connection.
letty_and_books's review against another edition
4.0
"It is impossible to divine a story while you are living it; it is shapeless; an inchoate procession of words and things, and let us be frank: we never recover what was."
"Time is not outside us but inside. Only we live with past, present, and future, and the present is too brief to experience anyway; it is retained afterwards and then it is either codified or it slips into amnesia. Consciousness is the product of delay"
"We all smell of mortality, and we can't wash it off"
"Time is not outside us but inside. Only we live with past, present, and future, and the present is too brief to experience anyway; it is retained afterwards and then it is either codified or it slips into amnesia. Consciousness is the product of delay"
"We all smell of mortality, and we can't wash it off"
booksandbulletjournaling's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
katewhite77's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A meditation on womanhood at various stages
This book has so many narrative strands and forms that I was never bored.
I was reminded about how painful teenagehood can be and how in old age loss becomes a way of life. The older we get, the more regrets we can have, but only if we choose to see them as such. Marriage and partnership is hard. A change is sometimes as good as a rest.
These are just some things I took away from this sardonic novel.
This book has so many narrative strands and forms that I was never bored.
I was reminded about how painful teenagehood can be and how in old age loss becomes a way of life. The older we get, the more regrets we can have, but only if we choose to see them as such. Marriage and partnership is hard. A change is sometimes as good as a rest.
These are just some things I took away from this sardonic novel.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying and Suicide
Minor: Self harm and Domestic abuse