Reviews

The Summer Guest by Justin Cronin

leitnerkev's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective relaxing sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

It's a nice book. Definitely not my typical cup of tea but well crafted and (no surprise from Cronin) well written. The characters voices were fully realized and distinct and the leisurely reflection on loss, and death, and choices, was pleasant. It also had the benefit of a ultra wealth old man who serves as a positive force in the world. 

The story centers around a vacation camp, a place where people go to connect with nature, enjoy the outdoors, "rough" it a little, and those who lives are connected closely with it. The camp itself serves as avatar for the story itself, which is, largely, a peaceful contemplation of life and relationships, of death and memory, of family (blood and not) and love. 

The audio performance is fabulous, I do love an ensemble cast of narrators for a book like this, rather than a lone reader. 

kimmkoning's review

5.0

A 7 course meal of words and story...Beautifully written - the contemporary equilvalent of Steinbeck's East of Eden.
Rich and evocative prose combined with a story of a live lived and the extraordinary ways one life has of touching other's in life's journey.

ajaneb's review

emotional hopeful reflective relaxing sad slow-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

3.5

annap5519's review

5.0

Beautiful and heartfelt

Took a chance on this as I usually skip those with less than four stay reviews - I'm glad I did.

tjphutton's review

5.0

I felt nostalgic for a life I've never lived.
This is a beautiful work of art.

elisabeth1st's review

4.0

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It reminded me of the camp my family and I went to when I was a girl. Each family had their own cabin and dined in a great hall for their meals. There was a wonderful staff of teens that waited tables, took us water skiing, ran "hoot nannies" and took the kids into town for ice cream and miniature golf, all while the adults hung out, relaxed, and got to let parenthood drift away for a few moments. Great memories from that time and this book brought them all back. Endearing characters, beautifully written, and Cronin got Maine and its northern woods lifestyle right.

baearthur's review

4.0

Lovely. Just lovely.

silodear's review

3.0

This book hovered between 3 and 4 stars for me. Perhaps the very slow pace at which I read the book took away from the writing, I can't be sure. But I do know that I found the plot twists to be a bit forced, the relationships and connections to be well-developed and real, and the story to be interesting enough to keep me engaged through many real life distractions and competing exceedingly impressive novels. In sum: a good enough read.

elleldee's review

2.0

I really would have guessed, from the description on the back, that I would end up not liking several of the characters. A man who had loved another man's wife for thirty years, nor a promising introduction. I really did like the book for about the quarters of it, then it died and rotted. By the end of it I hated a couple of the characters so much I could hardly keep reading.

rseykora's review

A lot of characters and backstories made it complicated to keep straight. I listened to this so that may have been the reason I kept getting confused. But as the book moved on, the characters and backstories came together.