A review by erint
Summer Will Show by Sylvia Townsend Warner

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Sophia and Minna's love story was beautiful. I appreciated that they weren't made perfect by their love and that it wasn't treated as flawless and unwaning. It felt very real. Sophia's character, and the way that she seemed to make a decision and then drift along with the consequences as though she had no agency, was a fascinating and very effective choice for a book set in a revolution. I was disappointed by how the character of Caspar was handled and his appearance during the revolution. The serendipity of him reappearing at the baracade felt strange. I think more could have been done with his character and the racism he faced and his character's position in the story felt like it could have been handled a bit better. I loved the ending, with the bit of hope that Minna could still be alive and Sophie having to live on, utterly changed from the person who she was in England. </Spoiler>
Expand filter menu Content Warnings