Reviews with content warning for Child death - Summerwater

Summerwater is told in a series of introspective yet quotidian vignettes, each centered around a different character; the main narrative thread drawing each character together is their residence, be it permanent or vacationing, in a particular cabin park in Scotland and on a particularly nasty, rainy day. I love this premise, and I think for the most part it works very well-- it reminds me of a very contemporary To The Lighthouse, in ironic structure, plot, character intricacy, and reflective musings about the meaning of human connection alike.

Moss’s writing style here is beautifully casual, and each character is offered a distinct thought pattern in their chapters. All these people are complicated; all of them are more than they seem to be. Moss does a fantastic job of communicating that complexity in her writing, along with adding lyrical flair in interspersed depictions of wildlife between chapters. The natural world, however gloomy it is on the day the story takes place, is rendered with a careful poignance, complementing the quiet melancholy or dissatisfaction underpinning many of the characters’ stories. The gap between the anthropocene and the otherwise natural is wide and tangible-- but we also get to see the subtle similarities through those differences.

My concern with Summerwater is, as many reviewers seem to agree, its ending.

I’m inclined to think the surprising nature of the fire, its overt out-of-left-field disturbingness and the dawning horror it evokes, is the point: all these people, who seem to have nothing in common, are drawn together by the tragedy, just as the wildlife is drawn together in the face of environmental deterioration caused by humans. There are parallels between the people and nature, as well insights about what we refuse to notice and the biases we pass on to those who look to us for guidance. The contrast between the fire and the water represents the disturbance and disruption of the environment by humans too preoccupied with their own goings-on to care, or even to notice when their worldviews promote harm to their own community. And thus, destruction, fire, tragedy.

I can’t help but feel unsatisfied, though! Even if it was the point, I think the fire could have had much more of an impact with increased foreshadowing. This book thrives on irony; why not turn up its intensity? In the pages leading up to the fire, we do see some amount of this, especially with the focus on the horrible xenophobic little girl (her name eludes me at the moment). Ultimately, the book realizes its potential as a tragic warning about manufactured differences between humans, how we should not let classism and xenophobia and racism and sexism divide us lest our biases result in such a tragedy. I only wish there had been more, though. The ending’s suddenness almost undercuts its point… almost. It would have been far more chilling if it had been just a bit more predictable, I think.

Overall, I liked Summerwater, regardless of how I felt about its ending. Moss’s ability to entrench the audience in the minds of the different characters and shift flowingly between them is astounding; the writing shines in its complexity. The audiobook version, which I listened to, did an amazing job of communicating the story as well. I don’t think this book is for everyone, and I don’t think it’s perfect, but I enjoyed its reflection, however rainy and gray.

Content Warnings

freja's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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daisywilkes's review against another edition

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slow-paced

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

1.5

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bibliothecolle's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

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katie_biggs7's review against another edition

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dark reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

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readundancies's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

So I need to start off this review with the admission that I was completely under the impression that this was a horror novel. I read the synopsis blurb, saw the words subtle menace and was like 'Yup, this be a horror novel' and then went on with my life.

Some context: I'm not a big horror novel reader - there's something about the concept of fear as a form of entertainment that utterly bores me and so I tend to steer clear of the genre as whole. But this year, The Royal We that is me, myself and I are trying to expand our minds and dip our toes into genres that we don't generally want to wet our whistles with. Hence the picking up of a novel that I was convinced was horror.

Of course, upon conclusion of this novella, it is very much not so a horror novel. It very much is literary fiction though, and so I fully admit that my overall rating may be slightly biased due to this.

That being said, it really was an experience of a novella. The backdrop of rainy Scotland, being hustled within cabins in a community of strangers, and the dark undertones that tinged each perspective as everyone divulged their opinions of that one family that is very much at the centre of everyone's thoughts despite them not quite fitting in - all of it is very aptly described by the words subtle menace.

We are very quickly thrown into the story where the stream-of-consciousness delivery is both potent and jarring. Certain perspectives made use of the style better than others; Justine was rather boring and I'm not in love with how her perspective was the first one we encounter (because that woman thinks in rather large blocks of text with no breaks and I would've preferred a more slower ease into the writing style), whereas Mary's was without a doubt my favourite of the lot because so much of her inner monologue was illuminating with all the implications she expressed.

Branching off that, I feel the need to highlight that the cadence with which the way Moss writes is very natural. It's not what I would call lyrical, but rather it has a very comfortable and effortless quality to it as you read, which holds your gaze as you’re lulled into the feeling of ease beneath the diction. Even though I wasn’t completely sold on the stream of consciousness delivery, it was made more palatable by the quality of the writing because there were so many lines that were hard-hitting, poignant and thought-provoking - to the point where I would actively stop reading and be like, damn, this is the good shit.

This story's biggest strength is the characterization: all 12 of the perspectives are strong characters that bring all kinds of human aspects to light. There's internalized racism, teenage rebellion, the capacity for maliciousness in children, and a rather fantastic exploration of the dichotomy that exists within relationships both young and old. The way that Moss displays how each character perceives the others, how they theorize what others motivations are; where they’re going, what they’re up to, what they’re thinking and feeling. It’s brilliant in that virtually all of the assumptions made are not correct, but there’s also a strange affinity in how the characters observe and try to make sense of one another. From a sociological standpoint, it was incredibly interesting to read.

I did however see the ending coming a mile away - not so much in it's execution, but rather the overall result. I don't necessarily think that it detracted from my reading experience, but the predictability is worth noting.

As a whole, had I been more properly informed going into this story (which is a direct result of my own misguided arrogance), this is likely higher than a 4 star read. And I have no qualms about vehemently recommending it.

Content Warnings

lian's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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