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Book Review
May. 3rd, 2016 09:22 pmThe Summer Before the War
by Helen Simonson
This is Simonson's second novel, after Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, and takes on some of the same themes of village life and its mixture of loveliness and ugliness. This time the, the setting is Rye, a small town in Sussex, beginning in the summer of 1914, just before WWI breaks out. It follows Beatrice Nash, who has come to take up the position of Latin teacher in the local high school, an unusual pursuit for a woman. She is there at the behest of Agatha Kent, one of the town's ruling matriarchs, who has risked her reputation and standing in the town by bringing in Beatrice.
Simonson takes a deliciously leisurely approach to the unfolding of Beatrice's relationships with the inhabitants of Rye, and especially with Hugh. We also get to see the way the upper crust of Rye jockeys for social position, precedence, and prominence through the leadership and manipulation of various town committees. There is a lot of humor and subtle social criticism. Many things come to a head once the war effort gets going. The war also brings its own changes and cataclysms, and its tragedies make for a very emotionally wrenching conclusion than that of Simonson's first novel. It all makes for a very warm and understated novel that knows exactly when to deliver its punches.
by Helen Simonson
This is Simonson's second novel, after Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, and takes on some of the same themes of village life and its mixture of loveliness and ugliness. This time the, the setting is Rye, a small town in Sussex, beginning in the summer of 1914, just before WWI breaks out. It follows Beatrice Nash, who has come to take up the position of Latin teacher in the local high school, an unusual pursuit for a woman. She is there at the behest of Agatha Kent, one of the town's ruling matriarchs, who has risked her reputation and standing in the town by bringing in Beatrice.
Simonson takes a deliciously leisurely approach to the unfolding of Beatrice's relationships with the inhabitants of Rye, and especially with Hugh. We also get to see the way the upper crust of Rye jockeys for social position, precedence, and prominence through the leadership and manipulation of various town committees. There is a lot of humor and subtle social criticism. Many things come to a head once the war effort gets going. The war also brings its own changes and cataclysms, and its tragedies make for a very emotionally wrenching conclusion than that of Simonson's first novel. It all makes for a very warm and understated novel that knows exactly when to deliver its punches.
