Fiction

Summer

Summer

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-06-02 10:51:43
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Ali Smith
  • ISBN：0241973376
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Summary

Discover the unforgettable finale to Ali Smith's dazzling literary tour-de-force

In the present， Sacha knows the world's in trouble。 Her brother Robert just is trouble。 Their mother and father are having trouble。 Meanwhile the world's in meltdown - and the real meltdown hasn't even started yet。 In the past， a lovely summer。 A different brother and sister know they're living on borrowed time。

This is a story about people on the brink of change。 They're family， but they think they're strangers。 So: where does family begin？ And what do people who think they've got nothing in common have in common？

Summer。

'Smith's seasonal quartet of novels is a bold and brilliant experiment' Independent

'The novel's hopeful message about the healing power of friendship ensures the quartet ends on a feel-good note' Sunday Times

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Reviews

Loretta ，

The culminating book of the seasonal quartet。 Fantastic writing。 The author has assembled a set of vignettes crossing several world wars and embedded in today’s Pandemic。 Musing about the nature of brother-sister relationships， coming of age trajectories for several characters and the value of science and art。 Loved it。

Alice Yoder ，

The last of the "Seasonal" books， I don't think I got the whole picture， but this was my favorite。 The last of the "Seasonal" books， I don't think I got the whole picture， but this was my favorite。 。。。more

Bryn Lerud ，

I love this quartet of books so much。 I can't wait to reread the whole thing！ This one concerns a brother and sister， Sacha and Robert， who are young and bicker about their political differences。 They meet Charlotte and Arthur and Elisabeth and Daniel and the story of the entire quartet comes full circle。 We learn about Daniel's sister who fights the Nazis in France， we learn about Daniel and his father in the internment camps， we learn about Einstein's flight from Germany。 It's just an incredib I love this quartet of books so much。 I can't wait to reread the whole thing！ This one concerns a brother and sister， Sacha and Robert， who are young and bicker about their political differences。 They meet Charlotte and Arthur and Elisabeth and Daniel and the story of the entire quartet comes full circle。 We learn about Daniel's sister who fights the Nazis in France， we learn about Daniel and his father in the internment camps， we learn about Einstein's flight from Germany。 It's just an incredible work， the whole quartet - Autumn， Winter， Spring， and Summer。 。。。more

Dawnie ，

i am disappointed by and with this book。i absolutely loved autumn and enjoyed winter and spring well enough but hoped that this last book wrapped it all up and bound it together in a way that made the entire quartet a great one。sadly that did not happen at all for me。this book feels rushed and under developed to me。 it tried to squeeze too many of the many events that happened in 2020 into too few pages and with that just made it all a mess。i think this book would have been better if it wouldn’t i am disappointed by and with this book。i absolutely loved autumn and enjoyed winter and spring well enough but hoped that this last book wrapped it all up and bound it together in a way that made the entire quartet a great one。sadly that did not happen at all for me。this book feels rushed and under developed to me。 it tried to squeeze too many of the many events that happened in 2020 into too few pages and with that just made it all a mess。i think this book would have been better if it wouldn’t have tried to be too current。 i am not sure how much of the book smith rewrote or changed but to me the first and the last part read very differently especially compared to the second part。but all of it doesn’t really work fluently together in my option。i also didn’t enjoy the writing in this， since it felt too distorted。 which is actually a problem i always had with smiths books before but didn’t feel in the first of this quartet but is overly present in this one。all in all？disappointing and i kind of wish the publishing date would have been pushed even further back or the book should have been published as planed last year and not include 2020。i didn’t enjoy this a lot and i actually understand why so many people think it’s not what i could have been and should have been。 。。。more

Alberto Palumbo ，

Ammetto che è la prima volta che leggo Ali Smith， e che ancora devo leggere “Autunno”。 La sua scrittura è molto particolare: mi ricorda molto Virginia Woolf， un dipinto impressionista。。。tutto ciò che gioca con la nostra percezione del tempo。 In “Estate”， infatti， Ali Smith unisce due dimensioni temporali diverse: il passato della Seconda Guerra Mondiale e il nostro presente， in particolare quello dell’Inghilterra， in preda sia al Covid che alla Brexit。 Storie， destini， e vite intrecciate in un’e Ammetto che è la prima volta che leggo Ali Smith， e che ancora devo leggere “Autunno”。 La sua scrittura è molto particolare: mi ricorda molto Virginia Woolf， un dipinto impressionista。。。tutto ciò che gioca con la nostra percezione del tempo。 In “Estate”， infatti， Ali Smith unisce due dimensioni temporali diverse: il passato della Seconda Guerra Mondiale e il nostro presente， in particolare quello dell’Inghilterra， in preda sia al Covid che alla Brexit。 Storie， destini， e vite intrecciate in un’estate senza fine， dove tutto forse cambia， o forse no， ma l’unica cosa che resta è la speranza di una rinascita。 。。。more

Russio ，

It was only really in this， the fourth of the quartet， that I realised that we had recurring characters。 Maybe we did all along or maybe they all came back for a Felliniesque goodbye。 Impressive in that it goes right up to the publication point in including new material - crucial really to include Covid in the observations of the first half of 2020。 To have missed it would damage credibility （perhaps fatalistically）。 Shakespeare is here again， in the form of The Winter's Tale， as is Dickens。 Fam It was only really in this， the fourth of the quartet， that I realised that we had recurring characters。 Maybe we did all along or maybe they all came back for a Felliniesque goodbye。 Impressive in that it goes right up to the publication point in including new material - crucial really to include Covid in the observations of the first half of 2020。 To have missed it would damage credibility （perhaps fatalistically）。 Shakespeare is here again， in the form of The Winter's Tale， as is Dickens。 Family， in its many forms， is a key theme， as is kindness。 We need this book right now。 。。。more

Cathy ，

Couldn't decide between 3 or 4 stars but decided on 4 as I think part of the problem was that I couldn't remember the finer points of the previous 3 books so seemed a bit disjointed at times。 Couldn't decide between 3 or 4 stars but decided on 4 as I think part of the problem was that I couldn't remember the finer points of the previous 3 books so seemed a bit disjointed at times。 。。。more

Melissa ，

Ali Smith is the wittiest， and the most important。 The seasonal series is fiction in real time。 Brexit， refugees， and even the pandemic。 Read it now， and again in a generation。

linn ，

dnf @ 24%maybe wasnt the smartest idea to start with the last book in the quartet but to be fair， it's currently summer， this book is called summer and i had been told you dont need to read them in order so here i am and i just could。 not。 vibe。 with ali smith's writing style at。 all。 dnf @ 24%maybe wasnt the smartest idea to start with the last book in the quartet but to be fair， it's currently summer， this book is called summer and i had been told you dont need to read them in order so here i am and i just could。 not。 vibe。 with ali smith's writing style at。 all。 。。。more

Anya Ryazanova ，

If you didn’t have enough of trees and art and brexit and left wing politics， here is a collection of outtakes and bloopers that didn’t make it to the previous three novels。 Not that I don’t enjoy art and left wing politics in books， sometimes there has to be at least a hint of a story。。。

Annebeth Hollevoet ，

Ik ga niet zeggen dat het mijn favoriet is uit de Seasonal Series， maar wel een mooie afsluiter waar subtiel alles samenkomt。 IK BEN FAN

Sherry ，

Thank you to Gumble’s Yard， or something like that， for the review and interpretations of the series。 I was thinking of reading all 4 books， as one， and keeping a diary of persons involved in the stories， or maybe just marking the pages with names so I could quickly revert back and remind myself who was who， etc。 Now， I am not so sure I will ever do that， as overall I did not love the books。 Interesting， yes。 Clever， yes。 Annoying， yes。 I’ll leave it there。

Corey ，

I can't think of another writer like her。 Sometimes she reminds me of DeLillo， and The Seasonal Quartet， as a whole， represents some kind of vast and deep Pynchonian universe。 But， Smith is lighter， more joyous。 I can't think of another writer like her。 Sometimes she reminds me of DeLillo， and The Seasonal Quartet， as a whole， represents some kind of vast and deep Pynchonian universe。 But， Smith is lighter， more joyous。 。。。more

MaLou ，

Love。 Love。 Love。 This。 Love Ali Smith。 Fresh air to my brain， my soul， food for thoughts。

Laina ，

So good it was sickening

Mary Pimbblet ，

It feels a bit disloyal to give the last book in this quartet I’ve loved a mediocre star rating， it’s just not as good as the others in the series。 I loved the first half of the book， but somewhere along the way it just felt like it became untethered。 The story of Hannah seemed to stop with no purpose， the account of internment of illegal aliens on the Isle of Man seems to grind to a halt， what on earth happened to Grace’s screen tests？ The strings of all the narratives just don’t seem to come t It feels a bit disloyal to give the last book in this quartet I’ve loved a mediocre star rating， it’s just not as good as the others in the series。 I loved the first half of the book， but somewhere along the way it just felt like it became untethered。 The story of Hannah seemed to stop with no purpose， the account of internment of illegal aliens on the Isle of Man seems to grind to a halt， what on earth happened to Grace’s screen tests？ The strings of all the narratives just don’t seem to come together in a way that satisfies me。It’s still a beautiful read， it just felt unfinished。 。。。more

Stacey Bookerworm ，

I read Ali Smith’s Summer without reading the rest of the quartet and I think that was a mistake。 Read more of our review: http://www。bookerworm。com/reviews/748。。。 I read Ali Smith’s Summer without reading the rest of the quartet and I think that was a mistake。 Read more of our review: http://www。bookerworm。com/reviews/748。。。 。。。more

Ciara ，

Least fave of the quartet。 Winter still wins in my book。

Emily ，

I can’t COPE with how good this book is‘Sacha’s chest filled with the kind of warmth that once when she was really small she’d asked her mother about because it felt so nice and her mother said that’s your inner summer’ ‘Not even when they see the pictures of Australia burning do they admit it。 Not even when half a billion dead creatures—meaning 500000000 individual living things dead’ ‘it is as if Robert has attached a dimmer switch to his own brilliance and like he is randomly turning it down I can’t COPE with how good this book is‘Sacha’s chest filled with the kind of warmth that once when she was really small she’d asked her mother about because it felt so nice and her mother said that’s your inner summer’ ‘Not even when they see the pictures of Australia burning do they admit it。 Not even when half a billion dead creatures—meaning 500000000 individual living things dead’ ‘it is as if Robert has attached a dimmer switch to his own brilliance and like he is randomly turning it down as low and dark as it can go and then thunking it up to dazzling’ ‘Robert Greenlaw has been called plump in his time。 It is why he is now very， very lean’‘The people in charge in England right now are geniuses of manipulation [。。。] Robert Greenlaw still aspires to it a bit， though he’s 13 now and recognises its pre-adolescent ventriloquisms’ ‘porous understander of his time and times’‘The visitor called Charlotte is lighting up this room。 Robert himself feels as if he too is neon， lightning zagging through him， he is shining， look at his arms， his hands， he is a source of light too because of her’‘It is like smashed light imprisoned in him until now， in pieces， sharp fragments like smashed lightbulbs in the pit of his gut， has been understood， known for what it was’‘I think that is more than enough for one letter。 I hope I haven’t bored you。 I wanted to send you an open horizon’‘And suddenly everyone in town was dance mad， it was a contagion of dance， Mr Uhlman says。 The whole town danced and danced， because of madness and poverty。 Driven to joy’‘We have been here behind the wire all through the bright open door of the summer’‘It is more true， that tiny story， than many a thing I have read and it has gone deep’‘there are some old volumes doing the rounds， they fall more apart the more more and more people read them’‘Keep your innerlichtkeit lit and shining in the window for me，/ as mine is for you/ my autumn sister/ from/ your ever/ summer brother’‘Now？ I’m all right， she said。 Then？ It’s like something wild， which is eating me whole， decides it doesn’t want me after all and so it regurgitates me’‘It is a completely beautiful evening。 Heavy summer light’‘He sorted it。 He got her papers。 He got her across the zone line。 It won’t be non-occupied for long。 The Italians want it。 The Germans will let them have it till they decide to take it for themselves’‘He made her laugh at all of it and then he held her body in a way that completely understood her， he was good at doing her too， then， a whole other kind of mimicry’‘its flower fields on the hills above it in a riot of bloom for the perfume industry—is ragged with refugees’‘It is a happy baby， which is a lucky thing。 Hannah spends the days between the child and despair。 There’s a happiness in these days that’s unquantifiable up against the foulness’‘What will I make of my broke broken self？’‘She tells the child the story of the mother who has to go away and leave her baby， and that it doesn’t mean the mother doesn’t love her baby， it means she loves her baby how much？’‘Now the government wants them for antibodies and plasma but then nobody wanted to know， they were just left on their own thinking they were dying。 And some of them did die’‘So we mourn it while we’re in it。 Look at me walking down a road in summer thinking about the transience of summer。 Even while I’m right at the heart of it I just can’t get to the heart of it’‘It’s not the hots， Sacha said。 Just the warms？ Charlotte said’‘he wanted to understand the architecture of light’‘Thank you for telling me stories of your life。 Thank you for imagining my life。 Thank you for allowing me to imagine your life’‘I agree there is more summer to come and there will be more weeks of your bird in the sky’ 。。。more

Muddynosugar ，

An excellent end to the quartet。

Ellie Kakoulli ，

“Summer's like walking down a road just like this one， heading towards both light and dark。 Because summer isn't just a merry tale。 Because there's no merry tale without the darkness。 And summer's surely really all about an imagined end。” Well well well， who on earth could’ve predicted the MANY fractured， febrile and fraught moments that would take place within our sociocultural， and political landscapes many moons ago， whilst setting out this project in 2016？ Ali smith that’s who！ Captured and “Summer's like walking down a road just like this one， heading towards both light and dark。 Because summer isn't just a merry tale。 Because there's no merry tale without the darkness。 And summer's surely really all about an imagined end。” Well well well， who on earth could’ve predicted the MANY fractured， febrile and fraught moments that would take place within our sociocultural， and political landscapes many moons ago， whilst setting out this project in 2016？ Ali smith that’s who！ Captured and shaped by our immediate times， Smith’s novels are almost like living -yet timeless， history books。 Astutely capturing first hand， the increasingly conflicting， anxiety ridden parameters of our lives。Just as the seasons change in ways that we can’t always predict or imagine （constant rain in may for example） so to do the cultural， environmental and political landscapes。 Now I know what your thinking， “Hey Ellie， I’m living through all this nonsense， so why on earth would I want to read about it？” Well， though Smith does draw attention to the bleakness of our current， worldwide state -evoking feelings of sheer loneliness and utter despair （lol）。 She is also creating books， and characters， that are refreshingly real and relevant as the next。 Though they may not always have the answers， or do the right thing， they perfectly represent the struggles of all of us out there， just trying to make sense of， and find our place amongst the chaos。 And I think there is a great sense of solace and togetherness in that。 One of the many things I enjoy about reading Smith’s writing， aside from her playful wordy， world weary-ness （say that five times fast！） is of course， the powerful and influential nature of art -which is almost always prominently placed in the forefront of her work。 In the case of the quartets， smith seamlessly weaves the great wonders of literature， theatre， music and visual art。 From Shakespeare to Hepworth， highlighting how the art before us cannot only help us reflect and understand the previous ways we made sense of the world， but ultimately， how like the creations we still see， read and listen to today， we survived it。 In the words of Mr Schneebly in School of Rock; Summer， you get an A plus and 50 （though maybe let’s call it 4） gold stars。https://www。instagram。com/elliekakoulli/ 。。。more

Topher ，

This is the finale of Ali Smith's quartet。 This is very much fitting with her style of melding fragmented pieces together。 I like her sense of the current day pulse that highlights what is happening right now in our lives。 Whether it is the pandemic， or social media， or bullying， her spotlight has a wide lens to include these things。 I also liked the family portrayed in this book。 They were interesting。 What I didn't like so much is the focus on the second world war。 I have to admit that I am no This is the finale of Ali Smith's quartet。 This is very much fitting with her style of melding fragmented pieces together。 I like her sense of the current day pulse that highlights what is happening right now in our lives。 Whether it is the pandemic， or social media， or bullying， her spotlight has a wide lens to include these things。 I also liked the family portrayed in this book。 They were interesting。 What I didn't like so much is the focus on the second world war。 I have to admit that I am not a fan of war stories。 Although they are significant， they never really offer any new slants in a fiction format。 For that this one gets a 3。8/5。 。。。more

Bonnie Wroe ，

Magical。 Dazzling。 This and Autumn are my favourites in this very special series。

Emily Cundall ，

4。5 stars

Stephen Gillespie ，

A intelligent and emotive end to a spellbinding series。 This Quartet has been one of the most interesting literary events in， well。。 I don’t know。 The intersection of our present with a medium so indelibly linked to capturing the past is fascinating。 This one is a bit jumbled， but then it pulls those jumbles together with such finesse。Ali Smith really is the greatest living novelist。 This is a hopeful end to the series， but one that recognises the pain that hope springs out of - and the searing A intelligent and emotive end to a spellbinding series。 This Quartet has been one of the most interesting literary events in， well。。 I don’t know。 The intersection of our present with a medium so indelibly linked to capturing the past is fascinating。 This one is a bit jumbled， but then it pulls those jumbles together with such finesse。Ali Smith really is the greatest living novelist。 This is a hopeful end to the series， but one that recognises the pain that hope springs out of - and the searing anger of the present。I laughed; I cried: it was wonderful。 。。。more

John Newcomb ，

I have been waiting for the last in the series for some time and it was well worth the wait。 Ali takes on the start of the pandemic whilst tying it in with art and humanity as always。 Whilst there is references to man's inhumanity to one another it is countered by love and kindness。 Lovely book。 I have been waiting for the last in the series for some time and it was well worth the wait。 Ali takes on the start of the pandemic whilst tying it in with art and humanity as always。 Whilst there is references to man's inhumanity to one another it is countered by love and kindness。 Lovely book。 。。。more

Marcos ，

Reading this final novel from Ali Smith's masterful "Seasonal Quartet" series was a beautiful narrative that writes about processing conservative governments such as Brexit and The Trump Administration through beautiful， ethereal language that makes pain seem like poetry。 Juxtaposed with domestic issues that pervade brother and sister Robert and Sacha， starting with the news that Covid-19 has been discovered in February 2020。 Their mother voted for Brexit， with their father following suit。 Ms。 S Reading this final novel from Ali Smith's masterful "Seasonal Quartet" series was a beautiful narrative that writes about processing conservative governments such as Brexit and The Trump Administration through beautiful， ethereal language that makes pain seem like poetry。 Juxtaposed with domestic issues that pervade brother and sister Robert and Sacha， starting with the news that Covid-19 has been discovered in February 2020。 Their mother voted for Brexit， with their father following suit。 Ms。 Smith interweaves past characters from her previous books: Art and Charlotte Greenlaw from "Winter"， Daniel and Hannah Gluck from "Autumn"。 The novel also features the life of film director Lorenza Mazzetti whose family was massacred by the Nazis in 1944。 The whole question and central idea of the novel lies within this statement， Ms。 Smith writes， "But I believe one good thing that will come out of this is that my already trampled on generation will be evermore resilient， we will be aware of how lucky we are to spend time with our friends because we will know what it's like to live without them" （Smith 247）。 The novel foreshadows the whole awful lost year that is 2020， and though the novel had been published right in the middle of summer 2020， the themes of loss， resilience， and the divides that both Britain and the US suffered politically within their families and their truths continue to resonate。 。。。more

charlie ，

In a surprising turn of events given my track record of my previous Women’s Prize reads， the struggle I experienced trying to get into this book was actually fairly minimal。 Some weird prose at the start and a change in narration style coming off the back of the Unsettled Ground audiobook threw me off a little bit， but once I got past that I found myself thoroughly caring。 I really vibed with Ali Smith’s style of writing and the experience of trying to figure out how everything fit together （hav In a surprising turn of events given my track record of my previous Women’s Prize reads， the struggle I experienced trying to get into this book was actually fairly minimal。 Some weird prose at the start and a change in narration style coming off the back of the Unsettled Ground audiobook threw me off a little bit， but once I got past that I found myself thoroughly caring。 I really vibed with Ali Smith’s style of writing and the experience of trying to figure out how everything fit together （having not read the first three books in the series） enhanced the whole experience for me。 It all felt very human which was exactly what I needed at this time in my life。I don’t think I have anything groundbreaking to add about this book， but I really liked it quite a lot and am looking forward to re-reading it when I read the rest of the quartet！ 。。。more

Regina ，

Ali Smith is amazing。 I can never get enough of her novels & writing style。

Hannah Cox ，

Would like to have read the series before diving into this one。 Think sequels shouldn't be in the long-list， though appreciate the read nonetheless。 Buddy read with Charlie and Sarah， 2021 Women's Prize Long-List Nominee– would be interested to revisit this after I've read Ali Smith's other works。 Would like to have read the series before diving into this one。 Think sequels shouldn't be in the long-list， though appreciate the read nonetheless。 Buddy read with Charlie and Sarah， 2021 Women's Prize Long-List Nominee– would be interested to revisit this after I've read Ali Smith's other works。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Summer

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Summer&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Summer&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0