Book Summary and Reviews of Summer by Ali Smith

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Cathryn Conroy

A Literary Delight with Exquisite Writing, but Despite the Title, It’s Not a Beach Book
Despite the title, this is a not a light and romantic romp at the beach. This is a serious book about serious subjects—from the horrors of Nazi brutalities to the isolation of the Covid pandemic—but the story had me riveted.

Written by Ali Smith, this is the fourth in her seasonal quartet that officially begins with "Autumn: A Novel," but can be read in any order, since the stories are not related to each other. That said, I would advise—just for the fun of it—reading them during the season for which each is named. The author’s purpose for the four books is daunting: Each book is topical about current news events as they were happening when she was writing. (Novelists don’t do that! Except Ali Smith did. And pulled it off. Somehow.)

The barely-there plot begins in February 2020 just as people around the world are learning about a vicious and highly contagious virus. The story focuses on a handful of people—from a 13-year-old boy who is brilliant but somewhat delinquent to a 104-year-old man whose memories are more real to him than his daily existence. While the core of the story takes place in winter, many of the characters remember a summer that was special to them.

This is how it begins: On the beach in Brighton, Robert, age 13, does something truly mean and dangerous to his older sister, Sacha. Charlotte and Art (characters from "Winter"), who are wandering on the beach in the dead of winter, offer her assistance, accompanying her home. It is there that they meet the children’s mother, Grace, along with Robert (who hilariously falls madly in love with Charlotte), and the five of them—strangers who become like family—go on an unlikely journey together. From this barebones plot the story branches out so we learn the detailed backgrounds—some filled with joy, some with tragedy—of these and other characters. And the tie that binds these disparate people together is…summer.

Each of the four books in the series features a Shakespeare play, a Charles Dickens novel, and a contemporary artist. In "Summer," we have "A Winter’s Tale," "David Copperfield," and Italian filmmaker Lorenza Mazzetti. Yes, it’s an intellectual book about summer!

This final book in the seasonal quartet is far less political than "Autumn" (Brexit) and "Spring" (immigrants who are detained illegally) and more focused on the human psyche with characters so vivid, complex, and real that they just pop off the page.

The writing is exquisite, and it was this more than anything else, that kept me turning the pages. This book is a literary delight.

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