Summer

by Lisa Grunwald

Jen, the daughter of a famous sculptor, narrates the story of her family's summer on Sanders Island and their struggle to accept that their mother is dying of cancer and to summon the strength to let go of her

Genres: Fiction

309 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Lisa Grunwald is the author of the novels The Evolution of Annabel Craig, Time After Time, The Irresistible Henry House, Whatever Makes You Happy, New Year's Eve, The Theory of Everything, and Summer. Along with her husband, former Reuters editor-in-chief Stephen J. Adler, she edited the bestselling anthologies The Marriage Book, Women's Letters and Letters of the Century. Grunwald is an occasional essayist and runs a side hustle on Etsy called ProcrastinationArts, where she sells other things she makes with pencils and paper. She lives in New York City.
Photo courtesy of author website.

Reviews

[deLille · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whoa! Not the light-hearted "summer beach read" I was expecting it to be by it's misleading title when I purchased it from my local library. Not at all. Oh my gosh... this very tersely-written book dives head first into the unrestrained insanity that can possess us when someone we love threatens to leave, whether it be by their dying or emotional distancing -- sometimes both. I would rate this book five stars on its honest exploration of the various reactions different family members have toward the mother who is dying of cancer, but only three stars for its overuse of ridiculously compact dialogue. Not every single person, even in the same family, can be as tight-lipped as were ALL of the characters in this book. I realize that the author was trying to get the reader to focus more on the action than the words, but the characters came across being too much alike because they all sounded alike. Everyone talked like they were dictating a telegram, and the initial poetic effect of this pithy dialogue became tiresome after the first 50 or so pages. Other than that, the book was an interesting glimpse into what it's like to be on the inside of the dying process, as well as on the outside. The book definitely had some literary heft and I would definitely read more books by Lisa Grunwald.

[John Marr · Rating 1 out of 5]

Absolutely wretched Brat Pack whiner about the mother dying

[Maia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yawn.

[Claire Louise Heller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has instantly become my favorite. The characters are intelligent. You will not find surface level nothingness with this book, as it is chocked full with important life lessons about love, life, family, and the beautiful mess that is it all. I'd recommend this book for anyone with sensible taste who would love to have a nice light read along with some important life lessons along the way.

[Hirosasazaki Sasazaki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually 3 to 4 stars. It was painful to read about death.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A dying wife and her husband and two grown daughters. Touching.

[Juli · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting characters and plot. I enjoyed it a lot.