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The Long, Hot Summer
Nine Lives. Four Generations. One Family. The MacEntees are no ordinary family.
Determined to be different from other people, they have carved out a place for themselves in Irish life by the sheer force of their personalities. But when a series of misfortunes befall them over the course of one long hot summer, even the MacEntees will struggle to make sense of who they are.
As media storms rage about them and secrets rise to the surface, Deirdre plans a family party for her 80th birthday-and with it one final, shocking surprise.
From Kathleen MacMahon, the Number One bestselling author of This is How it Ends, comes this powerful and poignant novel capturing a moment in the life of one family.
Determined to be different from other people, they have carved out a place for themselves in Irish life by the sheer force of their personalities. But when a series of misfortunes befall them over the course of one long hot summer, even the MacEntees will struggle to make sense of who they are.
As media storms rage about them and secrets rise to the surface, Deirdre plans a family party for her 80th birthday-and with it one final, shocking surprise.
From Kathleen MacMahon, the Number One bestselling author of This is How it Ends, comes this powerful and poignant novel capturing a moment in the life of one family.
400 pages, Paperback
First published July 5, 2016
60 people are currently reading
1490 people want to read
About the author
Kathleen MacMahon
5 books110 followersKathleen MacMahon is an award-winning television journalist with Ireland’s national broadcaster, RTE, where she reports on the major international stories. The grand-daughter of the distinguished short story writer Mary Lavin, Kathleen lives in Dublin with her husband and twin daughters. THIS IS HOW IT ENDS is her first novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 82 reviews
August 15, 2016
Meet the MacEntees, mother, Deirdre, relatively absent from her children's lives as they were growing, pursuing an award winning career on the stage. Manus, the father, who well leave his wife of many years to live with a younger man. Alma, who has grown into a formidable woman, has a daughter and divorced husband and Auschula, who is married to the other brother who is heavily invested in politics and Macdora, their brother, Mother's favorite and a gentle soul who seems to want little out of life. So not your typical Irish family but as you read this you will find them very easy in which to relate.
Narrated by each family member during the course of one summer, this is an easy story to immerse oneself into. No gimmicks, no changing timelines, just strong writing and an interesting plot. What a refreshing novelty. Over the course of a summer, we watch as these characters change as fate throws unexpected occurrences into their lives. We hear in their own words and the stories of the others how these have effected them, how they react to them. There is humor, sadness, forgiveness, understanding and a great deal of love. Ultimately, this is a story of family, what tears them apart, what brings them together, and love. What one will do out of love, forgive, come to new realizations and maybe even acceptance.
Wonderful story, great characters and just a plain good story with some surprising insights.
ARC from Netgalley.
Narrated by each family member during the course of one summer, this is an easy story to immerse oneself into. No gimmicks, no changing timelines, just strong writing and an interesting plot. What a refreshing novelty. Over the course of a summer, we watch as these characters change as fate throws unexpected occurrences into their lives. We hear in their own words and the stories of the others how these have effected them, how they react to them. There is humor, sadness, forgiveness, understanding and a great deal of love. Ultimately, this is a story of family, what tears them apart, what brings them together, and love. What one will do out of love, forgive, come to new realizations and maybe even acceptance.
Wonderful story, great characters and just a plain good story with some surprising insights.
ARC from Netgalley.
May 8, 2019
The Long, Hot Summer by Kathleen MacMahon is one of the loveliest books I've read this year.
Family drama, generations of Irish men & ladies, comedy, tragedy and character growth. What more could a girl ask for in novel? Not much else!!
I was truly surprised by how amazing this book was, considering it has so few reviews. It's by far one of my favourite reads and it will sit high atop my shelves. Kathleen MacMahon has a beautiful sense of writing style and her prose is just magnificent. I can't get enough of this book and I want more by her.
This story follows the MacEntees - an Irish family with four generations of men and women trying to deal with a long, hot summer. Deidre and Manus were once married, but Manus is now with his male lover and at Deidre is grasping with the fact that she is now "old" and in her 80s. Alma, Acushla and MacDara are their children and they all have to grasp with their own choices too. Alma and Acushla married twin brothers, and somehow their lives are echoing each other. The girls' children, Constance and Nora, are also dealing with their own lives choices. The entire book follows these characters one by one and lets us into a world of family drama, insanity and growth.
I would have loved to read a book like this in high school, when you have the opportunity to pick apart lines and themes within the story. I loved seeing how each character interacted and how life didn't end up the way they quite expected it. Lots of humors is thrown in with the tragedy, family drama is addressed in a very real way, and this book shows just how tough life can be (yet also how fruitful and silly we can make it). In summary, it's all about perspective.
Kathleen does a great job showing the differences between the generations and how they interact with one another. The conflict felt so real and the book felt like it could have been a non-fiction retelling (but it's not!). I really want to read more by Kathleen because she has a real knack for story telling. I was so attached to these characters and I was furious that this book had to end (and in the way that it did! I cried! I never cry at books!).
I HIGHLY recommend this book if you love fictional dramas, stories set in Ireland, and books about being a family.
Five out of five stars! I would give it more if I could.
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
Family drama, generations of Irish men & ladies, comedy, tragedy and character growth. What more could a girl ask for in novel? Not much else!!
I was truly surprised by how amazing this book was, considering it has so few reviews. It's by far one of my favourite reads and it will sit high atop my shelves. Kathleen MacMahon has a beautiful sense of writing style and her prose is just magnificent. I can't get enough of this book and I want more by her.
This story follows the MacEntees - an Irish family with four generations of men and women trying to deal with a long, hot summer. Deidre and Manus were once married, but Manus is now with his male lover and at Deidre is grasping with the fact that she is now "old" and in her 80s. Alma, Acushla and MacDara are their children and they all have to grasp with their own choices too. Alma and Acushla married twin brothers, and somehow their lives are echoing each other. The girls' children, Constance and Nora, are also dealing with their own lives choices. The entire book follows these characters one by one and lets us into a world of family drama, insanity and growth.
I would have loved to read a book like this in high school, when you have the opportunity to pick apart lines and themes within the story. I loved seeing how each character interacted and how life didn't end up the way they quite expected it. Lots of humors is thrown in with the tragedy, family drama is addressed in a very real way, and this book shows just how tough life can be (yet also how fruitful and silly we can make it). In summary, it's all about perspective.
Kathleen does a great job showing the differences between the generations and how they interact with one another. The conflict felt so real and the book felt like it could have been a non-fiction retelling (but it's not!). I really want to read more by Kathleen because she has a real knack for story telling. I was so attached to these characters and I was furious that this book had to end (and in the way that it did! I cried! I never cry at books!).
I HIGHLY recommend this book if you love fictional dramas, stories set in Ireland, and books about being a family.
Five out of five stars! I would give it more if I could.
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
July 15, 2015
“In through the nose, out through the mouth, he chanted silently to himself, thinking ruefully of old dogs and new tricks as his thoughts marched off in a new direction. He made a half-hearted attempt to catch them, like a man chasing along a city pavement a scrap of paper or a sweet wrapper that has been picked up by the wind and is dancing away from him, always just out of reach”
The Long, Hot Summer is the second novel by Irish television journalist and author, Kathleen MacMahon. It’s April, 2013, six months until Deidre O’Sullivan’s eightieth birthday and she is flicking through the scrapbook that documents the life of her family: two daughters, a son, two grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and, of course, the attached spouses and lovers. Both Deidre and her house are feeling their age, what with cataracts, arthritis, an ageing bladder, a leaky roof and an overgrown garden. And her husband Manus is no help, having left her for his young Moroccan lover over twenty years previously. But Manus does make a comment that sows the seed of an idea in her mind: it’s something that will make everyone sit up and take notice.
MacMahon gives eight other members of this extended family a voice: the events (and there are quite a few) of the following six months and how they affect the family are told as they occur, from each successive perspective; Deidre’s views bookend this tale of a long, hot summer that includes sleep deprivation, a mugging, the theft of a pepper-grinder, a shocking public confession, arrest in a foreign country, a tragic car accident, a thirty-year manuscript, yoga, Celebrity Master Chef, a separation, a reconciliation (or two), the death of a political career, a terrible Irish joke and, of course, an eightieth birthday party.
There are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments but also some that will have even the most cynical reader choking up. Words of wisdom are spoken and decisions are made. MacMahon gives the reader a cast of appealing characters: Maeve Binchy said of MacMahon’s first novel “…people who are easy to believe in and hard to forget” and this could easily apply here too. She touches on everyday family issues, but also topics like Irish Abortion laws, ageing, sibling rivalry, dementia, death notices and the responsibility for cleaning out blocked drains.
MacMahon has a real talent for descriptive prose: “As Alma listened to them, it seemed that their conversation was like a deck of cards that had been well and truly shuffled and then dealt out, each card appearing at random but still familiar” and “On the screen, Nora was all distorted. Her face was too small, her eyes too big. She looked like a woodland animal who has stumbled upon a secret camera and is inspecting it, oblivious to its purpose” and “…Deidre has been playing a part for so many years that she has long since given up on trying to find the place where her own personality ends and the pretending begins” are examples. A genuinely heart-warming read.
With thanks to TheReadingRoom and Hachette for this copy to read and review
The Long, Hot Summer is the second novel by Irish television journalist and author, Kathleen MacMahon. It’s April, 2013, six months until Deidre O’Sullivan’s eightieth birthday and she is flicking through the scrapbook that documents the life of her family: two daughters, a son, two grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and, of course, the attached spouses and lovers. Both Deidre and her house are feeling their age, what with cataracts, arthritis, an ageing bladder, a leaky roof and an overgrown garden. And her husband Manus is no help, having left her for his young Moroccan lover over twenty years previously. But Manus does make a comment that sows the seed of an idea in her mind: it’s something that will make everyone sit up and take notice.
MacMahon gives eight other members of this extended family a voice: the events (and there are quite a few) of the following six months and how they affect the family are told as they occur, from each successive perspective; Deidre’s views bookend this tale of a long, hot summer that includes sleep deprivation, a mugging, the theft of a pepper-grinder, a shocking public confession, arrest in a foreign country, a tragic car accident, a thirty-year manuscript, yoga, Celebrity Master Chef, a separation, a reconciliation (or two), the death of a political career, a terrible Irish joke and, of course, an eightieth birthday party.
There are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments but also some that will have even the most cynical reader choking up. Words of wisdom are spoken and decisions are made. MacMahon gives the reader a cast of appealing characters: Maeve Binchy said of MacMahon’s first novel “…people who are easy to believe in and hard to forget” and this could easily apply here too. She touches on everyday family issues, but also topics like Irish Abortion laws, ageing, sibling rivalry, dementia, death notices and the responsibility for cleaning out blocked drains.
MacMahon has a real talent for descriptive prose: “As Alma listened to them, it seemed that their conversation was like a deck of cards that had been well and truly shuffled and then dealt out, each card appearing at random but still familiar” and “On the screen, Nora was all distorted. Her face was too small, her eyes too big. She looked like a woodland animal who has stumbled upon a secret camera and is inspecting it, oblivious to its purpose” and “…Deidre has been playing a part for so many years that she has long since given up on trying to find the place where her own personality ends and the pretending begins” are examples. A genuinely heart-warming read.
With thanks to TheReadingRoom and Hachette for this copy to read and review
March 30, 2024
des nièces qui disent à leur tante pourquoi elle déconne. des grands-pères gay qui conduisent une Jaguar. conduisent beaucoup. conduisent trop. une poivrière. la crise économique. une démission. ou deux. ou plus. une matriarche qui s'apprête à faire une sacrée surprise à toute sa famille. la pluie. tout ça sur fond de lutte pour le droit à l'avortement libre et gratuit en Irlande. résultat : un banger. c'est un peu hétéro (on y découvre notamment que le couple hétérosexuel est l'outil ultime d'aliénation et de destruction des femmes. qui l'eût cru ?) mais d'une façon juste et tout donc je pardonne l'absence d'inédit grâce à la pertinence de la chose. surtout qu'il y a plein d'autres éléments à se mettre sous la dent. les personnages ont tous quelque chose à apprendre, à changer ou à révéler. et ils le font. et c'est très satisfaisant. ça se passe dans un milieu très privilégié, très élite intellectuelle, où tout le monde est soit artiste soit politicien soit journaliste, mais c'est fait de façon assez juste et le regard que les personnages portent sur eux-mêmes est (souvent, hormis dans le cas de Deirdre ma belle tu es un peu trop gentille avec toi-même ptdr) suffisamment lucide pour permettre à ce choix de situage sociologique d'être toujours un minimum fertile. on est loin du "and yet another book about rich people having problems". est-ce que ça révolutionne le schmilblick absolument pas cependant c'est super bien fait. j'ai adoré lire ça. il faut apprendre à juste kiffer. parfois on n'est pas là pour réinventer la poudre. ou l'eau chaude. ni même l'eau tiède. parfois on a juste besoin d'un très bon livre - et drôle !! - dans lequel on a hâte de se replonger. en plus ça parle beaucoup plus de la culture irlandaise que ce à quoi je m'attendais. c'était super. lisez en vacances. c'est trop bien.
July 15, 2015
My View:
“…relationships between men and women are about power. It’s all about the balance of power, and if you can’t get that right, then it’s a fight to the death.” (p. 258)
This is a very surprising read – surprising because of the way this made me feel as I was reading it! Reading this was so relaxing, enjoyable and entertaining. I generally favour reading crime fiction – the tension, the adrenaline, the surprise, The Long, Hot Summer was the antithesis of the crime fiction novels I read- it felt comfortable, put me at ease, made me smile, made me cheer; it wrapped me in the warmth of a family made of unique individuals, each with their own insightful stories to share; these voices even more poignant when together, this family has a wonderful dynamic and synergy.
Long ago I was an ardent fan of all things Maeve Binchy, particularly her wonderful character based narratives sited in Ireland with their great relationship exposes, Kathleen MacMahon’s writing reminds me so much of a modern day Binchy; well-developed empathetic characters, realistic dialogue, a narrative that feels natural, unassuming, with relationships under the microscope. This novel invites you to read on and for a couple of nights (till I finished this book) I looked forward to sitting down with this family and listening to their stories. I would like to read MacMahon’s first book – This Is How It Ends, so enamoured am I with this style of writing.
“…relationships between men and women are about power. It’s all about the balance of power, and if you can’t get that right, then it’s a fight to the death.” (p. 258)
This is a very surprising read – surprising because of the way this made me feel as I was reading it! Reading this was so relaxing, enjoyable and entertaining. I generally favour reading crime fiction – the tension, the adrenaline, the surprise, The Long, Hot Summer was the antithesis of the crime fiction novels I read- it felt comfortable, put me at ease, made me smile, made me cheer; it wrapped me in the warmth of a family made of unique individuals, each with their own insightful stories to share; these voices even more poignant when together, this family has a wonderful dynamic and synergy.
Long ago I was an ardent fan of all things Maeve Binchy, particularly her wonderful character based narratives sited in Ireland with their great relationship exposes, Kathleen MacMahon’s writing reminds me so much of a modern day Binchy; well-developed empathetic characters, realistic dialogue, a narrative that feels natural, unassuming, with relationships under the microscope. This novel invites you to read on and for a couple of nights (till I finished this book) I looked forward to sitting down with this family and listening to their stories. I would like to read MacMahon’s first book – This Is How It Ends, so enamoured am I with this style of writing.
June 15, 2015
I'd deferred reading The Long Hot Summer by Kathleen MacMahon for over a month. I wasn't entirely sure I'd enjoy it and worried it'd be a bit too saga-ish for my short attention span. But (once again) I surprised myself by enjoying this easy and beguiling read set in contemporary Ireland.
Interestingly, although the book opens with Deirdre, she was probably the character I felt I knew least in this new release by MacMahon. Perhaps I wasn't yet sufficiently engaged, or possibly it was an age thing. Having said that, she's not meant to be a particularly likeable character and confesses to being a distant mother; seemingly blaming her children and former husband for a range of ills in her life.
On the other hand I really enjoyed getting to know her daughters, Alma and Acushla and granddaughters, Connie and Nora. All are strong complex characters and we meet them at a time when they're are confronted with major life challenges. MacMahon draws us in so we can relate to what they're going through: we travel on that journey with them, emerging on the other side with understanding and respect.
In terms of the plot, there's no story arc per se. Instead we view (or better still, share) a series of events over a period of time which ultimately draws the family together in ways they least expect.
Read the full review on my blog: http://www.debbish.com/books-literatu...
3.5 stars
Interestingly, although the book opens with Deirdre, she was probably the character I felt I knew least in this new release by MacMahon. Perhaps I wasn't yet sufficiently engaged, or possibly it was an age thing. Having said that, she's not meant to be a particularly likeable character and confesses to being a distant mother; seemingly blaming her children and former husband for a range of ills in her life.
On the other hand I really enjoyed getting to know her daughters, Alma and Acushla and granddaughters, Connie and Nora. All are strong complex characters and we meet them at a time when they're are confronted with major life challenges. MacMahon draws us in so we can relate to what they're going through: we travel on that journey with them, emerging on the other side with understanding and respect.
In terms of the plot, there's no story arc per se. Instead we view (or better still, share) a series of events over a period of time which ultimately draws the family together in ways they least expect.
Read the full review on my blog: http://www.debbish.com/books-literatu...
3.5 stars
August 2, 2016
I enjoyed this as even though it seemed like it was going to be light reading the family relationships were quite complex. A colourful Irish family still revolves around the eccentric matriarch even though the children are thirty through fifty. Old issues between siblings still shape their present lives. Written from multiple perspectives, the voices were original and believable. A good holiday read or one for when work is tough and you want to drift into the warmth of an Irish novel.
August 1, 2016
Really, really enjoyed this one. Every family member starting with the matriarch Deidre tells their story. Everyone is flawed, everyone is broken and hurting in some way and all are on their own paths to redemption and finding a new outlook on life. All of it takes place over the course of one long, hot summer in Ireland. I loved the structure of the book, I loved the individual stories of everyone. This is such a satisfying read and I highly recommend. Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for offering this one!
May 22, 2015
The Long Hot Summer the second book by Irish writer Kathleen MacMahon has been a long time coming. Her first release This Is How It Ends was way back in 2012 and at the time attracted lots of attention as her first two books had been bought for £600,000 at The London Book Fair. Was it worth paying that price? I'm not so sure. Did this new book live up to the hype surrounding its predecessor or did it succumb to the threat of the difficult second book? To me this book had so much potential but it fell a bit flat there was something missing that I can't quite put my finger on. Yes, it is an enjoyable enough summer read but I feel the author was hoping for a little more depth which wasn't achieved. I remember reading her first release and thinking what was all the fuss about? Is this really it? I never had that ahh moment and the same could be said for this book, so much potential but unfortunately never fully delivered.
The book opens as Deirdre - matriarch of the MacEntee family is glancing back through the scrapbook she has made over the years since she had her first encounter with now ex husband Manus. Having recently arrived from Kildare she fell head over heals for Manus and thought their union would last a lifetime. She had wanted to try her luck at becoming an actress and to some extent she was successful until the arrival of three children – Alma, Acushla and MacDara. Deirdre is now at the later stages of her life and feels age creeping up on her. Numerous things are starting to go wrong health wise and she realises she is not the sprightly young thing she once was. So Deirdre makes a momentous decision. When she has come to this conclusion she sets about arranging her birthday party where she will tell her family what the future holds. What immediately struck me was why on earth did Deirdre believe her solution would in any way help her family? To me there was no necessity for that idea to even enter her head. It would bring unnecessary hardship and suffering on a family who had been through so much.
After we meet Deirdre the rest of the book is split into segments. I say this because they are not chapters as such but longer. In each section we meet a new member of the family who tells their story. We see the problems they are all going through. None of the family appear to be especially happy or fulfilled with their lives. Apart maybe from Dad Manus who now lives with his Moroccan lover Sam. But even he too has a sad aspect to his life. To me segments are meant to come together to make one whole but it did not happen here. The book seemed very disjointed each story was interesting enough and there were some highlights but just as I was getting into it we changed to someone else. Even at a later point we never came back to someone we had read of before and for me it was all too brief of a glimpse into their world.
Normally in a book for me the women are always the strongest and most well written. In this case to me they were weak, well OK apart from Alma the eldest daughter who is a journalist and tv presenter. At first she was opinionated and not afraid to go against the grain of popular opinion but an attack at home leaves her fearful. That inner strength and ballsy attitude deserts her. The way she handles the reappearance of ex husband Mick didn't seem realistic to me and they slipped back into domesticity far too casually after so many years estrangement. Mick and his twin brother Liam were into politics. Mick is now Ireland's European Commissioner in Brussels while Liam (married to Alma's sister Acushla) is battling to regain his seat in the Dáil. Their storylines were boring and being honest politics doesn't interest me in the slightest. Mick's 'incident' was quite frankly ridiculous and even in this media obsessed age was a bit too far fetched.
Acushla's story was good but just too rushed for me. It barely scratched the surface of the emotions that could have easily been developed further. Then we had Connie (Acushla's daughter) and Nora (Alma's daughter) thrown in as well .Both getting their own sections when they just weren't needed. In fact to be honest several times I was getting confused as to who was who and how they were connected in the family. I never thought I would say this but easily the best parts of the book were when we heard from men (apart from Mick and Liam who like any politicians in Ireland you would just love to give them a piece of your mind) Manus and MacDara. Manus' section had some fun elements nicely balanced with the sensitive, realistic side of what he was experiencing with Sam. The way he deals with the clamping of his car has to be read to be believed. But by far the most gripping part of this book was the brother of the family MacDara. Criminally under utilised in my opinion. Brief glimpses were offered throughout the book but the reader only finally got into his head in the last section and despite the suffering he appeared to be going through( well as alluded to by his family members) I absolutely loved him and wanted more more more of his story. He had had a breakdown many years ago and I wanted more details. I wanted his opinions about his family and all the situations they find themselves in. What he had been up to unbeknownst to his family was really quite amazing. His voice was heard too late in the book and when it did start to shine through his section ended. I was happy enough with the outcome of the story but still the women of the family just fell flat and I ended up not invested in their personal stories.
Kathleen MacMahon was aiming to portray a snapshot of family life during the long hot summer of 2013. She did achieve this to some extent and parts of the writing are beautiful. You could see the potential within the pages but it just didn't all come together for me. I felt too many issues were thrown into the story and their explanations and solutions were rushed. Dealing with fewer problems and exploring them in more depth would have made for a better book. The Long Hot Summer is not the worst book I have read this year but far from the best. If you have a few hours by the pool pick this up but if you are looking for something more literary or even romance or comedy this is not the book for you. I think there is better things to come from Kathleen MacMahon so I will keep an eye out for her next book in the hopes that book three will be something that will appeal to me more.
The book opens as Deirdre - matriarch of the MacEntee family is glancing back through the scrapbook she has made over the years since she had her first encounter with now ex husband Manus. Having recently arrived from Kildare she fell head over heals for Manus and thought their union would last a lifetime. She had wanted to try her luck at becoming an actress and to some extent she was successful until the arrival of three children – Alma, Acushla and MacDara. Deirdre is now at the later stages of her life and feels age creeping up on her. Numerous things are starting to go wrong health wise and she realises she is not the sprightly young thing she once was. So Deirdre makes a momentous decision. When she has come to this conclusion she sets about arranging her birthday party where she will tell her family what the future holds. What immediately struck me was why on earth did Deirdre believe her solution would in any way help her family? To me there was no necessity for that idea to even enter her head. It would bring unnecessary hardship and suffering on a family who had been through so much.
After we meet Deirdre the rest of the book is split into segments. I say this because they are not chapters as such but longer. In each section we meet a new member of the family who tells their story. We see the problems they are all going through. None of the family appear to be especially happy or fulfilled with their lives. Apart maybe from Dad Manus who now lives with his Moroccan lover Sam. But even he too has a sad aspect to his life. To me segments are meant to come together to make one whole but it did not happen here. The book seemed very disjointed each story was interesting enough and there were some highlights but just as I was getting into it we changed to someone else. Even at a later point we never came back to someone we had read of before and for me it was all too brief of a glimpse into their world.
Normally in a book for me the women are always the strongest and most well written. In this case to me they were weak, well OK apart from Alma the eldest daughter who is a journalist and tv presenter. At first she was opinionated and not afraid to go against the grain of popular opinion but an attack at home leaves her fearful. That inner strength and ballsy attitude deserts her. The way she handles the reappearance of ex husband Mick didn't seem realistic to me and they slipped back into domesticity far too casually after so many years estrangement. Mick and his twin brother Liam were into politics. Mick is now Ireland's European Commissioner in Brussels while Liam (married to Alma's sister Acushla) is battling to regain his seat in the Dáil. Their storylines were boring and being honest politics doesn't interest me in the slightest. Mick's 'incident' was quite frankly ridiculous and even in this media obsessed age was a bit too far fetched.
Acushla's story was good but just too rushed for me. It barely scratched the surface of the emotions that could have easily been developed further. Then we had Connie (Acushla's daughter) and Nora (Alma's daughter) thrown in as well .Both getting their own sections when they just weren't needed. In fact to be honest several times I was getting confused as to who was who and how they were connected in the family. I never thought I would say this but easily the best parts of the book were when we heard from men (apart from Mick and Liam who like any politicians in Ireland you would just love to give them a piece of your mind) Manus and MacDara. Manus' section had some fun elements nicely balanced with the sensitive, realistic side of what he was experiencing with Sam. The way he deals with the clamping of his car has to be read to be believed. But by far the most gripping part of this book was the brother of the family MacDara. Criminally under utilised in my opinion. Brief glimpses were offered throughout the book but the reader only finally got into his head in the last section and despite the suffering he appeared to be going through( well as alluded to by his family members) I absolutely loved him and wanted more more more of his story. He had had a breakdown many years ago and I wanted more details. I wanted his opinions about his family and all the situations they find themselves in. What he had been up to unbeknownst to his family was really quite amazing. His voice was heard too late in the book and when it did start to shine through his section ended. I was happy enough with the outcome of the story but still the women of the family just fell flat and I ended up not invested in their personal stories.
Kathleen MacMahon was aiming to portray a snapshot of family life during the long hot summer of 2013. She did achieve this to some extent and parts of the writing are beautiful. You could see the potential within the pages but it just didn't all come together for me. I felt too many issues were thrown into the story and their explanations and solutions were rushed. Dealing with fewer problems and exploring them in more depth would have made for a better book. The Long Hot Summer is not the worst book I have read this year but far from the best. If you have a few hours by the pool pick this up but if you are looking for something more literary or even romance or comedy this is not the book for you. I think there is better things to come from Kathleen MacMahon so I will keep an eye out for her next book in the hopes that book three will be something that will appeal to me more.
June 5, 2016
A strong tale that weaves together the stories of four generations of an Irish family. From politics to abortion, muggings to deportation, theft, misunderstood childhoods and the complexities of adult relationships... this book has them all.
The author has an easy flowing writing style that draws you in -- there's no shocking heart-in-mouth moments despite the gravity of some of the situations yet you are drawn into to this compelling tale to find out about the family.
Told with wit, passion and astute observation, The Long Hot Summer is a fabulous read for lovers of family sagas, dysfunctional relationships and Irish writers.
This is my first book by Kathleen MacMahon but won't be the last I read!
I received an advance review copy from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
The author has an easy flowing writing style that draws you in -- there's no shocking heart-in-mouth moments despite the gravity of some of the situations yet you are drawn into to this compelling tale to find out about the family.
Told with wit, passion and astute observation, The Long Hot Summer is a fabulous read for lovers of family sagas, dysfunctional relationships and Irish writers.
This is my first book by Kathleen MacMahon but won't be the last I read!
I received an advance review copy from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
May 29, 2015
I really liked this book, a lot. The characters are fun and interesting and different and challenging. One character in particular almost made me shout out loud 'BUT THAT'S EXACTLY HOW I FEEL!' when talking about child-induced sleep-deprivation. It was as if the author had climbed in my head and stolen my thoughts. I loved the structure of the story, written around all these many different characters in the same family, all going on slightly different journeys, all at different points in their lives. Very enjoyable. Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the advance copy.
January 4, 2017
I never really got into this book, although the storyline was interesting it didn't grip me.
June 21, 2020
How I loved this book...
May 7, 2016
Everyone knows the MacAntees, infamous across the whole of Ireland they are no ordinary family. Made up of actors, TV stars and politicians they are always making headlines.
Deirdre the reluctant matriarch has had enough and is planning her own death. Not that any of her family members notice as they are far too wrapped up in their own woes and dilemmas. Her daughter Alma, in particular suffers a horrendous robbery which changes her life forever and that is simply the start of the longest summer ever for the whole clan.
Based on the title alone I was expecting a completely different book from what it actually turned out to be. Rather than a family coming together during the best time of the year, a bunch of self obsessed people are embroiled in their individual dramas oblivious to anything else around them. These people are family in name only and no matter how much I read I did not warm to anyone. There is no story as such, instead the chapters are a dissection of each family member and what a selfish bunch they were.
The book started well as we followed Deirdre leaving her small hometown behind to become an actress. I enjoyed reading about her rise to fame and her hardest role which was that of wife and mother. As such I was intrigued to see how her children had turned out after having parents constantly in the limelight. However the children as adults were not engaging at all. Deirdre’s eldest daughter, Alma started off as a ballsy full of life character, which made for an interesting read, but then she lost all that early on after a terrible incident and never really regained her original personality.
This book is like a British summer - starts off well but then comes to nothing and leaves you disappointed.
Deirdre the reluctant matriarch has had enough and is planning her own death. Not that any of her family members notice as they are far too wrapped up in their own woes and dilemmas. Her daughter Alma, in particular suffers a horrendous robbery which changes her life forever and that is simply the start of the longest summer ever for the whole clan.
Based on the title alone I was expecting a completely different book from what it actually turned out to be. Rather than a family coming together during the best time of the year, a bunch of self obsessed people are embroiled in their individual dramas oblivious to anything else around them. These people are family in name only and no matter how much I read I did not warm to anyone. There is no story as such, instead the chapters are a dissection of each family member and what a selfish bunch they were.
The book started well as we followed Deirdre leaving her small hometown behind to become an actress. I enjoyed reading about her rise to fame and her hardest role which was that of wife and mother. As such I was intrigued to see how her children had turned out after having parents constantly in the limelight. However the children as adults were not engaging at all. Deirdre’s eldest daughter, Alma started off as a ballsy full of life character, which made for an interesting read, but then she lost all that early on after a terrible incident and never really regained her original personality.
This book is like a British summer - starts off well but then comes to nothing and leaves you disappointed.
May 21, 2016
I was looking forward to reading The Long Hot Summer as I enjoy Irish novelists, especially those who write about families and contemporary Ireland.
The story revolves around the MacAntees, a family who is well known in Ireland, in particular Deidre, the matriarch, her estranged husband Manus, and their three adult children.
But of the nine people featured through individual sections dedicated to one character's point of view in each, I empathised only with Acushla. The others left me cold. As for Deidre's husband, who left her after 28 years marriage to live with a younger man, although this is not an unusual occurrence nowadays it would have been a full on scandal in the timeline of this novel. It was realistic though, that Manus swanned off leaving Deirdre to cope with every subsequent family crisis on her own.
The whole story felt flat to me mainly as I didn't engage with the characters nor was there much of a plot to follow, just a journey that each character took which was in most cases, never fully developed.
The long hot summer itself never appeared for me until about 75% through the book and I felt the title doesn't help the story at all. The heat seemed to have little to do with the events that took place. The serious issues, like that of abortion, deserved to have been dealt with more deeply. Was this intended to be a light hearted read? Or maybe this is a case of book No 2 not living up to the success of book No 1.
However, for readers who want a beach read this will do just fine and I expect it will sell well. Thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown for the opportunity to read and review The Long Hot Summer. I'm sorry I can't be more positive about it.
The story revolves around the MacAntees, a family who is well known in Ireland, in particular Deidre, the matriarch, her estranged husband Manus, and their three adult children.
But of the nine people featured through individual sections dedicated to one character's point of view in each, I empathised only with Acushla. The others left me cold. As for Deidre's husband, who left her after 28 years marriage to live with a younger man, although this is not an unusual occurrence nowadays it would have been a full on scandal in the timeline of this novel. It was realistic though, that Manus swanned off leaving Deirdre to cope with every subsequent family crisis on her own.
The whole story felt flat to me mainly as I didn't engage with the characters nor was there much of a plot to follow, just a journey that each character took which was in most cases, never fully developed.
The long hot summer itself never appeared for me until about 75% through the book and I felt the title doesn't help the story at all. The heat seemed to have little to do with the events that took place. The serious issues, like that of abortion, deserved to have been dealt with more deeply. Was this intended to be a light hearted read? Or maybe this is a case of book No 2 not living up to the success of book No 1.
However, for readers who want a beach read this will do just fine and I expect it will sell well. Thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown for the opportunity to read and review The Long Hot Summer. I'm sorry I can't be more positive about it.
July 15, 2016
MacMahon’s family saga is quite touching. There are a few times the story gets bogged down, but overall it’s engrossing and enjoyable. The family members are all well described. Each section of the book focuses on a different character’s point of view, which gives insight into their feelings and motivations. The tragedies, triumphs and ordinary struggles and joys give this book so much depth and realism.
The MacEntee family is close, yet rivalries and long-held hurts still exist. The family matriarch, Deirdre, and her ex-husband Manus (now living with his Moroccan male lover) have three children: Alma, Acushla and Macdara. The children — married, separated, never married — go through their own issues raising families and making their way in the world, but family is the only thing they have to fall back on when things are more difficult than they can handle alone.
https://www.rtbookreviews.com/book-re...
The MacEntee family is close, yet rivalries and long-held hurts still exist. The family matriarch, Deirdre, and her ex-husband Manus (now living with his Moroccan male lover) have three children: Alma, Acushla and Macdara. The children — married, separated, never married — go through their own issues raising families and making their way in the world, but family is the only thing they have to fall back on when things are more difficult than they can handle alone.
https://www.rtbookreviews.com/book-re...
October 15, 2017
This is the story of an Irish family, the MacEntee's, with Deirdre described at the start as the 'matriarch' of the family, furnishing expectations to the reader, this would be a story much about her than anything or anyone else. This was not exactly the case, I found I knew a lot less about Deirdre in comparison to the remainder of the family, however, this was not to detriment of the book as the rest of the characters were each as strong as each other, humanly complex, and likeable each in their own unique ways.
The family are described as 'unusual', however, I personally would prefer to conclude that all families have hidden skeletons, so the events that unfold were not necessarily unique to say an Irish family, just that they so 'happened' to be Irish.
Overall, this story had a good, strong plot, with interesting and equally as strong characters, which I would recommend to any adult reader, who likes stories based on 'real-life'.
The family are described as 'unusual', however, I personally would prefer to conclude that all families have hidden skeletons, so the events that unfold were not necessarily unique to say an Irish family, just that they so 'happened' to be Irish.
Overall, this story had a good, strong plot, with interesting and equally as strong characters, which I would recommend to any adult reader, who likes stories based on 'real-life'.
October 8, 2016
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read and review this book!
I really liked this book and enjoyed getting to know the MacEntee family. This book takes place in Ireland in 2013, when there was apparently a very unusual hot summer. The story opens with the matriarch, Dieirdre, planning an 80th birthday party for herself.
Each chapter segues into the story of another family member - from her husband who left her for a much-younger man, their 3 children and their spouses, and her granddaughters. The writing style was wonderful - I loved how intimately we got to know each of these people. While the characters didn't always behave appropriately, they each felt personable and we grew to understand their behavior.
A great portrait of family, in all its many shapes and sizes, and how it shapes each of us.
I really liked this book and enjoyed getting to know the MacEntee family. This book takes place in Ireland in 2013, when there was apparently a very unusual hot summer. The story opens with the matriarch, Dieirdre, planning an 80th birthday party for herself.
Each chapter segues into the story of another family member - from her husband who left her for a much-younger man, their 3 children and their spouses, and her granddaughters. The writing style was wonderful - I loved how intimately we got to know each of these people. While the characters didn't always behave appropriately, they each felt personable and we grew to understand their behavior.
A great portrait of family, in all its many shapes and sizes, and how it shapes each of us.
January 18, 2019
Nine Lives. Four Generations. One Family. The MacEntees are no ordinary family.
Determined to be different from other people, they have carved out a place for themselves in Irish life by the sheer force of their personalities. But when a series of misfortunes befall them over the course of one long hot summer, even the MacEntees will struggle to make sense of who they are.
As media storms rage about them and secrets rise to the surface, Deirdre plans a family party for her 80th birthday-and with it one final, shocking surprise.
From Kathleen MacMahon, the Number One bestselling author of This is How it Ends, comes this powerful and poignant novel capturing a moment in the life of one family
Determined to be different from other people, they have carved out a place for themselves in Irish life by the sheer force of their personalities. But when a series of misfortunes befall them over the course of one long hot summer, even the MacEntees will struggle to make sense of who they are.
As media storms rage about them and secrets rise to the surface, Deirdre plans a family party for her 80th birthday-and with it one final, shocking surprise.
From Kathleen MacMahon, the Number One bestselling author of This is How it Ends, comes this powerful and poignant novel capturing a moment in the life of one family
July 27, 2016
I received this book as part of Good Reads First Reads
Four generations of an irish family weave through time and history in this book. It follows the lives of the MacEntree family as seen by Deidre as she reminisces six months before her 80th birthday as she looks through her scrapbooks and photos and remembers the past. The chain of events is quite dramatic - theft, complicated childhoods, husbands and lovers, abortion, a car accident and much more.
The author makes you feel like you belong to the family, feeling every downfall and laughter moment as the characters come to life inside your head. Brilliant
Four generations of an irish family weave through time and history in this book. It follows the lives of the MacEntree family as seen by Deidre as she reminisces six months before her 80th birthday as she looks through her scrapbooks and photos and remembers the past. The chain of events is quite dramatic - theft, complicated childhoods, husbands and lovers, abortion, a car accident and much more.
The author makes you feel like you belong to the family, feeling every downfall and laughter moment as the characters come to life inside your head. Brilliant
August 29, 2016
This was one of those books I was tempted to abandon and then was glad I didn't. It begins with the matriarch of her Irish family planning to kill herself on her upcoming 80th birthday. She is a retired actress still married to her husband of many years even though he left her many years ago to live with a man.
Each of her three children has a section of the book, as does her husband. Each section shows this family from a different perspective and ends with an emotional and gripping finale from the viewpoint of the youngest child and only male.
This is a lovely and literary novel which makes me want to go back and read her previous book.
Each of her three children has a section of the book, as does her husband. Each section shows this family from a different perspective and ends with an emotional and gripping finale from the viewpoint of the youngest child and only male.
This is a lovely and literary novel which makes me want to go back and read her previous book.
June 12, 2018
I took this book away for light reading on the plane. It completely surpassed my expectations and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The plot is a simple exploration of the tangled web of relationships of a large family over 4 generations. The characters are likeable and realistic and the use of each of their voices allow the reader to have a deeper connection and understanding to all the circumstances of that particular family member. The book explores power and love, friendship and beytayal, jealousy and affection and deals with these with a sprinkle if humour which transports this book from a general easy read which is easy to forget to brilliantly crafted storyline I didnt want to end.
August 1, 2017
Great content, but badly written. The plot, characters, the social/politiical aspect all fantastic, and the humour mindblowing, but at the level of language this was a sad compromise to please little schooled people who read max one novel a year on their boozy holidays to Magaluf.
In Finland, where I come from, usually bad novels end up the opposite way. Great language, no content.
I also find myself using Donald Trump adjectives while reviewing this. But three stars could have easily become five.
In Finland, where I come from, usually bad novels end up the opposite way. Great language, no content.
I also find myself using Donald Trump adjectives while reviewing this. But three stars could have easily become five.
August 10, 2018
A bit long and slow to start. There were a lot of characters to keep track of, which was confusing since I kept taking breaks from the book. That was obviously my fault, but it made it harder for me to remember who was who.
Overall there were a lot of interesting story lines that a lot of people will be able to identify with. Lots of irony, too.
I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the ending. It wasn't what I expected, which was a nice surprise. The ending made the rest of the book worthwhile for me.
Overall there were a lot of interesting story lines that a lot of people will be able to identify with. Lots of irony, too.
I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the ending. It wasn't what I expected, which was a nice surprise. The ending made the rest of the book worthwhile for me.
February 23, 2017
This book was a charmer, in addition to being put together in an interesting way. Covering nine members of four generations of an Irish family, each chapter has its focus on one of them, letting the reader get to know each character in some depth (a couple didn't quite reach the level of the other seven). It's almost like a linked set of short stories, except for it's the same plot throughout. I mean this as pure compliment: this is a near-perfect middlebrow book.
July 18, 2017
This was exactly the book I needed when I needed it. It was well paced and interesting, and the writing style earns a full star on its own. Its the first book I fully got through after having my daughter, and the ideas around family and legacy and change really resonated.
January 30, 2017
A lovely story about an Irish family. Each chapter was about one of the characters and introduced just a little bit more about the family relationships.
March 16, 2017
Easy, amusing read that follows a family of characters over the generations, with a chapter dedicated to each family member.
August 3, 2017
This book was as comforting as sitting down with a good book by Maeve Binchy. I loved the character development and look forward to her next book.
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