Summer Point

by Linda McNutt

Sarah is taken to her grandmother's cottage on the East Coast for a weekend with her parents. She has no idea that the connections she makes to the shingled cottage, the sand and the sea -- and the people who live and visit at its shore -- will mark her for the rest of her life. The growth-rings of this source become clear to Sarah as an adult when she brings her new lover to this freighted place and she is able to begin to use her distilled memories towards powerful realizations.

157 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2002

Reviews

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

beautifully written... the sounds, scents, tastes, sights and feeling of home... after everything has changed... after you know with certainty that it could never be the same...

[Anna Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick 150-page read that will resonate with anyone from New Brunswick or who has spend a considerable amount of time here. I aptly read it on New Brunswick Day and enjoyed every minute. It has quick references to Alpine beer and smokes and mud flats that feel authentic to the story and nostalgic to the reader. Or at least to me. For those from away who may have lived in a smaller town there are still the characters you may recognize: The uncle who drinks a little too much, the family that lives on the outskirts of society and town lines, and the older generation that trades gossip over tea. The book is split between the perspective of a young girl who summers on the shore, and the same character years later coming back to the same summer cottage. Summer Point is an enjoyable depiction of memory and grief and the complexities of relationships: familial, romantic, and platonic.

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a beautifully written book with lots of personal memories from childhood and beyond. It takes place in New Brunswick Canada, and is a must read book for those especially from the Sussex area. I thoroughly enjoyed it.