The Summer of Her Life

by Thomas von Steinaecker, Barbara Yelin (Illustrations)

A contemplative and compelling tale about growing old and what it means to be happy
 
Gerda stands at the window of her nursing home, looking up at the stars. A question has been haunting her for years, but until now she’s managed to avoid it: Has her life been a happy one? 

As she negotiates the degradations of old age and the indignity of being cared for by strangers, the past begins to seep into the present. Gerda remembers her life as a bespectacled schoolgirl, bullied for being smart. She remembers the time she spent as an aspiring astrophysicist. And she remembers, most powerfully, that one summer—the summer of her life—when she was forced to make the most difficult decision of all: between her career and her relationship. 

The Summer of Her Lifeis a poetic, touching, and profound graphic novel that grapples with life’s big questions. How do you know whether you’ve made the right choices? And what does it mean, in the end, to be happy?
 

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Graphic Novels Comics, Bande Dessinée, Germany, Fiction, German Literature

80 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2017

About the author

Thomas von Steinaecker was born in Germany in 1977. A novelist and journalist, he has also written extensively for radio and is the creator of several documentaries, including Richard Strauss and His Heroines. Two of his novels, Wallner beginnt zu Fliegen (2007) and Die Verteidigung des Paradieses (2016), have been nominated for the German Book Prize.

Reviews

[Philip | Book Walk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Toll illustriert, sehr wichtiges und nicht oft genug behandeltes Thema aber leider viel zu kurz und dadurch für meinen Geschmack zu oberflächlich

[Marieke Runherd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heel mooi geschilderd en getekend maar het verhaal mist diepgang

[Matthieu Wegh · Rating 4 out of 5]

?Graphic novel van mijn bieb
🤔Mooi ontroerend verhaal met mooie bijpassende tekeningen
MW18/5/26

[Dylan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Last night, I was about to read a novel, but I wasn’t in the mood. Then I remembered I owned this comic, which is only 74 pages long, and what a great decision I made! This comic is about an old woman named Gerda Wendt, living the remainder of her life in this healthcare facility. This is used as a framing device, to parallel how her past actions have affected her present situation and ultimately ask, did she make the right decisions? It’s a reminisce of one’s life, but also a coming-of-age story. What makes this story so much more touching would be the artist, Barbara Yelin. Her artwork genuinely speaks for itself. The colours are so rich and varied, the panel work is effective and conveys and evokes emotions, and the panel layout is brilliant (certain double spread, which just impressed me looking at it). It also speaks to the importance of healthcare for our elderly. Overall, it’s a short but touching comic that’s worth reading.

[Martina P · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brutalno istinita, tužna i životna.
Živimo i možda nismo ni svjesni života i trenutaka koji nas obilježe dok ne ostarimo i onda ih proživljavamo.
Ovo mi je treći strip iz Biblioteke Na margini i mislim si da su svi takvi - životni, stvarni, dirljivi.

[Oneirosophos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shivering, but average. Could be so much more...

[_Leselust_ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dieses wunderschöne Graphic Novel habe ich an einem Abend verschlungen. Wunderschöne Zeichnungen und eine Geschichte, die mich sehr traurig gemacht hat und einen zum Nachdenken bringt. Was ist mir im Leben wirklich wichtig und wie nutze ich die kurze Zeit, die mir auf dieser Welt vergönnt ist? Wie kann ich mein Leben so leben, dass ich am Ende darauf zurückblicken kann und sagen kann "Das war gut." und nicht voller Reue sein muss.
Eine absolute Empfehlung, aber zumindest für mich war es keine leichte Kost.

[Keen Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an interesting enough read laced with nostalgia and whimsy as the protagonist looks back on their life. Though I have to say I was kind of left with a sense of “what’s the point?” after finishing this, as it never really had an spark or an oomph to make it memorable or stick out among similar books.

[Gretavonpanzer · Rating 3 out of 5]

El dibuix de la Barbara Yelin és deliciós, com a Irmina. Però la història donaria per molt més, com per 200 pàgines més.

[Erika_kartmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Die Bilder sind großartig.
Es geht um eine Physikerin im Seniorenheim; es geht um Einsamkeit; es geht um das Leben nach Entscheidungen und immer schwingt die Frage mit: Kommt da noch was?
Eine tolle Gelegenheit ist dieses Buch. Leider zu kurz. Ich hätte mir mehr Tiefgang gewünscht.

[mariel ⭒.ೃ࿔ · Rating 4 out of 5]

perfectly captures the heft of morality, the lightness of love, and the weight of living a life worth all the time. I'll be thinking about the stars all the time now

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to read this for class- and it was much better than I expected! It is very depressing though 😭 I think it was trying to end off on a note of comfort/acceptance about death, but I found it very sad 🚶‍♀️I don’t think it said anything profound, but there is a beauty in how mundane her life was

[Marcelo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Como uma sensível e bela arte em aquarela, The Summer of her life” (ainda sem uma edição nacional), viaja, de forma bem singela, nas memórias de uma simpática senhorinha, internada em um asilo.



O interessante da narrativa é que as memórias são despertadas por situações, encontros ou sons, que levam a Sra. Wendt, literalmente, viajar ...



Leitura agradável, arte condizente com a atmosfera do quadrinho e que pode levar alguns leitores a boas reflexões.



Realmente, os alemães Thomas von Steinaecker e Barbara Yelin fizeram um ótimo e entrosado trabalho, entre a arte dela e o roteiro dele.

[Mehsi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Een mooie graphic novel over een oudere vrouw die terugblikt naar haar leven. Naar hoe ze als kind enorm goed was in wiskunde, hoe ze dat verder probeerde te doen en mocht werken bij de universiteit, liefde en romantiek, verraad en verloren. De toen en nu lopen in elkaar over op punten, zoals toen zij als klein meisje door de gang liep en weer haar oudere zelf werd. Ik vond dit erg mooi gedaan. Ook leuk dat we ook zien hoe ze het nu doet, in het verzorgingstehuis waar ze woont. Ik was benieuwd hoe ze Jorge had ontmoet en dat komt uiteindelijk ook voorbij. Het einde? Tja, misschien had ik het moeten zien aankomen gegeven alles, maar ik zag het niet. Ik moest wel huilen, wat verdrietig. Maar wel mooi hoe de schrijver en illustrator dit hebben verteld. De tekeningen waren prachtig gedaan. Ik zou dit boek ook zeker aanraden.

[Koen Claeys · Rating 3 out of 5]

Door mijn enthousiasme over Yelins vorige Nederlandstalige uitgave, namelijk 'Irmina', heb ik dit boek zonder twijfel aangeschaft op de datum van uitgave. Helaas is von Steinaeckers verhaal niet zo bijzonder, leest het als de belangrijkste fragmenten uit een dikkere graphic novel. De verhaalelementen zijn wel interessant maar worden zo luchtig en vluchtig gepresenteerd dat het weinig indruk maakt.

[Pekka · Rating 4 out of 5]

A random find from the library, beautiful and touching.

[Malou Vandevorst · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Als het zo ver is zullen mijn vijfentachtig jaren (afgerond) ongeveer nul komma nul nul nul nul nul nul twee procent van het totale bestaan van de aarde en nul komma nul nul nul nul nul nul nul zeven procent van dat van het universum uitgemaakt hebben. Van de ongeveer honderdtwaalf miljard bewoonsters en bewoners die deze planeet vanaf het allereerste begin gekend heeft... zal ik er slechts eentje geweest zijn." (55-57) (ziek zijn is iets minder erg met dit soort boeken in de buurt)

[Florien (flofairytales) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mooi getekend! Verhaal is vast herkenbaar voor wanneer je eenmaal op een leeftijd bent dat de meerderheid van je geliefden er niet meer zijn en je je beweegbare leven achter je gelaten hebt zowel mentaal als fysiek.

Werd niet al te diep op bepaalde momenten ingegaan en dat vond ik eigenlijk wel jammer.

Mooi verhaaltje voor even tussendoor.

[Ninice · Rating 4 out of 5]

bien. Gerda est en maison de retraite. En se remémore sa vie de jeune fille brillante en maths, étudiante en physique, passionnée par les Étoiles, épouse d'un gogolito, divorcée.

Belles couleurs. Chapitres très courts.

[lizz · Rating 3 out of 5]

''I often think i'm already dead,and this is eternity. Once time used to fly,whenever i think back, it hurts... But i still want to think back to those days more and more. Then i'll feel that i'm still alive...''

[Clémence · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fugacité poétique et mélancolique.

[Marc Bosch · Rating 4 out of 5]

¿Cuantas viñetas se necesitan para condensar una vida? Pocas, cuando se escogen y se narran con el criterio de Thomas von Steinaecker. El verano de su vida destaca por su tono evocador y sus imágenes poéticas, maravillosamente dibujadas en acuarela por Barbara Yelin.

[Salty Swift · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reflections of an old woman looking back on her life. Regrets and painful decisions keep her up at night.
It stinks to be lonely in old age.

[Nokas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the illustrations and the concept, but it's not extraordinary. Especially when compared to stories of the same style.

[Ana RLQP · Rating 4 out of 5]

“ Cuando me acuerdo … duele. Y, sin embargo, cada vez me gusta más recordar el pasado.
Me hace sentir …
que sigo viva.”

[Simon Yoong · Rating 4 out of 5]

very well written tale of growing up and growing old

[Vic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eine Geschichte die zu Tränen rührt!
Die in viel Blau und Pastefarben colorierte und in weichen Formen gezeichnete Graphic Novell ist ein Meisterwerk

[Geraldine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely - a very touching story. Gerda Wendt is very old and increasingly frail, but has lived a full and interesting life even though she is now dependent on carers. We learn about her life as her thoughts increasingly turn to the past, including one huge decision. Did she make the right choice?
(As an aside, the importance of healthcare staff in the lives of many elderly people is highlighted in this graphic novel written before COVID-19 broke out and raised the profile of the work they do).
A lovely portrait of an elderly women gracefully accepting the limitations her frailty imposes and beautifully illustrated

[Maja · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Der Sommer ihres Lebens" ist ein wunderbarer Comic über das Leben von Gerda, die als alte Frau auf ihre eigene Geschichte zurückblickt. Die Erzählung wechselt zwischen Rückblenden auf ihre Kindheit und Jugend, ihre Karriere als Physikerin und den stillen, melancholischen Szenen der Gegenwart, in der sie im Seniorenheim wohnt. Die Atmosphäre ist gut umgesetzt, und man wird mitgenommen auf eine Reise durch das Leben dieser Frau. Die Sehnsucht nach ihrer Jugend und die Einsamkeit vieler älterer Menschen nimmt den Leser sehr mit.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes you come across a book and it touches you so deeply that a part of you become the book and the book becomes a part of you. This book is one of them.
Gerda Wendt’s life story is so incredibly well told with beautiful illustrations, interwoven narratives and conversations, and floating back and forth in time.
Reading this book on a stormy January night with the 70s music playing in the background is the best reading experience one could ever ask for.
I am deeply connected with this piece of art. Thank you for coming in to my life.