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L'estiu circular
Una petita ciutat del migdia de França, una urbanització on viuen francesos de soca-rel barrejats amb immigrants, dues germanes adolescents que maten els dies d’estiu al centre comercial o a les piscines privades on es colen de nit. Els pares penquen per pagar la hipoteca de la casa unifamiliar, elles somien —fins que la Céline, la gran, queda embarassada. ¿De qui? Es nega a dir el nom de l’amant, la ràbia del pare s’escalfa amb la canícula i es dirigeix a poc a poc contra el veí, amic de sempre de les filles —i musulmà.
Una ploma esplèndida, un ritme de DJ, uns personatges amb qui el lector crea lligams profunds i una sagacitat de sociòleg: L’estiu circular és molt més que una novel·la negra, un viatge per la França que vota Front Nacional i un retrat magistral de l’adolescència contemporània.
L’estiu circular ha rebut tres dels grans premis literaris a França: el Grand Prix de Littérature Policière, el premi dels llibreters Choix des Libraires i el premi dels lectors Livre de Poche.
Una ploma esplèndida, un ritme de DJ, uns personatges amb qui el lector crea lligams profunds i una sagacitat de sociòleg: L’estiu circular és molt més que una novel·la negra, un viatge per la França que vota Front Nacional i un retrat magistral de l’adolescència contemporània.
L’estiu circular ha rebut tres dels grans premis literaris a França: el Grand Prix de Littérature Policière, el premi dels llibreters Choix des Libraires i el premi dels lectors Livre de Poche.
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 31, 2018
31 people are currently reading
547 people want to read
About the author
Marion Brunet
21 books36 followersMarion Brunet, born in 1976, is a well known Young Adult author in France. Her YA novels have received over 30 prizes, including the 2017 UNICEF Prize for Youth Literature. Marion has previously worked as a special needs educator and now writes her fiction in Marseille.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 89 reviews
April 16, 2020
Summer of Reckoning takes place in the South of France and it's obvious that the author is pretty familiar with the location. She easily describes the lush settings as well as the diverse inhabitants of the area. The book centers around two sisters, Celine, 16 and Jo, 15, as well as their parents, Manuel and Severine. Early on we learn that this is not the happiest of families and the girls dream of being anywhere but home. Usually their summers are spent escaping their parents and the real world but this summer is different because Celine is pregnant.
Celine refuses to divulge the father of her unborn baby and Manuel makes it his personal mission to find out. What follows is a story that shows years of unhappiness, bouts of rebellion, class and race issues and revenge. Summer of Reckoning is not an easy read but one that packs a punch. I would go as far as say that is a thriller, but one that takes on some heavy issues. I personally didn't find any of the characters likable but Jo came the closest. Unlike her sister, she tends to use her brains where Celine tries to forge her path using manipulation and her sexuality.
I found Summer of Reckoning to have a slow-burning plot. If you're looking for a quick action-packed read, then you might be disappointed. However, if you want a more character-driven psychological tale, then look no further.
ANIMAL TRIGGER WARNING: I have to share that there is one scene in the book I found particularly disturbing. It involved drowning kittens in a bathtub. This scene did upset me and I admit I kind of skimmed on and read around it. Just a warning as I know a lot of my followers aren't comfortable with animal abuse either.
Celine refuses to divulge the father of her unborn baby and Manuel makes it his personal mission to find out. What follows is a story that shows years of unhappiness, bouts of rebellion, class and race issues and revenge. Summer of Reckoning is not an easy read but one that packs a punch. I would go as far as say that is a thriller, but one that takes on some heavy issues. I personally didn't find any of the characters likable but Jo came the closest. Unlike her sister, she tends to use her brains where Celine tries to forge her path using manipulation and her sexuality.
I found Summer of Reckoning to have a slow-burning plot. If you're looking for a quick action-packed read, then you might be disappointed. However, if you want a more character-driven psychological tale, then look no further.
ANIMAL TRIGGER WARNING: I have to share that there is one scene in the book I found particularly disturbing. It involved drowning kittens in a bathtub. This scene did upset me and I admit I kind of skimmed on and read around it. Just a warning as I know a lot of my followers aren't comfortable with animal abuse either.
February 10, 2024
The Summer of Reckoning is a summer of booze, anger, domestic violence, racism and teenage sex. The story features two sisters (15 and 16). The elder is pregnant and it is no surprise who the father is. The actions of her father and best mate are also predictable. Not sure how this won the French Grand Prix de Literature Policiere.
April 6, 2020
Now onto a slice of French psychological crime from author Marion Brunet, translated by Katherine Gregor set amidst the machinations of a very disturbed family. Brunet is probably better known for her prize winning YA novels, so this is her first adult novel and the first translated into English…
In no way, shape or form could this be described as a comfortable read if you are seeking some respite from the current global events, so prepare yourself for a story of unrelenting misery, peopled by a cast of unrelentingly miserable characters. Without exception, well maybe Celine as she is quite shallow and charmingly dense, this is a family fuelled by anger, suspicion and violence, where everyone is caught up in a self destructive cycle of familial despair. Their torturous interactions and stilted communication is an incredibly powerful central theme of the book, and apart from the daughters, Celine and Jo who have some semblance of a sisterly bond, despite their seemingly different characters, there’s not a whole lot of love and understanding permeating this family. Their father resents his father, his Spanish heritage and Said, the girls’ Arabic friend with violent consequences.Their mother seems to resent pretty much everyone too, including her husband and daughters, in this claustrophobic and oppressive atmosphere of home. Little wonder that both teenage girls long for escape and adventure in their differing ways, but cruelly seem to find the opposite is true…
I did rather like the character of Jo, the younger daughter, who is sharp and quick witted, and although as physically attractive as her fatuous older sister. uses her intelligence and slightly teasing nature to expand her life out beyond the simmering pot of resentment she calls home, “Jo drinks the poison of a landscape that’s too familiar. Her nonchalance is just a façade; inside, there’s a clash between love and revulsion for these paths travelled thousands of times…Jo is looking for a way out” She is heartily bored by her surroundings (although she does seem to have more of a connection to nature), her circle of schoolfriends, the company of her sister, and her irritating parents, and anticipates that as her sister’s due time approaches and she still refuses to name the father, things will get a whole more uncomfortable. As clever as she is though, she is still undone at times by her naivety and impetuosity, and at the close of the book, despite interludes of ‘freedom’ we all have call to question how far she has escaped at all from the domestic familiarity she seem to so resent.
Despite the relative slimness of the novel, there are some quite weighty themes addressed in this book, from internal and external racism, jealousy, unfaithfulness, sexuality, murder and domestic violence. As is so typical of French crime fiction, there is a maelstrom of heated emotion in some characters perfectly balanced with the brooding surliness of others, all within the familiar trope of loaded miscommunications, and petty jealousies escalating into more destructive events. I think if I had been reading this in happier times I would have probably being enveloped in this blanket of misery a bit more as I quite like a bit of angst and sadness in my crime reading, but overall it was a solid read with some interesting observations on family cohesion, loyalty and jealousy. Recommended.
In no way, shape or form could this be described as a comfortable read if you are seeking some respite from the current global events, so prepare yourself for a story of unrelenting misery, peopled by a cast of unrelentingly miserable characters. Without exception, well maybe Celine as she is quite shallow and charmingly dense, this is a family fuelled by anger, suspicion and violence, where everyone is caught up in a self destructive cycle of familial despair. Their torturous interactions and stilted communication is an incredibly powerful central theme of the book, and apart from the daughters, Celine and Jo who have some semblance of a sisterly bond, despite their seemingly different characters, there’s not a whole lot of love and understanding permeating this family. Their father resents his father, his Spanish heritage and Said, the girls’ Arabic friend with violent consequences.Their mother seems to resent pretty much everyone too, including her husband and daughters, in this claustrophobic and oppressive atmosphere of home. Little wonder that both teenage girls long for escape and adventure in their differing ways, but cruelly seem to find the opposite is true…
I did rather like the character of Jo, the younger daughter, who is sharp and quick witted, and although as physically attractive as her fatuous older sister. uses her intelligence and slightly teasing nature to expand her life out beyond the simmering pot of resentment she calls home, “Jo drinks the poison of a landscape that’s too familiar. Her nonchalance is just a façade; inside, there’s a clash between love and revulsion for these paths travelled thousands of times…Jo is looking for a way out” She is heartily bored by her surroundings (although she does seem to have more of a connection to nature), her circle of schoolfriends, the company of her sister, and her irritating parents, and anticipates that as her sister’s due time approaches and she still refuses to name the father, things will get a whole more uncomfortable. As clever as she is though, she is still undone at times by her naivety and impetuosity, and at the close of the book, despite interludes of ‘freedom’ we all have call to question how far she has escaped at all from the domestic familiarity she seem to so resent.
Despite the relative slimness of the novel, there are some quite weighty themes addressed in this book, from internal and external racism, jealousy, unfaithfulness, sexuality, murder and domestic violence. As is so typical of French crime fiction, there is a maelstrom of heated emotion in some characters perfectly balanced with the brooding surliness of others, all within the familiar trope of loaded miscommunications, and petty jealousies escalating into more destructive events. I think if I had been reading this in happier times I would have probably being enveloped in this blanket of misery a bit more as I quite like a bit of angst and sadness in my crime reading, but overall it was a solid read with some interesting observations on family cohesion, loyalty and jealousy. Recommended.
June 25, 2020
I gave 4 stars to the original written in French but this translation is AWFUL.
People wearing swimsuits in swimming pools are "swimming" not "bathing". "La télé" is a TV not a box.
When I read this line: "Feet on the table, her daughter is putting paprika crisps into the oven after dipping them in yoghurt." I was utterly confused. How do you put something in the oven while your feet are on the table and why would you dip it in yoghurt before putting in the oven anyway? Ah....but the REAL sentence, in French reads: "Les pieds posés sur la table, sa fille enfourne des chips au paprika après les avoir trempées dans du yaourt." Um.....while yes "enfourne" CAN mean putting something in the oven, it can also mean " to gobble up", which would make WAY more sense in this sentence. Translation 101, find out the meaning of the word in it's proper context.
Oh and what the hell is wheeler-dealing???? If someone is dealing drugs he is just dealing, not wheeler-dealing. There were a few wheeler-dealers in this book, lol. Is "wheeler" a new drug I don't know about?
People wearing swimsuits in swimming pools are "swimming" not "bathing". "La télé" is a TV not a box.
When I read this line: "Feet on the table, her daughter is putting paprika crisps into the oven after dipping them in yoghurt." I was utterly confused. How do you put something in the oven while your feet are on the table and why would you dip it in yoghurt before putting in the oven anyway? Ah....but the REAL sentence, in French reads: "Les pieds posés sur la table, sa fille enfourne des chips au paprika après les avoir trempées dans du yaourt." Um.....while yes "enfourne" CAN mean putting something in the oven, it can also mean " to gobble up", which would make WAY more sense in this sentence. Translation 101, find out the meaning of the word in it's proper context.
Oh and what the hell is wheeler-dealing???? If someone is dealing drugs he is just dealing, not wheeler-dealing. There were a few wheeler-dealers in this book, lol. Is "wheeler" a new drug I don't know about?
April 30, 2021
Al principi no connectava gaire amb res del que passava però a mida que la trama anava avançant… verge Santa. Racisme, estiu, sexe, alcoholisme, pobresa, adolescència, una nena embarassada, baralles… Jo en faria una peli🧡
June 28, 2020
To be honest, if it was not for the Borderless Book Club I wouldn't have read this. The BBC meets every two weeks and discusses a novel from a small press that has been translated into English. Summer of reckoning was published by Bitter Lemon Press who specialise in noir/crime translations. This was a gritty exploration of the South of France the tourist may not see. Themes in the book included racism, poverty, class and misogyny. The book is gritty and the style is set from the first page. It explores family dynamics and the fact the author has experience of youth work and her previous novels would be termed YA shows. All in all, a good read, And I cannot praise the Borderless Book Club ably hosted by Maddie Rogers from Peirine Press enough.
July 25, 2019
C'est un bon roman d'été. Un roman noir, décrivant avec une plume plutôt précise et sans fioriture, un tournant dans la vie d'une famille provinciale . Entre misogynie, violence banalisée et racisme ordinaire, les personnages nous marquent par leur force.
C'est plus qu'un polar efficace qui se lit d'une traite, c'est un cliché saisissant de justesse des méandres de l'adolescence et des regrets de l'âge adulte.
C'est plus qu'un polar efficace qui se lit d'une traite, c'est un cliché saisissant de justesse des méandres de l'adolescence et des regrets de l'âge adulte.
July 21, 2024
No sé si m’ha acabat de convèncer, potser he trobat que tots els conflictes es passaven de manera massa superficial. He odiat tots els homes del llibre, m’han molt fàstic. Tot i així crec que si que reflecteix molt bé el racisme constant a la nostra societat europea…
October 26, 2018
Manon Brunet brosse à merveille le portrait d’une famille ordinaire.
Une famille modeste, qu’on pourrait nommer famille de prolos dans le langage courant, connotation négative qui caractérise une famille où rien n’évolue, où tout reste identique de génération en génération, où le manque d’éducation est récurrent, le fatalisme présent, le poids de l'hérédité familial sinistre.
Même la poisse et le malheur se transmettent de mère en fille.
Les erreurs de l’une deviennent les erreurs de l’autre et le futur, morose, sans aucune embellie, devient la fatalité de la génération suivante.
Céline a 15 ans et se retrouve enceinte.
Comme sa mère avant elle.
Elle refuse de dire qui est le père de son bébé ce qui rend son père Manuel fou de rage.
Dans cette petite ville de province où tout le monde connait tout le monde, la rancoeur gronde et il faut trouver le responsable de cette humiliation.
Tout est prétexte à la vendetta, surtout l’Etranger, même s'il fait partie de la communauté depuis des années... La différence est synonyme de culpabilité.
Cette petite ville près de Cavaillon, étouffante, asphyxiante, ne semble revivre qu’à travers un manège installé là tous les étés, toujours le même, seule attraction de ces interminables vacances. Et comme la vie dans cette ville, il tourne en rond. On l’appelle la Tarentule. Comme la chape de plomb qui tisse sa toile au-dessus des habitants.
L’été se fait de plus en plus lourd, le soleil tape sur des esprits déjà bien échauffés, de même que des destinées déjà toutes tracées. Il attise des émotions exacerbées.
On sent le poids des "emmerdes" à venir à chaque page tant le climat est lourd et oppressant.
J’ai aimé le portrait des personnages cabossés par la vie.
Manuel d’abord, qui ne respire que grâce à une rage permanente qui gronde au fond de lui. C’est la colère qui le fait avancer.
Séverine, la mère, résignée, effacée, absente, dénuée de toute compassion, qui passe des heures à regretter ses 20 ans, période durant laquelle elle existait encore un peu.
Manon Brunet sait explorer les rapports entre mari et femme,
Entre mère et fille,
Entre soeurs.
La relation entre Céline et sa soeur Jo est dépeinte de façon très perspicace. Qui a eu une soeur se reconnaitra dans ces liens si bien décortiqués.
Jo veut encore croire qu’il n’y a pas de fatalité familiale dans le malheur, ni de transmission d’un certain misérabilisme. Elle veut croire à la vie devant elle et à la possibilité d’une liberté qui lui tend les bras.
Chaque personnage a ses fissures. Elles sont brossées sans jugement, presque avec tendresse.
La prise de distance de la mère face à la fille verse elle aussi dans une compassion implicite : elle espérait sans doute mieux pour sa fille, un avenir différent du sien qui tiendrait ses promesses, qui ne la condamnerait pas à rester là, dans cette petite ville à l'avenir clos.
Et malgré tout cela, ce n’est pas qu’un livre noir.
Il parle aussi des premières fois à travers les expériences des soeurs,
Il évoque des rêves,
Il sous-entend des désirs, comme celui qui créé un enfant...
Personnellement, j’avais deviné l’identité du père longtemps avant qu’elle ne soit révélée. Loin d’être déçue, cela a considérablement augmenté mon plaisir de lecture car je me suis retrouvée dans une lecture active, pour comprendre par quel schéma narratif l’auteur allait nous amener jusqu'à un épilogue tragique.
C’est un beau livre,
Un livre profond qui parle de l’âme humaine,
Un livre touchant,
Un livre qui provoque des émotions pures.
Une réussite !
Une famille modeste, qu’on pourrait nommer famille de prolos dans le langage courant, connotation négative qui caractérise une famille où rien n’évolue, où tout reste identique de génération en génération, où le manque d’éducation est récurrent, le fatalisme présent, le poids de l'hérédité familial sinistre.
Même la poisse et le malheur se transmettent de mère en fille.
Les erreurs de l’une deviennent les erreurs de l’autre et le futur, morose, sans aucune embellie, devient la fatalité de la génération suivante.
Céline a 15 ans et se retrouve enceinte.
Comme sa mère avant elle.
Elle refuse de dire qui est le père de son bébé ce qui rend son père Manuel fou de rage.
Dans cette petite ville de province où tout le monde connait tout le monde, la rancoeur gronde et il faut trouver le responsable de cette humiliation.
Tout est prétexte à la vendetta, surtout l’Etranger, même s'il fait partie de la communauté depuis des années... La différence est synonyme de culpabilité.
Cette petite ville près de Cavaillon, étouffante, asphyxiante, ne semble revivre qu’à travers un manège installé là tous les étés, toujours le même, seule attraction de ces interminables vacances. Et comme la vie dans cette ville, il tourne en rond. On l’appelle la Tarentule. Comme la chape de plomb qui tisse sa toile au-dessus des habitants.
L’été se fait de plus en plus lourd, le soleil tape sur des esprits déjà bien échauffés, de même que des destinées déjà toutes tracées. Il attise des émotions exacerbées.
On sent le poids des "emmerdes" à venir à chaque page tant le climat est lourd et oppressant.
J’ai aimé le portrait des personnages cabossés par la vie.
Manuel d’abord, qui ne respire que grâce à une rage permanente qui gronde au fond de lui. C’est la colère qui le fait avancer.
Séverine, la mère, résignée, effacée, absente, dénuée de toute compassion, qui passe des heures à regretter ses 20 ans, période durant laquelle elle existait encore un peu.
Manon Brunet sait explorer les rapports entre mari et femme,
Entre mère et fille,
Entre soeurs.
La relation entre Céline et sa soeur Jo est dépeinte de façon très perspicace. Qui a eu une soeur se reconnaitra dans ces liens si bien décortiqués.
Jo veut encore croire qu’il n’y a pas de fatalité familiale dans le malheur, ni de transmission d’un certain misérabilisme. Elle veut croire à la vie devant elle et à la possibilité d’une liberté qui lui tend les bras.
Chaque personnage a ses fissures. Elles sont brossées sans jugement, presque avec tendresse.
La prise de distance de la mère face à la fille verse elle aussi dans une compassion implicite : elle espérait sans doute mieux pour sa fille, un avenir différent du sien qui tiendrait ses promesses, qui ne la condamnerait pas à rester là, dans cette petite ville à l'avenir clos.
Et malgré tout cela, ce n’est pas qu’un livre noir.
Il parle aussi des premières fois à travers les expériences des soeurs,
Il évoque des rêves,
Il sous-entend des désirs, comme celui qui créé un enfant...
Personnellement, j’avais deviné l’identité du père longtemps avant qu’elle ne soit révélée. Loin d’être déçue, cela a considérablement augmenté mon plaisir de lecture car je me suis retrouvée dans une lecture active, pour comprendre par quel schéma narratif l’auteur allait nous amener jusqu'à un épilogue tragique.
C’est un beau livre,
Un livre profond qui parle de l’âme humaine,
Un livre touchant,
Un livre qui provoque des émotions pures.
Une réussite !
March 31, 2020
This is a short, tart and compact thriller, centered on social inequalities, proprietary relationships, based on a foundation of regrets and missed opportunities.
Through Celine and Jo, Marion explores both burgeoning sexuality and the consequences of being both aware of this and how to act upon it. As the sisters get older, Celine in particular becomes an object of attention-quite literally-the males in her viallge. She goes from being her father's prized possession as she begins to develop, something to be proud of, to something to watch and 'reign in', which he is advised to do by his friends and co-workers.
The story opens in an explosion of violence as Celine is revealed to be pregnant. Her father, Manuel, a skilled builder who spends his days embellishing the lives of the rich and entitled whilst living in a house he owes to his father in law, reacts with violence and attacks Celine. Within a few short pages, the measure of this family is firmly created-frustrated father, emotionally distant mother and children who are desperate to get away are all revealed in swift, charcoal sketches.
From here, the community around them is then established and the reader then becomes aware of the conflict between internal and external dialogues. Success and desire are relative to your stations in life.Both Jo and Celine enjoy sneaking into the wealthy families' swimming pools as the ultimate act of rebellion. They are reclaiming themselves every time they swim in these forbidden waters.
The simmering tension that Manuel feels against the more opportunistic neighbours who happen to be Arabs, reveals his inherent distrust and racism. His projection of blame reflects the developing heat of a summer which adds to the overall tension. The discovery that one of his daughter's is pregnant and furthermore refuses to reveal the father, is the spark that ignites the powder keg of resentment, despair and anger.
This is a powerful, resonant novel which perfectly evokes a simmering melting pot of emotions and reactions. It becomes more intense as each of the characters reveal more of themselves through the pages and by then end, you feel exhauuhe emotional load, and inevitability of the conclusion. It s, to me, very Camus-esque in the attempt to find meaning in an existence which frequently lacks it. Sometimes, people exist because of a late night coupling in the back of a pick up truck and there is no more meaning to them than this. I found this a deep and intense read which I really enjoyed getting my teeth into, and I found that the translation matched the constructed narrative of Jo and Celine's tales. The reckoning is both personal and societal, imminent and already happening.
Striking, involving and intriguing, this is a novel to slowly savour. Belonging, identity and the propensity to repeat the mistakes of their parents is an inevitable consequence of growing up.
Through Celine and Jo, Marion explores both burgeoning sexuality and the consequences of being both aware of this and how to act upon it. As the sisters get older, Celine in particular becomes an object of attention-quite literally-the males in her viallge. She goes from being her father's prized possession as she begins to develop, something to be proud of, to something to watch and 'reign in', which he is advised to do by his friends and co-workers.
The story opens in an explosion of violence as Celine is revealed to be pregnant. Her father, Manuel, a skilled builder who spends his days embellishing the lives of the rich and entitled whilst living in a house he owes to his father in law, reacts with violence and attacks Celine. Within a few short pages, the measure of this family is firmly created-frustrated father, emotionally distant mother and children who are desperate to get away are all revealed in swift, charcoal sketches.
From here, the community around them is then established and the reader then becomes aware of the conflict between internal and external dialogues. Success and desire are relative to your stations in life.Both Jo and Celine enjoy sneaking into the wealthy families' swimming pools as the ultimate act of rebellion. They are reclaiming themselves every time they swim in these forbidden waters.
The simmering tension that Manuel feels against the more opportunistic neighbours who happen to be Arabs, reveals his inherent distrust and racism. His projection of blame reflects the developing heat of a summer which adds to the overall tension. The discovery that one of his daughter's is pregnant and furthermore refuses to reveal the father, is the spark that ignites the powder keg of resentment, despair and anger.
This is a powerful, resonant novel which perfectly evokes a simmering melting pot of emotions and reactions. It becomes more intense as each of the characters reveal more of themselves through the pages and by then end, you feel exhauuhe emotional load, and inevitability of the conclusion. It s, to me, very Camus-esque in the attempt to find meaning in an existence which frequently lacks it. Sometimes, people exist because of a late night coupling in the back of a pick up truck and there is no more meaning to them than this. I found this a deep and intense read which I really enjoyed getting my teeth into, and I found that the translation matched the constructed narrative of Jo and Celine's tales. The reckoning is both personal and societal, imminent and already happening.
Striking, involving and intriguing, this is a novel to slowly savour. Belonging, identity and the propensity to repeat the mistakes of their parents is an inevitable consequence of growing up.
April 10, 2024
Primer de tot, fuck racism.
M’ha agradat molt el llibre, La història m’ha atrapat. Tot i això, dubtava entre 4 i 5 estrelles per la no continuació de la història del Saïd.
Sento que es un llibre que, a través d’una història que podria ser la de moltes, vol destapar el racisme constant i brutal de la nostra societat. No obstant, la història del “moro”, del Saïd, queda penjada i sembla que ni la escriptora ni la Jo li donen la importància que es mereix. És la última manera de reinvindicació de l’autora? Potser si.
M’ha agradat molt el llibre, La història m’ha atrapat. Tot i això, dubtava entre 4 i 5 estrelles per la no continuació de la història del Saïd.
Sento que es un llibre que, a través d’una història que podria ser la de moltes, vol destapar el racisme constant i brutal de la nostra societat. No obstant, la història del “moro”, del Saïd, queda penjada i sembla que ni la escriptora ni la Jo li donen la importància que es mereix. És la última manera de reinvindicació de l’autora? Potser si.
June 18, 2020
I'm not certain this novel was as as insightful as it was sensational. I wasn't given many of the clues one relies on to deduce deeper meaning. The prose was poorly written in patches (and this is no reflection on the translation, there are point of view inconsistencies - characters commenting on or knowing things they shouldn't - that go well beyond grammatical construction). The questions central to the plot resolved in a way that revealed more interest in gossip than character.
The author, who seems, from the brief biography I could translate on French Wikipedia, very white, has built a YA œuvre about children and their dealings with hot button issues: homophobia, racism, classism. This is her first novel written for adults and all the same controversies are here... but why? What exactly is Marion Brunet doing with the heavy controversies?
The teen pregnancy, the physical child abuse, the pedophilia, the casual and explicit bigotry and Racism? All of these elements inhabit this book but none of them are given much comment. In fact, they are exploited and perpetuated.
I look forward to discussing this book at the next Borderless Bookclub because I would like some help seeing past what I'm coming away with: that this is a superficial novel that uses highly graphic accounts of abuse to liven its pages but really has little else to say, worse, perpetuates the problems it seems (on the surface) to want to examine.
In the words of the inimitable Ira Madison III, "Girl, keep it."
The author, who seems, from the brief biography I could translate on French Wikipedia, very white, has built a YA œuvre about children and their dealings with hot button issues: homophobia, racism, classism. This is her first novel written for adults and all the same controversies are here... but why? What exactly is Marion Brunet doing with the heavy controversies?
The teen pregnancy, the physical child abuse, the pedophilia, the casual and explicit bigotry and Racism? All of these elements inhabit this book but none of them are given much comment. In fact, they are exploited and perpetuated.
I look forward to discussing this book at the next Borderless Bookclub because I would like some help seeing past what I'm coming away with: that this is a superficial novel that uses highly graphic accounts of abuse to liven its pages but really has little else to say, worse, perpetuates the problems it seems (on the surface) to want to examine.
In the words of the inimitable Ira Madison III, "Girl, keep it."
December 18, 2019
On se laisse emporter par l'intrigue, les dernières pages sont très dures à quitter...gare aux insomnies 😉
August 12, 2020
The Girls of Summer
Review of the Bitter Lemon Press english language paperback edition (2020) translated from the French language original L'Été circulaire (2018)
This leaned heavily on the trashy exploitative side with its youthful lusts, teenage pregnancy, domestic abuse, petty theft, violent racism, worker and immigrant exploitation etc. etc. But I still felt emotionally connected and drawn in by the life of the sisters Jo and Celine and their bond. It is noir in the sense that things do not work out happily for everyone and not all crimes are punished (or even discovered).
I read Summer of Reckoning as part of the Borderless Book Club which has been organized by Peirene Press and 7 other UK independent publishers for a 16 week period (May 14 to August 20, 2020) during this current world pandemic situation. It is the successor to the earlier Translated Fiction Online Book Club which was organized for 6 weeks.
There is an Autumn 2020 session planned for the Borderless Book Club from September 3 to December 10, 2020 and the planned book selection can be viewed here.
Trivia and Link
The Summer of Reckoning cover reminded me immediately of the movie poster for Wild Things (1998), which was perhaps an intentional choice by Bitter Lemon Press.
Review of the Bitter Lemon Press english language paperback edition (2020) translated from the French language original L'Été circulaire (2018)
This leaned heavily on the trashy exploitative side with its youthful lusts, teenage pregnancy, domestic abuse, petty theft, violent racism, worker and immigrant exploitation etc. etc. But I still felt emotionally connected and drawn in by the life of the sisters Jo and Celine and their bond. It is noir in the sense that things do not work out happily for everyone and not all crimes are punished (or even discovered).
I read Summer of Reckoning as part of the Borderless Book Club which has been organized by Peirene Press and 7 other UK independent publishers for a 16 week period (May 14 to August 20, 2020) during this current world pandemic situation. It is the successor to the earlier Translated Fiction Online Book Club which was organized for 6 weeks.
There is an Autumn 2020 session planned for the Borderless Book Club from September 3 to December 10, 2020 and the planned book selection can be viewed here.
Trivia and Link
The Summer of Reckoning cover reminded me immediately of the movie poster for Wild Things (1998), which was perhaps an intentional choice by Bitter Lemon Press.
July 1, 2025
L’ESTIU CIRCULAR de la Marion Brunet
“–Tot anirà bé– no pot evitar de repetir la Jo, en un impuls de conjuració mentidera. Però que no exclou l'esperança."
Aquesta novel·la va ser la proposta del mes de juny del Club A de Lectura de la Biblioteca Central Xavier Amorós.
Ens trobem davant d’un llibre “asfixiant”, en un barri de classe obrera de la regió de Vaucluse, a prop d’Avinyó, on conviuen francesos, immigrants espanyols, àrabs, gitanos...
El pes de la trama se sosté en jou que porten alguns personatges com en Manuel, l’estigma de ser immigrant republicà. El tedi, la manca d’il·lusions, de coneixement, la feina de paleta a les segones residències del “francesos de veritat”, on ells no podran accedir mai. Negocis il·legals.
Els poders que exerceixen les generacions anteriors, històries que es repeteixen. Persones amb una identitat impostada i sense referents, i un sistema que els arrossega al buit. L’embaràs de la Céline, una noia de setze anys. La Jo, la seva germana, que exemplifica la diferència. El Said, La Séverine, la Charlotte, en Patrick... un Audi.
Es respira un ambient masclista i sòrdid que no et deixa indiferent: agressions, lascívia, violència, hipocresia, racisme, enveja, desconfiança, idees preconcebudes.
L’autora ens mostra els joves de fira, de barriada i, els de piscina, el que estiuegen a la torre. Que cadascú tregui les seves pròpies conclusions.
Una trama que posa les relacions mares i filles sobre la taula. Les maternitats prematures, i les seves conseqüències per a les dones. Què és ser una bona mare?
No sabria dir si Marion Brunet ha escrit una novel·la negra. Ara bé, n’estic segura que posa en tela de judici tot un entramat social, imprescindible en aquest gènere. Cal que ens preguntem, què ha portat aquests personatges a ser com són? Quins són els valors, les creences, les capacitats que els indueixen a un comportament determinat dins del mateix entorn?
Em quedo amb la Jo. Un bri d’esperança.
Queda alguna persona per aquí que no l’hagi llegit encara?
Què me'n dieu.
“–Tot anirà bé– no pot evitar de repetir la Jo, en un impuls de conjuració mentidera. Però que no exclou l'esperança."
Aquesta novel·la va ser la proposta del mes de juny del Club A de Lectura de la Biblioteca Central Xavier Amorós.
Ens trobem davant d’un llibre “asfixiant”, en un barri de classe obrera de la regió de Vaucluse, a prop d’Avinyó, on conviuen francesos, immigrants espanyols, àrabs, gitanos...
El pes de la trama se sosté en jou que porten alguns personatges com en Manuel, l’estigma de ser immigrant republicà. El tedi, la manca d’il·lusions, de coneixement, la feina de paleta a les segones residències del “francesos de veritat”, on ells no podran accedir mai. Negocis il·legals.
Els poders que exerceixen les generacions anteriors, històries que es repeteixen. Persones amb una identitat impostada i sense referents, i un sistema que els arrossega al buit. L’embaràs de la Céline, una noia de setze anys. La Jo, la seva germana, que exemplifica la diferència. El Said, La Séverine, la Charlotte, en Patrick... un Audi.
Es respira un ambient masclista i sòrdid que no et deixa indiferent: agressions, lascívia, violència, hipocresia, racisme, enveja, desconfiança, idees preconcebudes.
L’autora ens mostra els joves de fira, de barriada i, els de piscina, el que estiuegen a la torre. Que cadascú tregui les seves pròpies conclusions.
Una trama que posa les relacions mares i filles sobre la taula. Les maternitats prematures, i les seves conseqüències per a les dones. Què és ser una bona mare?
No sabria dir si Marion Brunet ha escrit una novel·la negra. Ara bé, n’estic segura que posa en tela de judici tot un entramat social, imprescindible en aquest gènere. Cal que ens preguntem, què ha portat aquests personatges a ser com són? Quins són els valors, les creences, les capacitats que els indueixen a un comportament determinat dins del mateix entorn?
Em quedo amb la Jo. Un bri d’esperança.
Queda alguna persona per aquí que no l’hagi llegit encara?
Què me'n dieu.
June 17, 2025
Últim llibre del club de lectura de la biblioteca.
Un llibre que ens explica la història d'una família humil del sud de França, el pare que prové d'una família immigrant espanyol, que han de lidiar amb l'inesperat embaràs de la seva filla de 16 anys.
L'estiu circular ens mostra com les històries són cícliques, com en una família es repeteixen situacions i fets entre generacions diferents, i com les actituds d'alguns personatges es repeteixen en diferents formes. Una història amb unes situacions molt reals i colpidores, que al llarg del llibre veurem com cada una dels personatges afronta la situació inicial i com aquests es van desenvolupant amb els seus propis problemes i circumstàncies.
Lectura fàcil i lleugera, inclús un punt predictible en algun moment de la història, en canvi, en altres sorprenent. Segons la meva opinió una lectura acceptable i recomanable per si vols llegir alguna cosa ràpida i curta, però que no destaca ni per bé ni per malament.
Un llibre que ens explica la història d'una família humil del sud de França, el pare que prové d'una família immigrant espanyol, que han de lidiar amb l'inesperat embaràs de la seva filla de 16 anys.
L'estiu circular ens mostra com les històries són cícliques, com en una família es repeteixen situacions i fets entre generacions diferents, i com les actituds d'alguns personatges es repeteixen en diferents formes. Una història amb unes situacions molt reals i colpidores, que al llarg del llibre veurem com cada una dels personatges afronta la situació inicial i com aquests es van desenvolupant amb els seus propis problemes i circumstàncies.
Lectura fàcil i lleugera, inclús un punt predictible en algun moment de la història, en canvi, en altres sorprenent. Segons la meva opinió una lectura acceptable i recomanable per si vols llegir alguna cosa ràpida i curta, però que no destaca ni per bé ni per malament.
November 19, 2023
4,5/5 🌟
Haletant. Bouillonnant. Caniculaire.
L’intrigue est menée avec maîtrise et la tension monte crescendo jusqu’au cataclysme suffoquant et captivant.
Ce que j’ai adoré dans ce polar, c’est la plume expressive et sensorielle au possible de l’autrice. Également, sa capacité à dépeindre les défaillances systémiques avec brio en l’agrémentant d’un suspense insoutenable.
C’est comme voir la tempête arriver et attendre qu’elle nous avale.
Je recommande chaudement !
Haletant. Bouillonnant. Caniculaire.
L’intrigue est menée avec maîtrise et la tension monte crescendo jusqu’au cataclysme suffoquant et captivant.
Ce que j’ai adoré dans ce polar, c’est la plume expressive et sensorielle au possible de l’autrice. Également, sa capacité à dépeindre les défaillances systémiques avec brio en l’agrémentant d’un suspense insoutenable.
C’est comme voir la tempête arriver et attendre qu’elle nous avale.
Je recommande chaudement !
July 5, 2025
un roman brut, qui se dévore, violent par sa plume, son histoire et les pensées de ses personnages. marion brunet rend tellement palpable le danger avec son écriture incisive et très crue. le vocabulaire vulgaire et violent l’amplifie. même la fin ne nous épargne pas…
je me suis reconnue par certains aspects dans le personnage de Jo, que j’ai adoré !!
je me suis reconnue par certains aspects dans le personnage de Jo, que j’ai adoré !!
June 22, 2022
"Manuel est un bateau troué, la ligne de flottaison fragile, jamais très loin du naufrage."
October 10, 2025
“Les coses que no canvien poden arribar a ser calmants, com una angoixa familiar”
May 24, 2020
A dark psychological read set in rural idyllic Southern France. But this is beneath the pretty facade and reveals abuse, domestic violence and racism. And centres on one family in the Summer heat falling apart spectacularly.
June 25, 2020
I kept reading waiting for this one to get better, but it never did. It was marketed as a murder mystery, but it took so long to set up the characters and then the mystery is quickly given away with basically no build up, that it was a big disappointment for me as a whole.
November 16, 2022
Ua, què fort me l'he papinyat en dos dies. Dur. Però m'agrada com està escrit, en els detalls. És de bastant crítica social, comença el llibre malament i esperes que no vagi a pitjor (potser per aquesta cosa d'haver viscut en un entorn de mínims?) però va a pitjor. I acaba... normal? I amb normal no vull dir alguna cosa que impliqui normalitat, sinó un sin mas, més aviat. Bastant impactada, la veritat. Amb una mica ganes de plorar. Pensant en si serà un llibre amb el que hi pensaré de tant en tant, com em passa amb La nit de les criatures.
Crec que aquí faré una pausa d'escriptores franceses.
Crec que aquí faré una pausa d'escriptores franceses.
March 29, 2020
The French region of Luberon is popular with tourists and wealthy Parisians. They find the southern accents charming and the scenery bucolic. But who are the people building their villas? Who populates the villages? Who speaks with the accents that they find so beguiling? Families such as the one that this novel is centred around are who: working-class families that are living hand to mouth and who’s lives are ones of quiet desperation.
Sixteen-year-old Céline is pregnant and won’t tell her family who the father is. Her fifteen-year-old sister, Jo, is a tomboy and more worldly-wise. She has dreams of escaping this small-town life, and out of all the family, she’s the one most likely to make it. Severine, their mother, is like Céline: at one time she had it all, was the one every boy wanted, but then she got pregnant young, settled down, and her dreams were dashed. Manuel is the father, a gruff son of Spanish immigrants, a man whose ancestry has him feel an outsider in his French homeland, and who is too fond of a drink and too quick to use his fists. On the periphery of the family are Manuel’s friend, Patrick, and his wife, Valérie. Then there's Saïd, a childhood friend of the girls with a soft spot for Jo, who lives just down the road.
At heart, this is a novel about desperation. Céline’s pregnancy is the catalyst that brings tensions that have long bubbled beneath the surface to the fore. Jo has always longed for escape, and the escalating family strife brings this to a sharper focus. Severine and Valérie each feels unfulfilled by their respective marriages and live lives of regret. Both now see and experience this more clearly in the aftermath of Céline’s shock pregnancy. But it is Manuel, and to a lesser extent Patrick, for whom Céline’s pregnancy has the most devastating psychological consequences. They have long fostered resentments and slights, felt their masculinity and pride under threat, and the pregnancy awakens this ever further.
The Summer of Reckoning could have been set in many a post-industrial setting around the world, where those working in traditional industries have long felt threatened by immigration and globalisation. These are the people who have all too often been forgotten and courted by the political extremes. While such politics don’t feature in this novel, one can well imagine Manuel being seduced by the politics of the far-right, and his willingness to blame his Arab neighbours, and in particular, his daughters’ friend, Saïd, is particularly troubling.
A brilliant novel with no easy answers and no unrealistic and rosy culmination, this is a very powerful read.
Sixteen-year-old Céline is pregnant and won’t tell her family who the father is. Her fifteen-year-old sister, Jo, is a tomboy and more worldly-wise. She has dreams of escaping this small-town life, and out of all the family, she’s the one most likely to make it. Severine, their mother, is like Céline: at one time she had it all, was the one every boy wanted, but then she got pregnant young, settled down, and her dreams were dashed. Manuel is the father, a gruff son of Spanish immigrants, a man whose ancestry has him feel an outsider in his French homeland, and who is too fond of a drink and too quick to use his fists. On the periphery of the family are Manuel’s friend, Patrick, and his wife, Valérie. Then there's Saïd, a childhood friend of the girls with a soft spot for Jo, who lives just down the road.
At heart, this is a novel about desperation. Céline’s pregnancy is the catalyst that brings tensions that have long bubbled beneath the surface to the fore. Jo has always longed for escape, and the escalating family strife brings this to a sharper focus. Severine and Valérie each feels unfulfilled by their respective marriages and live lives of regret. Both now see and experience this more clearly in the aftermath of Céline’s shock pregnancy. But it is Manuel, and to a lesser extent Patrick, for whom Céline’s pregnancy has the most devastating psychological consequences. They have long fostered resentments and slights, felt their masculinity and pride under threat, and the pregnancy awakens this ever further.
The Summer of Reckoning could have been set in many a post-industrial setting around the world, where those working in traditional industries have long felt threatened by immigration and globalisation. These are the people who have all too often been forgotten and courted by the political extremes. While such politics don’t feature in this novel, one can well imagine Manuel being seduced by the politics of the far-right, and his willingness to blame his Arab neighbours, and in particular, his daughters’ friend, Saïd, is particularly troubling.
A brilliant novel with no easy answers and no unrealistic and rosy culmination, this is a very powerful read.
September 13, 2021
Bona novel·la que parla d'una racó de la França de províncies i retrata una família de classe baixa que sobreviu con poc en la grisor de les seves vides. És una vida marcada per la mediocritat i la vulgaritat, tacada per una brutalitat evident, amb relacions personals marcades per la mútua incomprensió i habilitats paternofilials més aviat rudimentàries.
En aquest context, l'embaràs de la filla major entareix encara més la situació, sobretot pel pare, que es veu superat per la situació i per la mediocritat de la seva pròpia vida i converteix el veí magrebí, amic de tota la vida de les seves filles, en l'ase dela cops amb qui desfogar-se.
Novel·la de bon ritme, episodis breus, personatges força ben perfilats i situacions quotidianes tocades sempre per una pàtina de brutalitat. Molt recomanable.
En aquest context, l'embaràs de la filla major entareix encara més la situació, sobretot pel pare, que es veu superat per la situació i per la mediocritat de la seva pròpia vida i converteix el veí magrebí, amic de tota la vida de les seves filles, en l'ase dela cops amb qui desfogar-se.
Novel·la de bon ritme, episodis breus, personatges força ben perfilats i situacions quotidianes tocades sempre per una pàtina de brutalitat. Molt recomanable.
August 27, 2023
Difficile de faire des pauses dans cette lecture, tant on est happé par l'histoire. Totalement séduite par la plume de l'auteur qui raconte les ambiances, les relations et les personnages avec une précision tour à tour aggressive, compatissante et sarcastique. Une histoire qui s'ancre dans le cadre de la campagne profonde, tout en faisant le portrait au vitriol d'une réalité sociologique française bien plus large : violence de classes, violence sexiste et sexuelle, violence raciste. Le récit d'une tragédie amenée à se répéter inlassablement.
June 25, 2020
Pas votre roman policier habituel mais un roman noir qui monte lentement en tension et en pressentiment.
January 13, 2022
Obra mestra. Marion Brunet mai deixa indiferent. Sempre valenta i punyent aquí ens narra el cercle d’una generació de perifèria.
Alcohol, classe obrera, embaràs adolescent, criminalitat, sexe, Argelers, immigració… Brunet, toca mil temes diferents, tots punyents i en profunditat, d’una forma magistral i en poquíssimes pàgines. Una altre classe de com escriure novela juvenil intergeneracional de qualitat.
Alcohol, classe obrera, embaràs adolescent, criminalitat, sexe, Argelers, immigració… Brunet, toca mil temes diferents, tots punyents i en profunditat, d’una forma magistral i en poquíssimes pàgines. Una altre classe de com escriure novela juvenil intergeneracional de qualitat.
August 22, 2022
This book is so interesting because of the way there are so many plots, and i love how the author depicts so many issues by writing from many perspectives yet keeps third person tense throughout. but with one of the characters called Saïd, i wish there was more focus on him and a different outcome as well. it’s a short book but that’s also what makes it so fun to read. so far one of my fave books.
March 27, 2019
Sud de la France. Les accidents de parcours aide à propager les rumeurs, attisent le soupçon et ravivent les haines injustifiés. Le sang bouillonnant est excité par les corps. Jeunesse se passe et trébuche, titube mais se relève, plus tout à fait jeune déjà...
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