NYRB Classics discussion

The July summer book selection is Three Summers by Margarita Liberaki, Karen Van Dyck (Translator) 264pp


Three Summers is the story of three sisters growing up in the countryside near Athens before the Second World War. Living in a big old house surrounded by a beautiful garden are Maria, the oldest sister, as sexually bold as she is eager to settle down and have a family of her own; beautiful but distant Infanta; and dreamy and rebellious Katerina, through whose eyes the story is mostly observed. Over three summers, the girls share and keep secrets, fall in and out of love, try to figure out their parents and other members of the tribe of adults, take note of the weird ways of friends and neighbors, worry about and wonder who they are. Karen Van Dyck’s translation captures all the light and warmth of this modern Greek classic.

A summer read with summer in the title. This topic is for the discussion of the novel spoilers may be included in the discussion. enjoy the read.

I hope to start this today or tomorrow.

Reviews:

https://mookseandgripes.com/reviews/2...

https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2...

https://readersretreat2017.wordpress....

https://electricliterature.com/the-an...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7ClG...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uwdU...

I've read half and am really enjoying it. It's scratching that nostalgic summer itch (although there is a wildfire, which dragged me right back to 2025).

It reminds me a little of My Family and Other Animals for the Greek setting and sense of endless summer and also because the eldest sister Maria focuses so much on the lives of animals and insects. It isn't a comedy though. Tonally I'm reminded of fellow NYRB classic The Ten Thousand Things or even A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

I just finished the First Summer, also enjoying it quite a bit - it's dreamy and sensual and everything is set up for a good amount of intrigue and drama in the remainder. Perfect summer read!

I'm a little behind but am finishing some books that were demanding time as library borrows and should be back to this Friday.

Me too Sam. Probably start on Monday.

Me three. It's sitting on my table ready for me to begin. Probably Monday too.

Finished! Wow, I really raced through the second half - being on holidays helped. It reminded me of a summer ages ago when my father gave me the Garden of the Finzi-Contini. And I was also reminder of our Elsa Morante read earlier this year.

I try not to spoil, but I think for me the novel is mostly about the things we feel but don't say to each other - it's modernist, the inner life is central and it feels a few decades older than it is.

I have some questions:
What do you make of David and his intentions? What do you make of all these women and their inner lives, are they realistic?

Ruben wrote: "Finished! Wow, I really raced through the second half - being on holidays helped. It reminded me of a summer ages ago when my father gave me the Garden of the Finzi-Contini. And I was also reminder..."

You're inspiring me to rush to the end this weekend!

Finished! It got a bit post-modern at the end there. Still organizing my thoughts.

Finished and letting the novel set before my comments.

Ruben wrote: "I have some questions:
What do you make of David and his intentions? What do you make of all these women and their inner lives, are they realistic?."

My answer isn't going to be as well-planned as I hoped nor have I time to add my quotes but I have procrastinated enough, and I think my words will contribute some towards an answer to your questions. My feeling is this book is a true Künstlerroman, and by that I mean that all of what we are reading is being shaped and designed to illustrate and emphasize the artist aspect of the narrator. Hence we have rather than a pure reality, a very stylized reality and that stylized picture is also reflected in how the characters are described . The David we see, IMO is more a David designed to represent the reflection of her feelings so if she is feeling romantic, we see a David that fits that picture, and if she is feeling jealous, we see a David that fits that feeling, but overall I am not sure we ever get a clear picture of David or anyone else, only the sketch that fits the artist's mood of the moment. With the sisters, I see them cast more as goddess or nymphs representing certain larger and more abstract ideas. For example Maria could be seen at first as representing sensuality and but later as representing ideas associated with marriage and motherhood, but I see those ideas as the ideas of our narrator so that Maria's marital behavior appears as if she has been penned, trapped, or contained and motherhood while attractive also seems frightening. IMO, those ideas are being magnified by our narrator's feelings. That is my perception of things. I am curious if there are other opinions?

Sam, your take is so fascinating. While it was clear to me it was a writer's book, I wouldn't have phrased it quite in this way.

In terms of Maria, I see her representing the animalistic in the human, which encompasses both sensuality and motherhood. Maria talks frequently of the creatures in the wood and often observes animals and loves that they exist fully in their small lives.

What do you think is going on when the narrative jumps into other perspectives, such as David's mother? This was one of the more interesting things about it for me... that it was mostly Katerina but not all Katerina.

Emmeline wrote: "Sam, your take is so fascinating. While it was clear to me it was a writer's book, I wouldn't have phrased it quite in this way.

In terms of Maria, I see her representing the animalistic in the hu..."

Well I took those jumps to be reflective of the young artist's craftmanship. In other words, the artist is trying to show her skills or individuality. BTW, I read somewhere, that in the original the jumps were separated by three dots if I remember correctly. If someone wants to check me on that, feel free because I can't remember whether I saw it in the introduction or if it was even this novel that I'm referencing. But it is just these types of artistic assertions I associate with Künstlerromans where the young artist is sort of flexing there talent muscles, showing what they can do.

Last post today.

Thanks Sam, I agree that Katerina is looking for her own voice and style as she narrates the story to us. And she evolves and perhaps even improves as a writer and an analyst of feelings, as the novel progresses.

This is also an interesting way of looking at David and indeed of all the characters 'outside' of Katerina's household. An important theme, probably the main theme in fact, is how the three sisters are confined to the house whereas characters such as David, Ruth, the father, but especially the Polish grandmother, represent the outside world, the freedom and courage to choose a different life, which it's not clear the three sisters have. Maria chooses differently, and Katerina is struggling with the choice - a choice that I suspect women only recently acquired in 1940s Greece.

In this vein, I think Infanta is the most interesting thread left hanging.

Whew! I finished before the end of the month. I really enjoyed this read from both the plot and writing standpoint. The focus on the three girls and the voice given to each was interesting. There’s the dreamy, light-hearted traditional girl who follows the expected path, the beautiful, distant aloof girl who may or may not be waiting and watching for something to happen and Katerina, who may be the one to break free and chart her own course.
The inner life of the older mothers and their unrealized dreams was highlighted too. Maybe there’s more to life than getting married and having children, as the Polish Grandmother represented. This is such a woman centric story and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing!
Poor Mr. Louzis! He’s lucky in finance, but unlucky in love. And I loved this quote on pg. 47. “I was always a better person just before I fell asleep.”
Thanks for this lovely summer read.

Melody wrote: "Whew! I finished before the end of the month. I really enjoyed this read from both the plot and writing standpoint. The focus on the three girls and the voice given to each was interesting. There’s..."

Lovely post, Melody. Thanks for highlighting the older mothers and their unrealized dreams too.

I think I saw Maria differently to many others. While on paper it looks like she pursues the traditional path, her interiority was just so curious. There was almost something violent in the way she pursued it, and her loss of interest in her husband seemed so strong; she just seemed to burn up everything in her path, whilst not doing very much. She's kind of like the Polish grandmother in reverse.