Bill Blume’s Reviews > The Last Summer of the World > Status Update

Not much left in the book, and it makes me wonder just what Mitchell is building to with it. Somehow, I don't see how a take such as this can have a happy ending.

Marion's reaction to the train journey to get away from the war mimics my reaction to finishing any of the Pre-war storyline: relief. I see her more as a victim, caught in the middle of the Steichens troubles. Mitchell paints this marriage's woes as inevitable.

Mitchell brings in details of the battle in WWI, and that she takes the time to do it intrigues me. One could argue that it doesn't really seem to be important to the main conflict of the novel, but we shall see. I suspect it is, and I am curious to see where she goes with this.

And so the book reaches the scene of betrayal. Honestly, I think I expected more from it. That the book had put it off for so long, I think I expected it to come closer to the end. I'm curious if this means there is some moment even more important and climatic to come in the Pre-war storyline.

The closer the story draws to where Clara decides Edward and Marion are having an affair, the less certain I am that I want to see it. On the one hand, I'm no sure what the point in withholding that moment from the reader is, and certainly it builds up the expectation for just how bad it will really be.

I find I often need to pause before reading the portions which are set Pre-war. This isn't a criticism of Mitchell's writing. If anything, it's a testament to how closely she strikes the emotional chord of this troubled marriage. For my purposes, I need to read it quickly in preparation for the JRW Conference, but this isn't a book meant to be read in a race. This book demands the reader pause and reflect.

And so we finally draw to the time where Edward really steps into the shyte and falls face-first into it. Each step back in time makes the return the war all the more welcome.

The more I learn about "Pre-War Edward," the more I want the Germans to take him out like a punk. Of course, I don't think I'd shed tears if Clara got taken out with him.

An interesting perception of what war/conflict do to men: that it forces people to abandon the things and people they love most, sacrificing their individuality.

I can see why I like the WWI scenes (most of them) better. In those, the main character is easier to like because he is focused on a war with goals that are clearly noble and necessary. Beyond those moments, he's not very likable as a man.