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Love and Summer Audiobook
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(3.01) - 1,590 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
An author who has received international critical acclaim for his exquisite prose, William Trevor saw his novel The Story of Lucy Gault short-listed for the prestigious Booker Prize. Love and Summer tells the tale of Ellie Dillahan, an orphan entered into a bleak future with the man she wed. As the story unfolds, Ellie's life is thrown into tumult by a fateful encounter with another man. "What other living writer could so regularly follow his own masterpieces . with another and another?"-New York Times Book Review
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"Beautiful writing. Terribly sad story. The short novel is rather demanding and requires patient reading, but its themes and ideas are worth pondering. Set in Ireland, it concerns an Anglo-Irish family affected in a tragic way by the "troubles" of the uprising against British rule. "
— Jean (4 out of 5 stars)
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“A delicate sort of drama—there is no corpse in the basement, no bomb lies hidden in any drawer—but even so, a reader will have his heart in his mouth for the last fifty pages. And when the heart settles back down, it will be broken and satisfied…A thrilling work of art.”
— New York Times Book Review -
“When Trevor chooses to leave the inner mind of a character, he lingers on aspects of the physical world, and in this way we live where these people do. He lingers over the way that Miss Connulty prepares food for her overnight lodgers. He lingers on Ellie’s own domestic duties, and on the dogs that are part of the Dillahan farm. He lingers on the moments that tell us the summer is moving by. Mostly, and most important, what Trevor does is make us believe and care…This is what we feel in Trevor’s strong, able, and exquisitely gentle storytelling hands.”
— Washington Post -
“It’s from the subtle yet ferocious specificity of this story that its power rises…The ordinary throughout is presented as instances of paradise just about to be reached. That Trevor allows his characters so much is not only due to the innate generosity for which he is justly worshipped as a writer, but to a new grace again, something further, that marks this book as particular, miraculous; in it old matters are made new, transformed, redeemed.”
— Guardian (London) -
“Masterful…His prose precisely nuanced and restrained, Trevor depicts a society beginning to loosen itself from the Church’s implacable condemnation of sexual immorality.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review) -
“Jim Norton captures the ache and longing that permeate William Trevor’s marvelous new novel…Trevor has written a timeless tale of love found, lost, and perhaps found again. Set in rural Ireland among farmers of few words and watchful shopkeepers, the story is sharp, sweet, and painfully perceptive. Norton uses just enough vocal variations for us to keep the characters straight and narrates in an accent subtly influenced by the Emerald Isle. His tone, at once gentle and solemn, would suit the recitation of a myth, which of course, this is.”
— AudioFile -
“Trevor…matches an exquisite but never precious prose style with wise psychological understanding of the fluster beneath the surface of ordinary lives…Extraordinary.”
— Booklist -
“Trevor’s latest is rich in dazzling imagery, especially variations on light, illumination, and reflection, and unforgettable character…Another masterly work from one of our greatest contemporary novelists.”
— Library Journal -
“The poignancy of life worn down at the elbows, Trevor’s signature note, gently animates another masterpiece…An archetypal Irish love story and a perfect novel—sweet, desperate, sad, unforgettable.”
— Kirkus Reviews (starred reviews)
Awards
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A New York Times bestseller
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Longlisted for the 2009 Man Booker Prize
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Shortlisted for the 2011 International Dublin Literary Award
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One of the 2009 New York Times Book Review 100 Notable Books for Fiction
Love and Summer Listener Reviews
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" Sigh. Do books like this get more or less painful as you grow older? "
— Daniel, 2/5/2014 -
" I have always enjoyed William Trevor's writing. He has a real ability to flesh out characters. This is a gentle slow moving tale but full of small inspirations "
— Anne, 2/3/2014 -
" I am very fond of his writing and his style. Having said that, this was not one of his finest efforts. Worthwhile though. "
— Mary, 2/3/2014 -
" horridly boring, torturous even. "
— Jessica, 1/31/2014 -
" Beautiful writing. I was previously unfamiliar with Trevor's work. Although it is a slight novel at 220+ pages, reading this book for me became a gentle, quiet pleasure. Trevor is an elegant, evocative writer...his prose sweeps you gracefully up and carries you along with its finely observed, poetic specificity. It's a bittersweet tale. Melancholic, Post-War Irish. "
— Shawn, 1/30/2014 -
" an enjoyable, quiet little book. basic plot concerns a love affair (left unconsummated until the very end --again, think quiet) in a small irish village. trevor makes great use of "will-the-husband-find-out" tension and manages to resolve a story of passion and betrayal in a fresh way. a great read if you're sick of over-the-top storylines and prose. "
— Carolyn, 1/23/2014 -
" This was a quiet little book-- should the woman follow the man she falls in love with, or stay with her husband, a man of quiet grief? It was well written but didn't really capture me. "
— Sarah, 1/17/2014 -
" A quiet, meditative book about love and memory. Trevor builds his subtle story with silence and illuminated small moments hiding hidden depths. "
— Corey, 1/11/2014 -
" Sadly beautiful. In just over 200 pps Trevor weaves several moving strands of loss and regret. "
— Eric, 12/17/2013 -
" Beautifully written book that has left me with some lingering questions. "
— Grace, 12/13/2013 -
" Excellent, another fine one from trevor. He can say so much with so few words. "
— Jen, 11/6/2013 -
" I found this book to be so boring that it's a miracle that I managed to finish it. I guess my hate for not finishing a book that I've started got the better of me. The story has a few emotional moments but, mostly, I just didn't get it. "
— Hank, 11/2/2013 -
" What beautiful prose, what painterly attention to detail and emotions. I wanted it to go on and on. An exquisite portrayal of a vanished Ireland. "
— Shelley, 11/1/2013 -
" This was alright. Large portions that were useless. Editted down, this would have made a much better short story. "
— Lacey, 6/11/2013 -
" I adore everything William Trevor writes, and while this wasn't my favorite of his work, it was beautifully written. "
— Jennifer, 5/6/2013 -
" Such a simple, genuine friendship turned to love, and written with such insight into the hearts and minds of small town villages--a beautiful and tender suprise ending. "
— June, 1/14/2013 -
" Love William Trevor. I moving story of a small town and forbidden love. "
— Debra, 12/2/2012 -
" I liked this book, it is a gentle, beautifully written love story. I don't think it has quite the punch that Lucy Gault had, but still a pleasant read "
— Kathy, 8/17/2012 -
" Another elegaic tale that leaves you wondering what could have happened if William Trevor had taken different turns in his narrative. He beautifully evokes summertime rural Ireland in the middle of the last century and leaves you with a sad ache when you put the book down. "
— Sandra, 6/16/2012 -
" It took a while for me to warm up to this book, and I had to set it aside and start it again but it was a nice (albeit a little sad) story about love. "
— Jane, 1/31/2012 -
" A gem. It is very short and beautifully written. The Irish scenery is so well described that you feel you are there. The characters are so sympathetic you want to meet them. "
— Sheila, 3/19/2011 -
" I read this in one afternoon. It was a great afternoon. "
— Anna, 2/25/2011 -
" Exquisite understanding of the human heart. "
— Theresa, 12/27/2010 -
" Subtlety is lost on me. And so was most of this book. If something happened, just TELL me it happened already! "
— Hannah, 11/28/2010 -
" After everything I read about this book, I felt very let down. While I found it to be very beautifully written, I could not get excited about any aspect of the story. It reminded me a lot of Carson McCullers...I know it's great literature, I know I should love it, but I really have no interest. "
— Jennifer, 11/21/2010 -
" I LOVE this man's writing! I wish he were more prolific. The Story of Lucy Gault, Felicia's Journey and this one were all beautiful. "
— Laurie, 8/23/2010 -
" I love William Trevor. This story is so sad, and beautifully written, though not his most polished. "
— Katie, 6/28/2010 -
" William Trevor. A class by himself. "
— Karen, 6/15/2010 -
" I didn't love this book at first. But it came together for me as it drew to a close. Trevor's portrayal of Miss Connulty and her regret, and her love and fear for Ellie who she hardly knows, is masterful. "
— Lauren, 4/30/2010 -
" Winner of the 1983 Whitbread Award. A sad lyrical tale about the tragedies suffered by an Ango-Irish family in the years following World War I. I am glad to have discovered the remarkable William Trevor. "
— Kathryn, 4/24/2010 -
" great old style novel of ireland and england after WW1. in style of banville, mcguane, and gardam, slow, steady, but poignant. (really, the precedding are in the style of william trevor) "
— Tuck, 9/21/2009 -
" The first William Trevor I read. Now I will read anything this author writes. "
— Eileen, 3/30/2008
About William Trevor
William Trevor is the author of nearly
thirty books, including Felicia’s Journey,
which won the Whitbread Book of the Year Award and was made into a major motion
picture. In 1996 he was the recipient of the Lannan Award for Fiction, and in
2001 he won the Irish Times Literature Prize for Fiction. Two of his books were
chosen by the New York Times as best
books of the year, and his short stories appear regularly in the New Yorker. In
1997 he was named Honorary Commander of the British Empire. He lives in Devon,
England.
About Jim Norton
Jim Norton, one of Ireland’s leading actors, has worked regularly on Joycean topics—and particularly Ulysses—during his long career. Born and brought up in Dublin, he spent his early acting years in Irish radio and quickly moved on to film, television, and theater. Norton won a 2007 Olivier Award and a 2008 Tony Award for The Seafarer and has appeared in The Weir, for which he was nominated for a Tony; Finian’s Rainbow; Juno and the Paycock; Dublin Carol; and Port Authority, among many others acclaimed stage productions. Film appearances include Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Water for Elephants, Straw Dogs, Hidden Agenda, Driving Lessons, and The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. Norton has also recorded many audiobooks and the complete works of James Joyce for Naxos AudioBooks, which won a Sony Award.