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Summerwater

By: Sarah Moss
Narrated by: Morven Christie
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Summary

The Sunday Times top 10 best seller.

From the acclaimed author of Ghost Wall, Summerwater is a devastating story told over 24 hours in the Scottish highlands and a searing exploration of our capacity for both kinship and cruelty in these divided times.

On the longest day of the summer, 12 people sit cooped up with their families in a faded Scottish cabin park. The endless rain leaves them with little to do but watch the other residents.

A woman goes running up the Ben as if fleeing; a retired couple reminisces about neighbours long since moved on; a teenage boy braves the dark waters of the loch in his red kayak.

Each person is wrapped in their own cares but increasingly alert to the makeshift community around them. One particular family, a mother and daughter without the right clothes or the right manners, starts to draw the attention of the others. Tensions rise and all watch on, unaware of the tragedy that lies ahead as night finally falls.

©2020 Sarah Moss (P)2020 Macmillan Publishers International Ltd
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Critic reviews

"Sharp, searching, thoroughly imagined, utterly of the moment...it throws much contemporary writing into the shade." (Hilary Mantel)

"Nothing escapes her sly humour and brilliant touch. Deft and brimming with life, Summerwater is a novel of endless depth. A masterpiece." (Jessie Burton, author of The Miniaturist)

What listeners say about Summerwater

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Lots of bad language and unnecessary sexual references

Disappointed. Ended very abruptly. Use of bad language throughout substituted for good story line. Also same applies to use of sexual references.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Perfect for a rainy weekend.

Great characters - each had their own chapter so you see the world from their points of view and also as they see each other. Moments of gripping drama, of amusement and of reflection and a cast of diverse characters - a great achievement in a short book. Perfectly narrated.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Too short

This felt like only half a story. I really enjoyed the book and the narration is excellent but I felt 'short-changed' by the abrupt ending. I wanted to know so much more about the characters. If this was a TV drama, it was deliberately set up for a sequel.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Powerful

Another stunning novel from Moss. Series of interlinking stories set at a holiday park in Scotland, amidst intense weather and following the holiday residents across one day. She inhabits all of the protagonists incredibly well, all with their own unique perceptions. At the same time the novel moves forward almost like a thriller towards a powerful ending.

Perfect read of the book by the narrator.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Atmospheric book

I enjoyed the rhythm of this book and the touching on characters that allowed for you fill the gaps. I found the wet damp feeling expressed fantastically but it made me feel cold and depressed at times.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

a bit like final destination but less spectacular

it was a bit like that film where you try and guess how people end up dying in an accident - Final Destination. The characters were all really irritating. Maybe that was the point? Good writer though. I thought that she was especially good at describing stones and nature.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Loved it!

This book had the feel of many short stories. Little vignettes of the people staying in a holiday park, in Scotland, in the pouring rain. All brought together for a shocking finale. Great stuff, beautifully narrated. Highly recommended.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Deceptively simple portrait of now

Possibly my favourite read (or listen) this year, it shares the quiet insight of Robert Macfarlane and Ali Smith. It also proves that you don’t need a sprawling plot and hundreds of pages to create a beautiful, lyrical tale. Some of the inner monologues are embarrassingly familiar and some are very funny. At times there’s cruelty and bigotry too but each thumbnail sketch is entirely believable. If I’ve a criticism, it’s that I wasn’t so keen on the ending as there seemed to be a deliberate lack of information. However Morvern Christie did a great job of making the narration seem easy.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Absolutely Brilliant

I loved this. Really liked the narrator too. Loved the setting, the mood, the message of this very of- the -moment book.

I only couldn't award 5 stars as I wanted more! It was just too short .. I felt I was just getting started ... But in some ways this has also left me reflecting a lot. I guess the strange thing about audio is sometimes you don't realise the book is ending soon in the same way as with a physical book!

I'd love to see this as a theatre adaptation. I think it would work so well in an Alan Bennet talking heads style!

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Good

There is no doubt Sarah Moss is a talented author. I thought the characters in the book were well manufactured & I conjured up scenes having witnessed constant rain in. Scotland The Tidal Zone still remains my favourite.

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