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By the time I reached the end of this book I not only knew what was going to happen, I knew exactly what the last sentence would look like. There was also the interesting division between the island people, like Effie, and the people who lived at Lord Dumfries’ estate. Not only the class division but even the lifestyle division between Effie and the servants of the house. I was surprised at how frustrated I ended up being on Effie’s behalf because of how little the servants understood her position. They had never experienced St. Kilda and didn’t bother to try and look at things from Effie’s perspective and how difficult it would have been to leave everything she knew behind and start somewhere new that was entirely foreign to her. She was the one who had to adapt and adjust her behaviours, not them. And that bothered me! It definitely shows how talented Swan is when it comes to creating characters you really care about. After losing her mother and her brother it is just her and her father, with poor health, surviving and she is desperate for her father's attention as not being his son Effy has to compete with the male islanders to provide for her father. The story is told in a series of letters which is a very effective narrative. The reader gets to see inside the home of the von Rasimkara family, gaining an understanding of the political stand point of them all and also building up a relationship which each family member. Whilst the reader knows that the author of each letter has their own viewpoint, prejudiced or otherwise, the story told through the letters creates shades and nuances to allow the reader to build up a fuller picture of the tale. The story is threaded with sadness as the reader knows the true intent of Lyu from the outset and all that can be done is to sit and wait for the inevitable, all the while, forming a relationship with the intended victim and his family.
The story starts out by introducing us to three friends, Effie, Flora and Mhairi who live on the island of St. Kilda off the northern coast of Scotland, set in the year 1930. We’re introduced to their primitive and rustic ways of life, tending sheep, knitting, fishing and climbing the cliffs around the island. The island’s main source of income (and excitement) comes from the tourists that visit the island to witness how this community lives. The story primarily follows Effie, who becomes the tour guide for a wealthy earl, staying on the island for a week. She strikes up a friendship with the son of the earl and a romance blooms between the two of them. When the inhabitants of St. Kilda are evacuated to the mainland by the government, Effie never would have imagined that she would end up living in the home of this earl and his son! Adapting to this new way of life, some unresolved feelings and learning of a murder that took place on the island before they all left are just some of the things Effie has to deal with in her new home. En als haar dat al niet genoeg stress oplevert, verandert haar leven nóg meer als zij - samen met de 35 andere inwoners van dit eiland - wordt geëvacueerd naar de bewoonde wereld. Plots moet ze zien te wennen aan 'simpele' dingen die zij nog nooit heeft gekend als trappen in een huis, spiegels om jezelf in te bewonderen tot veel keuze bij de slager. Thanks to Peirene Press for an ARC of the English translation of Ricarda Huch's Der letzte Sommer. Not easy to capture the German of 1910! Overall, The Last Summer is a beautifully written, incredibly atmospheric, brilliant start to a new series by Swan that I absolutely devoured, highly recommend, and is hands down one of my favourite reads of the year.
Member Reviews
I love Elizabeth Bennet dearly but Alice is where it’s at for me. I want to be her. She’s so kind and gentle and lovely. I love the dynamic between the three of them. I want to run to Fire Island and find my own Paul. I want to hunt crab and see the different kinds of beaches and eat egg sandwiches while the sun comes up. There is a sense of Chekhov about Huch's remarkable book as the different viewpoints, ideas and ideologies circle round each other and overlap, with the difficulties gradually confronting the radical student on his deadly mission making it a story which touches at the heart of humanity. There’s a little in this for everyone – there’s a mystery that runs through the second half of the story, where someone meets their demise and there are investigations into it. There’s also a bit of romance although I’m not really sure about that portion of the story. I actually thought a much better match for Effie came from one of the men working for the Earl, as I never really warmed to the one that seemed to be end game. I just really didn’t like the way Effie was treated at certain stages and felt like the excuses for such things were very poor (but to be honest, probably not unrealistic). The last summer is the story of Clarissa, only daughter of the wealthy Granville family, who are the owners of Deyning, a vast and decadent country estate. For seventeen year old Clarissa,Deyning is the only world she has ever really known, and she spends her days in a blissful, innocent haze; however the glass bubble of her world is about to shattered as the growing threat of war draws ever nearer. Before then, however, she is afforded one last, glorious summer, surrounded by her family, her beloved brothers, and it is then that she meets Tom Cuthbert. TOm is the housekeeper's son, studying at Oxford, and though they come from different worlds, there is an undeniable connection between them. Yet their romance is only blossoming when war breaks out, a war that will forever change all their lives and leave Clarissa yearning for that long ago summer. Will Clarissa and Tom's love for each other survive the war and the social barriers between them; or will that too merely fade into a memory? Admittedly, it takes some time to warm to the epistolary style, which feels disjointed and confusing to begin with, but once you understand who is who and work out their role in the narrative, it all comes together beautifully — and the final letter punches a particularly devastating blow.
The irony is that his son is very sympathetic to the student protestors (it occurred at his university) and he is not shy about voicing his own radical opinions to his father. Initially I thought I would struggle with the narration being such a strong Scottish accent, however, within minutes I was hooked and I feel that it actually bought more delight and realism to the characters in this already delightful book. The story starts on a small remote island off the North of Scotland called St kilder, set in the 1930s, with the inhabitants living in a manner we could not even imagine with no idea of mainland life. They are all controlled by a few misely characters and currency is materials.When the residents of St Kilda ask to be evacuated from their remote island home in the summer of 1930, it’s in search of a better life on mainland Scotland compared to the scratch existence on their mountain in the sea. Maybe this is all satire. Something about privilege, aristocrats, new ideas versus entrenched ideologies. A dramatic start to a gripping new series set on the Scottish island of St Kilda. The Last Summer is meticulously researched and beautifully told by one of our most prolific and talented writers. It contains all the ingredients of a wonderfully satisfying read: love, passion, drama, violence, menace and peril, and characters you fall in love with - and some you hate! Happily, this is the start of a series so your longing for more will be fulfilled.
Yegor van Rasimkara, the governor of St Petersburg closes the university and imprisons some radical students. He receives death threats and as a result his wife Lusinya hires a bodyguard, Lyu to protect him whilst his family vacation at their summer home. But little does she realise that Lyu sides with the students. Has she invited the viper into the nest?Lord Sholto has lead a privileged life but when he and his father visit the island they do not show airs and graces as Effie acts as tour guide to the visitors. Sholto falls for Effie the minute he sees her and Effie dreams there may be a life for her off the island. Riley is especially immature; at twenty-five she still makes a career out of being a lifeguard and has yet to enter into any sort of romantic relationship. But she’s always been the leader, encouraging her sister Alice and her best friend Paul to cling to childhood traditions and to reject the pretentiousness of adult pleasures. Because they love her they agree, but everything becomes more complicated when Paul and Alice fall in love. Guilt compels them to keep their relationship hidden from Riley. However, when Riley becomes seriously ill the strength of their love is tested, and the bonds both of family and friendship are put into question. Oh by the way, the new guy’s actually an assassin on a mission to kill said official, with a seemingly highly risky penchant for frequent letter writing to someone about how he is doing to do it.
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