 | Summertime (2002)The sequel to Raffaella Barker's extremely popular Hens Dancing is a six-month snapshot of the life of Venetia Summers and her three children. Deserted by her "tower-of-strength" boyfriend David, Venetia spends the summer waiting for him to return, lonely and hurt that he seems to be taking his time. Don't be fooled into thinking that she's just going to sit and mope. Although it would be pushing it to describe Summertime as action-packed--too much of the novel takes place on the school run or in the knot garden for that--Venetia's life races along and the months soon skip past. There are three eccentric children to ferry about, the ex-husband and his Internet pet cemetery to contend with and a new neighbour--the elusive Hedley Sale, complete with monobrow and dandruff. |
Written in a clipped diary style, Summertime is packed with moments city dwellers only dream about. Afternoons in the garden of a beautiful Norfolk cottage, impulsive trips to hear nightingales, Easter egg hunts and moonlit nights stuffed with stars. Although they're a privileged lot--the children tell jokes about Beethoven--they're endearing and lovers of Katie Fforde, Mavis Cheek and Joanna Trollope should snap this up. Especially if they're partial to a cheeky parrot with a fruity wolf whistle and a mean sense of rhythm.
“The comic voices are virtuoso…Summertime is a mood-altering book; as light and bright and optimistic as the days it celebrates.”
Polly Sampson Independent
“My advice is not to read Summertime in public. You’ll giggle, you’ll snort, you’ll make an exhibition of yourself…… I loved Hens Dancing and this is better yet.”
Country Life