The culmination of a hugely ambitious and fast-paced literary project, Summer continues the interplay between the recent past and modern day society that marked out Smith's preceding works as so resonant and insightful.
Longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2021
Longlisted for the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction 2021
The unmissable finale to Ali Smith's dazzling literary tour de force: the Seasonal quartet concludes in 2020 with Summer
In the present, Sacha knows the world's in trouble. Her brother Robert just is trouble. Their mother and father are having trouble. Meanwhile the world's in meltdown - and the real meltdown hasn't even started yet. In the past, a lovely summer. A different brother and sister know they're living on borrowed time.
This is a story about people on the brink of change. They're family, but they think they're strangers. So: where does family begin? And what do people who think they've got nothing in common have in common?
Summer.
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
ISBN: 9780241207062
Number of pages: 400
Weight: 514 g
Dimensions: 222 x 144 x 36 mm
An astonishing finale to a prescient series . . . Ali Smith brilliantly weaves strands of joy and celebration to end her Seasonal Quartet - Evening Standard
The first great coronavirus novel - a book to savour, a literary tour de force that captures the nation's psyche exquisitely - Evening Standard
This singular writer has found her moment - Prospect
A maestra's portrait of her age. . . remarkable - Guardian
Few writers today can make a more compelling claim to singularity of innovation and sustained brilliance - TLS
The bravura performance of a writer, poised at the edge of the day's vast darkness, gathering all the warmth and light of our inner summer - The Washington Post
Smith bring[s] this brilliant quartet to a satisfying close - NPR
The final flourish of a mazy and beautiful quartet - Telegraph
Sublime - The Boston Globe
Brilliant - The Scotsman
The novel's hopeful message about the healing power of friendship ensures the quartet ends on a feel-good note - Sunday Times
A remarkable experiment with timeliness in fiction - Literary Review
The last of the seasonal quartet and what a finale. A contemporary novel encompassing the current affairs of 2020 thus far – Brexit, global COVID-19 pandemic, immigration detention centres, homelessness and the murder... More
'Summer' does all the things that Ali Smith does best. Social insight: spot on. Political commentary: forthright. Big serious topics: fearless. Historical / cultural scope: eclectic. Emotional resonance:... More
This is a marvellous and thoughtful novel that captures the horrors of 2020. I came to it without having read the three previous novels. I found it funny, sad, beautiful and so many things in between. I now intend to... More
Please sign in to write a review
Would you like to proceed to the App store to download the Waterstones App?
