One Rainy Day... "Summerwater" by Sarah Moss

"Summerwater" by Sarah Moss

A book review

Summerwater, the latest novel(la) by Sarah Moss, is set in a cabin park in the Trossachs, where several disparate families are on holiday.   Although its ‘action’ is spread over one long (rainy) summer’s day, the novel does not follow a traditional narrative and does not really have a plot – at least, not in the conventional sense.    This notwithstanding, it is very tautly structured, and one of its striking characteristics is its formal elegance.

Each of its short chapters is written from the point of view of one of the residents of the different lodges.  These chapters are, in turn, separated by brief vignettes (barely a page in length), in which the focus shifts to the natural world. Half-way through the novel, we start revisiting each of the cabins, through the thoughts of a different resident, giving the book a vaguely palindromic feel.  The only characters in the story whose viewpoint we do not get to share are, tellingly, the holidaymakers who are seen as outsiders by the rest – a Ukrainian group with a penchant for noisy, boozy parties and an Iraqi war veteran who is staying in a tent in the woods.

Summerwater shares some of its themes with Sarah Moss’s previous novel Ghost Wall. There is an underlying violence, which is only hinted at in the earlier parts of the book and comes to the surface at the end (although not exactly in the way one might expect). There are references to sexual/gender politics and feminist themes, as well as to the issues of racism and xenophobia.   Finally, there’s a Hardyesque sense of “deep time” with the eternal cycles of nature serving as a backdrop to the transient tragedies of man.   Surprisingly, the novel’s stream of consciousness approach leaves for a healthy streak of humour which balances the novel’s darker aspects.

I must admit that, on the whole, I enjoyed Summerwater less than Ghost Wall.  Despite the author’s attempts to differentiate between the characters, the narrative voices seemed too similar, making it difficult to really empathize with the characters.  Yet, there’s still much to admire in the book and, at novella length, it never outstays its welcome. 

Hardcover, 160 pages

Expected publication: August 20th 2020