A BEST BOOK OF JANUARY: O Magazine
A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR in the UK: The Guardian, The Times
"[Moss] writes beautifully about... souls in tumult, about people
whose lives have not turned out the way they'd hoped. . .There's little
doubt, reading Moss, that you're in the hands of a sophisticated and
gifted writer. --Dwight Garner, The New York Times
**
The acclaimed author of Ghost Wall offers a new, devastating,
masterful novel of subtle menace**
They rarely speak to each other, but they take notice--watching from the
safety of their cabins, peering into the half-lit drizzle of a Scottish
summer day, making judgments from what little they know of their
temporary neighbors. On the longest day of the year, the hours pass
nearly imperceptibly as twelve people go from being strangers to
bystanders to allies, their attention forced into action as tragedy
sneaks into their lives.
At daylight, a mother races up the mountain, fleeing into her precious
dose of solitude. A retired man studies her return as he reminisces
about the park's better days. A young woman wonders about his politics
as she sees him head for a drive with his wife, and tries to find a
moment away from her attentive boyfriend. A teenage boy escapes the
scrutiny of his family, braving the dark waters of the loch in a kayak.
This cascade of perspective shows each wrapped up in personal concerns,
unknown to each other, as they begin to notice one particular family
that doesn't seem to belong. Tensions rise, until nightfall brings an
irrevocable turn.
From Sarah Moss, the acclaimed author of *Ghost Wall--*a "riveting"
(Alison Hagy, The New York Times Book Review) "sharp tale of suspense"
(Margaret Tablot, The New Yorker), Summerwater is a searing
exploration of our capacity for kinship and cruelty, and a gorgeous
evocation of the natural world that bears eternal witness.
