The Summer House: A Novel

By Marcia Willett

Book Overview

For years, Marcia Willett has touched readers with her poignant novels about the intricacies of friendship and family. Now, in The Summer House , she explores the secrets that families keep, and the decisions, made in an instant, that can change our lives. Matt has always felt that there was something missing in his life. His mother kept all his childhood memories in a small inlaid wooden box, along with many photos of Matt as a child. But something about these photos has always puzzled Matt. Why doesn't he remember those clothes? The toys? And where, in the photos, is his sister Imogen? Meanwhile, Imogen is living with her husband and their baby in a rented cottage. Ever since she was a child, she has loved the Summer House, a charming cottage on the grounds of a beautiful and ancient house in Exmoor. When she has a chance to buy but her husband refuses to move, Imogen begins to question the seemingly picturesque life she has built for herself. Eventually, the Summer House provides the key to the strange and tragic secret which has affected everyone involved.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1250030455
• ISBN13: 9781250030450
• Release Date: July 2013
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.2" x 0.9" x 5.9"

Customer Reviews

Comforting Family Saga in the Marcia Willett Tradition

When it comes to multi-generational stories of quiet, unassuming Brits, Marcia Willett always can be counted on to deliver an engrossing tale. Combining the elderly and the youthful, she lovingly portrays three generations of family living simple, unadorned lives in relative tranquility. As always, however, she is able to inject the dark times that shake that tranquility and cast long shadows to the normal sunshine. This story centers on Matt, a young and successful writer, who must deal with his life-long feelings of a missing link in his life. Midway through the book, the conclusion he reaches sounds rather preposterous until a Russian cat sculpture lends credence not to what he assumed was the answer to his lifelong feeling of loneliness but to the real story with all its heart-wrenching repercussions. Supporting Matt in his explorations are Lottie and Milo, an oddly matched but charming couple, the outspoken Venetia, and Matt's sister Imogene with her husband Jules and their daughter Rosie. There is also Matt's love interest, the unfortunate Annabel whom readers will love to hate. Best of all, there is Pickles, a charming little kitten who wanders into Matt's life. Having read all of Marcia Willett's books filled with dogs, this cat person was delighted that she has at last added a feline to the menagerie. Although the book had a major unanswered question for me that I won't mention as it would be a major spoiler, I still found this to be all I hope for in a Marcia Willett novel and would be thrilled to come across these characters again in a future story. The charming Summer House of the title is filled with possibilities and I hope to see it again.