Summerlong

Summerlong
Peter S. Beagle, 2016

New Release! I received a copy of this book from NetGalley for the purpose of review.

Premise: Abe and Joanna like their life. He’s retired, she’s finishing out her career. She has her place in Seattle, but they spend plenty of time at his place on Gardner Island. It’s a quiet, normal life until they meet Lioness.

This is not the first book I’ve read set in Seattle since moving here, but it is the most evocative. The city and Puget Sound are beautifully and accurately described.

The descriptions are the best part of this book, and they are truly lovely. The picture of the places, the feelings, the people, are all gorgeously nuanced.

Lioness is a mysterious young woman who appears working at a restaurant on the island. People are drawn to her, trust her without thinking. Mysterious things happen around her, flowers bloom, animals and children react to her. Joanna’s grown daughter Lily is immediately in love.

It’s a melancholy, thoughtful book about the effect impossible, mythic beings have on normal people. It’s about going after what you want, and what you give up when you do.

It is lovely, and it has a very boring reveal in it.

It’s unfortunate, really, because I do like the book and I think it’s very good, but I just found the reveal of who Lioness is… boring.

It’s still lovely, and it has possibly the best description I’ve found about how I feel about walking through crowds.

4 Stars - A Very Good Book