The Girls of Summer
Katie Bishop
The Girls of Summer
Katie Bishop
The explosive and conversation-starting book-club debut from a stunning new talent. A book for every woman that turns the idea of ‘the one that got away’ on its head.
‘That place has been my whole life. Everything I thought I knew about myself was constructed in those few months I spent within touching distance of the sea. Everything I am is because Alistair loved me.’
Rachel has been in love with Alistair since she was seventeen. Even though she hasn’t seen him for sixteen years and she’s now married to someone else. Even though she was a teenager when they met. Even though he is twenty years older than her. She’s found it impossible to forget their summer together on a remote, sun-trapped Greek island. Until now.
When Rachel unexpectedly reconnects with a girl that she knew back then, she is forced to re-examine her memories of that golden summer and confront the truth about her relationship with Alistair and about her time working for an enigmatic and wealthy man on the island. And when Alistair returns, the pull of the past could prove impossible to resist…
The Girls of Summer is a compulsive and searching exploration of the complicated nature of memory and trauma, power and consent, victimhood and shame.
Review
Lucie Dess
Seventeen-year-old Rachel is island-hopping with a friend in Greece when she meets charming and handsome Alistair. Rachel falls in love with him, even though he is 20 years older and insists they have to keep their relationship a secret. Flash forward 15 years: Rachel is married to sweet Tom and they are trying to start a family. She should be happy, but her love for Alistair has never faded. On a holiday with her husband to the island, a chance encounter with a girl she met years ago brings back memories of her time that summer. The truth and suppressed secrets start to emerge.
Do not be fooled by the title, this is not a book to read by the side of the pool with a cocktail in hand. This is a suspenseful, heart-wrenching novel about the predatory behaviour of men and the dangers they create for young women.
Switching between ‘now’ and ‘then’, each chapter provides slivers of information, creating tension and intrigue. I grappled with wanting to throw the book across the room and never wanting to put it down. When I wasn’t reading it, I was thinking about it, and ended up sneakily reading pages at my desk as I was desperate to know how it ends.
Rachel is a naive and unreliable narrator. She was incredibly infuriating, but in many instances, she was relatable. I saw my younger self reflected in her and the sympathy I felt was immense.
The Girls of Summer explores sexual assault, abortion, suicide, drugs, #MeToo, power dynamics and how our minds can twist truths and protect us from the traumas we experience. It is well written and addictive and I highly recommend it, but tread carefully.
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