| Love and Summer | |
| Author: | William Trevor |
| Country: | Ireland |
| Language: | English |
| Genre: | Novel |
| Publisher: | Viking Press |
| Release Date: | 2009 |
| Media Type: | Print (Hardcover & Paperback) |
| Pages: | 212 pp. |
| Isbn: | 978-0-670-91824-9 |
| Preceded By: | The Story of Lucy Gault |
Love and Summer is a 2009 novel written by William Trevor. It was long-listed for the Booker prize.[1] The story takes place in the fictitious town of Rathmoye in Ireland during the 1950s. It concerns the illicit love between a photographer and the young married wife of a farmer.
Ellie and her farmer husband Dillahan live a quiet life near the town of Rathmoye. She is a foundling who was raised in an orphanage by Catholic nuns and is the second wife of Dillahan, who earlier had killed his first wife and child in an accident.
During the funeral of Mrs Connulty at Rathmoye a stranger, Florian Kilderry, asks Ellie for direction to the burned down cinema, and their brief conversation is noticed by Miss Connulty, Mrs Connulty's spinster daughter, who determines that the two have struck out a love relationship based on this tenuous encounter. Florian, a photographer, and Ellie begin to notice each other and soon a love affair spanning the languid summer takes place, as the couple remember their lives lived up to that point.
Upon release, Love and Summer was generally well-received. On The Omnivore, based on British press reviews, the book received an "omniscore" of 4.5 out of 5.[2] Culture Critic gave it an aggregated critic score of 87 percent based on British and American press reviews.[3] In Bookmarks November/December 2009 issue, a magazine that aggregates critic reviews of books, the book received a (4.5 out of 5) based on critic reviews with the critical summary saying, "Trevor is a master storyteller, and Love and Summer exhibits all the hallmarks of his most luminous works: his stark and graceful prose; his profound insight into the human heart; and his hauntingly authentic characters, precisely sketched in just a few short lines".[4]