ANTIBES: Just imagine it would be an endless summer…. I love all seasons but summer is my favorite and somehow after I have been travelling so much to beautiful places lately, I wish that summer would continue just like this. Being realistic I know it will be over soon and regular office days will be ahead, the days will get shorter and bare legs at night will feel chilly soon. But I have found a way to prolong my beloved and favorite season. I will keep on reading all the books which are filled with summer spirit, stories, characters and images which could only take place in summer. These are my favorite ones and I promise you the summer will go on, at least when you are reading……
Françoise Sagan, Ein bisschen Sonne im kalten Wasser/ Sunlight on Cold Water / Un peu de soleil dans l’eau froide
Summer setting: Limoges, France
Published in 1969, this is the story of Gilles, a womanizer and successful journalist in Paris, whose life starts to unravel, so he heads to his sister in Limoges for the summer. Here he meets and falls in love with Nathalie, the young wife of a wealthy lawyer. The title of the book is a metaphor for their budding relationship, which allows Gilles to live and breathe again.
Truman Capote, Sommerdiebe / Summer Crossing
Summer setting: New York
Truman Capote first novel was thought to be lost for over 50 years, but was eventually recovered and published in 2005. The story takes place in New York City over the course of the hot summer of 1945. Instead of accompanying her wealthy parents on their summer travels to Europe, 17-year-old Grady stays behind in the city in their Fifth Avenue penthouse and begins a love affair with Brooklyn-born Clyde Manzer, a Jewish parking lot attendant. As the summer heats up, so does their romance which eventually heads towards a tragic finale. Capote makes the New York summer heat palpable as two social classes clash.
Paul Theroux, Der Fremde im Palazzo d’Oro / The Stranger at the Palazzo d’Oro
Summer setting: Taormina, Sicily
“Years ago, when Taormina was a village that most travelers avoided in the summer because of the heat, I sought it out to feel the heat.” Theroux’s novella is the torrid summer love story of a young, pennyless American who lands in Taormina in 1962 where a wealthy couple takes an interest in him and invites him to Palazzo d’Oro. In the grueling Sicilian summer heat begins a passionate amour fou between the young man and the beautiful, haughty countess.
Deborah Levy, Heim schwimmen / Swimming Home
Summer setting: French Riviera
A mysterious house guest at a villa in the south of France causes complications, erotic and otherwise. British novelist Deborah Levy follows the events and experiences of poet Joe Jacobs, when his family vacation is interrupted by a fan. What could be a holiday idyll is turned upside down, when the enigmatic young woman fuels the tension and conflicts between Joe, his wife and daughter and their friends.
Related Links:
Françoise Sagan, Un peu de soleil dans l’eau froide
Truman Capote, Summer Crossing
Paul Theroux, The Stranger at the Palazzo d’Oro