Love and Summer

This was Trevor's last work, although he did complete further short stories before his death. It's as good as anything he's written. As ever, Trevor is superlative in creating an atmosphere, most typically (as in this work) of a small town community. It can be claustrophobic; no one's business is private, even if it is really in the inner thoughts of his characters that Trevor is arguably at his strongest. His protagonists are often (again the case here) marginalised or misunderstood. These dynamics help create the Chekovian/Joycean backdrop against which the action unfolds. As the title suggests, the focus in this novel is on a brief summer romance. While it does create (primarily internal) turmoil, the genius of the book is that by its conclusion all the characters feel as if freed, uplifted into a new state where they can find a happiness or meaning that they did not know previously existed. Told in Trevor's carefully chosen words, much (emotion) is packed successfully into this short novel. 8 and a half out of 10.

By William Trevor