Book Review: The Summer Before the War

The Summer Before the War, by Helen Simonson ... available in our library.

Given the present distress of our nation, this book continually brought tears to my eyes, as the dear folks of Sussex lived their daily lives, and then, with the news of fraught days and the outbreak of war, entered the shadows of demons and death.

But also laughter -laughter aloud -the brilliant reply of a woman to a self-centered man, the lament of an exasperated husband unable to corral his wife, the little moments of delight, humor, and laughter that mark our daily routines -all brought to life on the pages of this monumental book. And it is monumental, in its tribute to the people of that summer, the summer before the war.

The story is a wonder of historical research into what it meant to be woman and a man, with all the social expectations and rules, and all of them especially hard on women.

The book is peopled with heroes and heroines, each in their own striving to make something of themselves, their families, their world. But this is no tale of sweetness, but a tale of what it means, then or now, to be a human being, with one's own foibles, and the constant carnival of human vanity and the struggle for power.

Helen Simonson writes with graceful power ... every word, it seemed to me, well-fit for its task. She captures the mood of the day, the wind in the willows, the cry of a lark, the muffled sobs of sorrow, the crash of war, the ache of the heart, the burden of grief. She's a gifted writer, no doubt. The book ends well, but not easily, as do all our stories.

Acknowledgements at the end, along with an interview with the author, and then questions for group discussion make this an informative book for readers of history, those with an interest in VWV1, and social historians ... and book groups, for sure.

— Tom Eggebeen