BOOK REVIEW: Summer By Ali Smith

BOOK REVIEW: Summer By Ali Smith

After thrilling readers with her novels, Autumn, Winter, and Spring, Ali Smith’s seasonal Quartet finally comes to an end with Summer. This sensational story of the Scottish author delivers on its promises, as it maintains the same captivating and Intriguing attributes we’ve come to expect from the previous three books.

Summer ties up the loose ends left from prior works, Winter and Autumn, as it expands on its characters, including individuals who didn’t play critical roles until now. That isn’t saying this latest and final addition to the Quartet piece doesn’t have a leg of its own, but combining all four novels leaves you with nothing less than a masterpiece.

Summer By Ali Smith makes for a good read and can be a great avenue to de-stress or unwind. While reading this book, it’s common for students to get caught up in its intriguing story and end up forgetting about writing their college essays. This scenario leaves many asking the question of who can do my essay for me now, or where to write my paper fast?  Getting aid from a top essay writing service in their papers is a reliable and smart way for Australian students to achieve academic success without burning out.

The Allure of Summer By Ali Smith

Many students in Australia have little knowledge of how to write a book critique or review. The crucial information one should contain includes the strengths, weaknesses, and a discussion of the listed aspects. You can also add any additional information you feel are key elements of the story as you’d find on a book summary example online.

Here’s a summary of the crucial elements in Summer by Ali Smith.

The Story

Summer features multiple recurring characters and groups with a few being non-fictional. The organization S4A4 (it’s a play of words here, as the faceless multinationals group actually stands for Smith Ali Quartet Autumn) also plays a role in the story’s plot. We get to see this agency hatch plans of sending the homeless to London and also coordinate an attack on Robert’s mother. The presence and agenda of S4A4 is a threat type that occurs all through the entire titles of the literary series.

The story is set in the context of a society recovering from the aftermath of a pandemic and delivers a message of hope. The concept of space and time is a major theme in the book as we see interactions between characters from different timelines and a time capsule. Members of the Greenlaw family are appealing with each portraying one or more of the underlying themes of the author.

It’s easy for readers to get lost in the second act, especially if you haven’t read through the previous three books. Here, Smith introduces characters and themes from Autumn, Spring, and Winter. But the final act sets things back on track. It exposes you to the connection not just to the previous sections, but also how decisions from previous books played into crucial events in the Quartet.

Different Decades

Who doesn’t love to look back at the previous society, as all four books feature different timelines? Previous work, Autumn, Winter, and Spring, handled the 1960s,1980s, and 1920s respectively. Ali Smith’s latest addition to her literary fiction Quartet, Summer, features the 1940s.

Societal Topics Ali Smith Handles in Summer

We have to commend Ali Smith’s ability to portray current real-life issues in her literary works. She doesn’t disappoint or falter in her latest piece as she tackles multiple subjects such as the events surrounding the Corona Virus pandemic and the hostile immigration system. There are also parts of this book that highlights the tragic death of George Floyd at the hands of the city police. The first three books addressed issues such as the appointment of Trump as president, Brexit complications, and more.

Smith carries us on a journey of the unveiling, as she enlightens readers about the similarities between the immigration camps of the 1940s with their present equivalents. These comparisons take place against a backdrop of readers having a sense of internment, due to the lockdown many nations imposed to combat the spread of the Covid-19 virus.

The Scottish author also addresses multiple other topics in her book, many of which she shares with other famous authors. Her epigraph includes excerpts from Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, and an Eduardo Boubat reference.

Final Thoughts

You can read Summer or any of the other titles in the Quartet, and still get enthralled with the amazing storytelling. Many college students write essays on many of the themes discussed by Smith, as the most border around real societal issues, such as Brexit, Corona Virus, immigration, and more. There are multiple Smith and noble reviews that identify and explain many of them. Reading all four books will give you a deeper understanding of their links. 

Xsnoize Author
Mark Millar is the founder of XS Noize and looks after the daily running of the website as well as hosting interviews for the weekly XS Noize Podcast. Mark's favourite album is Achtung Baby by U2.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*