A Summer in the Country

Rating:
Summary: A gentle untangling of relationships
Review: Author Marcia Willett has an uncanny ability to see deeply into her characters and to communicate their essence to the reader. In this book Brigid is a woman who has always resented her mother for deserting her as a child, but who always adored the father who raised her. Upon his death, she inherited his estate and converted it into guest cottages which she and her husband rent out. Despite her resentment towards her mother, Frummie, she allows her to live in one of the cottages. She also resents her half-sister Jemima who lives nearby and who seems utterly irresponsible to Brigid. Brigid's husband Humphrey is in the navy and is gone most of the time, but they still manage to have a loving marriage. Humphrey has a difficult relationship with his father Alexander, who remarried very soon after Humphrey's beloved mother died. Alexander comes to stay for a few weeks and he proves to be the catalyst to healing relationships between Brigid, Frummie, and Jemima. Another important character is Louise, a boarder, who has become good friends with Brigid. She is trying to heal from a painful family experience and finds the quiet English countryside a good place to do so. Willett's strength lies in the development of deep characters and their interaction with one another. The book moves somewhat slowly at the beginning, but the pace picks up a bit as the reader comes to know the characters better. This is a very good read for those who like books about relationships.

Rating:
Summary: Warm and wonderful!
Review: I enjoyed this book. I stumbled upon this book as well at the library, it being in the new books section. I am so glad I did! I still however would like to know what an aga is! It had wonderful characters, everyone with their own story to tell and live. I loved the relationships and the understandings of them. I look forward to reading more by Marcia Willett.

Rating:
Summary: Cozy Relationship Drama Satisfies With Warmth and Romance
Review: If you are a fan of Rosamunde Pilcher or if you enjoyed Marcia Willett's first American release, A WEEK IN WINTER, do not hesitate to pick up a copy of her latest release. You'll find the same "aga saga" settings filled with cozy descriptions of the countryside, loving characters you come to truly care about, and a story that moves at a leisurely pace allowing you to enjoy every delicious moment of this satisfying tale.

At the heart of this story are four strong female characters: Brigid, the owner of a delightful longhouse with two guest cottages she rents; Louise, a cottage guest with a past that threatens to breaks her spirit; Frummie, the mother who abandoned Brigid as a child but who is in desperate need of a place to live at present; and Jemima, Brigid's estranged half-sister who skips happily through life until a great romance upsets her emotional equilibrium.

Following the lives of these four women gives the reader interesting insights on the nature of the mother/daughter relationship. What is the genetic instinct that keeps daughters tied to their mothers, even negligent mothers, and why do they spend a lifetime longing for the mother's approval? What are the secrets we bury that wreck our mental health and destroy our relationships? What are the circumstances that lead a mother to abandon her child? And can the after-effects of such an abandonment ever be truly put in the past?

Pour yourself a cuppa and settle down with this engrossing trip to the moors of England and the opportunity to meet four memorable women.