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The Girls of Summer

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The Girls of Summer

By: Katie Bishop
Narrated by: Annabel Scholey
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

'That place has been my whole life. Everything I thought I knew about myself was constructed in those few months I spent within touching distance of the sea. Everything I am is because Alistair loved me.'

Rachel has been in love with Alistair since she was seventeen. Even though she hasn't seen him for sixteen years and she's now married to someone else. Even though she was a teenager when they met. Even though he is twenty years older than her. She's found it impossible to forget their summer together on a remote, sun-trapped Greek island. Until now.

When Rachel unexpectedly reconnects with a girl that she knew back then, she is forced to re-examine her memories of that golden summer and confront the truth about her relationship with Alistair and about her time working for an enigmatic and wealthy man on the island. And when Alistair returns, the pull of the past could prove impossible to resist...

The Girls of Summer is a compulsive and searching exploration of the complicated nature of memory and trauma, power and consent, victimhood and shame.

©2023 Katie Bishop (P)2023 Penguin Audio Coming of Age Family Life Genre Fiction Psychological Fiction

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All stars
Most relevant
I am happy to find a book that had me hooked from the beginning. it was enjoyable, the narrator was perfect too.
I felt the story dragged at few points but that's just with any book especially if youre listening for a long time, overall great.

Really good listen

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I really enjoyed this book, it’s both a visually beautiful read whilst skilfully navigating a complicated and nuanced subject. Great narration and a pleasure all round

A beautiful and thoughtful read

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This book was enjoyable because it captured the exact feelings of the age and trail of thought of a teen. It captured the nostalgia and innocence of being a teen and being free , away from parental constraints and the way you try to rationalise predicaments. That whole essence was captured perfectly.
The plot was engaging and not your predictable predator on the outset.
The narration was excellent.

Relatable

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With a grim topic all too familiar in the news these days, Bishop's debut novel offers a perspective that we don't often see: an untrustworthy narrator who is as frustrating as she is sympathetic, a victim who refuses to recognise the wrongs that have been done to her. Ultimately it's a voice that feels real and allows us to understand how something like the reports around Jeffrey Epstein, Max Clifford and Harvey Weinstein can happen.
The prose is wonderfully constructed with something of the quality of a ghost story and although there's nothing supernatural here, the story does leave you haunted.
The 'then' and 'now' dual narrative construct can be a tricky thing to pull off - the risk being that one narrative kills the momentum of the other. On the contrary, Bishop masterfully juggles the two timelines so that each remains propulsive and each informs the other.
The audiobook narrator was very good too.

Beautifully written, devastatingly familiar

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I really didn’t enjoy this book. The characters were all deeply unlikeable, the storytelling laborious and long winded. Whilst I appreciate the intent was to tackle a sensitive topic of age, consent and coercion, this missed the mark for me. Every listen felt like an effort and I struggled to even complete it.

Deeply unenjoyable

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