Family secrets anyone? Sign me up. There are a few to uncover in The Summer House by Marcia Willett.
Marcia Willett has written around a dozen books and they all revolve around families and relationships, often with family secrets. She is an English author. And this fact about her is probably my favorite – she published her first novel when she was fifty.
The main character, Matt, is an author of a bestselling fantasy novel. Though I don’t recall any mention of his age, he seems to be in his thirties. It turns out that he has some unknown fear or anxiety that he has struggled with all his life and he isn’t sure what caused it or where it is from. He successfully controlled his mental anguish by pouring his fears into his first book. But now that it’s time to start writing his next novel, he still feels the same emptiness. It can’t be grief at the recent passing of his mother, who struggled with depression his whole life. But he isn’t sure where to turn.
Matt’s sister Imogen and her husband are facing their own issues with new baby Rose and a long commute to the vet practice he works in. The chance to buy the Summer House, a cottage in Exmoor, turns out to uncover family turmoil among their adopted families.
Other characters include Lottie, Milo, and Venetia. I confess I was a little confused as to how everyone was related. That may have been due to the fact that I was listening to it on a very short commute and didn’t have a nice long read or listen of the first chapter. It seems as if Lottie and Milo have kind of adopted Matt and Imogen because their mother was too depressed to care for them. As the plot unfolds and people interact, this fact becomes more important to the story.
These loose adopted-family connections add some tension to the plot. Matt and Imogen’s mother was befriend by Lottie who had a crush on their father, though no one really knows this, Lottie keeps it very secret. The father was a journalist killed in Afghanistan when the two were young. When their mother slipped into a deep depression, Lottie became part of the family. Lottie now lives with her brother-in-law Milo, who owns the Summer Cottage. He is divorced and his son, Nick, has been friends with Matt and Imogen from a very early age.
As Matt copes with an aggressive girlfriend, Imogen struggles lightly with her husband over where they will live, and Nick asks Milo for help out of a bad situation, the reader is quickly caught up in the dynamics between everyone.
What I like
Dogs – there are two dogs in the book which I enjoy having as secondary characters. I’ve read other Marcia Willett books, and I think they all have at least one dog, sometimes more.
There’s actually more than one family secret here, but I especially like the one pertaining to Matt. I won’t say much more because it would give away the ending, but it was a pleasure to try to figure it out before the end. I almost guessed it but not quite.
Lottie is my favorite character. She is hinted to have a type of “second sight” about people. Maybe she’s just especially empathetic. Or maybe even an empathy (in today’s language). I liked that she was a solo character. She had no children and at the same time was quite motherly towards Matt and Imogen. I could relate.
I also like the fact that two of the characters, Milo and Venetia, are long-time lovers in their late seventies/early eighties.
Another thing I like – lots of characters, and many generations. Three at least, depending on how you look at the families. Lots of characters means there are many points of view to read, and a lot of interaction.
Also more characters means more people having tea and picnics and cake and dinners. I’m not sure why including food is always such a helpful detail. You can convey a lot of tone and mood through food in a story. The writer in me likes that.
What I didn’t like
Anything I didn’t like? Just my initial confusion. But after the first few pages, I just went along with the story figuring it would become clear. I think Willett deliberately wrote a story with characters who are tied together by friendship, who have come together to create family as other loved ones have left or passed way. This is probably much more realistic than I realize. And that gives me a warm feeling inside.
The plotting of family sagas is a little slower, which I’ve always liked, but there is still pacing and tension. There’s the mystery of Matt’s emptiness and these photographs of him that don’t look familiar. Oh, and his writer’s block. There’s the suspense of Imogen’s feelings and misunderstandings with her husband. Then Matt’s girlfriend, as well as Nick’s family pressures, and Venetia’s nosiness.
The Summer House takes place in Exmoor, located in Southwest England, three and half hours from London. Marcia sprinkles in appealing descriptions of the landscape and settings. And the geography adds an alternating sense of mystery and safety to the story, mirroring the struggles the characters face.
Apparently the area of Exmoor was made famous by the book Lorna Doone published in 1869. Looking at photos online helps extend the story, especially photos of Exmoor National Park. The area has more wide open spaces than I had envisioned while reading the book. The houses do look cozy and inviting.
I warmly recommend Marcia Willett’s The Summer House. A sincerely heartwarming novel that gives you a sense of family, a little suspense, and satisfaction.
Book cover by carynwrites
Cottage by Michael Hooker from Pixabay/filtered from original