Reviews for A villa in summer

The average rating for A villa in summer based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2015-12-07 00:00:00 Kendra Gray A cautionary tale about the fragility of marriage. The wife, Emily, is young and clueless, but at least she senses when she's making a mistake, and sometimes fights against it. Her husband Andrew, however, has the moral development of a Tator Tot. Given his party-girl mother, no wonder. The two encounter the usual challenges of young couples. Their London apartment is too small for themselves and their two children, and they decide to move to a relative's vacant country villa. This entails extra unexpected financial and relational expenses. Buying a car, the higher cost of food, commuting time for Andrew, and isolation in themselves would probably not have done too much damage. Unfortunately, they become embroiled with the predatory, amoral couple who run the school where they send their oldest child. Mortimer slowly unfolds the many small and excruciating missteps that lead to the potential end of the Addams' marriage. Each scene takes the protagonists a little closer to losing the central point of their marriage. At first this appears to be a strong sexual bond. Later, however, duty to family begins to play a more important role as Andrew loosens his ties to his wife and children and begins to justify increasingly risky behaviors, from debt to debauchery. I am willing to swear that this book, or one very like it, was a major influence on Sarah Waters' most recent book, Paying Guests. She employs the same gin-infused lurches away from decency to disaster.

Review # 2 was written on 2014-07-15 00:00:00 James Olivent A fun and entertaining tale of marriage, purchased at my favorite book store- Slightly Foxed.