The Summer Without Men by Siri Hustvedt

I had heard that this book had had lukewarm reviews but I really enjoyed it. It’s a story for slow reading, an introspective account of the woman in flight from a marital disaster and the several weeks she spends back in her hometown while she recovers and regroups. It details the small but important relationships she has with her mother, her mother’s friend Abigail, her neighbour Lola and the group of twelve year old girls to whom she teaches poetry. These are day to day type relationships but Hustvedt treats them as if she is painting miniatures, so every detail is important. She writes poetry as well, so perhaps the focus of poetry on every word and every nuance influences the way she sees and describes these relationships. It’s a philosophical book and an intelligent, well researched and thoughtful piece of work. Yummy.