This book has secured Sarah Moss as one of my all-time favourite writers - I loved it so much. Over the course of one incredibly rainy day in a holiday park in the Scottish highlands, we hear from all the different people on their slightly disappointing holidays as they reflect on their relationships, worry about the future and watch the people in the other cabins. In between the everyday worries of the characters, Moss weaves in little vignettes of the natural world which evoke a strong sense of place and history, in a writing style that is mesmerising and unsettling.

What impressed me most about this book was how well Sarah Moss just gets her characters, writing them with such empathy and humour. I went on a lot of wet Scottish holidays as a child and there are moments in this book that could have been transcribed from my memories of whining about being made to go out in the rain to soak up some vitamin D. The narration is almost a stream of consciousness, making you feel trapped in the characters’ heads, watching their thoughts and waiting for something to happen, like they are watching the people around them, waiting for a movement or a reason to disapprove.

Even though this seems like an innocent, nondescript day, Moss leaves little morsels of wrongness across the narrative, then forces your eyes onto more normality before you have a chance to really question what’s going on. As the characters watch until they are uncomfortable, convincing themselves that it’s really none of their business, you are led through the day with the knowledge that a conflict is coming, unable to fully believe the danger until the inevitable disaster strikes.

In places the characters felt a little homogenous (I mean they are almost entirely white middle-class Brits with a fear of the unknown) and I forgot which children belonged to which parents a couple of times. But I know this book will stick itself to me and refuse to leave my thoughts, just like Ghost Wall did in 2018. Sarah Moss has proven to me again that she really can write a tiny novel that leaves me reeling and in awe of what she can achieve in such a small number of words.


Thank you to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for the review copy.

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Summerwater is slim book which immediately drew me to it because of it’s beautiful cover and its thoroughly intriguing premise.
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This book is essentially a collection of individual stories by different characters holidaying at a park next to a Scottish Loch, whose lives are brought together in the concluding pages. But it is also so much more than that! It had me sniggering and chortling from the beginning; as Moss cleverly and humorously examined and laid bare some of the inhabitants’ traits and behaviours. It was definitely one of those books which had me itching to whip out the highlighter!
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The language used throughout, is so perfectly poetic; so lyrical and beautiful and of a calibre that should be read aloud and proudly. I particularly enjoyed Moss’s razor sharp observation of the nature surrounding the Loch. The connection of the characters and the story to the immediate environment vibrated strongly throughout the book and the link and closeness and intensity of the flora and fauna to the goings on really added to the building tension.
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Without giving too much away, the individual tales weave together and culminate in a final explosive chapter. Dramatic isn’t strong enough to describe the shock waves that emanate from Moss’s final words in the book; without warning she unapologetically plunges everything into darkness and I was genuinely left gobsmacked and felt as if I’d been punched in the face (but in a good way 😉). To say the ending was unexpected would be a complete understatement!
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Painfully clever, stunningly sharp and oozing nature’s beauty and menace; Summerwater is the book that gave me literary whiplash and I’ll be thinking about it for a long, long time.

Short and powerful. 10+ strangers in a Scottish holiday camp. Rain, feelings and a lot of inner thoughts. Loved every minute of this book.

There is a reflection of Ghost Wall in this book, bits and pieces of people and racism, but I think overall I loved this one better than Ghost Wall.

Doesn't have a traditional plot structure, but every chapter is well thought and well connected. I think Moss is a clever mind. This is a book that you have to read and try to understand each sentence, as she is leaving us breadcrumbs of the map of characters and events she's driving to a tragic end.

The ending might be the weakest thing in the book, but this is my personal opinion, I found it a bit too sudden, but perhaps if it was longer it wouldn't be as effective? Can't really decide. I still loved it.

Powerful & Sublime. The stream of consciousness was something I thought I may dislike, but this novel made me want to read other novels in this style now.

This story follows the lives of 12 guests over one day , they are all holidaying in the Scottish Highlands at a remote holiday park. There isn't a lot to do and the weather is so bad. Not a lot happens in the book but don't let that put you off at all , the descriptions and emotions of the characters and the area that they are in is really evocative. Its a quick read , beautifully descriptive I thoroughly recommend it.

Following the thoughts of twelve characters, adults and children, as they ‘endure’ a rainy day in the Scottish highlands. The story is set in a holiday park, and there is little else to do other than watch what the other people around are doing. It is a very atmospheric novella, and the fact that I was reading this on a wet summer day in the Scottish highlands certainly added to my sense of place.
Sarah Moss does a wonderful job of building tension within a story where very little happens, the writing is evocative and deep, it kept my interest and I read over the course of an afternoon. There is little in the way of plot, yet it is obvious that something is just around the corner, it builds slowly to an ending I certainly did not see coming.

King’s tower and queen’s bower,
And weed and reed in the gloom;
And a lost city in Semmerwater,
Deep asleep till Doom.

I read Sarah Moss’s latest novel, Summerwater, in a couple of sittings on a rainy Saturday. It was the perfect way to experience this short, clever novel, which skips between the perspectives of twelve holidaymakers staying on a holiday resort in rural Scotland on a single, torrentially rainy day. Most have been kept up the night before by loud music played by a Ukrainian family, and their hell is now continuing as the weather refuses to relent. Moss’s depiction of this bleak resort is both deeply personal and panoramic. We are completely immersed in the stream-of-consciousness narrative of a young woman trying to have a simultaneous orgasm with her fiancee and being continuously distracted by everything else that’s on her mind, and in the frantic thoughts of a mother who wants to make the most of having an hour to herself while her husband takes the children for a paddle. However, as Moss shifts perspectives, we see how small details that sit in the background of certain narratives, such as a child’s abandoned shoe, take on new meaning in others. There are also short omniscient sections that relate the natural history of this place; as with Jon McGregor’s employment of a similar technique in Reservoir 13, this attempt to connect the human, animal and mineral worlds didn’t work for me, but it only makes up a tiny proportion of the novel.

Summerwater demonstrates Moss’s versatility as a writer; she is equally convincing as an elderly woman suffering memory problems and as a teenage boy getting into trouble in a kayak. Indeed, I thought the two sections narrated by teenagers were two of the strongest in this novel. Moss’s The Tidal Zone proved how good she is at writing about adolescence, and I was pleased to see that carried over when writing as an adolescent. She makes a deliberate choice not to narrate from the perspective of any of the Ukrainian characters; I wondered if, given that they are positioned as a disruptive influence in the resort because of their relentless music, it might have helped to get more from their point of view. But on the other hand, I can see how keeping them silent reinforces some of the other things Moss wants to say about xenophobia, and the stories that others impose on this family (they are intermittently referred to as ‘Poles’, ‘Romanians’ or just ‘Eastern Europeans’, and subtle prejudice threads its way through a number of the characters’ internal monologues).

Summerwater is troubled by something that’s never quite in sight, lending it a tension that carries us through to a thematically ambiguous ending – although there may be clues in the poem that one of the characters half-remembers, ‘The Ballad of Semmerwater’, which recounts the story of a town drowned beneath a lake because of the unkindness of its richest citizens. As with Ghost Wall, I wasn’t sure that Moss left herself quite enough space to deliver the punch she wanted, and wished that the final scene had been further developed; but the last lines are completely haunting. This is definitely top-tier Moss, and I hope it gets the recognition it deserves (though I feel like I say that every time she publishes something new).

Set over one 24 hour period at a holiday park in Scotland. Summerwater tells the stories of the couples and families staying at the holiday park.
I loved this book and read it in just over a day. In some ways nothing happens until the last few pages but there is a sense throughout that something is impending and you are constantly thinking ‘is this it?’
Would definitely recommend this and I’m now going to hunt out Sarah Moss as an author

This is an unusual book, with the whole novel being told in streams of consciousness from about 10 different characters. All of them are holidaying in a holiday park in Scotland and we get a little snippet of what is going on around them and in their heads in fairly short chapters. The book takes place over the course of one day and is very well done, with the endless rain and the endless boredom of many of the characters!

It's a quick read and although I wouldn't have thought I would like the stream of consciousness style, it actually worked really well and the characters seemed different enough to make it easy to distinguish between them. There is also crossover with one character mentioning another we have already met, which also worked well and helped to give the book a cohesive feel despite the different voices.

In summary: different and enjoyable.

Rainy summer day in a faded Scottish cabin park. Twelve people in their stream of thoughts. Until someone starts to draw their attention. Tensions everywhere, tragedy is on a horizon.

So well written, raw and realistic.
Brilliant.

Who would have thought a novel about several unrelated families spending a soggy holiday in a set of lodges in Scotland could tell you so much about the state of the nation?

Don't be fooled because for all of Summerwater's interpersonal insights this is an astute state-of-the-nation novel. Moss brings together a diverse and disparate set of characters who don't really come together as inhabit the same space in their own silos. We see an elderly couple reminiscing on how the world has changed during their lives, we see a young couple contemplating the state of contemporary politics and their future together, we see young families and the imbalances that still pervade society in gender roles, we see children finding their voices and parroting the views of their parents without understanding them.

Moss is artful in how she achieves this, drawing you into interior, personal lives, with such vibrant and distinct voices. Hearing from each character separately leaves a real sense of frustration - why can't they just talk to each other? But of course that's easy for us to say, invading their perspectives and knowing how they feel, and the more of this novel you read the more you realise that you are just as guilty as these characters of living in your own headspace and failing to communicate with those around you. We can't help it any more than Moss' characters can.

As with it's predecessor Ghost Wall, this is an incredible short and concise novel which captures so much and will leave you thinking long after you leave it. Moss manages to cover the personal, interpersonal, social, political, environmental, not to mention class, xenophobia, climate change, sexism and gender roles. You almost wish she'd written more just to get further under the skin and unpack all of this, but the beauty of her writing is that she leaves you to understand and comprehend what plays out without having to explain it all to you.

From the get go this is a profoundly sad novel, manipulating your emotions, and just when you get what you wished for, when these characters living their separate lives begin to come together, Moss packs a punch that you would never have seen coming, despite the fact that there were several warnings, hidden away throughout the book. This complex and ambiguous ending makes you wonder what Moss really means here. Is this a punishment for wishful thinking? Perhaps a sign that despite the positive strides we are all doomed anyway? In my opinion it's about life being messy. Real life doesn't come with a neat conclusion and bow-tied moral and neither does Summerwater. In a pandemic constrained summer filled with staycations and seemingly just as much rain as this book, Summerwater feels terrifyingly relevant and will be the standout book of the season.

Each family is staying in an owned, rented, or borrowed cabin in the Trossachs in Scotland. None of them find it very exciting, nor are they extremely satisfied with their lives. You read about the quiet acceptance of an elderly couple, the concessions a woman makes for a happy marriage, and the very much needed (and taken) alone time of another. They often think about things they could have done differently or a passion that is missing from their life. They all chose to spend the holiday in an isolated area, far from the crowds, but end up feeling too close to the ones they came with.

The temporary residents also watch each other as there is not much else to do. Rain doesn’t stop them from going out; most are used to it. If you let the rain stop you from doing what you like, then you’re missing out on making the most of your time in Scotland, where it often rains.

Just like the guests watch each other, kids watch and copy everyone. You can see it in how they treat ‘foreigners’. Those very people that you want to know more about, but aren’t given their own voice in Summerwater. Instead, they play music, until it stops and they are silent once again.

“Under the hedges, in the hollows of tall trees, birds droop and wilt, grounded, waiting. Small creatures in their burrows nose the air and stay hungry. There will be deaths by morning.” The chapters about people are intertwined with those about animals and nature. The animals sense what’s coming first. From them you get a foreboding, a warning that the reader understands but the narrators do not.

I’m not very fond of this book. The potential is there, but I couldn’t bond with most of the narrators. Their parts are too short and too much in the now to get to know them well. For me this was very unlike how I perceived And the Wind Sees All, a book set in Iceland that also gives a voice to many different narrators.

I’m not saying the narrators in Summerwater don’t have their charm; the situations and struggles are very realistic, just that the combination of the format of the story, the personalities of the narrators, and the thoughts of the narrators didn’t work for me.

Summer water is definitely a winter read. It’s set in the depths of Scotland, on the longest day of the year and in appalling weather. Each set of guests is housed in old log cabins, some owned and some rented.
The setting is pretty grim with torrential rain, no phone signal or internet, a pub quite a walk away and a few shops 10 miles away. It’s an interesting observation of all the characters. I read it in the garden on a bright sunny day and wanted to be inside under a blanket drinking hot chocolate!
It was a reasonable read however I would not rush to buy it for a friend.

I really enjoyed the writing, the characters and the atmosphere. Beautifully written. Lovely sense of place and individual characters rather than cliches. Well worth reading..

Summerwater is set on a holiday lodge resort in Scotland at Mid Summer. The sort of place that people go to get back to nature - fresh air, open spaces, nature and un-crowded outdoor life. But it has been raining heavily and consistently for a while so relationships are bound to be fraught.

The novella is told through the perspectives of the residents staying at the Lodges. Parents with young children, a young couple, teenagers, an elderly ex doctor and his wife who is clearly suffering from the early stages of dementia.
The only points of view we don’t hear are those of the ‘outsiders’ - a lone and mysterious soldier camping in a tent just outside the resort and a Ukrainian family, who have been irritating the rest of the residents with loud parties every night. But those residents who are given voices all have views on these outsiders and they are mostly mistrustful and negative.

Summerwater is beautifully written and very powerful, despite there not being any ‘action’.
The relentless rain makes the everything feel so dark and claustrophobic. And highlights the often grim reality of family holidays. You have one week a year to squeeze in this enforced idea of ‘family time’ and the pressure to have this perfect time can often push it the wrong way.
One of the teenage sons in the book sums it up perfectly:
“It’s pretty weird when you think about it, all these middle-class white people coming here to have less privacy, comfort and convenience than they do at home, how’s that a holiday?“

The ending of the book is very sudden, shocking and dark. And it ends so abruptly. I was very surprised at just how abrupt the ending was and I felt slightly disappointed when I realised that there wasn’t any more story.
Nevertheless, this was a very powerful read and will stay with me for a long time.

*Thank you to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for the ARC.

Sarah Moss - Summerwater. I got stung by the last Sarah Moss book I read (Tidal Zone), so I was pleased that I really enjoyed this. Set in a holiday park in Scotland, this story depicts families in states of isolation as the weather and sheer boredom keep them indoors, mostly. (Apt for right now!) Though this story builds in intensity as prejudices and conflicts emerge. The crescendo of these tensions in the final scene is unsettling. Definitely worth the read. 4/5 ✨
Thank you to @netgalley for access to this ARC.

Summerwater by Sarah Moss is a deceptively slim novella that resonates and packs an emotional punch that belies its size. Set over the course of a rainy Summer weekend in a small holiday park in Scotland , the reader is introduced to a mixed bag of characters, some who own a cabin in the park, and spend their Summers there, and others who are renting, There are characters of all ages from young children to an elderly retired couple, and as the reader works through the book we see chapters from each of their perspectives. One thing that I found particularly interesting was the pairing of some chapters so that we got to see the perspectives of each member of a couple for example, or that of a pair of teenage siblings. Moss does a fantastic job of blending pathos and humour, with a poignant chapter about a man caring for his wife who is showing symptoms of the early stages of dementia juxtaposed with a chapter about a young couple's sex life that will probably resonate with many. Another highlight that showed the author's skilful way of observing the small moments of daily life was a chapter that we spend with a young mother wondering how she can best use a precious hour of child free time. Scattered amongst these chapters is some truly beautiful writing about nature and the environment, and while that could have seemed out of place in such a short book, they were actually some of my favourite passages. The ending is definitely abrupt and brutal, which I found a little jarring but not entirely unexpected, having read other books by this author.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

Read in one sitting. Sarah Moss writes beautifully and I loved Ghost Wall so much I requested Summerwater. It's a novella with each chapter reading like a short story. A simple but effective way forward to a brilliant ending.
Thanks to NetGalley for my copy.

If you have ever had a wet week in a Scottish lodge you will closely identify with this novel.
A small holiday park populated by owners, families of owners and renters., trying to cope with constant rain. Each lodges occupants has a chapter, good description of family dynamics and hidden emotions.. in between chapters is a short passage on the wildlife and nature of the area, this works well
Well written and beautifully described with a good finale..

This was not what i expected and i felt it was not as good as the Ghost Wall was. I did like the writing style but the story and plot was just too disjointed for me and it just needed some refining as it had the potential to be so good. I would pick up another book by Sarah Moss but this wasn't for me.

I am unsure whether to call this latest offering, by the wonderful Sarah Moss, a short novel, or a novella. It is based around a holiday park in Scotland, where a range of different people are staying in cabins that they either own, rent, or are borrowing for a holiday. However, rain pours down constantly, leaving most of those stuck inside for most of the time, often with bored and fretful youngsters. Meanwhile, there is a tent just outside the boundaries of the park, causing some disquiet, and a Ukrainian family who hold noisy parties each evening.

Moss inhabits the minds of several of those inhabiting the cabins. A retired doctor, a woman who is obsessed with running, an exhausted young mother, plus one of the most realistic, and humorous, sex scenes I have read. We get to know their dreams, their desires, their faults and their frustrations. With the foul weather, noise and boredom, the author creates a setting in which you know something will happen, but are unsure exactly what, until the end of the book.

I think this would be an excellent choice for a reading group. It is a slim read, but it explores human nature really well; the way we view others, as well as ourselves. How minor irritations become inflated when people are isolated, bored and resentful and yet how they draw together in a crisis. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.