Worthy winner of the 2022 Vondel Prize, which I shadow judged and agreed with the judges. (Cf: https://lizzysiddal2.wordpress.com/2022/04/17/sunday-bookstack-3-shadow-judging-the-2021-vondel-translation-prize-shortlist/) Such a sympathetic author, who even sees the good in the most dubious of characters. Full review in link below.

This coming of age novel is a testament to brotherly love. Thirteen year old Brian, who lives on a shonky old site with his questionable father, rekindles a sense of familial empathy and connection after the care home in which his physically and mentally disabled brother, Lucien, lives offer a tidy summer allowance to families who take home their dependents while the care home undergoes renovation.

The situation is surely improbable, but allows for Robben to set the tone of greed mixed with the father's urgency to succeed, though it's questionable whether this is engendered by moral or financial motives. I sense the latter.

Yet aside from him, the arch bad guy, there are other underhand characteristics in even the sweetest of characters. Brian, the main caregiver to his summer brother for example, develops a complicated and compromised interest with another of the female care home residents, whose ability to make decisions and act is compromised by her disability, thus thrusting Brian into an uncertain relationship with her which doesn't sit quite easily.

I felt a ray of sunshine over this book that shines through the cloud of uncertainty around each of the characters and their sometimes questionable behaviours. From the bright cover, to the earnest attempts of Brian and his growing companionship and care for his brother, bolstered by the arrival of a enigmatic neighbour who seems to be watching over him, despite his own personal problems.

It was enjoyable and diverting, and a thoughtful insight into a family dynamic less covered in popular fiction.

It's also easy to forget that this is a work in translation

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC. I had high hopes for this one. I was intrigued by the premise and was excited by the idea that someone would write a story about the issues that I see everyday in my work in a clinic that specializes in intellectual and developmental disabilities. Maybe I am naïve to think that the IDD community who are institutionalized would be cared for in a certain manner anywhere in the world, but this was shockingly poor. In my experience, even in states that do not have generous resources, there is no way a person would be discharged from an institutional setting into the care of a half-hearted parent (I am being generous here) without significant oversight. The dwelling would be researched thoroughly and the living situation would be clear, with many checks put on how the funds were to be used. This was just one of the glaring issues with this story.
So, if I assume that the above critique was simply a writer/editor's prerogative to set the story without the constraints of real life, there were other issues that I couldn't get past. There was the father, who was beyond useless. There were sexual scenes that in no way needed to be included. The relationship that built between the brothers was probably the most redeeming feature of the story but not realistic in any way. Children and siblings are an important part of the dynamic in a family with a special needs individual but the care should never fall to such a young child. In my experience, siblings are often the biggest help in bolstering the abilities that the person has and their biggest advocates. It is often a mutually beneficial relationship, where both parties learn character and skills from the other.
In other words, this had great potential for me but fell short trying to be something different from its premise.
#SummerBrother #NetGalley #WorldEditions

🦽 BOOK REVIEW 🦽

Synopsis: Thirteen-year-old Brian lives in a trailer on a forgotten patch of land with his divorced and uncaring father. His older brother Lucien, physically and mentally disabled, has been institutionalized for years. While Lucien’s home is undergoing renovations, he is sent to live with his father and younger brother for the summer. Their detached father leaves Brian to care for Lucien’s special needs. But how do you look after someone when you don’t know what they need? How do you make the right choices when you still have so much to discover? Summer Brother is an honest, tender account of brotherly love, which will resonate with readers of Rain Man.

Review: ugh. This book is not just bad, it was also extremely problematic. Surely (international) booker shortlist was a typo? Who knows. This book contains ableist slurs from a piece of shit father who is presented to us with absolutely no depth in the storyline. There are also subplots that are not explored and you’re left wondering. One of the characters is called “Brown Henri” and is referred to this name 50% of the time, and the other half is referred to as “Henri”. With no context at all as to why this interchanges, or any explanation that suggests it isn’t a racist as it seems. Additionally, the characters in this book are intellectually and physically disabled and it makes me wonder what experience the author (and translator) has had to write this story. Particularly in the incredibly insensitive way that he’s chosen to do it. Done properly, this could have been a heartfelt, meaningful, uplifting and educational piece of writing, but alas it has failed on all accounts.

Many thanks to the publisher and @netgalley for this book in exchange for my review.

2/5 stars ⭐️⭐️ (I honestly gave it two in case some of the story came from loved experience with a severely disabled sibling, but given the poor writing I am not convinced).

Tw: racism(not in the story but in the way the author has written content), ableist slurs, animal abuse (including death of a pet), violence, addiction (gambling), alcohol abuse, and taking advantage sexually of a person who is intellectually disabled.

4★
[This has just been longlisted for the 2021 International Booker Prize!]
“They had noticed my brother and the kids were staring at him. If I imagined Lucien was half-brother, half-dinosaur, I felt less ashamed of what people thought of him. Then it was pretty cool that he was mine.”

Lucien is 16, severely disabled and now living in an institution where he’s medicated to keep him calm. Brian is our narrator and is Lucien’s younger brother, only 13, and he likes visiting Lucien. His mother used to be anxious to visit while his father hung back. Then a time came when Mum had trouble getting out of bed to go, so Dad and Brian promised to visit and report.

Promises, promises. That’s Maurice, Brian’s ne’er-do-well father who just took Brian somewhere to spend the afternoon, saying Lucien would only be asleep anyway and wouldn’t miss them if they didn’t turn up. Then he’d lie to his wife.

But Brian remembers having his older brother at home and the four of them being a family. It changed the family dynamic when Lucien was moved, and it was the beginning of the end for the parents.

“I don’t think I missed Lucien. He just wasn’t there. It wasn’t like he’d disappeared, more like someone had switched him off. Put him to sleep. Like he dozed off after every visit and dreamt of us all week long. And on Sundays, right before we pulled into the car park, a nurse would wake him up. I knew it wasn’t true. He often had cuts on his hands that I had never seen before.”

Brian enjoys the hospital and the other patients. That’s where he got his dinosaur idea.

“There were a few residents standing around the entrance. I knew they existed but apart from Lucien I had never seen one before. To me they were all half-dinosaur, each one so different that they must be the last of their kind.”

He gets to know some, wants to befriend them, and even gets a crush on an older girl, but the staff aren’t too keen on his getting too close. Even medicated, some are a risk to others if they bite or lash out violently. In fact, Brian knows this about his brother. When they’ve taken Lucien on outings, it’s always a worry when they let him play.

“Mum was looking at Lucien again. He had found a branch and was fighting something in the air. Sometimes he hit a tree by accident. He would make a rubbish knight, except when he got angry. Then he could bite you or smash a coffee maker. Or wreck the spin-dryer in the bathroom.”

The book opens with Brian living with his father in a dump of a caravan rented in a dump of a place run by a couple of shifty characters. No shiftier than his father, though. Brian stops by their shed to see them packaging up goods to on-sell.

“‘What kind of shipment you got this time?’ I ask.

‘It WAS Romanian mayo.’ Jean turns the bottle in his firm grip, slaps the sticker on the back, and thumbs away the air bubbles. ‘But now it’s organic mayonnaise. From Picardy.’ The next bottle is ready and waiting in his other hand.”

The place is full of potential dangers, from broken glass to waters you could drown in to dodgy people who probably shouldn’t be around children.

We see all the side stories from the point of view of this earnest, naïve boy. He ends up left in charge of his bigger, older brother when Lucien comes to stay while the hospital is being renovated. Dad agrees only because he will be paid for it. He is always so broke he grabs pairs of shoes and other things that aren’t nailed down and sells them at the markets.

I was furious with the father, but I really enjoyed watching Brian develop without losing that youthful attitude that things can get better and can turn out okay if you try hard enough. He makes plenty of mistakes, and his judgement is that of an inexperienced kid, but his heart and commitment count for a lot (which is more than I could say for his parents). He bathes Lucien, changes his nappy, feeds him, and tries to get him to swallow his pills, all mighty tasks.

I loved that he retained this feeling from something his mother said once.

“Deep in the colours of his eyes, I see the universe. That’s what Mum used to say. There’s a lot our Lucien can’t do, but he’s got the universe in his eyes.”

I’m not sure how I’ve ended up lately reading stories told by or about young teen-aged boys, but I always seem to enjoy their points of view. This is a translation from the Dutch, but it never felt translated.

Thanks to NetGalley and World Editions for the preview copy from which I’ve quoted.

Lucien lives in a facility and has disabilities, both mental and physical. His brother Brian, and his Dad, agree to have Lucien come home with them while there are renovations going on at the home. The Dad is very agreeable to this as he can receive payment to do this. He is however pretty despicable and basically Brian is giving 24/7 care to his brother. BTW, Brian is about 13. They live in this decrypted house and there are many instances of sexuality in the book that are pretty gross, and really not needed. They don't bring anything to the story. Throughout the book you're introduced to the ex-wife, and a whole bunch of stories about this horribly dysfunctional family. I was exhausted just reading this book!
Thanks to World Editions who sent me an advanced copy of this book for an honest review.

Oh how my heart ached for Brian! Thirteen years old, feeling abandoned by his mom, stuck with a father who is more focused on his next scam than being a good father, and left to care for his 16 year old physically and mentally disabled brother. Brian is a wonderful brother and son and takes on more than any kid should need to. This makes for a story that makes the reader both cringe and want to somehow relieve his burden. Character development is centered on Brian as we watch him struggle between his responsibilities for his brother and his own desire to be a 13 year old boy. End result: it draws you in! A bittersweet book that shows you that love comes in many different ways.

The narrator is 13-year-old Brian Chevalier. He lives with his father Maurice in a filthy, rundown trailer. Maurice, a ne'er-do-well, learns that he can get money if he cares for his physically and mentally disabled son for the summer while his assisted-living residence is being renovated. Of course Brian becomes Lucien’s primary care giver. A strong bond develops between the brothers and Lucien even shows signs of physical improvement when he is not as sedated as he seems to be at the residence. All is not well, however, as they are threatened with eviction.

The characterization of Brian is very realistic. Appropriately for his age, he is naïve, impulsive, emotionally immature, and curious about sex. Despite his flaws, like an occasional unthinking disregard for Lucien’s safety, there is no doubt that he loves his brother. Unfortunately, Brian, not having any other role model, has picked up some of his father’s behaviours. For instance, he knows how to pressure a person to get money. Brian may not want to be like his father, but it seems almost inevitable that he will be like him. His mother has moved on to another marriage and seems to have abandoned Brian to his life with his father. Emile, a man who moves into another trailer, offers more of a positive example, but Brian’s time with him is limited for a number of reasons. He is told that the trailer is not a good home for him, but he has no options.

Maurice is anything but admirable. He leaves Brian in charge of his brother when giving Lucien proper care is not an easy task. He is shiftless, leaving his sons every day with no explanation for his absences. He is known to police. He is not beyond using his son’s disability to get money and cover crimes. Besides being neglectful, Maurice is also abusive. It is clear that Brian fears his father who has violent outbursts. The reader does get glimpses of positive traits, but there is little to like about the man. What puzzled me is the choice of name for the father. I know Maurice Chevalier as a French actor and singer and wondered if the author’s choice of name was intentional. (And this raises another question: why did the Dutch author choose to set his novel in France?)

Tension exists throughout the book. Will Brian be able to care for his brother and keep him safe? Will they be evicted by the landlords who are becoming more and more impatient with Maurice’s rent non-payment and lies? Brian’s relationship with Selma, a 19-year-old resident at the home, is unsettling. Maurice, though he can be funny and charming, is a threatening presence. I kept waiting for something serious to happen.

I also found myself feeling sad and angry. Brian deserves a better life, but he just doesn’t have any opportunities. He tells Lucien, “’When I’m old enough, you can come and live with me,’” but it’s a promise that will be difficult to keep. Maurice is a dysfunctional person and that dysfunction may very well prove to be generational since Brian has been largely abandoned to a father who models inappropriate, if not dangerous, behaviour.

Because of the subject matter, the book is not always an easy read, but it realistically and unsentimentally portrays life on the margins of society. The novel is described as “an honest, tender account of brotherly love,” and that too is true. That love is the one hopeful note.

Note: I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

I received a copy of this book to review from Netgalley. Thank you for the opportunity.
A heartbreaking story of a 13 year old caring for his elder brother. I found the story well thought out although I think certain aspects didn't really translate well into English which interrupted the flow of the story.
An ok read.

In Summer Brother, we are introduced to 13 year old Brian and his scheming father, who live in a caravan on the edge of a rundown dump, and are at constant threat of being evicted. Each week, they go to visit Brian's brother Lucien, who lives in an assisted living facility that is about to undergo renovations. When they offer Brian's dad a stipend to take care of him at home over the summer, he jumps at the chance despite having no idea how to care for him. When Brian is left in charge, he is forced to examine his loyalty and faith in his father, and what is really best for Lucien.
With its quirky characters and dark humor mixed with tender moments, Summer Brother was reminiscent of a great indie movie.

One to curl up with and escape into a beautiful sweet loving story. The story gives the unique perspective of what it’s like for a young disabled boy and his wonderful brother who keeps his life shine so bright.

Summer Brother is a fantastic book about a teenager who ends up having to watch over his severely disabled brother for a week or two in the summer. It is very well written with strong characters that will stick with you long after the book is done. The main character Bry is thoughtful but, man does he made bad choice after bad choice. Wow. His living situation is horrible but he does try and make the most of it. The interaction with his brother is really something and at times pretty heartbreaking. I loved the book and look forward to reading more by this author.

Few books have ever left me feeling so emotionally flooded as Summer Brother by Jaap Robben. I mean this as a compliment. This story of family, struggle, and love, is nothing like anything I have read before. Most of the characters in this masterful story are flawed, some deeply so, but they all have some redeeming quality that keeps them from seeming villainous.

The book is written from the perspective of Brian, who is thirteen years old and has been living in a trailer with his father for quite some time. He doesn’t see his mother anymore. She visits Brian’s brother, Lucien, in a nursing home for individuals with significant disabilities, but she blames Brian and his father for Lucien not living with the family. Brian’s father is scraping by on creative storytelling about the money that will be coming soon.

When Brian and his father go to visit Lucien, they discover that the nursing home is being remodeled, and Lucien will not be able to stay there for at least a month over the summer. If they take Lucien home, the state will reimburse them for his care, which is an opportunity that their father cannot pass up. Of course, Brian and his father do not have enough space or the proper training to care for Lucien, but they agree to take him home anyway. Taking care of Lucien becomes Brian’s responsibility.

There are many twists and turns in this book and none of them are pleasant to read about. However, the reader feels compelled to continue because Brian is such a sympathetic narrator. Even in his darkest moments, his choices can be understood. More astonishing is the reader’s sympathy for Brian’s father. Only an extraordinary author could create such a flawed character who still tugs at the reader’s heartstrings. There is a tremendous beauty and truth to this story.

Extraordinary. This book hit my heart in ways I wasn't expecting. A sheer delight - I raced to the last page, and then regretted reading it so quickly.

Book Review for Summer Brother by Jaap Robben
Full review for this title can be found at: @fyebooks on Instagram!

I definitely get the appeal and the good reviews Robben's novel has, however "Summer Brother"'s strong imagery
was not enough for me to be blown away.

<i>Summer Brother</i> is a excellent work of literary fiction about a family that lives in the margins but is elevated by the love between two brothers. Brian is a tough but sensitive and naive 13-year-old who loves his severely disabled brother. <i>Summer Brother</i>, is one of several books written by the Dutch poet, playwright, actor and children’s author, Jaap Robben.

Brian lives with his dad, Maurice, because his mom doesn’t want him. They live in a rundown trailer with two dogs and across the yard from a pair of landlords who insist this is no place for Brian to live. One day Brain and Maurice go to visit Lucien and Maurice discovers that due to renovations at the hospital there is an opportunity to make some good money by bringing Lucien home for the summer. This is obviously a foolish idea but Maurice has dollar signs in his eyes so he maneuvers his way around the rules. Once home, Lucien lives most of his day outside because they can’t get the bed into the trailer and, with the help of a neighbor, Brian becomes the primary care giver. Lucien becomes quite mobile with Brian’s help and everything looks like it will be fine until it isn’t.

Robben is excellent at character development. Brian is a tough street wise kid, and at the same time he is loving, accepting, and kind but naïve and immature. Lucien, although severely disabled, plays a major role in moving the story along. Maurice is a complete loser, but I like him better that the boys’ mom. All of the secondary characters are interesting and unique.

Although it is not a fast-moving plot, the book does an excellent job of keeping you on the edge of your seat by introducing the reader to a world of living in the margins. You feel as though Lucien is in danger all of the time, but he manages. No one takes care of Brian and yet he too manages until his naivety catches up to him. As a reader, one becomes a cheerleader for the under privileged.

For the most part, the story is heartwarming and cheerful and people get by. This is why the conclusion is a shock. It shouldn’t be a surprise, but it is, because one hopes things will end differently. It is part of why the book is excellent.

I recommend this book everyone who cheers for the underdog against all odds. This is a beautiful book. I give it a 5 on 5. I want to thank NetGalley and World Editions for providing me with a digital copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.