This is a good, not great, story of one woman's review of her life as she finds that much of what she thought she knew is wrong or tainted by the stories others, including her first husband, led her to believe. As she discovers the rest of the facts she will review her life, seeking to find if she would have been different if only she had known. At times the book is almost dreamlike. It is definitely different from anything I've read in quite awhile. The only way to grow is to experience, that's my take on Maryann D'Agincourt's AUGUST.

This is a lovely little book. The storytelling style reminded me of Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels, told from a first-person introspective, alternating between present day and the past. Jenny and her husband Jonah are taking a long overdue three-week August honeymoon to the Riviera, the setting chosen by Jenny after she finds a postcard of the area sent her by her first husband who died while they were estranged. She loves Jonah but she is clearly preoccupied with unresolved feelings from her prior marriage. Over the course of the trip she learns to live in the present. One cannot know or control what others do, and strength must ultimately come from within. After finishing I learned that there are additional novels to the story, so I may also check those out. Thank you to NetGalley and Portmay Press for introducing me to this title.

The writing was good and the characters were interesting. Can't explain why, but I lost interest and didn't finish.

So many secrets that should have been shared. You can live with someone or even been close friends and think you know that person. Everyone has secrets they don't share. The book looks at the impact of secrets. It is too slow of a pace for my taste. I didn't get involved in the characters at all. Not my kind of book.

Can we ever really know anyone? DAgincourt's novel gives us the impact of knowledge withheld. We are led into the novel asking "Why?" and become invested in that answer. Skillful writing!

This was an interesting story and had an otherworldly quality to it. The writing is good but at times I felt detached from the plot.
Many thanks to Portmay Press and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is a tough book to review. The writing style was different because there was no separation of characters or timeline. There were no likable characters which made it a difficult read. The story was convoluted and just not engaging.
Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read and review this book.

Another review #august #maryanndagincourt #netgalley #bookreview a story of loss, self discovery, a search of meaning in our lives and relationships. This is a book that people will either love the writing style. Or. Ditch. I feel like there isn’t a clear win here. You will love it or hate pending on the writing style you like and the way an author tells a story. #bookstagram #readersofinstagram #booklover #selfdiscovery #marriage #widow #netgalleyreview

This was a beautiful story with restrained emotion. I have to admit to being slightly lost at times but then so is Jenny, the narrator whose recollection and reconstruction of the past throughout the month of August is incrementally revealing. Eventually the confusion is allayed and as a reader I'm left with the same quiet certitude as Jenny. Satisfying.

Maryann D’Agincourt August Portmay Press New York 2021

Thank you to NetGalley and Portmay Press for this uncorrected proof for review.

August takes on several meanings in this novel. The Joseph Conrad quote with which it opens refers to ‘august light’, the month of August is significant, for the writer, as the ‘last full month of summer’, and, in the same last paragraph of the novel, august is a characterisation of a person with fortitude, one who can choose a path, has ‘majesty’. So, too does the writer slip from memories that are hazy, to events in August, to characters who have the opportunity to be august, but may well leave that to others. The lyricism of the writing draws the reader in to almost forgetting that some of the characters fall well short of being august. Perhaps none so much as the main character, Jenny.

Jenny has married Jonas, an artist, after her first husband, Eric Stram, dies. Eric remains in Jenny’s, and ultimately, Jonas’ lives through a post card Jenny has kept as a bookmark. Although she has forgotten receiving it, she plans her honeymoon at the hotel depicted on the postcard. Here the couple meet people from Jenny’s past, some of whom have known Eric, some who continue in their friendship with Jenny. At the same time as characters merge into past and present, Jenny’s constant dream of a bloodstained woman and hurrying man in grey impacts on her and her relationships. At times these relationships also have a dreamlike quality, moving from reality to recall and reassessment..

Throughout, Jenny’s self-regard is central to her interactions with others. However, at the same time as making her an uncomfortable character with whom to identify, she draws us into her developing consciousness of who she is and her determination to be a person with a life beyond being the young unmarried Jenny Smila, Jenny Stram, or later, Jenny Smila- Hoffman: she is more than a name. There is no harshness in Jenny’s purpose, the writing, like the Mediterranean she views from the balcony of her honeymoon hotel, moves gently between action, thought, meetings, understanding and misunderstandings, hurt and joy.

At times this is not a comfortable read. However, the writing is a delight and I look forward to reading more of this author’s work.

In August 1984 Jenni and her new husband Jonas goes on a belated honeymoon to a hotel called the Riveria as during a trip to visit her parents she went into her room while looking at a book she noticed a postcard. To find some missing clues about her first husband Eric and why he spent majority of their marriage life there on business. Jenny has moments of flashbacks in dreams or just recalling hidden memories from her childhood and married life with Eric. The storyline is full of mystery and deep down buried secrets. A book that is very interesting with emotional stories and secrets which keeps you entertained and guessing on where, why and how these families are linked together in the past, present and future. It’s not a favourite storyline but it’s told in such a way keeps a reader wanting to learn more about the characters and if they will keep in touch to become friends.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Portmay Press, LLC via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own thoughts, feelings and viewpoints of the book.
#August #NetGalley
Review run date 12 October 2021, NetGalley, WordPress blog, Facebook blog, Amazon.com.au, goodreads, kobo, BN, googlebooks and iBooks. Links to follow

Thank you for approving me to read this title.

August is written with the delicacy of poetry. The prose was one of the biggest pros for me. However, I have belatedly realised that part of the reason for my confusion at times was that I actually was missing context from a previous book of the author. Nevertheless, this book embodies summer and teh lush descriptions transport you right where the characters are. The writing style might not be for everyone and it took a while to get used to but overall I enjoyed this novel!

Thank you to NetGalley and Portmay Press for approving me to read this book.
It took me awhile to get into the rhythm of "August" and to keep track of the characters. Having read the author's "The Journal of Eva Morelli" a few years ago, I was now reminded of her writing style.
In hindsight, I wish I head read her "Shade and Light" novel prior to reading "August", to better understand the characters and the backgound of the story. I felt that I had come into a story at a midway point.
D'Agincourt's beautiful descriptions of the Riviera took me there, which I loved.
I thought that once the reason of Eric's childhood speech issues was revealed, Jenny would show more emotion than she had throughout the entire book, but that she did not, was disappointing to me.
This was a good read - one I enjoyed during the month of August, at times sitting beside the ocean close to my home. The last page of the Epilogue was my favorite part of the book, where I found the author wrapping the story up and I could just let it "be".
I will read other stories by this author. I do enjoy her unique style.

I really wanted to like this book, as it held such promise. However it wasn't for me. I found the vignette-style prose, flashing back and forward in time, to be a little stilted for my taste, and there was little traditional narrative and dialogue.

Readers who can overlook this may find potential in the plot, as it uncovers secrets and intrigue.

~Many thanks to NetGalley for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review~

The novel focuses on Jenny and her second husband Jonas, whom she had known growing up, and their belated honeymoon in 1984 on the Ligurian coast. Jenny’s late first husband, Eric, was somewhat older than she was and often travelled “for business,” both professional and personal business, leaving Jenny for months at a time. Interestingly, Jenny and Jonas stay in the same hotel where Eric often stayed when on his travels, and there Jenny comes to realize pieces of what proved traumatic for Eric as a boy during the war. Jenny’s realizations gives her new insight not only into Eric and her relationship with him, but also into her relationship with Jonas. This was a very quick but engrossing read. I found the novel to set forth an intriguing story, it made me do some thinking into my own life and family history.

“August” by Maryanne D’Agincourt is a beautifully written, gentle novel about memory, recollection of past events and their repercussions in the present.
The events focus on Jenny who finds a postcard in an old book written to her by her first husband Eric while working in the Riviera many years before. She suggests that she and her second husband Jonas honeymoon in the same hotel. Jonas is an artist and his perspective of events is shown through his art …his actions are also instrumental in the structure of the story. Characters from the past reappear in the present. It’s all very introspective and intriguing…..I kept expecting a twist or a tragedy in the vein of Daphne du Maurier’s “Rebecca” but maybe I was imagining an undercurrent of menace or discontent.
We read about relationships, trauma, perception and reality. I enjoyed the ride but am still not quite sure what actually happened and the true feelings of the protagonists. Thanks to Netgalley for the advance digital copy.

Here is another perspective and a suggestion to potential readers. Read Shade and Light first for necessary background to understand and appreciate this volume. When I tried it as a stand alone, I felt I was coming into a situation midstream. It's only fair to the writer to approach these two volumes in this way.

This is a book I found very hard to read. I found it boring, confusing and lacking in any real dialogue or story. For me it just didn't have the flow and strength of a good story. It was as if someone was talking to you in a long and drawn out way.

The story was written in the voice of the main character Jenny and there were quite a few characters in the story and I got a bit confused as to who was who and how they related to the story.

Not a long book but a drawn out book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing to me read this book. I understood the story and I did read it until the end. You have asked for an honest review. I didn't really like the book or even the characters very much. While it is well written, the most I can give this title is a 2 out of 5. Not my cup of tea.

Review is from my June/July review roundup in Mountain Times (Boone NC)

‘August’ by Maryann D’Agincourt (Portmay Press, $22, 176 pages)

The lives offered in Maryann D’Agincourt’s novels come to us as simple stories with characters deeply textured and tortured. “August,” the author’s sixth novel and sequel to 2018’s “Shade and Light,” continues that narrative.

It’s August 1984 when Jenny and Jonas take a belated honeymoon on the Italian Riviera. When they arrive at their lodgings, it occurs to Jenny that her first husband, Eric — a professional whose extensive monthslong business travel was sometimes personal — may have stayed in the same hotel before he died.

As the catalyst for the life she has today, Jenny begins to puzzle out Eric’s traumatic childhood, giving her deep insights to the relationship she now has with Jonas. A fast and engrossing read, those looking for easy timelines and fast-paced action will have to work harder than the author’s natural cadence and rhythm allow. The effort is worth the return.