My Sardinian Summer

Guacomo , a talented translator of novels, returns to Sardinia for the summer as his grandmother is dying. Brilliantly written, funny and poignant, He rekindles old friendships and comes to term with his life, overlooked by Captain Ahab and the whale from Moby Dick. Wonderful.

A proper feel-good tale that will make you smile wryly as you recognise parts of your own family dynamic in there. It's not all happy stories but heart-warming none the less with sympathetically portrayed characters who you can't help but warm to.

A beautifully crafted story which explores family and friendship. Made me look up a few things too such as the Domus de Janas. The story is told from the point of view of a translator who travels home because his grandmother is dying. We learn more about him as he sits at her bedside and then through his interactions with others. Not a “happy go lucky” summer read, but a more in-depth and thought provoking one.

I really enjoyed this charming tale of Giacomo’s summer on his home island of Sardinia. He has returned there, from his home in Marseille, to say goodbye to his dying grandmother. This novel is rather like ‘My Family and Other Animals’ without the animals, although Giacomo does have a rather tense relationship with the stray dogs in his village. It is full of quirky characters, gentle humour and engaging depictions of the slightly eccentric life of the villagers on the island.

I have to say that not a great deal happens but that is part of the book’s charm. Giacomo is a translator and he is struggling with a translation Moby Dick. He is easily distracted by his old friends, his parents, visiting his grandmother in hospital and recalling his memories of living on the island.

The book is beautifully written and the translation from the original French is excellent. The novel is in turns, funny, wistful, and sometimes a little bit sad. It was a delightful read which I highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Well written and entertaining book. Loved the setting. I received an arc from the publisher and this is my unbiased review.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. This was a feel good read in these difficult times. I liked the location, I liked the characters and basically liked the storyline.

Beautiful, illuminating and often very funny. A gem of a book, my thanks to Netgalley.

I cannot think of any other book to compare it to and initially I was dubious about my choice to read this book so different is it to my usual favourite genre but it paid dividends, highly recommended.

I have to say I expected this to have a female lead so it was a pleasant surprise that it was a male lead, Giacomo. Feeling despondent in life, when he gets the call to return to his homeland, Sardinia, it seems like perfect timing. However his Grandmother is ill and he is called to say his farewells to her. He soon falls back into the comforts of home, the friendships that sustained him and sees his childhood afresh.. is this the place he should be? Has he been tricked into coming? Brilliantly written and full of sunshine- all about making the most of life and enjoying it, finding pleasure in the day to day. The writing was beautiful, and evoked Sardinia so wonderfully, I could imagine I was there. A brilliant bit of escapism, particularly welcome now when we can’t travel.