The fourth novel in the Seasonal Quartet by Man Booker Prize Finalist Ali Smith is “a prose poem in praise of memory, forgiveness, getting the joke, and seizing the moment” (The New York Times).
In the present, Sacha knows the world’s in trouble. Her brother Robert just is trouble. Their mother and father are having trouble. Meanwhile, the world’s in meltdown—and the real meltdown hasn’t even started yet. In the past, a lovely summer. A different brother and sister know they’re living on borrowed time.
This is a story about people on the brink of change. They’re family, but they think they’re strangers. So: Where does family begin? And what do people who think they’ve got nothing in common have in common?
Summer.
'An astonishing finale to a prescient series . . . Ali Smith brilliantly weaves strands of joy and celebration to end her Seasonal Quartet' ― Evening Standard
'The first great coronavirus novel - a book to savour, a literary tour de force that captures the nation's psyche exquisitely' ― Evening Standard
'A maestra's portrait of her age. . . remarkable' ― Guardian
'Few writers today can make a more compelling claim to singularity of innovation and sustained brilliance' ― TLS
'The bravura performance of a writer, poised at the edge of the day's vast darkness, gathering all the warmth and light of our inner summer' ― The Washington Post
'The final flourish of a mazy and beautiful quartet' ― Telegraph
'The novel's hopeful message about the healing power of friendship ensures the quartet ends on a feel-good note' ― Sunday Times
