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Summer Lies

Exploring the complexities and nuances of love

Prof Bernhard Schlink author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Orion Publishing Co

Published:2nd May '13

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Summer Lies cover

This collection of stories reveals the complexities of love, showcasing the fragility of relationships and the enduring possibility of hope in Summer Lies.

In Summer Lies, the acclaimed author of The Reader explores the multifaceted nature of love through a series of poignant stories. Each tale reveals the complexities of human relationships, showcasing how love can both uplift and challenge us. From a chance encounter on a long-haul flight that alters destinies to a romantic getaway that confronts the harshness of reality, these narratives delve into the intricacies of connection and disconnection.

The characters in Summer Lies are vividly drawn, each facing their own dilemmas that mirror the universal struggles of love. A couple’s night in Baden-Baden serves as a backdrop for revelations that threaten to unravel their bond, while a divorcee’s meeting with an ex-lover offers a glimpse into second chances. These moments reflect the delicate balance between desire and disappointment, highlighting the small betrayals and hidden truths that often accompany intimate relationships.

Schlink’s trademark sparse prose invites readers to confront the emotional landscapes of his characters. As they navigate their lives, we are reminded of the fragility of happiness, the weight of jealousy, and the enduring possibility of hope. Summer Lies is a tender yet unsentimental exploration of what it means to love, deceive, and ultimately embrace our shared humanity.

Summer Lies is pleasingly dark in its reflections on disappointment and sorrow in adult life ... Admirers of The Reader will not be dissappointed * Financial Times *
Unlike many novelists who use short fiction as a rest stop on the highway to longer works, Schlink seems to have lingered with these stories. Each story in Summer Lies has heft, solidty * Scotsman *
With his mournful, meditative new collection of stories, translated, like The Reader, by Carol Brown Janeway, Mr Schlink comes closer than ever to putting the war behind him * International Herald Tribune *
The Reader is a fine novel ... A sensitive, daring, deeply moving book about the tragic results of fear and the redemptive power of understanding -- Ruth Rendall on The Reader
Crammed with incident and analysis, and yet Schlink finds room for virtuoso passages of evocation ... compelling * London Review of Books on The Reader *
Extraordinary depth and worldwide critical acclaim * Guardian on The Weekend *
A succinct fascinating insight into Germany's ongoing examination of its troubled past * Daily Express on The Reader *
Told with an elegant realism. * SUNDAY HERALD *
As in his previous books - most notably, The Reader (1995) - Schlink meditates on guilt and conscience. But the focus of his reflections has shifted from Germany's Nazi past to his characters' private lives. Love and family are the things at stake here, and each story turns on the pursuit and unmasking of a deception... This is the book's notion of summer: a season as precarious and fleeting as the moments of love around which Bernhard Schlink's characters build edifices of deceit -- Jane Yager * TLS *

ISBN: 9781780220918

Dimensions: 198mm x 158mm x 19mm

Weight: 230g

288 pages