Popular Australian women’s fiction author Kylie Ladd has recently published her second novel, Last Summer (Allen & Unwin). In a similar style to Ladd’s debut novel After the Fall (Allen & Unwin, 2010), Last Summer uses multiple perspectives to offer readers a complex behind-the-scenes look into relationships, friendships, family and grief.
Last Summer – Plot Summary
Rory Buchanan is a larger than life character – passionate sportsman, father, husband, brother and friend. When he dies suddenly at a cricket training session, his friends and family are in shock. In the months following Rory’s death, they slowly process their grief and relationships are tested with unexpected results.
Last Summer is a study of grief and friendship told from the perspective of nine different characters, four couples and Rory’s wife Colleen. Over the course of the cricket season, the friends are challenged by the gap left in their lives by Rory’s absence and are forced to re-evaluate the way they relate to each other without Rory’s presence to act as a catalyst.
Losing Rory leads both his cricket team-mates and their wives to reassess their marriages, their parenting and the way they relate to the other couples in the group. Memories are stirred and bonds are broken and rebuilt as they work through the early months of their shock and grief after Rory’s unexpected death.
As the cricket season draws to a close, the lives of the nine friends have already begun to settle into new routines. They have learned lessons about themselves and each other and their relationships are forever altered by the events, conversations and emotions of the past months.
The story is at times bluntly sensual or filled with raw emotion, while other moments are quietly tender. Set in the suburbs of Melbourne, Last Summer offers readers a snapshot of Australian family suburban life. Long summer days playing cricket, family and friends gathering for New Years’ celebrations by the pool, sausage sizzle cricket club social gatherings, parenting, friendship and the Australia obsession with sport.
Dealing with Grief and Loss
Through the nine individual voices of the narrators of Last Summer, Ladd masterfully explores the complex nature of grief and friendship. The sudden and unexpected death of a man who was a dominant figure in the lives of his friends leaves everyone feeling lost and disoriented. As the shock wears off, each member of the group works through their grief in their own way, confronting their uncertainties and, for some, using this event as an opportunity to make significant changes in their own family life.
Last Summer explores the significant role friendship plays in modern life, with Rory’s friends impacted almost as much as his family by his sudden death. The novel also explores how fragile relationships can be, as the group drifts apart without Rory’s strong presence to pull everyone together and offer a point of connection. The interactions between the couples and friends and the elements of everyday life that feature in the story make this an entertaining book as well as a thoughtful study of human nature and emotions.
The multiple viewpoints of the different narrators offer insight into the thoughts and behaviour of the characters as they deal with not only their own grief, but the emotions and behaviour of the other members of the group. Ladd has assembled a very believable and relatable group of characters and the dynamics of their relationships offer a sense of familiarity, even as several members of the group deal with situations that might be outside the everyday experiences of the reader.
As the friends deal with Rory’s death they also confront their own insecurities, their past, their frustrations and the small emotional wounds inflicted by their everyday lives, disappointments and failures. Through this they also discover hidden strengths, renew friendships and make peace with their past.
Australian Author Kylie Ladd
Based in Melbourne where she lives with her husband and two children, Kylie Ladd holds a PhD in neuropsychology and has published works of both fiction and non-fiction.
Ladd’s website offers information about upcoming speaking events and details of her published works including downloadable excerpts. She is active on Twitter (@kylie_ladd) and also has a Facebook fan page available.
Friendship, Grief, Love and Loss in the Australian Suburbs
While Last Summer does focus primarily with the way a group of friends deal with their grief after the sudden death of a friend, it is also a story of friendship, family, love and everyday life.
Last Summer is both an enjoyable and confronting novel, leaving the reader with plenty to consider once the story reaches its conclusion. It is at times challenging, but is also reaffirms the value of family and friendship.
Review copy details:
Last Summer (ISBN: 978-1-74237-501-4, 330 pages)
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