Customer Reviews

Shadows in Summer: A Novel in Six Voices

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
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This is a wonderful book -- grips your attention from the start, it's a real page-turner. It's more mentally stimulating than your standard airport bestseller, though, in terms of its structure (hopping between six narrators to give different perspectives on the same events and people) and in terms of a lot of the background detail about history, theories of the paranormal, and general culture. The Danish setting gives an interesting view of a specific locality that we don't see very often. Just the right book for these long, cold evenings!

While it's tagged as a ghost story, Shadows in Summers is a story of relationships... with our past, our surroundings and most of all, ourselves. The innovative six-person narrative brings you in touch with six people who are believable, intelligent and most of all, interesting. The end result is a read that is as challenging as it is entertaining.

Engaging characters, deep cultural insights, keen psychological observations, and goose-bump raising plot elements abound in this first novel by Crescent Varrone. As an American who himself relocated to Denmark with his Danish wife, Mr. Varrone has brought his own keen eye for cultural nuance to bear on a story that is much more than a simple ghost story.

The use of six voices allows us as readers to immerse ourselves in the richly developed story of the characters and their lives as they adjust (or re-adjust) to life in Denmark, troubled family relationships and, this being a ghost story, the uninvited guests that have taken up residency in their home. Other authors may not have the skills to pull off such an ambitious undertaking, but Mr. Varrone handles the task admirably. We are provided with a range of perceptions on the characters and the haunting that would be impossible without the use by the author of an all-knowing narrator. Indeed, each character comes complete with their own very different world views shaped by very different life experiences, leading to very different perspectives on what is going on in Sound House, a home that reveals little, but which harbors secrets that span generations.

Mr. Varrone does not tie everything neatly up in a bow for the reader, and the subtly of the writing will leave you pondering elements of the story long after you have turned the last page and curled up in your blankets seeking warmth to dispel the shiver that runs down the full length of your spine.

Some things never let go, even in death. "Shadows in Summer" tells the story of Katrina Nielsen and her ongoing ordeal with her new Copenhagen, Denmark home and how it seems someone or something wants her out. Told from multiple perspectives, Crescent Varrone uses the format to provide a unique and entertaining story that is hard to find elsewhere. "Shadows in Summer" is not to be missed.

I thought Shadows in Summer was an excellent ghost story that somehow managed to feel quite gothic despite taking place during the Clinton era. It had all the trappings of a traditional ghost story...things that go bump in the night, mysterious shadows, objects being moved and a juicy history that spanned three generations.
Being described as a novel told in six voices, I was afraid it would be hard to keep track of who was who and what was going on, but there were only a couple of times I found it difficult to switch perspectives and that was when chapters would switch between Katrina and her mother. Otherwise, the six different points of view weren't a problem at all.
Varrone did an excellent job with the setting. I didn't know much about Denmark before going into this book, but his descriptions were detailed and fascinating and I found myself looking up places online to see if they really exist (they do!) He also wove a bit of the country's history into the story, especially its role during World War II (events from this era play a role in the story and in the perceptions of some of its characters.)
The ghostly occurrences start early in the book and their effect on Kristina builds slowly as the reader is left wondering about the true nature of what she is going through. Is their house indeed haunted? Is it all in her mind? Does the "slightly creepy" neighbor have anything to do with what is going on?
This is a thinking person's ghost story. And by that I mean it 's not one of those filled with in your face frights, it's more subtle than that. There are dinner parties, details, and discussions but they are interesting. And just when you think you have everything figured out, Varrone manages to pull out a couple of surprises.

The multiple voices and strong sense of place really draw the reader in, but the complexity and sophistication of the interwoven themes is what kept me engaged. Each character has a distinctive point of view and a specific interpretation of the events at the story's core, and the intelligent and complex interplay between those ideas is skillfully presented. Although the book is truly scary, it makes you think as often as it makes you shiver. An excellent read from a refreshing new author.

Tightly written, well crafted, and credible, this mystery stands out from the crowd. Well worth reading. Can't wait for the author's next work!

Do not read this book when alone or late at night or if you are easily frightened. A wonderful first work from an agile and erudite writer, full of twists and turns and terror.

Conveys the inner lives and experiences of characters facing the challenges of dislocation, isolation and perhaps something more. The mystery compels because we identify with the characters, and the Danish setting is used to reflect and expand upon the novel's themes. Perfect read for a long winter afternoon.

In recounting the threads of this mystery set in Denmark from the viewpoints of each of its six protagonists, including an American newly employed in Copenhagen, the author easily holds our attention, especially because his story of a "haunted" house is not entirely fictional and because he bases his characters on people he came to know during the years he has lived there. Their varied ages, backgrounds and world outlook heighten the level of suspense, and, as if the story line were not enough to keep us reading, we watch these characters wrestle with deep philosophical questions while affording us some insight into Danish history, its place and its prospects in the global economy, and its language, food, geography and weather. Those of us who have Danish friends recognize their uniquely Danish personality traits and habits. The author's sensitivity to interpersonal dynamics and his carefully crafted descriptive writing, some of it rising to the level of poetry, give this volume gravitas and propel it gracefully out of the category of mere pulp thriller.