Review of ONE GRAND SUMMER by Ewald Arenz (New Release)

4 Stars

Ewald Arenz’s novel Tasting Sunlight wowed me in 2022 (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2022/06/review-of-tasting-sunlight-by-ewald.html); two years later I’m being wowed once again, this time by his second novel, One Grand Summer.

Sixteen-year-old Friedrich Büchner fails Latin and Math so, instead of going on holiday with his family, he is left in care of his grandparents so he can study and resit the exams. Frieder loves Nana but fears his strict and formal step-grandfather. His mornings are devoted to studying, but he has free time to spend with his sister Alma and his best friend Johann. And then he meets Beate, a girl who captures his heart. By the end of the summer of 1981, he will have experienced love, adventure, and tragedy; that summer changes him and shapes the rest of his life.

This is a coming-of-age novel. Frieder experiences first love, learns how to be a true friend, and comes to more fully appreciate his family. He learns to accept responsibility for his actions and to ask for help when he needs it; Nana points out, “’the ability to see when you need help and then to ask for it, is something very grown-up indeed.’” It is Frieder’s learning about love that stands out for me. He comes to understand that love can be painful and incomprehensible and powerful. Not only does he learn about love first-hand because of his romance with Beate, but he also learns about love from his grandparents. Nana, artistic and free-spirited, and Grandfather, “a hard man,” are so different, but they love each other. And he realizes that “’Love isn’t dependent on whether or not one of you does something stupid.’”

The author excels at capturing adolescent life. He portrays so authentically both the light-hearted, carefree moments of youth but also the unsettling ones. We see the quartet of teens spending time together, setting out on adventures, engaging in rebellious behaviour, falling in love, dealing with conflict, questioning loyalties, making stupid choices, and messing up. We also see them maturing as they learn from mistakes. The depiction of adolescence is so accurate it will leave adult readers reminiscing about their own.

The author is also a master of evocative language, using words and phrases that evoke sensory experiences and imagery in the minds of readers. His are not mere descriptions since he immerses readers in a vivid tapestry of sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures. The magical elements of summer are made real, whether the scent of robinia flowers and freshly cut grass, the songs of birds, the sight of silver poplars, the taste of chips with ketchup, or the feel of the midday heat or a wet swimsuit.

The plot is simple but engaging. This book will appeal to young adults for whom the sensitive portrayal of adolescence will resonate and adults will be left nostalgic for the summers of their youth. It’s perfect that the English translation is being released in the summer. I can think of no better book to take with you to a favourite summer spot.