Summer of Katya

This really is a work of genious. A love shadowed by the burdens of a painful past. A must read!

I came across The Summer of Katya by accident, and am happy to have discovered both the author and the novel. This is a witty, often amusing little story, with dialog that you can practically hear and a mystery that remains a tantalizing, just-out-of-reach secret until the end. Both of the male characters are vitally human - Katya, the love interest, is superficially charming but strangely wooden, the first clue that something is seriously wrong with this picture. The plot epitomizes the old adage that love is blind; although the reader is not sure what the problem is, you know there is one, a discovery that Jean-Marc stubbornly refuses to see until it is literally forced upon him. This book is a little known gem; a quick, enthralling reading experience.

I wasn't expecting what I got when I randomly picked up this book that proclaimed itself a psychological thriller. The characters contained therein were very memorable and provided haunting images. I'm not quite sure why I never heard of this book before but I'm just glad I stumbled across it. Although it isn't a very short book, it was a fast read because I just couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen next. The unanticipated ending was poignant. The author has provided a well written and plotted story and presented it in an almost lyrical fashion. This love story is set in the pre-WWI french countryside and certainly provides the taste and feel of that time and culture.

This is one of the few books that I can read steadily and finish within a short time. The writing is poetic, the dialogue witty, and the characters three-dimensional. The story flows with animation and grace. And probably the most important facet of the experience is you sympathize with the main characters and desperately want to know how each one makes out in the end. At first a story of romance, which gradually introduces mystery, and in the end escalates into the unthinkable. The rare story that made me go WHAT? Did I just read that? The end was absolutely unpredictable but absolutely perfect! Beautiful psychological drama. If anyone knows novels of this type, please recommend them to me at [email protected]. Thanks.