One Grand Summer by Ewald Arenz
Sixteen-year-old Frieder’s plans for the summer are shattered when he fails two subjects. To be able to move up to the next year in the Autumn, he needs to resit his exams.
So, instead of going on holiday with his family, he now faces the daunting and boring prospect of staying at his grandparents’ house, studying with his strict and formal step- grandfather.
On the bright side, he’ll spend time with his grandmother Nana, his sister Alma and his best friend Johann. And he meets Beate, the girl in the beautiful green swimsuit...
The next few weeks will bring friendship, fear and first love – one grand summer that will change and shape his entire life.
About the author
Ewald Arenz was born in Nuremberg in 1965, studied English, American literature and history, and now works as a teacher at a grammar school. His novels and plays have received numerous awards. Tasting Sunlight was longlisted for the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize, shortlisted for the German Booksellers Best Novel Award, and featured on the Spiegel bestseller lists in both hardback and paperback for months. One Grand Summer won the German Booksellers Prize in 2021, and was a number-one bestseller in Germany. Ewald lives with his family near Fürth.
Review
‘One Grand Summer’ is an evocative coming-of-age tale, steeped with delicious prose and characters that you take instantly to your heart. It is no secret that I adored ‘Tasting Sunlight’ and for quite personal reasons so I was very pleased to realise that I still adore this author and ‘One Grand Summer’ definitely did not disappoint! It speaks of freedom, friendships, first loves and the fear of reaching the end of childhood. Once again Rachel Ward the translator has done such an exquisite job of making the author’s voice come through the pages!
Friedrich Büchner is 16 and instead of his normal family holiday, he is facing a long six weeks of revision for his resits, whilst living with his very strict Grandfather and his fabulous Nanna. Friedrich is at the quintessential age where he is pushing against boundaries, full of questions about life, love and his family. Set in the 1970s Bavaria, it seems a more innocent age but it doesn't mean that people don't have the same motivations and questions that they do now. The author manages to encapsulate this perfectly with the themes that run through this book. Friedrich is a beautiful protagonist, full of love, brightness and hope. He is interested in the world around him, eager to embrace his first love and loyal to his family and friends. We see the world through his eyes and it's a place that is bright and vivid. But there are shadows which the author explores with great empathy and humanity.
The part that really engaged me was how Friedrich’s relationship with his Grandfather and Nanna alters over the course of the book. You forget that he is only one generation removed from WWII and how this forms part of the story, of his and his family's story was beautifully dealt with. As Friedrich begins to understand his Grandfather more, he begins to have a grudging respect for him . To delve much further into this would lead to spoilers…but I could talk for ages on this section!
Once again this author has created an exquisite novel that radiates hope, and vibrancy and is packed full of brilliant characters. I can't wait to see what he does next! Let me know if you pick this one up.
